Six months away from the desert and I dearly long for the burning sun and the rugged adventures along the Colorado River. A summary of vagabond life between jobs…
Part I: After the desert, I ventured through Yosemite National Park and was awed by the Lower Falls. Beautiful places; the Tetons, Bear Tooth’s Highway, a rustic stay in Cooke City, MT, and a final stop in Portland, OR where I rode my bicycle in complete bliss for two months. I left Portland with an Aplomado Falcon exploding in flight up my leg. Bettie Marie at Icon Studios took my sketch and made it stunning, then she delighted me for two and half hours of delicious pain. The Aplomado Falcon is the last endangered falcon in North America and my first bird project. The experience snowballed me into a love of birds, wilderness, and passion for traveling.
Part II: Road Trip Number TEN. A complete disaster of adventure from Portland to Delaware with a southern pit stop in New Orleans. The last bittersweet night in Portland was spent listening to an angel sing in a candy bus (yes, a bus o’ candy) Onward to L.A. where my fellow traveling companion, Ants, and I deliriously pass out in my car in a Denny’s parking lot. White Sands greets our bleary eyes on day two, where we practice acro yoga. From there, we drive clear across Texas after almost getting arrested by Border Patrol. Over twenty-four hours of insane driving, we rest our weary (and lucky) souls at a Waffle House.
New Orleans is a blur of Bourbon St festivities; the smell of sin & alcohol, gritty blues, fish bowls full of boozey concoctions, and the masses of stumbling bodies. It is time to head home, to Delaware and make a holiday entrance.
Part III: Delaware love. A few months home can make traveling again hard. Friends I’ve known half my life, great sisters, and more laughter than my abs can handle. A few more weeks until I depart westward for the breathtaking Sierras, where I will be chasing chickadees (among other feathered friends, of course).
