After driving through the dark until it was quite late, we finally found a spot and set up camp with a little help from our headlights. This is the forest where my husband and I worked together for a summer, and he worked for several years. He knew his way around, even in the dark after so long! And we are both experienced in “dispersed camping.” In the morning, things looked pretty good . We noticed that there had been elk in the area.
Our drive from the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the south rim was incredibly beautiful. This is the high desert of Northern Arizona at its best: late in the day, with the lowering sun coloring the mesas. We crossed the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry, then made our way south, in the light of the moon. It was crazy trying to find a place to camp on the national forest in the dark. A huge elk appeared on the side of the road at one point. Tomorrow, I’ll show you where we ended up!
After spending time on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park admiring the view, taking photos, taking showers (hooray!), and dining in the lodge, we headed north again, and then east, hoping to get through the desert during the cooler part of the day and camp near the South Rim. More about our moonlight drive tomorrow!
I see faces in these rock formations. When we get to the South Rim, I will have some shots of the Colorado River. But not yet! We did not go into the canyon. It’s way too hot in the summer. It was warm enough on the north rim, at 8,500 feet.
For now, here is what happens when a controlled burn becomes uncontrolled. This was about two years old, according to someone at the lodge. Yuck! This is the Kaibab National Forest, north of the park.
To balance the unsightly with the sublime, one of my favorite trees: aspen!
My husband and I began our coast to coast tour twenty-five years after we first met while working for the US Forest Service near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I grew up in California, and he grew up in New York, so it was either luck or fate that initially took us there.
This time we began our visit to my favorite national park on the north rim. I love the view to the south of the San Francisco Peaks, which are just north of Flagstaff, from across the canyon.
After driving East through the Nevada desert, this is what was waiting on the other side of the state: Great Basin National Park. Wow! Very beautiful. We have been here twice, once with our children and then just the two of us. You could spend weeks here and still find more to see.
Traveling in a car for days on end can be a challenge to the patience of the driver and passengers. You have to want it bad to embark on a lengthy car trip. It helps to have a routine.
On our trip across the country, my husband did the driving and I did the navigating. This worked out well most of the time. I wanted to stop more, and he wanted to drive more. We compromised.
This is one of my favorite shots. Highway 50 through the Nevada desert is so remote, and so beautiful, especially at the beginning and end of the day. Visualize this the next time you’re stuck in traffic!
A few years ago, I took a couple of printmaking classes. It was a lot of work, and great fun! However, there always seemed to be leftover ink (oops!), and I didn’t want to waste it. So I ran my plates through the press until the ink was used up, and saved the papers with random patterns, thinking that one day I might use them for collage.
Well, that day has arrived! I wanted to use the same still life items I already used for watercolor as the subject matter for my collage, and then compare my results. Well, I used some pears, an apple, and a couple of tangerines. Close enough.
When I did my student teaching a couple of ages ago, my main placement was in Kindergarten. We read Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” I was impressed with his artwork. My still life collage has already been influenced by that experience. Here is my literal “drawing board.” This is going to be a lot of fun!
I’m thinking I really should make them dance in a video for YouTube. I haven’t done anything like that since high school, and back then it was super 8 film…guess the technology has changed just a bit…it might be time to try out the Flip camera I have lying around here somewhere…
I began the story in pictures of our trip across the country at the end. Now I will back up, and go to the beginning, because I think it will make more sense. My husband and I left the California coast in the middle of June 2008, only a few days before a multitude of fires broke out in the northern part of the state, caused by a rash of dry lightning. I was not sorry to miss all the smoke that inundated our area, but there was still some lingering to greet us upon our return!
The first night of our vacation was spent camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Truckee, California. It was quite chilly still, but beautiful. We had the Forest Service campground mostly to ourselves. I can feel the crisp morning air on my face, and the pungent pine needles and bark prickling my nostrils, when I look at these photos!
It wouldn’t be January unless someone, somewhere, was baking cookies! Here in coastal California, it’s raining like it hasn’t rained yet this winter. Definite cookie-baking weather.
I took the recipe from the rolled oats box, and tweaked it. Here’s what I ended up with:
Applesauce Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9″ by 13″ glass baking dish. Combine 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola oil), 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. In a small separate bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add to the first mixture and blend well. Add 3 cups oats and 1 cup chocolate chips. Mix well. Spread evenly in baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Cool. Cut into 24 2″ squares. This recipe can be adapted in many different ways with your favorite oatmeal cookie ingredients!
When You're Bored 