Charlotte and I are off for a big road trip to various national parks. Our first stop is Zion. After a long drive from Santa Cruz and a peaceful hotel night just outside the park, we head to the Angels Landing hike bright and early. The only problem is that it’s actually dark outside when we start hiking. Let’s just say we’ve got a few switchbacks to traverse before getting to the top of Scout Lookout. ...

There are memories now Of a long lost love Of a passion who could have been But never was Resting in her eyes You can see the place where His kisses Left a burned out hole In her heart Fragile like a robin’s egg So nurtured so loved But it shattered on the ground She held her face so daintily once But no more Now she hangs it low As if it is too heavy To hold up on her own Once she had a fire That burned in her eyes But now all that is left Are the blackened coals Left behind Smoldering and decaying Do you know her name Once she was love Once she was loved Once she was a lover But now she is no one Love had carved out her heart And left her empty inside Now she is a shell Of her beauty Of her spirit That along with love Ever slowly died

So it is official now, I have had this blog up and running for a whole year. This time last year I decided that I would publish my own work and share what I thought and how I felt with the world. I just wanted to take a quick look back at some of my favorite works I have done, photographs and writing a like. Of course there was the Shoe Tree from last years road trip that we found out in Oregon. The dawn of the creeper photos early on in the beginning of the blog. Who could forget the somewhat haunting video of Hood doing his she wolf performance. One of my favorites, the baby shoe gangster. ...

The colors in the rainforest are stunning. The water and moisture bring out the color in everything making something ordinary into the most extraordinary experiences.

There were some of the most amazing looking people at the Lady Gaga concert at HP Pavilion. She was one of the first people we saw. She had on these interesting leggings, booty shorts/ basically underwear, and was smoking a cigarette. And just as I took a picture she walked into the picture position; with the do not enter caution tape right over her crouch. I don’t think that could be any more perfect. What can I say but DO NOT ENTER!

I have yet again found myself Standing in front of the old wooden door Once it was beautiful But now no more It is broken and withered Destroyed by age But still I remember the time When behind that door A life was held Born and raised Someone lived behind that closed door But now they are gone Leaving the door wide open To let all evil inside It is empty now Only filled with time The only remnant left The old wooden door Long ago left behind It is hanging now By one rusty hinge Hidden in over grown grasses Blowing slowly in the wind I can’t remember the child’s name Who once lived behind this door No memories remain I try to remember But there is nothing left Just the old wooden door And a forgotten address

I always call chipmunks chippies now from a summer of hearing them being called that up in Northern Michigan. It is almost instinctual but after I saw it I always stop and wonder, did I really just call that chipmunk a chippy? Then I remember, yes, I have spent way to long using Yooper slang. Anyway, this cute little chippy was in Yellowstone out by the confluence of the Yellowstone River and the Llamar River. He was definitely the smallest chipmunk I have ever seen. You can sort of tell by the proportion of that piece of grass to his entire body. I just love how he is precariously perched in the bush just munching away. ...

My mom and I went on a beautiful hike at Mt. Rainier, Washington. We went through a field of wild flowers like these ones, along with many lupines, and others that I cannot begin to name. Flowers light up my life 😀