Lifestyle Archives | Golden Country Cowgirl

Ideas for a Solo Christmas

How to Enjoy a Festive Feast on Your Own Spending Christmas alone doesn’t mean missing out on the joy and magic of the season. In fact, it’s an opportunity to create a celebration that’s uniquely yours—filled with all the things you love, from cozy decorations to a personalized feast. If you’re searching for ideas for a solo Christmas, start with a festive meal tailored just for you. As a single person, I’ve spent many holidays solo but I always made them special. They weren’t always a big production but just unique in some way. Here’s how to make your solo holiday special, delicious, and memorable. 1. Set the Scene A solo Christmas feast is more than just food; it’s about creating a warm, inviting atmosphere.…

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Nikon P900 Superzoom Camera – Great All-Purpose Camera

With so many things closing down and a tremendous decrease in traffic to travel websites, I’ve been at a bit of a loss for what to do. Since I recently purchased new camera equipment, I decided to take some of this down time to really learn how to use it all. I chose to start with my Nikon P900 superzoom camera since I’ve had it the longest. Even though I don’t know how to use it to its fullest potential yet, I already love it. For years, my go to camera has been a Nikon D90 DSLR. This has been a more than adequate camera for the blog. However, for quite a while now I’ve been wishing for a longer telephoto lens for better bird…

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How Important are your Feet?

As a horsewoman, I am familiar with the saying “no hoof, no horse.” While I sat getting a pedicure last week, I started thinking about how that applies to the human foot. If you think the condition of your feet doesn’t have anything to do with travel, read on! How important are your feet? Would it surprise you to know that the average human walks about 100,000 miles in their lifetime? Just like with a horse, your feet are your foundation. They are vital for mobility. Yet, we don’t take care of them like we do the rest of our body. We often take them for granted until they cause us pain. Once a foot or leg becomes painful, it can be totally debilitating, even…

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Electric Bike and the Solo Senior Female Traveler Saga

Electric bike with text overlay: Electric Bike and the Solo Senior Female Traveler Does the saga have a happy ending?

Back in 2019, when I was planning my RV trip, I saw lots of YouTube videos about electric bikes. One brand in particular, Lectric eBikes, caught my attention. Lots of nomads that I follow reviewed their bikes and just raved about them. I thought an electric bike would be a really fun way to get around campgrounds and other places I stayed on my trip. Lectric eBikes was selling their bikes through a Kickstarter at an amazing price so I decided to jump on it. Electric Bike Purchase in 2019 I had to wait several months for the bike to be shipped. It finally arrived, just in time for my trip. Unboxing it was exciting and relatively easy! You can see from the video that…

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Birthday Musings of a Stay-at-Home Travel Blogger

It’s that time again. It’s my birthday and I’m sitting here reflecting on past birthdays and wondering what the next year will bring. Based on what has transpired so far, it certainly looks like it will be a lot different than any year in the past. Here are some of my random musings as a currently stay-at-home travel blogger. Two years ago, I was sitting in my living room in northern California looking at my new-to-me travel trailer wondering what I was doing. I was throwing away and giving away so much stuff! I was downsizing in preparation for a journey that was sure to change my life. The year before that, I was dining solo on my birthday and really contemplating what it means…

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Home from Work and Can’t Travel? What to do with your Downtime

travel trailer and tow vehicle with text overlay: Home from work and can't travel? Things to do in your downtime.

I had an amazing RV trip planned for April-June. I was going to see Texas bluebells for the first time, attend a couple of festivals, see the emergence of the largest bat colony in the world, ride a steam train, and taste more awesome Texas wine. There were even more things on the list to research. But now, just like everyone else, all my travel is on hold. With people home from work and even ordered to stay at home, it is so important to keep a positive attitude. What are your plans for your downtime from work and travel? Here are some of the things I plan to do to occupy my downtime. What I Plan to do in My Downtime from Work and…

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Three Years and I’m Still Here!

Today, March 7, 2019, marks the 3 year anniversary of this blog. On my first anniversary in 2017, I wrote a post about the journey to finding my blogging passion. Last year, I was so busy, I actually forgot about the anniversary! Where the Blog has Been Two and a Half Years Documenting Gold Country I moved to Gold Country in October of 2014 but I didn’t start the blog until March of 2016 when I decided I missed writing about travel. I was still writing my two pet blogs but travel, including wine and food, is my passion. The blog was fairly static in terms of growth during 2017 and 2018, but already in 2019, it is on track to more than quadruple in…

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Even when Life is Long, it is too Short!

It has taken me a while to write this post, but I needed to do it so I can start to move on. You know the old saying, life can turn on a dime? Well, it happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Early in July, I wrote a post about why I haven’t been RVing and what I’ve been doing instead. That “instead” was spending time with my dad and I’m so very glad I did. He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on August 4th. It was so unexpected because he was a healthy, active and mentally sharp 97-year-old. He still drove and did his own shopping. He watered the yard and did some of the light yard work. Keeping fit was important…

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Tips for Young at Heart, Active, Senior Travelers

With my birthday rapidly approaching, I thought it might be a good time to write a post with tips for active senior travelers. While doing research, I discovered that most of the posts out there are aimed at very elderly or infirm travelers. I’m so grateful that I don’t fall into those categories yet, but what about those of us who are strong, healthy and young at heart? Although we might be senior citizens based on our age, are there really special travel tips for us? The more I thought about it, I decided there are a few minor things of special concern even to spry senior travelers like me. Before you Travel – Good Advice for any Traveler Stay Active Staying active is one…

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Survive the Storm — Be Prepared for a Natural Disaster

glowing orance sun shining through dark clouds from a wildfire with text overlay Have you been through a natural disaster? How to be Prepared

When I lived in southern California, I lived with the possibility of an earthquake. When I moved to northern California, wildfires were a real threat. In fact, before I had lived there for a year, we had to evacuate ahead of the Butte fire, one of the largest wildfires ever in California up to that time. Now that I am living in southern Texas, the danger comes from hurricanes. Other natural disasters that effect the US are flooding, thunderstorms, tornadoes and even volcanoes. No matter where you live, you are not totally safe from a cranky mother nature so it is important to be prepared for a natural disaster. A couple of weeks ago, we had a severe thunderstorm during the night. We woke up…

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