We’re David and Montie and we turn everything into an adventure. If there is an opportunity to take the detour and the road less likely to be traveled, we take it…even if it means adding a couple hours or days to our drive. Our adventures can be the quick road trips to the National and State parks, the wetlands sheltering the migratory Sandhill Cranes, a short drive to the top of Mount Lemmon or when we are very lucky, our most recent escape, a voyage down the Rhine River, stopping off in no less than three countries along the way.

Here we are at Windy Point on the way to the summit of Mt. Lemmon, quite literally in our front yard. A quick drive up the highway takes us out of the Sonoran Desert and the heat to the pines and crisp fresh air on top of the mountain.

DETOURS

Our travel adventures are painted with a huge brush! We take cars, trains, planes and sometimes just those pathways that crisscross the mind. It does not take much to lure us off the main road. “What do you suppose that sign means -Goosenecks?” Well, if you are traveling around Southern Utah, it means 20 minutes on a dirt road that looks like it is going nowhere.  At the end of that road, you get out, look down, and there a thousand feet down is the San Juan River snaking through a canyon extraordinaire. We took this detour down the dirt road in the mid 90’s. We were awed by it and so we made a return visit in 2020–and voila, that dirt road was paved.

Then there is the excitement of getting lost in France on our way to visit the Midi Pyrénées and the old fortress castles along the way…this is where we stumbled onto the little town of Mirepoix (mira pwah) in search of a meal and rest stop…a magical place that could be described as our “BRIGADOON moment” as it seemed to appear out of nowhere. Read about this adventure in the France blog, “The Cathar Trail—Exploring the Pyrenees”.

This is the small village of Mirepoix…on our way to Foix and Monsegur Castles. We made it in time for the winter market and had time to visit with the local seamstress, purchase and devour some warm out of the oven pastries, and of course time to relax and refresh in a tavern on the square.

FLYTES OF FANCY

So, this website is a journey of sorts. You will see small albums of past trips, travel blogs about upcoming or in the moment trips, and what I like to call the Flytes of Fancy, which find us wandering off to a special place like the Slot Canyons in Southern Utah, or Navajo Falls in Northern Arizona, or an update of It’s a Christmas Miracle!, my newest favorite painting or that special book that I read and found myself transported to another place and time. 

And recently added are the Flytes that include meandering around on a piece of paper or a canvas as I give my suggestions about what my world looks like in design and color. Look for more paintings under Portfolio-Journeys by way of the Brush!

This painting “Grass on Fire” is an award-winning entry in the Spring Arizona Watercolor Association Exhibition. Another of jomommasfancyflytes!

Last but not least, we want to share with everyone those everyday excursions that somehow turn into that little gem, hidden away in a lazy unplanned day or weekend. So, David takes the photographs and provides me with instructions, inspiration and great company along the way. I get to share with you our adventures and most importantly, my Flytes of Fancy.

ENJOY!