Kim McMahill

Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday which will be celebrated by many around the world on February 28. Fat Tuesday began as a celebration and an opportunity to eat whatever a person wants before the beginning of the long fasting season or Lenten season. The celebration has evolved into an exercise in excess with parades, over-indulging, and other festivities. America’s most famous Mardi Gras celebration occurs on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Although I doubt I’ll ever participate in this particular celebration I have enjoyed festivities on a smaller scale in many other locations and have seen the reminders of the event throughout New Orleans. How will you celebrate?

The road to San  Sebastián del Oeste  is lined with spectacular scenery and wonderful rest stops where you can get fresh baked goods and hot homemade tortillas. San Sebastián del Oeste is an old colonial town and municipality located on the western part of Jalisco state . It is steeped in history and feels caught between the past and the present. Its cobblestone streets provide a thoroughfare for horses and cars alike, and both look equally in place. 

“Camp out among the grass and gentians of glacier meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of Nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”  - John Muir - 

La Paz, Mexico is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur and an important commercial center. The city itself is worth taking time to explore, but we especially enjoyed getting out on the water and enjoying the wildlife and beautiful beaches.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland, who brought Christianity to Ireland. The holiday is a day of celebrating Irish traditions, customs, history, and ancestry. Even those who aren’t Irish can’t resist the festivities associated with this often rowdy holiday. I hope everyone has a fun, happy, and safe St. Patrick’s Day.

“Bears are made of the same dust as we, and they breathe the same winds and drink of the same waters. A bear’s days are warmed by the same sun, his dwellings are overdomed by the same blue sky, and his life turns and ebbs with heart pulsing like ours. He was poured from the same first fountain. And whether he at last goes to our stingy Heaven or not, he has terrestrial immortality. His life, not long, not short, knows no beginning, no ending. To him life unstinted, unplanned, is above the accidents of time, and his years, markless and boundless, equal eternity.”  - John Muir - 

I’ve just finished the third novel in my Risky Research series, A Foundation of Fear , where even the most deadly assassin has plenty to fear. If you haven’t read the first two books in the series I hope you will do so before the third is released. The Risky Research series explores how far a deadly group will go to control the 40-100 billion-dollar-a-year diet product industry, and the lengths two dedicated FBI agents will go to stop them.  The first in the series, A Dose of Danger , is set mostly where I grew up in Wyoming. The story begins when a researcher and her team discover a possible solution for weight loss. Her unsanctioned testing methods bring tragedy to the family ranch and the attention of the local sheriff’s deputy. With her colleagues either dead, missing, or on the run she must trust the deputy with her life, but can she trust him with her heart.  In the second book, A Taste of Tragedy , a corporate executive discovers the healthy foods she’s been hired to promote

Here are a few dates to keep in mind this year. February 12 is Lincoln’s Birthday and the 14 th is Valentines Day. Singles Awareness Day is February 15. President’s Day is February 20 and Washington’s Birthday is the 22 nd . And finally, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras will be celebrated on February 28 this year, so get those beads out and get ready to party.  

One of the best reasons to head to Mexico’s Pacific coast this time of year is for the opportunity to see migrating humpback whales. Sightings aren’t guaranteed, but if luck is on your side it can be a humbling experience. Just wish I had a better telephoto lens.

On February 2 nd of each year Groundhog Day is celebrated in the U.S. According to the legend, in mid-winter the groundhog leaves his den and if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, then spring is just around the corner. The annual Groundhog Day event is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which is why most of us know the Groundhog as Punxsutawney Phil. Phil has been making annual predictions since 1887.