I did it again

In the famous words of Brittany Spears it seems that I "did it again." I said I wasn't going to go so long between blog posts, but I fear that it's been over a month since my last update. What can I say? Life gets busy and blogs get woefully neglected, but I'm here to rectify the situation!

Back in early May, Travis, my mom and me decided to head out to Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark and Death Valley National Park for a fun-filled day trip. We had just experienced a rather wet Spring season, so we knew the flowers would be at their optimal bloom. We were not disappointed. I was obsessed with identifying every single flower we saw (I think I've been hanging out with my botanist girlfriend way too much). Mostly, I wanted to find the increasingly rare Panamint dasiy...BINGO!

Panamint Daisy, Enceliopsis covillei

Desert Canterbury Bell, Phacelia campanularia A. Gray spp. vasiformis (Note: Some people experience dermatitis after handling Phacelia species. I personally have never had a reaction, but you might want to look and not touch these beautiful blue/purple flowers.)

Desert Paintbrush, Castilleja angustifolia (These are one of my favorite desert flowers. The picture doesn't do them justice. They are brilliantly colored!)

If you're ever interested in identifying desert wildflowers, I highly recommend Mojave Desert Wildflowers by Pam MacKay who happens to be an old acquaintance of mine. Her book breaks down the flowers by color making them easy to identify.

The views of the Trona Pinnacles were absolutely lovely the day we went. You can see them in the background behind me and my mom.

There are over 500 tufa (calcium carbonate) pinnacles that rise from the bed of the Searles Dry Lake Basin. Some of the tufa spirals are as high as 140 feet! They were formed underwater between 10,000 to 100,000 years ago when the Searles Lake formed a link in an interconnected chain of Pleistocene lakes stretching between Death Valley and Mono Lake. Pretty cool, huh?

One day, I'd really like to throw on my pack and just go exploring around these awesome formations. I probably wouldn't get too far seeing as how I lately have an affinity for stopping every few feet to examine some new plant I've found or watch some lizard scurrying across the trail to find shelter under a bush. It would be heaven...*sigh*...oh, let's get back to my adventure!

After visiting the pinnacles (where, incidentally, a TON of Hollywood movies are filmed each year), we continued on to Death Valley. We took the "back way" into the park where we were able to take a slight detour to see the Charcoal Kilns. These kilns were built in 1877 for use as fuel for two silver-lead smelters in the area. They're really quite spectacular and quite big! They're about 24 feet tall by 30 feet wide.

It was the perfect day to visit this area, too, because we could see up and over the Panamint Mountains all the way to the Sierra Nevada's where we could actually make out Mt. Whitney (more on Mt. Whitney in a future post)! Just ignore the goofy couple in the foreground and focus on the snow-capped mountains in the way back right above Travis' hat.

As always, the beautiful colors of Death Valley were on brilliant display for us. Whoever says that the desert is an ugly place is, quite frankly, an idiot.

We stopped off at Devil's Golf Course and Badwater Basin, both of which are always impressive sites.

Devil's Golf Course is a large salt pan with a rough surface that is formed by large, protruding salt crystals. You can actually hear the salt cracking if you listen long enough. Studies have shown that the salt and gravel beds actually extend to a depth of more than 1,000 feet below the surface, and in some places it goes down as far as 9,000 feet! That's so crazy cool! Oh, and here's another fun fact: Devil's Golf Course was named after a line in a 1934 National Park Service guide book on Death Valley that read, "only the devil could play golf on its surface." I love bits of history like that!

Only a few miles away is one of the lowest points on earth - Badwater Basin.

Next to the road is a spring-fed pool that contains a few species of aquatic plant and animal life. The pool used to be much bigger, but years of people trampling over the water have caused it to diminish in size, hence the construction of the boardwalk on which I was standing on when I took the picture below. Interestingly, Badwater Basin gets its name from this very spring where a surveyor came to water his mule, but the mule would not drink the water. The surveyor deemed the spring to have "bad water" and thus the name stuck.

The shifting salt flats actually create these awesome honeycomb shapes in the valley. Underneath all that salt is pure mud. See, Death Valley has water...it's just a bit tied up in the dirt, that's all :)

By the time we left Badwater and drove through Artist's Palette (where I took the scenic pictures I shared with you at the beginning of the post), we were racing against time to get to the famous Scotty's Castle. Unfortunately, we didn't make it. However, we did get to see the "castle" from a distance.

Our adventure ended late in the night and on the way home, we caught a glimpse of a beautiful harvest moon.

I have quite a number of other adventures still yet to share, so I'll be back. Hopefully I won't be gone too long!

Goodbye, Junior

It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must tell you all that Junior passed away yesterday afternoon. His poor body couldn't handle the ravishes of the auto-immune disorder that plagued him for the past four days. I am mourning his passing just as I would the loss of one of my own little ones. He was simply one of the best Great Danes I knew, and I know his mama misses him terribly right now. Please send her loving thoughts. She needs them.

