Place of Peace, Power, and Gratitude

For certain, I find inspiration in the illustrative, passion-filled words of John Muir, the master naturalist, the whispering-to-the-wee plants botanist, the glaciologist, the avid and skilled hiker, the potent political activist, the great appreciater of His Creation.  His words moved Presidents and led to the creation of National Parks, ‘America’s Best Idea.’  But even Mr.

Touristy Cozumel Courtyard

Puerta Maya

Caribbean Coast

Cozumel, Mexico.

God’s Garden

After Great Sand Dunes National Park, we descended from the mountains, stopped at Pueblo Colorado (Pass Key 50 West restaurant!)  We visited Garden of the gods in Colorado Springs before turning towards home. View of Pikes Peak from Garden of the Gods. Praying hands in God’s Garden. Spectacular rock formations…reminds me of Bryce and Zion

Colorado Sandbox

After visiting the Earthship community in New Mexico, we drove to Great Sand Dunes National Park near Alamosa, Colorado.  It was a beautiful day to climb the dunes!  Two out of three of us climbed “high dune” the 650 ft dune visible from the parking lot that only appears to be the tallest in the

Bryce in the Snow, a Nice Wintery Show

Along the long road from Missouri to San Francisco and back in February, we visited Yosemite, Death Valley, and Zion National Parks.  For the next National Park, we took a long 1.1 mile tunnel leading out of Zion Canyon and made our way to Bryce Canyon National Park.  The view of snow-accented hoodoos from several

Entering Zion

The last few weeks have been busy.  I successfully defended my thesis, “Evaluating the Environmental Benefits of Green Retaining Walls.”  My family came up this weekend to see me graduate with a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences. So…these are more photos from the Western road trip in February.  I saw Yosemite and Death Valley

A Jacket in Death Valley

As I mentioned in a previous post, Reminiscing with John Muir, our trip to California during the winter meant we could visit several cool places without hoards of people, traffic, or heat.  After visiting Yosemite National Park, we made our way back to southeastern California and made a long detour to Death Valley National Park. 

Reminiscing with John Muir

The Yosemite Valley! So this roadtrip encompassed towing a trailer from Missouri to San Francisco to move a family member.  As the young, spry one out of the group, I had the privilege of driving most of the way.  We didn’t even spend much time in Frisco, except to cross the golden gate bridge and

Fair Weather Fuel Economy

The best way to save fuel, aside from purchasing a fuel efficient vehicle, is learning to improve fuel economy in your current vehicle by ‘fixing the nut behind the wheel.’  Minimizing fuel consumption takes work and knowing the quirks of your specific vehicle.  Luckily, as the warmer months approach, fuel economy automatically improves (decreased warm