we've moved

moved the blog to a private one. if you're interested in following me over, send me an email at sharronis@gmail.com and i'll add you - as long as you're not another "anonymous" or other unidentified flying object. peace!

happy birthday, ceej!

love you with all my heart!

composite of road trip 2011

still haven't gotten around to any better categorization of the photos from this summer's trip but butch hancock's song, 'thank god for the road" at least got me to put some slides together . . .

hope this works. click here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vdz-zGpiCY

getting there

but it sure as heck is going to take awhile at this rate . . .

in the meantime

7 september 2011 - attempt at recollecting

so, the first photo, once again, is one i took back after returning home. drove out to hamilton's pool (now a state park). when i went to college here in austin, hamilton's pool was on private property, no paved parking lot, no paved road heading in . . . we just found our way by stacks of stones left at the important turning spots along the trail or ribbons tied to branches, etc. well, now it is a state park, costs $10 to get in, maintained trail to both hamilton's pool and to the pedernales although the latter is not so well maintained which is nice. the day i went, i was the only one at that spot on the pedernales for over an hour - didn't run into anyone until i was leaving. i went to see the pool out of curiosity - it was like a mini-Riviera in a way. sun umbrellas, people painting, the beautiful green water . . . of course the cave and springs dripping from above weren't reminiscent of the riviera - just the rest of the setting.

things change - people change - that's the only thing that seems to be for certain.


















i'm not sure when this photo was accidentally taken and i didn't see it until now but the reflection in my glasses looks like an angel kneeling. my whole trip felt as if it was led by angels - perhaps this was just one of them.














i honestly cannot say, without the date stamp, where this photo of the sky was taken. there were so many beautiful skies throughout this trip, in fact i fell in love with the sky - the morning sky, the rainy skies, the night sky, the sunset and sunrise . . . there were times i had to tell myself to look down before i fell over or into something. as close as i was to so many canyons and along steep climbs, looking down was a bit important. sometimes i just had to sit down so i could look up without risking a fall. i think this particular sky was one of the mornings in nebraska but i can't confirm it until i get the photos in chronological order from cory. still, it's important to me to go through these photos a little at a time until i get those from him because so much of it is seeming so far away.















this photo is from the santa cruz mountains - way off in the distance you can see the pacific. i didn't do a very good job of photographing it. the sky was also amazing this day and it was my last day with my friends judy and bert. i really didn't want to leave - it was one of the very best parts of my trip. i had only planned to be there one day but it turned into 3 or 4 and it was heavenly - both the time i got to spend catching up with them and the hikes we took. precious.


















another 'uh oh' - i think it was near chama but will have to wait for the date to accompany it. and, again, the photo doesn't do the sky justice. not sure any photos do but i've certainly seen photos that come closer to doing so than this one does.


















this was in south dakota - somewhere SE of spearfish. i'll remember the name one of these days. it was amazingly beautiful and no one had even told me about it. just like a magical day in northern california around a place called taylorville. some of the best kept secrets.


















wyoming. cloud peak was road 21. i'm glad i took it because a) it was the one i really wanted to do the most even though i could only do about 10 miles of it and b) every road after it was closed with signs similar to the above or flat out snowdrifts still covering the road. i'd never seen the "certified weed-free" sign before. there were lots of signs i'd never seen before on this trip. if i'd stopped for them all, i'd never have made it past south dakota if even that far.



cloud peak as i'm first heading in. no other cars at the trail head. no one else on the entire walk of 10 miles. i had my bear spray even though it wasn't a grizzly zone. just to be on the safe side. it was such an amazing hike. snow, snow melt, frozen creeks, partially frozen creeks, lakes, cloud peak in the distance throughout much of the hike. glorious. the ranger reminded me that, as it was such a beautiful, warm day, i needed to pay attention to creeks on my way in as they'd probably be a lot larger on my way out with more and more snow melting. good advice and it paid off not only here but throughout the trip. also to unlatch my pack before crossing any creek of any momentum and, where possible, to go ahead and throw my pack to the other side of the stream altogether. i think i'm ready to get back on the road.