As a tribute, I am once again sharing the video of him and Sedona playing in the park. Enjoy, and go give your critter kids extra love tonight. I know I will.

Sedona - The Hero Dog

Let me tell you about a dog named Sedona. Sedona's not just any dog. She's MY dog. She's my companion. She's my protector. And last night, she was a life-saver, literally.

After a long week of working and running, I was ready to relax and celebrate Cinco de Mayo (a day late) with some girlfriends. I found a peasant top for $5 at Wal*Mart, and I was prepared to make apple enchiladas for desert. I even cut a rose from the front yard and secured it in my hair.


After eating some yummy fish tacos, I sat down with my girlfriends to watch our chosen chick-flick, Made of Honor, when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was my friend, Anita. I immediately knew something was wrong, and I was right. Her great Dane, Junior, was incredibly ill and in need of blood. Lots of blood.

If you're a long-time reader of my blog, you'll remember that Junior is Sedona's play mate. I wrote about their adventures in this blog post, but to refresh your memory, here they are playing at the park last year.

I didn't think twice about helping out my friend. I knew if the roles were reversed, I would want someone to come through for me and Sedona. I left my Cinco de Mayo fiesta and rushed home to get Sedona. She was all excited to go for a car ride, and I felt badly that we weren't going anywhere she wanted to go, least of all to the vet.

When we got to the animal ER, she knew something was up, and she was a bit antsy. The vet gave her a mild sedative to relax her and make it easy to get the blood they needed. I felt so badly that she didn't know what was going on, but after the sedative kicked in, she was pretty much out of it.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING PICTURES MAY BE DISTURBING, MAINLY TO MY HUSBAND. Hun, I PROMISE she didn't feel a thing and I was by her side the entire time. All dogs stick their tongue out when they're under sedation.

It took four people to get her onto that gurney. Once she was there, I pulled back her ear and told her she was the BESTEST DOG IN THE WHOLE WIDEST WORLDEST. She was pretty out of it, though. I had to hold her head still so that the needle wouldn't pop out of her jugular. The young tech on the left was in such awe of Sedona. It was so sweet! She couldn't get over her size and how big her paws are compared to our hands.

After about 20 minutes, I couldn't hold her head any longer. My bad shoulder was giving out so Auntie Anita took over that responsibility.

She was telling Sedona that she was such a good girl and that her and Junior really appreciated what she was doing for them. Since Sedona knows Anita, I know she was at ease. I wasn't too far away at all, either. I snapped this picture real quick and went right back to her side.

All in all, they harvested a pint of blood from her. Once they got the first bag, they gave it to Junior. It was interesting to be a part of the whole process especially since they don't normally allow pet owners to be present for this type of procedure, but believe me, I wasn't going anywhere.

After getting her off the gurney (no small feat at all), I sat by her side waiting for her to wake up from the sedative. As I talked to her, she kept whipping her head back to me as if she was saying, "Mama! Mama!" It was super sweet.

Auntie Anita sat with her for a few minutes as I went to check on Junior who was in the same room but in a kennel. I watched as Sedona's blood dripped into Junior's IV. He looked so sad and so very sick :( Please pray for this gentle giant - he's really sick.

Today, I couldn't be more proud of my biggest girl. She trusted me so completely that she let me use her as a blood donor last night, and this morning I found her peacefully sleeping next to my bed. Protecting. Loving. And the only thing she has to show for her ordeal is a shaved neck and a few needle pricks. She IS the bestest girl ever.

Hello world.

I can't believe it's been two months since my last post! I don't think I've ever gone this long without updating my blog. I guess that's a sign that I've been super busy! So what have I been up to? Lots...

Travis and I have been enjoying the awesome weather and hanging out with friends. Spring is definitely upon us. Check out all the wildflowers on the side of this canyon we recently hiked with friends.

Even the kids enjoyed the hike including the 22 month old! She insisted on walking the entire distance all by herself. Too cute.

Travis and I climbed to the top if this really neat rock pile where we could see the entire canyon floor. I'm so glad my friend was with us to snap this picture since we rarely get photos of the two of us out in the field other than the infamous out-stretched-arm self-portrait.

Speaking of outings, back in mid-February, we invited our friend and her little girl to go to a festival of sorts. It was right off the river, and it was so much fun! We went antique shopping (yup, found myself a great find) and had a blast browsing all of the outdoor vendors.

My friend's little girl desperately wanted to get her face painted. Unfortunately, there were no face painting booths to be found, so I improvised with some lip stick and a lip brush. She was one happy camper after that!

During my blog break, I celebrated my 29th birthday...again :)

My FABULOUS BFF actually made me a quilt! It's gorgeous. I almost can't wait for winter to come again so I can use it! Almost.

My wonderful friends decided to surprise me and take me for a picnic at the LA Arboretum. What a fantastic idea!

