Here's a collection of pics from over the summer. This first grouping is from our travels North toward Ohio and Indiana.
Butterfly in Eureka Springs, AR -- spied while walking around the town.
Abby showing me her thistle she plucked from the ground.
Minford, OH - My Mom's cousin took the kids fishing at a pond at a friend's farm. He was so patient with the kids. They fished for hours and mostly caught trees and reeds. ;) Janae was the only one to catch some fish -- she caught 3 -- Ashton wasn't very keen on that.
Converse, IN -- Entertaining ourselves with the simple pleasures of life one morning, while waiting for my Aunt to return from work.
In-between road trips, I had two days to myself to do laundry, re-pack and re-charge. One afternoon and evening, I lazed by a pool until the sun set. The next evening, I went off for a drive through the Hill Country to a place called Enchanted Rock. It's a huge mound of granite that is simply fun to climb and explore upon. I hung out until the sun set, yet again, then drove home on small barren roads with the windows down, the moon-roof open and my music turned up loud.
My wide expansive views that I'm so fond of...
What's not depicted here is the cluster of needles protruding from one of my fingers that I had accidentally collected from a nearby cactus, and the ant that made it's way down the back of my pants to a very precarious location before stinging, causing me to jump up in haste. ;)
Having fun playing around with the light.
Feeling great!
After laying back to just soak in the sound of the wind rushing round, the warmth of the sun and the sights of the birds flying above, I felt connected and renewed.
wildlife
lots of granite
a view toward the smaller dome
Loving the wind rushing about -- it felt like powerful embraces
Playing with the sun again -- allowing it to light upon my cheek like a warm kiss.
The silhouettes of some of our live oaks -- this one is obviously dead, since it bears no leaves, but it's beautiful, nonetheless.
Feeling empowered and free, yet connected to ALL.
Found this laying on my bed when I returned home after my second night out with the setting sun.
This next series of pics are from our second road trip out West. The first day's drive was one of the longest -- 11 hours! Luckily, I made sure to leave early enough, so we would have time to play at one of our favorite destinations -- White Sands, NM.
Just some natural beauty the kids and I spied, while outside in my Grandparent's back yard. They live in Sun City West, AZ. It's a desert area, so most of the landscaping are desert plants. This first pic is one that Ashton took of a dove's nest.
This was my favorite day of driving from the entire series of trips! I just wished that I could have pulled over and painted the sky and landscape a hundred times that day. I settled for a couple pullovers to quickly rush out and snap a scene and lots of slowdowns as I tried to capture something from within my vehicle on long stretches of lonely roads. There is something magical about this part of the world to me.
Entering Monument Valley, AZ
Exiting Monument Valley, UT
We wound up stuck in the middle of hundreds of miles of canyon lands with no civilization in sight and only a half a tank of gas remaining. So, when I saw a small outpost in the middle of Glen Canyon advertising gas, I stopped, irregardless of the price. The store wasn't open, so I couldn't pick up a road map, but the gas pumps worked.
I picked this up while in Eureka Springs, AR, but it was definitely more well-suited for the vibes of this drive through the desert.
I finally found an open gas station, and a road map! No more depending on Google maps, which mapped me up one of the scariest roads I've ever driven on.
Our first morning in Green River, UT, at my cousin's home, all the kids wound up sprawled out on her kitchen floor drawing and coloring. This is a cartoon cat that Ashton drew for my cousin's daughter.
A water feature at the neighborhood playground was a must on this very HOT day.
My cousin's husband took a day off from work to join us as we headed out to some nearby famous Utah attractions. The first we visited was Goblin Valley.
My cousin, Hope, who has the amazing soulful voice, and her family -- Tim, husband and Olivia "Liv", daughter.
The next location we visited was Arches National Park -- an absolute MUST! It's gorgeous!
Balanced Rock in Arches National Park
The Sand Arch was nestled in between soaring slabs of red sandstone, which had weathered away into a cool carpet of sand beneath our feet.
A great place to end our day after being out in the hot desert ALL day long.
Ashton and Liv -- she's a doll
Storms would collect and gather over the mountains and poor out over the surrounding desert and canyon lands every afternoon and evening. It made for interesting scenes.
After our time in Utah, we headed East for Colorado. We ran into temps that were roughly 50 degrees cooler, while driving some 10,000 feet above sea level through the Rocky Mountains. It was refreshing!
My 22 year-old sister wanted to take us to a "cool" spot on her day off. We wound up at a place called Graffiti Falls -- it's named this for obvious reasons. The water was really cold and clear, but it was disappointing to note how much trash and dangerous sharp objects littered the entire area. The kids had fun exploring, nonetheless. Afterward, we drove into the nearby village of Manitou Springs for lunch and a little walking exploration.
My "baby" sister - Christian.
My Puerto Rican sister-in-law, Naomy, and one of my nephew's, Alan.
My other nephew, Matteo, sitting at a bar alongside Abby. They decided to people watch, while they ate.
Just one of the vibrant murals that adorned exteriors of shops.
An American castle. ;)
