I have had, I think, the most interesting couple of days—days that taught me about relationship, and about connection. I’ve witnessed desperation, depravity, sadness, hopelessness, all in the span of 48 hours. To say I am emotionally exhausted is, perhaps, a perfectly understated description…hence the coffee. I’ve always argued that you never have to travel …
Continue reading Coffee House Musings
So there’s this bridge, yeah? The Swinging Bridge [of death] strung like a tightrope over some pretty chill looking rapids and by chill I mean frigid not cool. My boyfriend’s running back and forth across it like a Circus Act and I’m just kind of lingering at one end, swiping the toe of my boot …
Continue reading A Laugh like Butterflies
I’m sitting at a picnic bench, boiling quinoa, because that’s the hipster thing to do. Also, I’m a millennial, so I might as well act the part. A patch nosed snake slithers by and, despite the lack of venom, I get a funny feeling running up the back of my spine. It doesn’t help that …
Continue reading The things we seek…
The past few days, I hiked the Backbone Trail. Not all 67 miles, but 37, which is enough if you ask me. And the whole point of this blog is to catalog my travels and sometimes, those travels aren’t so grand. In fact, they can be pretty pathetic. Because here’s the deal: I cried. I …
Continue reading Fear tastes different in the wild.
Carrizo plains saw a lot of tourists this season, thanks to California storms that quenched our thirsty soils and watered the lands. And in the last couple of weeks, it's seen a lot of trampled flower heads, which is a little frustrating. Not that I didn't trample a few myself from the overwhelming excitement of …
Continue reading My Greatest Loves, and Greatest Losses
McFarland, California. A small town of about 13,010, located in Kern County, straddling the 99. McFarland is known for a Cancer Cluster in the mid 80’s, which took the lives of over a dozen children, and its Cross Country Team, which ought to tell you something. When the best sport is running, you can’t help …
Continue reading One Rose in a One-Stop Town
I'm coming home from my wanderings. Briefly. I'm sure I'll head back out soon. I'm too restless not to. But what a week for it. Aside from Earth Day (if you haven't planted something yet, get on it), Friday was the birthday of my main man of the mountains, John Muir, a major advocate for …
Continue reading Chasing Waterfalls
Last October, seismologists discovered a second fault line running parallel to the San Andreas, cutting right through the Salton Sea. Which means things may get a lot shakier than they already are. And so, at the risk of having California's next great natural disaster placed on my shoulders, and at the plea of a couple …
Continue reading Post-Apocalyptic Poster Child: The Salton Sea Chronicles, Part 3
The Wild Heart of Life 