Presidio / San Francisco

It's another weekend in San Francisco, this time in search for two of Andy Goldworthy's works in the Presidio. The first is the Woods Line, situated in parallel to Lover's Lane. I have heard that the name stems from when marines would come back from service and walk through this pass to reunite with their sweethearts. It's pretty cute.

The Woods Line, itself, is pretty cool. It blends almost seamlessly with the rest of the park, as if it naturally has always been there. Goldsworthy is known for his ephemeral environmental land art, so whatever he puts out in nature is meant to be a part of it. The destruction or decomposing is part of what makes it an on-going art piece.

The Spire lies right next to a golf course. At first looks like a dismantled tree, but as you come closer, it appears more alive as if the branch is stretching itself to reach the stars. There's some logs on the other side, probably where you can stare at the work and ponder about what kinds of things you're aiming for.

Have a great Martin Luther King's Day!

Hard Edges

I had the privilege to do an ad hoc photoshoot with my photographer friend. Although I'm the furthest thing from being able to model in front of the camera, he was able to capture my personality and put it in a little square frame. 

He specializes in natural lighting and making things pretty; check him out at Octavio Valencia Photography in Sacramento, CA.

There's probably no better way to highlight how small, organic, and human you are than by standing in front of a large, metallic wall comprised of sharp lines in perfect, equal measures. We have no even edges, but there's beauty in that too.

Hiking in Colfax, CA

The little town of Colfax has a motto: "Above the fog, below the snow". This quaint town is only a short drive from Auburn, but we're greeted with the sun and plenty of water from the American River on this Winter hike. 

A couple of hiker buddies and I took the Steven's Trail, which is about 7 miles of 1300 ft. elevation and none of us had ever trekked there before. The unknown is part of the fun in the adventure. Lately, my life has been attached to my work, with eyes glued to the screen. While hiking, I find that I had to repeatedly remind myself to look up at the sights and breathe it all in. It's a reminder that in this world, you're really just small being that's a part of something bigger... and it's just what I needed.

One of the most amazing surprises of the day was when we stumbled across the ladybug migration site. They were so small and clustered together, you can easily mistaken them for berries. I'm the kind of person who gets excited about a single ladybug landing on my arm. Seeing them in droves was definitely incredible.

I was so hungry afterwards; one our way back home, we stopped at Auburn Alehouse in Old Town Auburn and had the most amazing burgers and fries, as one would crave after a full day of hiking.