6 september 2011 a/k/a jogging the memory

the photo above was actually taken after i returned to austin. i took a hike to the pedernales (area now under fire evacuation orders). even then it was dry as a bone although the pedernales still had some water. i took this shot of this little plant surviving despite the drought. to me, it looks like some kind of squash. i know the people who were native to this area crew a lot of squash and maize . . . wondering if it was a holdout.
















i don't remember exactly where this photo was - definitely not texas. thinking maybe new mexico or as i was leaving the hike along the continental divide.


















the old continental divide trail between cumbres pass and the peak in colorado. also the spot where just moments after i took this photo, all hail broke loose. i found a tree - not the tallest, not the shortest, somewhere in the middle and hunkered down. i even made a quickie video in case it was my last. in addition to the hail which was of a pretty good size and coming down very quickly and was hard as hail (sorry, it just works too well), there was also lightning. i had to put on every piece of cold-weather gear that i had in my backpack. at one point i thought it had cleared enough so i went to the end of the trail (where it's very light in the photo above) where the meadow began. as soon as i stepped out onto the meadow saying to myself, "i wonder if it's safe enough yet or if i should hunker down a bit longer" there was an enormous clap of thunder followed by a bolt of lightning. question answered and it was another 20 minutes or so before i ventured out again. i was so certain i was probably going to come across a momma bear and her cubs (thankfully no grizzlies in that area) - the meadow was so incredibly beautiful with wildflowers and berries and snow . . . but no bears. only two mountain bikers who came up behind me about 20 minutes before i got to the top. they stopped and visited for a while and then they took off then i didn't see them again until they were on their way back. this time they stopped and said, 'by the way, where did you come from? we didn't see you on the trail up here.' i told them i'd taken the old continental divide trail (they'd rerouted it a few years ago because so many trees had died the park service found it unsafe). they asked me how i found it and i told them an elderly gentleman who lived in the area told me how to find it. they asked me to tell them and so i did. i wonder if they found it/ took it on their way back. it was so so so so so beautiful!


















me as i'm coming out of "hunker down" mode. there were no good hair days on this trip. not one.


















moi - almost to the bottom of the grand canyon hike


















grand canyon, north rim














erosion along the chama river, new mexico. the river was also flooding in many areas and about to flood here.














both the photo above and below are from ghost ranch in new mexico

































ok - this is terrible. i really need to get the photos that cory's sorting by date. i think this is near ouray, colorado but it could be wyoming.














outside hope, nm


















yosemite














more yosemite (yosemite was amazing. simply amazing. and to think i wasn't going to go there because of the crowds. i am so glad my friend bert talked me into it.)














crater lake














lassen crater - california. this is also where i was so anxious to get on my hike once i got my campsite that i actually forgot to turn off the prius. it was dead as a doorknob (where did that expression come from?) by the time i got back to it (4 hours later). thankfully after a couple of hours i was able to get it to start again. i'm not sure AAA responds to calls in the middle of nowhere.


















mon ami, jacob. the virtuoso. at a little (wonderful) get together my friend laurie and her husband corbett had while i was in eugene.


















i'm pretty positive this is wyoming but i need the date of the photo to confirm.


















cannot remember but believe it is wallace, idaho





























cloud peak, wyoming (bad shot i know)



















lewis & clark forest, washington state














cloud peak, wyoming. one of the best hikes of the trip.















lake ogallala, nebraska
it's hard to get my head around the fact that 31 years ago, my ex-husband and i were married. but then, when i remember that my oldest son just turned 29, i realize i haven't done the math wrong but where did the time go? unbelievable.

in my continued effort to get some of the photos from my trip posted, here goes . . .

how can it be september?

austin, reimer's ranch














ghost ranch, abiquiu, new mexico


















lundy lake, just outside of yosemite


















resting, somewhere along the _______ trail on the north rim of the grand canyon


















think maybe REI will subsidize my trip?














i am not sure but i believe this was near the vermillion cliffs














continental divide, colorado side of cumbres pass











somewhere NW of chama, new mexico















darn those incredible cliffs . . . new mexico? utah? arizona?














ouray, colorado.














grand canyon, north rim


















to be determined . . .














ghost ranch














house rock valley, vermillion cliffs


















somewhere in wyoming


















more grand canyon


















and more wyoming


















cloud peak, wyoming (yes, that is a mountain behind the clouds)














lake ogallala, nebraska. "danger falling dirt" or "danger falling rock" was soon a sign i was on the right path














abiquiu again, i believe.


. . . it was just july 28 yesterday.

the month of august, 2011 gets the award for "month passing the fastest." there must be some kind of a vortex, or black hole, or other factor that made time move forward exponentially - maybe it's tied to space junk??

cory, bless his heart, is sorting all of my photos electronically by date and device. i don't know how in the world he is doing it but it's amazing and i'm extremely grateful. i've done a terrible job of getting my photos from the trip posted and an even worse job of trying to put some kind of continuity to them. i had no excuse up until now, really, and now i have the best excuse in the book - a consulting position right here in texas that is about to keep me very, very busy. i am really looking forward to it and i am so very glad that i will be able to stay close to "home" - at least for a while longer. working hasn't been the issue - working close to austin at something i love was.

in keeping with the "just post some photos from the trip and put text with them later" theme, here goes.