Kim McMahill

Built amid deep gorges cut by the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers, Luxembourg is the capital of the tiny European nation of the same name. The ruins of medieval fortifications in the foreground and modern buildings housing a number of important official European functions in the background make this a fascinating city to explore. We also had the privilege to visit the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial located not far from the city. This memorial to over 5,000 American soldiers, who lost their lives during World War II, most during the Battle of the Bulge, was a deeply moving experience.

Morgan woke to pitch black. Not only were her hands and ankles bound, and her mouth taped shut, but she was also cocooned in a thick wool blanket. The bouncing told her she was in a vehicle, but she was clearly no longer in the back of her car. Fear coursed through her veins as she struggled to understand where she was and what had happened. She wanted to take a deep breath to help calm her nerves, but with one nostril filled with dried blood and her mouth taped, it was difficult to breathe at all. Forcing herself not to panic, she sucked in tiny bursts of air through her one open nostril until she was confident she wouldn’t suffocate. She wiggled her toes and fingers to try and get the blood flowing and the tingling to subside. As the fog slowly cleared from her mind, she wondered how long she had been out. The last thing she remembered was trying to stand and keep her balance, so that she wouldn’t fall on the floor of that filthy warehouse. Now, she was here, but where was her...

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” - Eleanor Roosevelt" 

I recently had the exciting opportunity to spend a little time in France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic. I’ll be posting some of these photos in the weeks to come under my Adventure Scrapbook theme. If you are interested in this area, please check back often. To kick it off, here are a couple pictures from Paris including Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, and the Cathedral at Montmartre Hill.

Grace Talbot gripped the steering wheel of her white four-wheel-drive truck. Every muscle in her body tensed as she leaned closer to the windshield, straining her eyes, searching the blowing snow for the reflector poles, which lined the road, or for any tire track, which would indicate someone else had driven through recently. Traveling the remote rural Wyoming road in a blizzard was risky, and she would have avoided such a stupid act if her Uncle Moss wasn’t in the hospital fighting for his life  and Butch, his only hired ranch hand, wasn’t dead. To purchase this book directly from Amazon for your Kindle, click here .

“What is adventure? If a lone wolf lifts his plaintive call into the moonlight near your campsite, you might call that adventure. While you’re sweating like a horse on a climb over a 12,000 foot pass, that could be adventure. When howling head winds press your lips against your teeth, you face a mighty struggle. When your pack grows heavy on your shoulders as your climb a 14,000 foot peak, you feel the adventure. When you suffer freezing temperatures and 20 inches of fresh powder on a hut to hut trip in the Rockies, that could be called adventure. But that’s not what makes an adventure. It’s your willingness to conquer it, and to present yourself at the doorstep of nature. That creates the experience. No more greater joy can come from life than to live inside a moment of adventure. It is the uncommon wilderness experience that gives your life expectation.”  Frosty Wooldridge, Golden, Colorado 

Claire’s thoughts fixed on Jared and she wanted to know the truth. She was afraid for his and Ethan’s future since no one knew for sure what that was. The uncertainty drove her to push her mother on the issue. “What destiny? Claire demanded. “Men never come back here. Where do they go and what happens to them when they leave here, Mother?” “That doesn’t need to concern you.” “I want to know, Mother. Tell me the truth. If you want me to understand you and the life you embrace you have to be honest with me.” “Hmm,” Katherine hesitated. She wasn’t sure how much she dare share, but she wanted Claire to accept her future and break free of her less than desirable companions. Claire had to understand the authorities were only doing what was best for the citizens. “It’s more of a federal issue than a state issue, but I do know that males report to one of three occupational categories. Many men work in the factories in the central manufacturing zone on the East Coast, others volunteer ...

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.” - Wildred Peterson- 

The Hot Springs Historic District of Big Bend National Park is an idyllic spot along the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River. It was once used as a health spa and as a meeting place for people from both sides of the river. There are several barely-preserved buildings and a magnificent giant palm fanning out over the rugged landscape. I dubbed it the, “tropical paradise in the desert,” in Deadly Exodus  (only $0.99 on Amazon) and identified it as the place the characters would attempt their daring border crossing into Mexico in their desperate pursuit of freedom. This tropical paradise in the desert always elicits pleasant memories of visiting Big Bend National Park. One of the other many bonuses of Big Bend is that I’ve never experienced the crowds I often encounter at other national parks. Big Bend gives a person the space and scenery to experience true solitude.

The sound of a man’s voice made Niki’s head whip around as she tried to bring Storm under control. The man was not speaking English and the insignia on his uniform did not belong to the United States military, nor did the uniform sport a maple leaf such as the one she had seen on the helicopter the previous day. Thoughts swirled through her head, making no sense at all, but the one thing she was certain of was that she was in deep trouble. Niki reined Storm around, now surrounded by five more men. Her body went rigid as the horse’s legs suddenly stiffened. Storm snorted at the closest man and then pawed angrily at the ground. The men began advancing, smiling and laughing. Niki couldn’t understand what they were saying, but as she spied two more dead bodies on the ground, she felt certain they had no intention of helping her. Her eyes darted from man to man. She scanned the area and noted that she was still very close to the edge of the ravine. Niki could feel the big horse quiver ...

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day. Enjoy these last days of summer while they last.

The Panama Canal was opened on August 15, 1914. This year the Panama Canal has been expanded to accommodate today’s larger vessels. I had the privilege a few years back to cruise through the Panama Canal and see the expansion project in progress. The whole experience was very educational and simply mind-boggling in scope.