joshua tree
This year there will be more camping. I have declared it so, and so it shall be. We started the year with a trip to Joshua Tree. We arrived a bit late for a holiday weekend but by some great fortune were able to snag a secluded spot behind a boulder. It was one of the quietest campgrounds I’ve ever been to. It was comfortably warm in the sun during the day and quite chilly at night, though not unbearably so. We ate lots of camp food, split logs, did some rock climbing and made s’mores around the fire with our friends Jenn and Scott.
The thing I love the most about going camping, besides the quiet, is being able to come home and see the place you live with a new perspective. This applies to most travel I suppose, but there’s something particular about car trips. You spend all this time examining new places, trying to understand them from the outside. It’s easy to keep those inquisitive lenses on for just awhile when you return to try and see what your home is like from a different angle.
Mostly though I just like the quiet. The quiet and the dark and the stillness. There are no pressures on you to do anything at all except feed yourself and perhaps explore if you are so inclined.
This was the third national park we’ve visited in the past year. I’d love to say that I’d like to visit them all, but with 8 in Alaska, 3 in Hawaii, and several on other various islands, visiting all 59 seems quite daunting. Perhaps we’ll just start with the 9 parks in California (that makes us 1/3 of the way there already). Yes, I like numbers. This is something you should know about me.
more sequoia camping
I’ll share just a few more things from our camping trip. You can see more photos that Shawn posted on little vegan planet.
Now let’s be honest, one of the most fun things about camping is camp food. Shawn did a lot of preparation for our trip and even found us vintage Girl Scout and Boy Scout utensil kits. He also got us some LunchSkins
Random fun thing from this trip: we took part in a travel study. A park volunteer handed over a few gps units which we toted around with us and returned when we left the park. Not sure what they’ll be used for, but I thought it was fun nonetheless.
We made lots of s’mores. It’s always a struggle to find vegan graham crackers but Shawn came up with a superior solution: SPECULOOS COOKIES. Paired with dark chocolate and dandies vegan marshmallows I can easily say they were the most enjoyable s’mores I’ve had to date.
It was just so tremendously beautiful, I really just can’t wait to go back into the woods. Where should we adventure to next?
sequoias
I have wanted to go camping in the sequoias for years and this weekend Shawn and I finally made the trek up north. To say it is a magical place is an understatement. It is sincerely one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Being in the presence of massive trees that have been living for centuries had a great effect on me, especially seeing the destruction humans have caused. I’m thankful that at least the trees within the national park are protected and that conservation efforts continue.
Beyond that, it was really nice to get out into nature and camp for the weekend. Sometimes it’s a great relief to be totally self sufficient and without cell phone service. I loved being surrounded by little creatures and birds all weekend. I even spotted a flying squirrel in a tree above our campsite one night. We cooked some delicious camp meals, did some hiking and really just enjoyed ourselves. I honestly can’t wait to go back. It really solidified for me how important it is to be able spend more time in nature; it makes me feel like a more complete human being.
I’ll have some more to share later in the week, but for now, check out one of the largest trees on the planet.
salton sea part 2
Here are a few more shots from out Salton Sea camping trip a few months ago (here is part one). Summer is sliding away and though the weather will surely stay warm into September, we’ve been spending as much time outdoors as possible, savoring these longer days. We’re planning another camping trip for the end of summer and I couldn’t be more excited.
Shawn and I have been hiking a lot more, trying to balance all our movie watching with some activity. So far it’s been really great. It’s nice to wake up my muscles which have been on an extended vacation it seems. It doesn’t feel like exercise though, since it’s fairly relaxing. Oddly enough, I find that I’ve been having much more vivid, and often scary, dreams since we started. Perhaps I’m just sleeping deeper?
Last night we saw a pack of coyotes on the trail. They were far away enough that it wasn’t frightening, but it’s nice to be reminded that there are still a few wild things in this city.
salton sea photos part 1
It’s been ages since we went to the Salton Sea now, and I’ve only just gotten the film developed from the trip.* It makes me want to visit again, but it will have to wait for cooler days. I’m particularly fond of this prize winning cat. Also, I find it quite amusing that the accidental light leak is a look that so many iphone photo apps are trying to recreate. Film has its magic, but quickly capturing a moment has its perks as well. There are still a few more photos for another day.
*Actually Shawn took it in finally so I wasn’t even the responsible one here. Five months later, that film was just sitting on the counter taunting me.
