jessica’s not-a-blog

A usual Saturday morning, sleeping in, cleaning, pimping out my bike with new pedals and new seat, and lavishing in my role as a borderline cat lady. 

I've set a "No Noodling" rule in the house, but aren't all noodlers generally self-professed rule breakers?  

I know I should be doing something constructive: work, study, sit, but I'm not.  Some favorites from my film camera, which are less likely to make it onto the web.  Except when I'm procrastinating.

Arches and Canyonlands

Raining, cold and raining, cold and cloudy, cold and sunny.  Arches and Canyonlands were the destinations for our Thanksgiving travels.  

Dev outing to the Neon Boneyard. 

Sigh.  Thanks to tags, here are my pics from Montana in September: Glacier National Park!

Water was the theme of this trip.  Not only were we once again searching out from the desert for lakes, rivers, puddles, drops of rain, we were challenged with near show-stopping frustrations:  a cold, the Prius that ran out of gas, an evening almost spent in the town of Barstow, the Fresno Whole Foods Fiasco, and a neutered Camelback.  Beyond those obstacles and the Disneyland style crowd in the more accessible sites, Yosemite lived up to its promises of being breathtaking.

Powered by Nutella, gluten-free pretzels, and Tylenol Cold, I tossed out the map, let go of planning, and we still saw all the sites.  First stop, Mariposa Sequoia Grove.

Some of the valley stops, headed up Mist trail:

Last stop was Tioga pass, Tuolumne Meadows, and a long drive home.

The best part about these salt and pepper shakers--the sound effects I like to make when using them.  "Woo......WOOOOO!"  You know, the standard ghost noises.

Like a cowboy lost in the desert without provisions, some days I get an insatiable and desperate craving for water.  When I started hearing that hoarse, dry plead in my mind, Utah was first to come to mind.  Sure, I could go to Lake Mead.  I could even run around in one of the busted sprinklers that spouts water everywhere except on the grass.  But the air in Utah is so crisp!  The Horchata at Perks! coffee hut is so good!  Zion it is.  It was a little cold still for the Narrows, so we tried out Kolob Canyons in the northwest side of the park.  It delivered everything:  deep blue sky contrasting the red rocks, a winding creek, wonderful air, trees for climbing, threats of mountain lions (who doesn't want a little suspense?)... 

All over another amazing hike with Kris.