Weekend in the North Bay - Pt. 2 Cazadero

October 27, 2014 in Adventure & Hiking

The day after we were in Bolinas with our good friends Chris and Claudine, we went to Cazadero with our good friends Nate and Lucia. What spawned this trip was Lucia messaging me about an open house for an A-frame in the redwoods. How could I say no?! Of course I would drive 3.5 hours away to hang out with these guys!

If you know me, you know I love an A-frame. When I was a kid, I had a book on houses and homes that had all kinds of unique dwellings in it. I still have it (pictured below). It has the most interesting homes, like roundhouses, A-frames and more. I also loved looking at architecture magazines and would draw up my own designs.

The cabin is in Cazadero, one of the best smelling towns I've been to. The air is so fresh and smells of forest and calm. It sits among redwoods and has a nice sized property, although the neighbors are still visible.

I really loved the kitchen. From the front of the house, it is on the left-hand side when you walk in. The angled ceiling made it very cozy. The dark area to the left in the photo above is a large freestanding cabinet that houses a pantry and refrigerator. Such a great design!

I always thought my home style was more artsy, rustic vintage, but after seeing this cabin, I may need to seek out some mid-century modern style furniture. Look at that fireplace! Isn't it stunning! Notice the outlets angled on the wall/ceiling.

Lucia in her new bedroom (not really, but she can dream!)

To access the upstairs, you climb an angled ladder. This is the view from the bedroom. The realtor told us the house comes with the authentic lamp. Imagine waking up to this view.

The loft bedroom has windows on the flat wall, as well as windows built into the angled walls on either side. Waking up to redwood trees sounds good to me.

The rear view of the house. There's a separate deck to the side.

As you can see above, the property is filled with trees, though there is an open grass area as well. I pictured some tents or tiny houses for other guests to stay. Nate's out on the deck, making himself at home.

Another plus with Cazadero is that you are only about 15-20 minutes from the sea. It's fairly close to Jenner, a tiny town with a population of 136. I've always wanted to kayak in this area.

After exploring Cazadero, I realized I need to come up this way more often. I have been to the Russian River, Jenner and other places nearby, but not Cazadero. The North Bay and North Coast of California is so incredibly beautiful. With farms, forest, ocean and friendly people, it remains one of my favorite places to go.

Joshua Tree, Arizona and New Mexico Pt. 2

February 04, 2014 in Adventure & Hiking

My time spent in the Southwest was so photo-worthy that I had to split my trip into two posts. You can see the first post here. At this point, I was in full-on relax mode and all the hectic feelings from the end of the year had basically disappeared. On the road, I thumb through the road atlas, imagining that we will stop at all these magical places, including Sedona, White Sands and various other places. Of course, we didn't have the time for these things, but there's always next time.

The welcome sign at the border of New Mexico says it all. The vast landscapes and mesas are breathtaking and so different from the California landscapes I'm used to. You may be wondering why I'm skipping Arizona. We sped through to get to our destination to meet friends in New Mexico. Later in this post, I'll have a couple shots of Flagstaff on the way back.

Anabella Piñon is one of my favorite artists. She makes art for the pure love of it and is one of the most enigmatic and generous people you will ever meet. This is her reflection in her parent's kitchen, bright and colorful, like the whole Piñon family. You can see Bella's art here. I know one of her goals this year is to make more art so I'm really excited to see what she does. She is always the main reason I'm in New Mexico. Bella lives in California, near me, but her family is out here.

The Piñon "ranch" in New Mexico. You can't tell from this photo, but this house is on a lot next to railroad tracks, not on 10 acres as it looks. — The Piñon "ranch" in New Mexico. You can't tell from this photo, but this house is on a lot next to railroad tracks, not on 10 acres as it looks.

Bella's dad's space, filled with music equipment and lots of random things. We spent a solid night drumming and sketching.

This photo captures Bella so well: beautiful, patterned, happy and natural.

We all rode horses on the 13 acre ranch in Contreras.

How beautiful is this view? Bella's brother-in-law carves these beautiful crosses from found glass bottles.

A beautiful door at the ranch, also painted by Bella's brother-in-law.

The view from my horse, Ignacio and Muñeco in Contreras. I could easily spend a month here. — The view from my horse, Ignacio and Muñeco in Contreras. I could easily spend a month here.

A neighboring ranch. I love the sign with the Zia symbol and horses.

We ended the year right with this spread on New Year's Eve morning.

I'm not posting photos from the party, but it was so fun! Blanca, Bella's sister, made it a memorable one and I led a yoga session post-cleanup the next morning. They sure are cozy on that one blanket!

Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff is a great town. It's obvious that they value the environment, health and nature here. I'd like to check it out longer next time.

The sunset as we left Flagstaff was gorgeous. A great way to end the trip with snow on the side of the roads and a crescent moon just above the mountains.

And that concludes the second part of my Southwest trip. It was much needed after feeling spent by the end of the year. I think the colors, patterns and openness of the landscape will influence my art for awhile.

Now, I'm off to Miami for some more sunshine.

Joshua Tree, Arizona and New Mexico Pt. 1: California

January 21, 2014 in Adventure & Hiking

As a California girl, I love that I don't need to leave my state to experience mountains, sea and desert. This year marks the second year of a new annual tradition to head down to the desert during the holidays to decompress.

From December 26th through January 2, I visited Joshua Tree, Arizona and New Mexico. I had been working on my show at Seeing Things Gallery for months and preparing for the holiday season prior to leaving. I had been working non-stop and although it was good practice in self-discipline and creativity, I was literally giddy to be out on the open road and not cooped up inside.

It has taken me a few weeks to post about this amazing trip. In this time, I have thought about how I can create an environment at home that is similar to how I felt on vacation. I have also been working hard at getting organized this month so that I can have a more smooth year, especially since I have a lot of exciting things planned (see my New Year post).

We stayed at the Pioneertown Motel in Pioneertown. With a population of 350, the town resides up in the hills near Joshua Tree. The town itself was built as a set for Western movies and the hotel was where actors would stay. Can you imagine how I felt making this my home after months of chaotic work?

The Barbara Stanwyck room. She actually stayed here!

Pioneertown, a strip of old western buildings, some still in use as shops.

This was my third time altogether in Joshua Tree National Park. I love that cell phones lose service soon after you enter. That's when I know I'm in a good place. We climbed Ryan Mountain and were rewarded with 360 degree views of the park.

Ryan Mountain, Joshua Tree National Park

Bryan on Ryan Mountain, doing his best Ansel Adams

Peak hikes are my favorite. Such a good workout and always worth the climb.

The next day we hiked a small and lesser known trail in the park that was recommended by a ranger. It seemed like nothing special at first, but took us by surprise with its wild rock formations.

Channeling my inner Georgia O'Keeffe by sketching some rocks.

I'm so glad we found out about this "secret" trail. I found this near-perfect circle in nature.

Rose quartz in my hand from along the trail and quartz lined throughout the rock.

My backpack with patches from Costa Rica, Maine and New Mexico.

I finally made it to the Salton Sea! If you don't already know, it looks like an oasis in the desert: a large body of water sparkling in the middle of dry and dusty land. It was created at the turn of the century by diverting the Colorado River. Long story short, it is a heavily salinated body of water that causes a strange ecological environment. We were on the eastern side, at Bombay Beach.

Here are some of the obligatory fish photos that everyone takes when they visit the Salton Sea.

The Ski Inn bartender on the left was a funny man. These two gentlemen could not have been more perfect in this old bar. I was so glad we visited since it's for sale and you never know the fate of these old places. The people here were so nice and quirky. One man, in his ATV gear, talked about how the area flooded in the 70's when he was a kid. He rowed his boat through houses looking for candy. Definitely an upcoming painting...

I didn't get too many photographs of the trailers and homes in town. I felt that I wanted to respect the local's privacy. Here's one example of the graffiti and artwork you see sprayed on buildings around town. Bombay Beach was so surreal. It definitely seemed like a place where people escape society and just live a little differently. I plan on returning to check out the west coast of the Salton Sea next year. Well, that was Pt. 1. I'll be posting the other half of my trip in Arizona and New Mexico next time.