Ode to Curry Village

We fell so hard for Curry Village back in September. I mentioned quite a while ago that we went to Yosemite to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, but I failed to mention that we almost didn't come back home. We could have holed up in a canvas tent cabin and stayed forever in Yosemite. What a park. What a landmark. What a special anniversary.

We stayed in cabin #9 for three nights. The moment we drove into the parking lot and caught a glimpse of the lighted Camp Curry sign (it was about 8:30 at night), we were sold. And then we opened the car doors and were overwhelmed with the heavy aroma of pine, possible the best smell in the world. We checked in, dropped our stuff in the cabin and walked over to the lounge for some local beers and a toast to us, on the eve of our 10th anniversary.

The ambiance was so cool. So many happy people, happy in the moment, happy to be in Yosemite, happy with their company. We sat out on the deck for a good hour, enjoying the warm September night air and the surrounding conversations and laughter. It couldn't have been a better night.

I shot so many photos of Curry. They all look the same but I don't care. And you can bet when we go back, I'll take another dozen or so that look just like these. I printed one of these images big (12x12"!) this week and framed it last night in a 20x20" frame and hung it in our front room because Curry Village needs to be a part of our home. Though we were only in the park three short days, we fell so hard for that beautiful place and dream of the day we can return.

Curry made such an impression on us that I'm deviating from many years of blogging and posting a picture of myself. In Curry Village. I rarely place myself in front of the camera, but in a place like Yosemite, it was impossible to avoid.

Life as I Know It

It's been just over three months since our amazing trip to Yosemite to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Those three months have been busy to say the least. Life as I knew it was sort of upended for a while due to school and some family things. The last two weeks have been a nice break, especially from the urgent urgency of homework and online lectures.

The bad thing about a break though is that it always ends, and tomorrow, life as I know it will again be turned upside down. It's the first day of spring semester 2012. I'll omit the #killmenow and #ineedavacation hashtags today - but I'm sure they'll pop up at some point in the next five months. It's going to be a busy time but I'm looking forward to learning more and getting another semester closer to graduation.

So, back to Yosemite, because obviously I wish I were there now. I've been wishing for three months that I could beam myself back there for three more carefree days weeks. I've had a list of things to get out of the way before tomorrow and I'm happy to say I can cross "edit Yosemite photos" off. I've got so many to share.

These two above were from our drive toward the east entrance of the park. We were on our way out of the valley, headed toward Tahoe for a night before driving home. We were climbing out of the valley on Tioga Road and came upon an area with a prescribed burn underway. We slowed to about 15 mph and choked our way through the smoke. I wanted so badly to stop and get out to shoot but the fire crews in the area were stationed there to keep tourists safe, and that included keeping us in our vehicles. I was able to shoot about 50 digital snaps from the moving car, and these are two of my favorites.

I'll be back as soon as my schedule allows to share more of what I saw in Yosemite. In the meantime, homework...

34

Well, I'm off to a good start seeing as today is day 1 and I've already crossed off #1. Happy birthday to me! Today is #34. I've got what's sure to be a crazy year ahead of me, thanks to my bright idea to go to grad school, but with a little bit of luck and a lot of determination, it's sure to be a year full of fun things.

I didn't do the best job on my list last year (again thanks to surprising myself by going back to school) but I accomplished a lot of things and had a great 33rd year. Here's hoping 34 will be even better.

1. