February 5, 2017

It was just over an hour away. The drive took us deep into the mountain forests. We had to slow to a crawl in order to control the car around the unrelenting hairpin turns up and down the hillside. 

The weather has been unusually wet lately. We all rejoice in the rain – the drought is still a danger – but up here in the mountains, the soft earth is also a risk.

We slowed several times to navigate a two-lane road that had been reduced to half its width. The missing lane having tumbled down the hill, taking pavement, mud, rocks and trees with it.

When we arrived, the sky was still spitting down on us, but the redwoods provided a canopy that kept us mostly dry. 

We'd only planned for a short visit – we can do that now: jaunt off into the mountains for a short walk. Still we saw trees with a trunk base larger than my large suburban master bedroom. We saw small creeks rushing with water and heard the calls of different birds and bugs amidst it all.

This really is another planet. I never knew being an alien could be so mesmerizing, so boundlessly mystical and magical – even for an east coast cynic.

January 29, 2017

we didn't know how to turn off our running motors. they were echoing loudly, idling in an empty garage after all the news, the social media, the fear, the protests.

we aren't helping others when we're simply trembling in panic. but it feels like we are abandoning those who cannot choose – those who are trapped at airports, refugee camps, courthouses – when we say 'to go on, i might need a break.'

it is a privilege to be able to take a break. to take a breath. to be able to choose to do so.

it is also restorative to be in nature, to check in with loved ones, to reassemble ourselves so that we are resilient tomorrow. 

we went for a hike at a nearby reservoir. we sweat and climbed, and then stopped and looked. 

you know how some things just don't translate to photographs? you can never get a good smart picture of a bird flying or someone on the horizon. scale just doesn't work out. well, same thing goes for mountains sometimes.

we drove with some friends from our home to tahoe. maybe you already knew about it, but the magnitude of those mountains are unreal. i felt like i was on mars – just so other-worldly. and the best i can do is show you a run i skied. (it was awesome.) 

On New year's day, we were so jet-lagged that we awoke at 4:30am, all bright-eyed and optimistic. my wife found ano neuvo state park on route 1, just north of santa cruz.

we drove one hour and paid for a 'tour', unsure if we really needed it. but part of the park is restricted and the only way in is with a guide. best $7 spent this year thus far. weather was perfect, views stunning, and we saw enormous elephant seals battling it out, trying to out-do one another before the females arrived for mating season. i have to figure out how to save gifs so i can show ya.