Photos: Yosemite 6/2010

Hi Internet!  I know it's been a while.  The last couple 'o months have been crazy-busy.  So much so that I just realized I never posted my Maker Faire Photos.  Stand by....I'll get on that soon.  Until then enjoy a few snaps from our recent Yosemite adventure. 

We shot up north to Yosemite National Park a couple of weekends ago for the much anticipated TnT wedding event.  KABOOM!  The weekend went a little something like this...

Friday Night Open House:

Photo courtesy of Yeva & Alex

Saturday Morning Rafting Trip...

Photo courtesy of Yeva & Alex

Tunnel View Saturday Day...


Tunnel View Saturday Night (Full Moon)


Upper Yosemite Falls Illuminated by The Full Moon...


Sunday Morning Bridal Prep...


Sunday Ceremony on Glacier Point...

Photo courtesy of Yeva & Alex

Monday Hike To Vernal Falls...

Photo courtesy of Yeva & Alex

Congrats, again, to TnT! And a huge thanks to Yeva & Alex...Team Adventure! The rest of my photos from our Yosemite weekend can be viewed here.

Travel: Yosemite Frazil Ice

Photos: Yosemite 10/2009

A couple of months ago, on our 1 year anniversary, Farilla gifted me a weekend adventure of my choosing. After witnessing the absolute bliss he experienced during our recent day-trip to Yosemite I wanted to get him back up there for an extended visit...STAT! Without hesitation Farilla booked us a heated tent cabin in Curry Village. I was a little concerned about staying in the tent cabins during the mid-October Brrr. Luckily the heater kept us toasty at night. The cabins were comfortable but they are situated pretty close to one another so there isn't much privacy (picture wood platform/framing lined by heavy canvas walls). After waking up the first night to the sound of a bear attempting to break into our neighbors bear box I was left listening to a snoring neighbor, hmph. Needless to say, it took a while before I was able to drift back off to slumberland. Fortunately, the following evenings were more restful. That said, we had a great trip. Saw tons of wild life...including a black bear! We ventured off the valley floor and took a side trip up Tioga Road to Toulumne Meadows. Two words, CRAZY-beautiful. Wow! On our last day, we stopped off at Glacier Point to admire the amazing view and to check out the location where Tim and Tessa will exchange wedding vows next summer. Absolutely breathtaking! Thank you, Mother Nature. How blessed are we?! We wrapped up our adventure with a stop in at Mariposa Grove to peep the Giant Sequoias. Double Wow! If I had to pick, my favorite part of our vacation would be the short but steep hike near Toulumne Meadows back in to Dog Lake. Lunching on that pristine lake with no one around except for the flock of geese that flew overhead was SERIOUSLY amazing! Picturesque, if you will.

Yosemite:

Mirror Lake...


Tioga Pass:


Dog Lake...


Glacier Point:

Mariposa Grove:




Along the 41:

Thank you, Love, for such a thoughtful gift! I cherish every moment I get to spend in your presence. So looking forward to celebrating many more years of togetherness with you!

The rest of the photos from our trip can be viewed here.

Photos: Our Nor Cal Foothill Adventure :: September 2009

Last month I took Farilla on his inaugural trip to that place I called home for the first 18 years of my life. Rather than driving him around town to show off the many local strip malls my parents took us on a Nor Cal Foothill adventure which went a little something like this...

Knights Ferry, CA:

(The Mill)


(My nephew, Nicholas.)


(Longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi.)



Jamestown, CA:


Sonora, CA:

(Diamondback Grill)



Columbia State Historic Park:




Yosemite National Park:



(Half Done)

We had a great visit up north and we're very thankful for our my parents, our tireless tour guides. Our afternoon in Yosemite inspired us to immediately make reservations for a longer visit to The Park (which we did last week). Pics from our more recent Yosemite adventure to follow. For a more comprehensive look at our September Nor Cal trip click here.

Life: Happy Birthday Yosemite!

Today Yosemite celebrates it's 119 birthday as a National Park. Farilla and I were lucky enough to get up there recently for an afternoon visit a couple of weeks ago with my folks. The weather was nothing short of PERfect! Wow! I can't wait to go back later this month. Spending a few days with my Love in the crisp fall air surrounded by the Sierras will be nothing short of magic. Ahhh...

Life: Yo-Sem-It-E

Life: Yo-Sem-It-E
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

We had a seriously wonderful day today. The weather was perfect and we wrapped up the afternoon on a high note....drinks at The Ahwahnee! *hiccup*

Photos: Yosemite- Climbing/Hiking Half Dome 6/2008

Yep we did it...CJ, Emily and I survived our hike up to the top of The Rock.  It was a beautifully long day to say the least.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves.  Mad love to Team Half-Dumb.  Next time we get together for some family bonding I promise it will be in a location where massages are conducted by hot men named Sven and the champagne will be flowing....no squirrel-killing Lynx's, rattlesnakes, wildfires or rescue missions allowed!

16.4 miles (RT):


No off roading...


Nature's Technicolor:


The runner...


Authentic...


To The Top!


Other Half-Dumbs:


Where Boot Camp Paid Off:


Don't Look Down:


Half Dome Cairns:


Shadowed:


DOWN:

For a step by step visual tour of this hike including photos of my family as well as Mariposa Grove click here.

Travel: One Month And Counting...

Every Memorial Day weekend The Colonel heads off to Yosemite National Park with a group of old friends from High School.  Last year I had the pleasure of joining his crew.  Too much fun, indeed!  

I just received the above photo which he took this afternoon right before his final ascent to the top of Half Dome.  It's kind of tough to see but there are tiny little specks of people climbing the cables just beyond TC's head.

From TC:

"Left at 7:45, got up top about noon, back in camp at 5:00 -- and I was jamming the whole way. It's a long-long hike. And it was FREEZING up there! "

Congrats, Colonel!  TOTALLY inspiring!

In exactly one month I'll be heading up those same cables for the second time.  It's been too long...super excited, yo!!!

Green: Happy National John Muir Day!

In case you were wondering, my parents are to blame for my 'green' obsession.  Family vacations ALWAYS involved tents and fishing poles.  I knew what "Leave No Trace" and "Pack It In, Pack It Out" meant YEARS before going to Burning Man.  I grew up with an organic veggie garden in the backyard.  And my family recycled long before it became standard to put those big blue recycle bins out on the curb next to the trash bin.  

My parents were the first environmentalists that I ever knew.  And they taught me well.  My mother has EASILY read every John Muir book ever written. And my father has read at least half (he works a lot). In fact, I'm pretty certain that I knew who John Muir was WELL before George Washington. And growing up only a couple of hours away from Yosemite was like having the most amazing playground right in my backyard.  Yes, we played there often...

So today, on National John Muir Day, I raise my cup to Mr. Muir with much thanks and gratitude.  Without his efforts the wondrous majesty of Yosemite National Park would not exist as we know it.  Without John Muir it would sadly have been lost under a blanket of water much like the Hetch Hetchy Valley.

The mountains are calling and I must go. -John Muir 

I'll be climbing Half Dome again at the end of June...63 days and counting!

Photos: Yosemite National Park

This shot was snapped quickly while on a short and sweet hike upon arriving to Yosemite last May after our 6 hour drive from LA.  Still one of my faves from the set.  Good times!  

I've decided to climb Half Dome again this year...it's been a few years since my last trek up there so I'm due for another visit.  Can't wait!

Photos: Joss in Yosemite 8/2000

Joss in the Merced River, Yosemite Valley
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

Joss was one of a kind.

Despite all of his 'Alpha' faults I miss him madly.

He was my Boy!