Well, the last half of 2011 was a whirlwind. And I've been awfully absent from this whole blog thing. So what's shakin? Well, to start, I moved back to California. As in California knows how to party, as in the Sierra Nevadas, as in Big Sur and the whole amazing coast line, as in Lake Tahoe, as in great wines and beers, as in granite and sandstone, madrone and manzanita. Yep, that one. It seems like ever since I moved away every vacation I've had has brought me back here. So now maybe I'm here for good. Still waiting for some snow... my snowboard is patiently waiting as well. In the meantime I've been road biking and spending more time outside exploring with the Bon. I promise more photos to come. Soon. In the meantime, we'll start off with some road trips.

This is from Wyoming, where it was amazing fall weather with patches of golden leaves in early October.

And another road trip down the eastern side of the Sierras. This one's of Bishop, one of my all-time favorite places on earth.

And Malibu, home of the rich and famous, and lots of egrets. 

One of my best friends got married last weekend in Lake Tahoe, and it was the first time all four of my college roommates have been together in close to seven years. I don't think I've ever been to a wedding where the bride, the groom and the minister were all busting out laughing for about half the ceremony. It's safe to say we had a blast. Although we didn't stay nearly long enough, we managed to fit in some quality beach time, an awesome hike along Rubicon Bay and plenty of wedding festivities. And the bride looked gorgeous, as always, but especially with her makeup done by our awesome friend Brittany. Check out Britt's really entertaining (but also informative!) blog if you want some tips on makeup, hair and fashion. 

The fireflies have been getting down to some serious business lately, lighting up the trees, completely unashamed of their publicly displayed mating rituals. It's pretty cool to watch, but even more cool to wade through the grasses in the dark taking bets on how many mosquito bites you'll have the next day.

So yeah, it's still winter and we decided to go hiking and pretend it was warm, wonderful spring. To be completely honest it did reach about 60 degrees, which was big, and I did close my eyes and stare into the blue sunny sky until it hurt my eyes. And there was a waterfall, which never hurts.

This was one of the first shots I took as I walked up to the lake right before sunset. At first I knew I loved the light in this photo, but I continued past it. But the more I look at it, the more I really like it, with the pretty, pale light and the tiny figures. People seem to fade into the disappearing horizon out there, which is a pretty cool effect. There were people taking photos, posing for photos, throwing their shoes off and walking out as far as they could. Even though I literally ran and swatted my way from a couple vicious flies, looking like a crazy person I’m sure, across the incredibly long beach, I can’t wait to go back there – it’s really a special spot.

I just got back from a work trip to Salt Lake City, and was stoked to take advantage of my free time in such an amazing place. The Great Salt Lake is insanely gorgeous and huge and seemingly never-ending. I’d really only driven through the area at night in the past, so it was all new to me. You impatiently walk a ways down a crackly, dry beach to reach the calm water with views of the mountains every way you turn. It’s the kind of sunset experience that you never want to end. I barely even edited this photo – it is seriously just that perfect. So is the mole at Red Iguana for that matter. And the town of Park City. The weather was pretty darn spectacular, too. Photos of the hike I took on my day off will come soon.

It’s the first day of summer, and the heat is here, so I’m a bit jealous of that California coastal weather. Here are a couple more photos from Garrapata State Park.

I was lucky enough to spend a few days driving through New Mexico recently, on my way back from Colorado. Big skies, small poor towns, georgeously understated mountain ranges, touristy traps, gentle grasses, curious pronghorn, and lots and lots of brush. It has this calming quality that makes you feel like everything is fine, and slow, and wonderful just as it is. It’s just breezes and farmland, and passing weather, and space. Driving through that state is hypnotic. Just about the only thing that can awake you from the dream is a good jolt of spicy Mexican food, which I ate as much of as possible, and as often as possible, because it was finally possible to find.

And here I was worrying about missing the snow by living on the east coast? Ha! I love the way snow looks, I love how you can play in it, I love how my dog loves it. But I don’t love how the DC area is not prepared to deal with it, so I don’t expect to be able to drive for at least a couple days, given that it’s not supposed to stop falling til tomorrow evening. This normally wouldn’t be an issue, but I have stuff to do. I’m on my way to Colorado next week for a temporary work assignment, for which I’m totally stoked. It’s funny how things just fall in your lap sometimes. But I guess for now I’ll just catch up on my reading and play with “Bon Hiver,” nickname number 11 for  the snow-addicted canine princess.

I haven’t wanted to take photos of anything lately besides the dogs. But as I was walking Bonnie after work the other day I couldn’t help but notice the really loud birds and beautiful sunset. There seems to be a point of day around dusk when birds are overcome with energy and sound and flight. Flocks of birds were flying west towards a stand of trees across the street, where they took up residence on new branches. I love how they maximize the few minutes left before darkness settles. I guess I feel like that, too – especially when I’ve been inside all day long on an already short winter day and I know I only have 20 minutes left of natural light. So it’s a good thing that those last 20 minutes tend to be really beautiful and calming.