Friday, June 23, 2017

Best Birthday Gift Ever

 In The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon Gemcie determines to ride solo on the John Muir Trail in an attempt to sort out the confusion in her life.  While trying to capture the ethereal beauty of the John Muir Wilderness, I hoped to capture the imaginations of those who have not been privileged to ride or hike in the fragile beauty of the high country.

Here is what John Muir said on (June 23 which coincidently is my birth date) in his first My Summer in Sierra’s in 1869

“Oh these vast calm measureless mountains days, inciting at once to work and rest!
Days in whose light everything seems equally divine opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, no matter how weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever.

With this thought in mind I can only feel gratitude that I was able to ride amongst the spires that inspired his musings that touched my soul so deeply. For my birthday, I am heading to Colorado to hike and ride in the Rockies. Should be splendid with tons of wildflower and bluebird skies. Grateful for all the good that has been put on my plate!






I have a host of travel articles on my site, along with information about my travel memoir, Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales, and my historical novel Wai-nani, A Voice from Old Hawai’I, as well as my latest novel The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon at-www.LindaBallouAuthor.com.
 Subscribe to my blog www.LindaBallouTalkingtoyou.com to receive updates on books, and travel destinations and events.





Thursday, June 15, 2017

Making Tracks in the Rocky Mountains

Reading Lady in the Rockies by Isabella Bird has aroused my wanderlust to a fever pitch. I booked a room at Estes Park the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park in June.  The wildflowers should be thick in the meadows and views of snowcapped Long’s Peak sublime. I’m in for a little soul-cleansing while doing research for my next writing effort. I have long been impressed with the stamina and sheer determination of this English woman who rode in the winter of 1873 in the Rockies solo. I want to hike and ride in her hoof prints.


From there I venture north to the Laramie River Ranch on the border of Wyoming and Colorado to ride the open range. 
It is remote, rustic and hopefully a real dose of the old west. That is what I am looking for after reading about the thirty mile a day rides Ms. Bird galloped through with ease. She and Birdie, a sturdy Indian pony, cantered over 800 miles through vast pristine wilderness on tracks buried in snow.


 I may get a little sore on this outing, but what the heck. If Izzy can do it in the dead of winter, surly I can ride in the Rockies while the sun is shining high in a blue bird sky.



Come to my site for a host of travel articles along with information about my travel memoir, Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales, her historical novel Wai-nani, A Voice from Old Hawai’i and her latest action-adventure novel The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon at-www.LindaBallouAuthor.com.  Subscribe to my blog www.LindaBallouTalkingtoyou.com and receive updates on my books, and travel destinations.


Sunday, June 11, 2017

What was so Great about Kamehameha I?

Aside from being a supreme athlete, a master of martial arts, and a merman, Kamehameha fulfilled a centuries-old prophecy. On the night he was born, a fiery rooster tail streaked across the heavens marking the birth of the warrior destined to unite the Hawaiian Islands where persistent tribal wars marred a peaceful existence. No conversation about sacred sites in Hawai’i is complete without explaining why this warrior/chief was so great.
Kamehameha’s birthplace, Akahi aina Hanou, (near Mo’okini Heiau) is on a lonely knoll overlooking the sea in Kohala. It is thought that Halley’s Comet passed by the night of Kamehameha’s birth in 1758 marking him the chosen leader. Priests advised the ruling chief to destroy the child who threatened his seat of power. His mother, fearing for her son’s life, had him spirited away to Waipio Valley where he lived in gentle isolation for the first five years of his life. Tutored by a loving mentor, he learned the genealogical chants of his ancestors and began his life journey as the “Lonely One.”



At pubescence he returned to the village of his mother and was accepted by the now aged chief. He excelled in all sports, dance, and martial arts, proving himself to be an outstanding warrior. The old chief prided in Kamehameha and when he died he appointed him the Keeper of Ku—the war god.




Prophecy held that the warrior able to lift the 7,000-pound Naha Stone would become the chief whose cloud would rest over all the Islands. Kamehameha “lifted” the Naha Stone when he was 16 years old. (The Naha Stone is located in front of the Hilo Library, 300 Waianuenue Avenue.) This was the second omen to re-enforce his hard path.
It was Kamehameha’s unshakable belief in his destiny to be the ruler to unite the Hawaiian Islands that pulled him forward. You cannot understand Hawai’i or the significance of the sacred sites scattered throughout the realm without knowledge of this great leader who—through the force of his will, the strength of his intellect and unequaled physical prowess—brought a “Golden Age” to his people.

In a series of posts and videos about sacred sites in the Hawaiian Islands I expand upon the various temples he had built and the strategic battles that were fought during his rise to power. His words to his people when he passed to the other side in 1819: “Know the great good I have given to you.”

The character Makaha in my historical novel Wai-nani: A Voice from Old Hawai'i is inspired by this brave warrior.




Adventure-travel writer, Linda Ballou, shares Great Outdoor days in L.A, as well as a host of travel articles on her site, along with information about her travel memoir, Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales, her historical novel Wai-nani, A Voice from Old Hawai’i and her latest action-adventure novel The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon at-www.LindaBallouAuthor.com.  

Her quest today is to get to as many beautiful places as she can before they are gone. Subscribe to her blog www.LindaBallouTalkingtoyou.com and receive updates on her books, and travel destinations.





Join me at Mystic Journey Bookstore onJune 18th

Mystic Journey Bookstore 
1624 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Venice California


Adventure-travel writer, Linda Ballou, has a host of travel articles on her site, along with information about her travel memoir, Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales, her historical novel Wai-nani, A Voice from Old Hawai’i and her latest action-adventure novel The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon at-www.LindaBallouAuthor.com.  Subscribe to my blog www.LindaBallouTalkingtoyou.com and receive updates on her books, and travel destinations.