Anza-Borrego: Camping

Our second camping trip, this time to Anza-Borrego's Culp Valley. And with a new tent, this time! Thanks REI, for the big coupon! We also scored new hiking boots at the REI Garage Sale, so trekking around in the desert was much more comfy than all of our other times. 

Anza-Borrego: Rocks and Boulders

One of my very favorite parts of the desert wilderness has to be the piles of rocks. Boulders and rocks that just beg to be played on. Anza-Borrego has no shortage of these piles and boulders.

Our first day there, we drove down a random little dirt road and found the first set of rocks to wander around on.

Anza-Borrego: Roadways and Hillsides

We left our camp and drove down the big hills of S22, a very steep and winding road that goes to the desert floor of Borrego Springs. A gorgeous drive, to say the least.

Anza-Borrego: Plant Life

We enjoyed a weekend adventure down at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. We arrived, pitched our camp, and headed out to explore. A winding road took us down from our high desert camp to the very warm desert below. Along the way, we saw so many variations of plant life. From blooming bright pink cacti, to pretty little yellow flowers growing on rocks, to scraggly little bushes that have their own special kind of "pretty". This terrain is so unique. Here are a few photos from our trek around the area and the plant life that we stumbled upon along the way.

Impossible Laumeier

These don't require much introduction... Laumeier on Impossible instant film.

Instax Friends and Family

I decided to take some instant photos of the St. Louis family and friends while we were home. I wanted a photo with everyone we saw. Mostly, a success, though we did miss a few people. But I have these little souvenirs of a fantastic time at home with a bunch of my favorite people! :)

Grandma and Prince with me.

Instax Laumeier

The Instax took a trip to Laumeier... a snowy, instant film version of one of my favorite little places.

A Snowy Trip To Laumeier

We made a little trip back to St. Louis in February, just in time for a bit of snow to be waiting on the ground. It was frigid for most of the trip, but the snow made it worth it. Of course, we made a stop or two (or three) at this little park. This park, Laumeier, was such a piece of "home" for us. We have such a wealth of memories from here, it was truly a wonderful little bit of home to visit. We even got to build a little snowman! :)

A Trip Home

Almost one year, to the date, since we moved away from St. Louis, we made the trip back home. There was Dewey's Pizza, Ted Drewes, soon much Imo's, White Castle, Gingham's breakfast, and grandma's cooking. We loved the time with friends and with family. I loved the frigid air and the snow on the ground - Kim didn't appreciate that as much, my warm air loving wife. :) I got to do some fix-up's at grandma's house, including shoveling snow! We saw the Blues win a game on home ice. And we loaded up on Imo's pizza, including two extra large pizza's that we packed up and brought to our freezer in California. It was a great trip. :) We didn't spend a ton of time with our cameras out, instead, just enjoyed our time there. Here are the few snaps I did get, and there will be some instant film in blogs to follow! 

Grandma and Kim, waiting for Prince to piddle. 

Mojave Camping: Day Three

Day three of camping in Mojave started after a rather long night. The temperatures dropped a little lower and the wind blew significantly harder. Our tent at one point was caving in and literally laying on my face. At around 4am, I got up and moved my car into the "yard" to attempt to block the wind. It worked enough that we got another two hours of sleep. This night of sleep seemed significantly colder than the other, probably due to the wind. But, when we did finally decide to emerge from the tent, we were greeted by another lovely sunrise at our front door, and a falling moon in the opposite direction. Beautiful.