razorbacker's VirtualTourist Home Page

As you can all tell from my map I have lived many places and traveled through even more. I have to say that the world is full of beautiful and awesome places. I am very grateful to the Creator for providing the unimaginable variety and range of wonder, for allowing me the opportunity to visit and experience so many of them, and my hope is for the chance to see and learn so much more.
That said, I have never found a lovelier land than the home of my youth in Northwest Arkansas. There are so many lovely places there that I hold in my heart but are so numberless I could never begin to express them all to the world. Whether it is water-spiders and minnows in a little "crick" pool down in an unvisited "holler," a thunderstorm approaching over the hills at night, the plaintive call at dusk of a lone whippoorwill, the massive oaks standing sentinel for ages, the song of rain on a tin roof over your cozy bed, traveling Highway 23N in the glory of autumn foliage, or any of a lifetime worth of unforgettable moments, you know why this land is loved.

This was my home for several years. Another verdant place of beauty. The rains come often but are welcome. The sound, the lakes, the forests, the mountains, and the man-made wonders are all sights to behold. And don't forget Alfy's Pizza!

Cortez, Colorado was home for 10 years. It is a magnificent place with so many different choices easily accessible depending on which direction you set out. To the east are the La Plata Mountains, to the west high desert and plateau, to the south the mesas and spires that whisper of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley, and to the north rivers, lakes, and the San Juan Mountains.
Cortez is a marvelous place to visit or to live. Unforgettable.

For 5 years I have made my home in Phoenix's West Valley, Glendale and Peoria. The Desert Southwest is amazing, too. The experiences are so limitless. Anyone who is familiar with the beautiful photography of Arizona Highways magazine can attest to the surprising palette of vistas in this popular state. The Grand Canyon, the White Mountains, Lake Havasu, Slide Rock in Oak Creek Canyon, Tombstone, the alpine region of Flagstaff, armies of the famed Saguaro cactus that symbolize the American West, even the simple pleasures, enjoyed by so many locals, of "tubing the Salt" [River.] And it's a short and exciting drive to Mexico and the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California.)

I've been an RN for over 20 years, an Emergency Nurse for 18. Somebody asked me yesterday if I'd seen it all. I told him, "Not yet!" But I've seen a lot! I could probably write a book (...and just might!)
Anyhow, it is a fascinating profession and very satisfying to try to determine the probable cause of a person's illness and work to resolve it. There is a lot of hard work, dramatic to humorous to mind-boggling to riveting experiences. Emotions may be raw, moments indelible, extremes of exhilaration or sadness, triumph or tragedy.
In the end you walk out the door, and you know what you are doing is important and valuable and worth everything you put into it! It's great!

I am thankful for the parents I was given. I owe them everything. While they are both long gone, I look forward to seeing them again along with my brothers and many others.
I have led a very interesting life. Many of my forebears did as well, and I'm fortunate to have many of their stories.
But as my favorite author, Nevil Shute, has illuminated so wonderfully well even the most ordinary life is extraordinary.
And in a larger sense my belief is that we are all of royal descent with a heritage and birthright greater than that of any king or emperor if we fulfil the measure of our creation.