From West to East

This is a little out of order in terms of timing, but when I was on my way home to Michigan over Labor Day weekend, I had the coolest flight path back east. My flight from San Jose went to LA, and then cut up across the American west in a northeast direction. We flew over Las Vegas. I saw Lake Mead, I could just barely make out the Hoover Dam. I even saw my field area where I did my masters thesis! I just made out the western portion of the Grand Canyon as we continued on. Then we flew over Zion National Park (I'd recognize those red cliffs anywhere) and over either Cedar Breaks National Monument or Bryce Canyon NP. I think it was the latter but I couldn't tell for sure. We flew over Capital Reef NP and the eastern part of Canyonlands, and I saw Dead Horse Point State Park. I was looking for Arches NP, because I know it was right there, but I didn't see it for sure. I did however find the rock formation that the arches in Arches are made from and got a couple of shots of those. (They form what are called fins, or from up high they hind of look like plates resting in a drying rack. Then eventually the wind wears away the center and an arch is formed.)
After that is got cloudy and I couldn't see much, but isn't that still pretty great? I had a free aerial tour of most of the national parks in Utah, and quite an entertaining flight. My good camera was in the overhead bin, so I took all of these with my iPhone. Enjoy!

Morning Clouds over LA

Lake Mead

Zion NP

Bryce Canyon NP or Cedar Breaks NM

Capital Reef NP

Fins belonging to the same formation as rocks in Arches NP

Canyonlands NP

Canyonlands NP

Dead Horse Point State Park

Arches NP is in the background there somewhere!

Maybe part of Colorado NM?

Sunset over Michigan

Beautiful Bugs!

I thought I'd post a couple photos I took while I was on my camping trip in Northern California. There were a LOT of bees, and yellow jackets up there, but there were also some really beautiful "bugs". It truly is amazing how many weird and beautiful things you can find when you just take a second to look.

Springtime is Here!

A few shots from our beautiful Sunday morning hike up Saint Joseph's Hill.

On the Road to Tahoe

This weekend my BF and I went up to Lake Tahoe for a quick little overnight "get away". I was hoping for a little fall/snow, you know, to get it the holiday spirit. My expectations were exceeded a thousand fold! The drive up and back was hands down the most beautiful drive I have ever taken in the Sierra! There were gorgeous fall colors, and picture-perfect snow covered Chrismas trees (technically pines and redwoods;). And the weather was spectacular. We got a sample of pretty much everything you can imagine. On the drive up we had sunny skies to start, then cloudy skies, then rain, hail, light snow, heavy snow with HUGE snowflakes, more hail, more rain, fog, more snow. The drive ended with sunny skies and poofy white clouds over Lake Tahoe, and a beautiful blazing orange sunset.You know how they say life is a journey, not a destination? Well, this trip was a perfect example of that. The drive there and back was definitely the best part of the weekend! Here are a few of my best photos! Enjoy! (P.S. These were taken from a moving vehicle, and I was trying to avoid barfing as we careened around the mountains, so I apologize if some of them are a little blurry.)

Octoberfest

It's that time of year. The time when leaves start changing color and dusk comes sooner. It's a time when you start planning your Lief Ericksson/Octoberfest parties and deciding what or who you are going to be for Halloween. It's a time of cool grey days and everything pumpkin. Or so it should be.
October is starting out...warm for those of us who live in California. According to the Weather Channel it reached 95 degrees here at precisely 3:05 this afternoon. Lame. It's supposed to be fall now. Not summer! It's supposed to be brisk and breezy, and leaves are supposed to be...well, falling. What's the deal? Apparently nature has no accountability to my seasonal schedule.
All I have to say is I am glad I took advantage of the patches of Autumn I glimpsed while back home in Michigan. I'll admit the colors weren't at their peak, but I'm not one to complain about that kind of thing. When it comes to vacations, I am more of a "the glass is half full" kind of gal. So even though it might not have been apparent to the casual observer I still managed to find some fall:)

No matter what kind of weather you are having, I hope you all have a wonderful October!