Photo by Linda Comins Wheeling resident Pat Temple shows two of the many stunning photographs that she shot during a camping trip to Venice, Italy. She is holding a photo of a street scene on the island of Burano, famous for its lace-making. The other photo depicts Campo Madeline. Temple and her late husband, Fritz, found great campgrounds adjacent to Venice, across the Outer Harbor on the Lido, right on the water’s edge.

When Wheeling photographer Pat Temple and her late husband, Fritz, wanted to explore Europe and Africa, they turned to an affordable way to see the world: they pitched a tent. The Temples had already criss-crossed the United States, Canada and Mexico as tent campers. By the mid-1970s, they were eager to expand ther horizons to other continents, but “we couldn’t afford organized trips,” she said. So, Temple and her husband bought a Rand McNally Campground Guide to Europe and discovered that “every city, town and crossroad in Europe had a campground.” For the next 15 years, “we literally camped from the Arctic Circle to the Cape of Good Hope,” she said. “We did at least 15 camping trips, into the 1990s.” They camped in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Scotland, Wales, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Greece and in South Africa. “It is a wonderful way to travel. You get a real sense of the place you’re in,” she commented. The adventurous couple saw many sights that average tourists might never see. Along the way, Temple captured memories through photographs. The accomplished photographer is a member of the Artworks Around Town gallery in Wheeling. An exhibit of her work, titled “The Nature of Travel,” was displayed at the Ohio University Eastern Campus art gallery in St. Clairsville during April. Temple, who is now in her late 80s, still loves to travel. Last summer, she went on a group trip to Alaska.