GRand Canyon flashdance to thE future .

ON my way to the GRand CANyon

headed to the grand canyon after a night of sleeping in below freezing temperatures. i was in the mountains of colorado at a free camp site by a beautiful lake. there was no one around. i was scared. when the full moon came over the hills i thought a car had pulled up with its headlights pointed at the tent. i could have sworn the coyote howls were getting closer. and the noises the elk make ... twilight zone?

anyways i made it though the night. pictures to follow.

Taos, NEw MExico

With the last moments of Internet before departing on the next leg of the SOuthwestern Roadtrip, I bring you a small portion of the many photos I took during my week in Taos. At first Taos seemed a little rough around the edges compared to its highly polished neighbor, Santa Fe. But after sinking into its slower way of life & delving behind the scenes of its main tourist attractions, there is a very quirky little town with a lot to offer from Native American history to wild rivers to Americana thrift store shopping.

the not so humble dwelling/majestic adobe on the mountain side above taos. to reach it there is 1 mile of steep dirt road which made for an interesting adventure in the 2wd Pri Pri. especially in the rain.

yellow flowers coated the countryside

many old adobe churches

Taos Farmers Market: dahlia's

farmers markets are the best way to do a quick assessment of the local flavor
(sage figurines & decorated corn)

Taos Pueblo
(undercover picture taken during the "Blue Lake Celebration" we attended/no cameras allowed)

undercover picture taken of pueblo graveyard.

on the banks of the Arroyo Hondo
(fast forward an hour & i am swimming in my bra & undies)

this is a picture taken off the 2nd highest (620 ft), vertigo inducing suspension bridge in the USA. let me tell ya, when you walk across you stay far from the railing.
(Rio GRande)

patriotic side of the road craft seller

think 'A River Runs Through It' new mexico style
Pillar section of the Arroyo Hondo

A beautiful TAos summer storm

aftermath of the storm

on the way to Eagle NEst
(yellow wild flowers & yellow bug)

the timeless Eagle NEst diner
(very friendly toothless man in overalls)

CHristian missionary fishing friend

Big Arsenic SPrings hike, RIo Grande
(descends 780 ft in 1 mile)

the ENd

NAturally NEw Mexico...

ARizona adventures.

interesting place this USa is.
one of my main hopes for this exploration was to come home a proud American.in many ways i am very impressed by the motherland. Its natural beauty rivals the far away places in my dreams... but something even more noteworthy is just how bizarre everything "in between" is...i never realized how many maniac's are out there. between the common highway wanderer, the meth-heads & the true "Americans" - I am practically running home in my cowboy boots. i thought living "off the grid" was what i wanted...but really it is the concept of living off the grid...Whole Foods style? Note taken. I guess I will need to start working again. But until then I will continue to report what nice/weird/interesting things I have seen on my SOuthwestern Roadtrip.

Sedona, Arizona: insanely beautiful. All the New Age, vortex seeking, crystal loving things aside, you can't deny the intensity of this place. The beauty alone does enough to propel you into an alternate state of being.

I thought this was interesting: a Church built in between 2 rocks!
They call it the Chapel of the Holy Cross, 1956.
It was considered bold & daring for its time.

The only way Sedona would allow a McDonalds into town was if they could chose the color scheme. It is the only one in the nation without the traditional red & yellow. This is a side view but from the street it is completely anonymous without any logo.

Just north of Sedona, hiking the Oak Creek trail.

Navajo Nation! this is the land we gave the Native Americans in return.

SOUthwestern Roadtrip has begun!

Rooftop Garden Deluxe

MOdern Farmhouse, Woodstock.

(rick joy architects)

project number two (2)

Here are some progress shots of project number (2): the Park Residence landscape refresh, also known as replacing the potted plants in my Grandpa's backyard. I am thoroughly enjoying this experiment of sorts.

before:

after:

i like plants...

SUmmer ain't no bummer...

In all honesty, I was not looking forward to the shock of returning to Los Angeles after a year of camping amongst the natural landscapes of Australia. There were a few things I did to make sure this transition was as gentle as possible.

First, I dedicated the last 2 months to hard work in the deli department, 6 days a week, right up until my last week in Kununurra. I figured that in comparison nothing could be that bad. Second, Daddy Dearest came to "take me home", but not before a few adventures in the Far North Rain Forests of Australia & the south island of New Zealand. Bringing LA to the pacific was a very good idea; the acclimation had already started before I crossed state lines. Finally, I made sure that when I did get home I would have more projects lined up then could get done in one summer.

Now it is Week 2 LA and I have just completed my second project: building my Moms a raised bed VEggie Garden (area), of course with the assistance of big JOhn MEyer! The first project was cleaning out my closet, an equally difficult project but far less interesting. The garden is part of a larger backyard "refresh" so there is more work to come...but I am really excited because this is my first VEggie GaRden (area) & it has proved my love for horticulture...or is it landscaping...or maybe it is just manual labor??

! here we are building 4'x4'x1' redwood v.bed walls. we uSed redwood because it is one of the most water-resistant woods & will take longer to erode !

! i got to rip up 1 ton of grass all by myself. but then we had to wheel barrow it down a bunch of stairs into Johns truck...and the worst was disposing of it at the steamy garbage dump (my first time wearing one of those white workers masks) !

! This is some kind of black out material that prevents weeds from growing !

! At the bottom of each bed we put a layer of gravel for oxygenation & then a layer of the black material !

! nExt was the potting soil & fertilizer !

! Once the beds were filled, Madame came to plant her herbs & Veggies !

! tHen came time for the Salmon Bay pebbles. John & I moved 3,000 lbs of these in two hours. my back still hurts !

! now for the finishing touches !

! beauteous maximus !

! behold: 3 types of heirloom tomatoes, zucchinis, hot chili's, sweet red peppers, sage, rosemary, thyme, chives, mint, basil, LAvendar !