It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day for a picnic - blue skies, mild temperatures, no wind. Perfection.

The birds thought it was a good day to be outside, too.

The master-mind behind this trip is my very good friend. We've been chilling together a lot lately. Such a good soul.

Speaking of friends, I've been crafting a lot with them lately like at this charity crop back in early March.

I've made a few jewelry pieces like this owl lanyard for my friend, Taylor, over at Taylored Expressions. I was lucky enough to see her on my actual birthday! She was teaching a class locally, so I spent my birthday evening creating fun Easter cards.

A few days before my birthday, Travis and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. Wow. Has it really been seven years already? A few days ago we celebrated thirteen years of knowing each other. Happy Anniversary, hun! You're the bestest :)

(Picture taken August 2003)

Running has also become a big part of my routine again lately. I had to take a break earlier this year due to constantly being sick, but now I'm up to running 4 miles five to six times a week. Half that distance is straight up hill. Talk about a work out!

I can't guarantee that I'll be blogging regularly again since I'll be embarking on a new endeavor soon, but I hope to pop in more often than every two months! See you soon!

Birds & Dogs

TGIF, my friends! I'm proud to have made it through an entire week of blogging just as I said I would try to do. Yay! Today I was outside enjoying the weather with Sedona, and I spied with my little eye a white crowned sparrow. These sparrows are pretty common in the general area where I live, but he's the first I've seen in about a year. He's too cute with his bright orange beak and black and white stripped head, don't you think?

While I had my camera, I took the opportunity to film Sedona playing with her basketball. She's so funny!



I'll be back on Monday to share pictures of my weekend. We're going to a festival, so I'm sure I'll have lots to show you all. Have a great weekend!

Kiss Me - It's almost Valentine's Day

Yee-haw it's *almost* Friday! Why am I so excited about the weekend? The hubs and I are going to a festival of sorts with our lovely friend and her girls, so I'll be outta here for a few days! It's going to be super fun, and I'm sure I'll have a few pictures to share with you all next week.

For now, I have this super simple, super fun Valentine's Day card. Normally, I only make a Valentine's Day card for my hubby, but this year I decided to expand my horizons and include a few extra special people. Since I had more than one card to make, I wanted a simple design. Here's what I came up with.


It's hard to tell from the picture, but I did put some Glossy Accents over the heart to make it all shiny and dimensional. I thought the yellow bling gave the crown exactly what it needed - sparkle!

I'll see you all tomorrow with one last project for the week!

A more detailed look at my craft room

Howdy folks! Today I have another quick video to share showing a few more details of my craft room. In the last video, I wasn't able to show everything due to time limitations, so I thought it would be fun to show you all what you missed as well as give you peeks inside drawers and baskets. Maybe you'll find one of my organizational tips handy for your own needs! Enjoy :)

Another Fun Necklace!

Hello everyone! Today I'd like to share with you another ID badge necklace I made for my BFF. She requested that I incorporate the colors of the agency she works for into the design. Since green and blue are the predominant colors of the agency's emblem, those are the colors I went with.

I used Swarovski crystals and pearls as well as silver-lined seed beads to really make this one sparkle since she's all about the bling!

Finally, she wanted me to use the butterfly charm to tie the necklace together.

All in all, I'm super pleased with how this one turned out! Who knew green and blue would work so well together? See you all tomorrow!

Fun & Fashionable ID Badge Necklaces

The other day I was chastised by a few of my friends who read my blog regularly. They said I wasn't updating it often enough, so I'm going to try my best to blog Monday through Friday like I used to do. I may skip a day here and there, but I'm going to do my best!

Today I'd like to share with you some ID badge necklaces I made a few weeks ago for some friends who attended the Stampin' Up regionals in Arizona. Each lady had a specific request in terms of color and theme. I had so much fun creating them, and I think they came out pretty nice! If you want a personalized necklace to hold your ID badge, just shoot me an e-mail and we'll talk!

First up is an all purple necklace. I used a mix of amethyst stones and glass beads as well as Swarovski crystals to create this monochromatic look.

This next necklace is all about nature. I used olive green glass beads mixed with brown Swarovski crystals to achieve this look.

My friend also wanted to incorporate butterflies and flowers. Although it's hard to tell from the picture, there are actually hand painted pink flowers on the green glass beads that are sandwiched in between the silver bead caps.

To add in the butterfly, I used this very pretty charm to hold the entire necklace together.

Last but not least is this fun pink and green necklace. My friend wanted me to use the antique copper flower charm to hold the necklace together, so I looked in my stash and found a bunch of butterflies and round beads in that same color! To tie it all together, I adored this one with pink glass beads and Swarovski crystals.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these fun ID badge necklaces! If you're interested in having one made just for you, please send me an e-mail at nature_journey@yahoo.com. I'll have more of these necklaces to share with you later in the week. Until then, have a good one!