Big SW Roadtrip - Pt. 5 - Death Valley

Death Valley is a nutty place.  Austere, strange, beautiful, and more than a little hostile feeling.  It doesn't feel like a place where humans should be, especially during the heat of the day.  It's huge and vast and gorgeous though, with sand dunes, beautiful watercolor-like hillsides in reds, pinks and purples, and surprisingly large mountains.  The roads stretch out straight across the desert seemingly to infinity.  It's also a huge National Park so there's some pretty great people watching:)  We stayed in the valley for a couple of nights and hiked in Mosaic Canyon, checked out the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes at first light, and camped in a canyon full of cactus (cacti?) and desert flowers.  It's amazing the diversity of this country we live in! 

Big SW Roadtrip - Pt. 4 - The Alabama Hills

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We're currently in Arizona, but in an effort to keep up with the blogging I'm going to share some photos from the California portion of our trip.  We spent a few days in the Alabama Hills which I'd have to say are one of the most unique, stunning, beautiful (et al) places I've ever been!!  Strange, huge rock formations rise up out of the earth with the backdrop of the snow covered Sierras behind them.  

There's a myriad of gorgeous free camping spots, and lots of folks boon docking out there in various modes of transportation:  snow birds in huge RV's, folks in VW vans, Jeeps, and various other jalopies.  We spent a few days biking around the dirt roads, taking a million photos, and scrambling to the top of the bulbous rock formations.  We slept with the van doors open to the warm desert night and listened to the coyotes howling and owls hooting.  It was awesome!

More to come from Death Valley next!!


Big SW Road Trip - Pt. 3 The Eastern Sierras!

I had heard a lot about the Eastern Sierras before, the beauty of the mountains and the dramatic landscape (not to mention the hot springs, which is largely why I wanted to go) but nothing could have prepared me for this place!  Huge, craggy snow capped peaks rising up so abruptly from the valley floor I felt like I could reach out and touch them.  Purples, dusky blues, yellows and grays in the sage brush and meadows.  Amazing cloud formations and drama filled skies.  And the hot springs!  Most of the tubs are not marked and at the end of rutted, bumpy dirt roads, but if you make the effort to find them it's so worth it.  

We spent a couple of days here soaking our bodies and sleeping in the warm van while the harsh, cold mountain wind swept across the valley and rocked our little vessel like a ship on the sea.  A hike around an alpine lake, and a visit to the surreal Mono Lake Tufas rounded out our time in this area.  

I took a million photos and had a hard time editing them down, so I hope you're into looking at lots of photos!  Also, if you're on Instagram I'm posting photos of our trip there almost daily, follow along @ashleymersereau_art.

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Big SW Road Trip - Pt. 2 Mt. Shasta!

After crossing the border into California we spent a couple of nights with my friend Kate.  Kate is a farmer and has an awesome little piece of land that she is growing organic veggies and seeds on.  It's always so special to connect with old friends, and it was great to stop for a day and do some laundry, relax, and explore the area.  Kate took us for a hike to a lake with a stunning view of Mt. Shasta and the surrounding area.  I didn't get my camera out much beyond that, so the photos are mostly from the hike.  Thanks for reading!  Onward!

 

Big SW Road Trip - Pt. 1 Oregon!

As of today we've been on the road for one week.  It feels like so much longer than that, and at the same time it's gone by in the blink of an eye.  Already, trying to remember the first few days of the trip is a challenge.  We've seen some stunning places, thoroughly enjoyed the awesomeness of our van (!!), caught up with friends, and taken a million photos.  My skin feels chapped and dry from the cold, wind, and sun, and I am greasy and dirty....but oh so happy.

Here are a few shots from the Oregon portion of our trip.  We met up with friends at a lookout tower near Mt hood, stopped to feed some alpacas (what funny creatures!), mt biked and drank beer in Bend, and slept on an empty forest service road in the middle of nowhere.  

This is a good life, and I am so grateful to be living it.  Enjoy the photos, and much love to you all!

XO,

Ashley (and Justin and Eddy:) 

P.S. Stay tuned for further posts (if I can find somewhere to poach some WiFi:)

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