Wanderings: California

Growing up in Texas, I never thought much about California.  I knew it had heat and deserts, oceans and hippies, traffic and urban sprawl, and I had all of those things already, while the things we didn’t have, like mountains and movie stars and earthquakes, didn’t interest me much.  The east coast was what gripped my childhood imagination.  I longed for dense cities, noise,…

Orange groves

I would gladly spend every weekend wandering around my own orange grove, the smell of blossoms thick in the air, intoxicating both me and the thousands of bees buzzing from blossom to blossom. California.  March 2015.

California wildflowers

There are days we live as if death were nowhere in the background; from joy to joy to joy, from wing to wing, from blossom to blossom to impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom. -Li-Young Lee

Farewell, Carmel

Over the last eighteen months, we’ve spent a lot of time in Carmel-by-the-Sea, eating at great restaurants, admiring all the tiny charming houses, but most of all, loving the beach, with its twisted cypress trees, white sands, and blue-green waters.  At this point, I don’t know when we’ll be able to come back again.  Not too terribly long, I hope. To say goodbye, we…

Moro Rock

A last minute and unexpectedly delightful stop, the climb up Moro Rock was heart-pounding, and the sheer drops over the side of the rock made my knees wobbly if I looked down too long.  At 6,700 ft, the views were stunning, shifting and opening-up again and again as you zigzagged your way up the rock.  It was lovely to look out over the expanse…

The giant forest

One of the more magical afternoons we’ve had in California was spent hiking in a quiet forest of glowing giants.  The air was crisp and the light was golden, and every time we came upon another giant copse of sequoia, it was all I could do not to lie down on the springy pads of pine needles at their feet, and, surrounded by my…

Girl in the grove

Sequoia National Park, California.  March 2015.

Roots

Sequoia National Park, California.  March 2015.

Fallen giants

King’s Canyon National Park, California.  March 2015.

I don’t fear the light

Sequoia National Park, California.  March 2015.

Wanderings: Sequoia National Park

For our final visit to California (where the Mister is finishing up a graduate degree), we decided to travel in a couple days early so we could visit Sequoia National Park.  Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to visit a few redwood groves, but had never seen their giant cousins, the ancient sequoias, and couldn’t miss this last opportunity.  Driving into the mountains,…

We will know it’s coming to an end

Today we are heading to California for the last of our scheduled trips, and already, I find myself emotional and mildly panicked at the thought that this part of our lives is nearly over.  I never expected to like California very much, and, as it turns out, I’ve fallen very much in love.  With the mountains and the deserts, the forests and the fertile…

Pacifica, her siren song

The west coast is calling my name.  Soon, California.  Soon. Carmel-by-the-sea, California.  January 2015.

The devil’s resting place

While we were in California last month, we made a couple of spooky drives through Pacheco Pass, a somewhat dangerous stretch of highway in the Diablo Range that is rumored to be haunted.  Not surprising with all the lonesome, twisted trees dotting the landscape.  One afternoon, as we wove through the twists and turns of the highway, I thought I caught a glimpse of…

Touch the sky

Having fun with reflections in the water on a short hike out to Mirror Lake.

Skiing at Badger Pass

We couldn’t have asked for a lovelier day to spend on the snowy slopes of Badger Pass.  I’m new to skiing and it was a bit icy out that day, so after sliding around on the little hills for a while, I retreated to the decks of the day lodge to enjoy the sunshine and the views.  While sipping on hot chocolates, it was…

Underneath my California stars

The dark dark skies of Yosemite were perfect for practicing our star photography, and so on a few frosty nights, we ventured out to the open meadows with my camera and a tripod, our hearts racing as we tried not to think too hard about mountain lions, coyotes, and bears.

Yosemite Falls

There are so many breathtaking sights in Yosemite National Park, but the one that looms most in my memory is Yosemite Falls.  At nearly 2,500 feet, Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and the seventh highest in the world, an impressive spectacle located just above the cozy lodge in which we stayed.  The falls were the first thing we saw when…

Winter Scenes

El Capitan

We felt very lucky to be staying in Yosemite during the final week of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson’s historic free climb of the Dawn Wall on El Capitan, a smooth, steep rockface that is considered by many to be the longest and most difficult free climb anywhere.  In fact, they finished on the final day of our visit. El Cap’s 3000-ft face is…

Wanderings: Yosemite

You come to love places in different ways.  Some places reveal themselves slowly, rooting their way bit-by-bit into your heart, until you find you’ve fallen in love.  Other places dazzle you and grip your heart from the first moment, leaving you breathless and at a loss for words.  Yosemite was the latter.  Driving there, you twist and turn around mountainside curves, which are perfectly…