sitting by the merced river

Long-time Yosemite naturalist Carl Sharsmith was once asked what he would do if he only had a day to see Yosemite. "Madam," he replied, "I'd sit by the Merced River and cry."

 

I got to see as much as I could in two days at Yosemite. It was not enough time. I did manage to

sit by the Merced river for an hour one day. I will never forget the total feeling of peace surrounding me and the sweet smell in the air from the lupine wildflowers nearby.

 

 

I can't wait to go back to Yosemite someday and dip my feet in that cold mountain water of the

Merced river.

xo laney

redwood coast: part one

I'm still working on pictures from our trip last summer to California. I've been meaning to get back to them for some time now...soooo here goes. These were all taken on our trek up the 101 through the Redwood Coast. I loved snapping pics at all the kitschy tourist stops along the way... and believe me there were a lot of them. We had planned on camping, but because of the rain and being super tired we decided to stay in motels both nights. The first night we stayed in Arcata. We had the best ever humboldt grass fed burgers and hemp ale at Humboldt Brews and then spent the rest of the evening walking through the park and around downtown. I saw a cat sleeping in a record store window which I thought was so cool that they let a cat live in the store. I wish they had been open.

I have two more parts to this Redwood Coast journey coming soon! Lots of photos from Klamath, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, and Hidden Beach.



trinidad state beach

On our journey up the 101 we stopped at Trinidad State Beach. It was the best rest stop on the whole

trip. I loved the fishy ocean smell mixed with the earthy smells of the forest. I've only been to tropical beaches before so this was all new to me. Like most of the stops on our trip this one was short, but I did

manage to get a few shots that I liked.

napa valley

After our visit in San Francisco we headed north across the Golden Gate Bridge (that I didn't get to see because it was so foggy) to Santa Rosa to stay a night with my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Roger. That afternoon

they took us to Napa Valley to go wine tasting and have dinner at the Calistoga Inn. Napa is beautiful.

I wish we could have stayed longer.

Haight St.

On our second day in San Francisco we got up early and headed down to Haight St. I had wanted

to see this area for years. I'm a deadhead. We had some monster breakfast burritos then spent the rest of our time walking around taking photos. Our schedule only allowed a few hours here so I'm hoping to spend more time in this area if we visit again.



Hidden Beach

These were taken on our roadtrip to California last July. We spent hours at this beach. I couldn't

believe that we had it all to ourselves the whole time. All photos were taken with a toy Holga camera

and some expired film. I have lots more from our trip coming soon. Hope everyone is having a great new year so far!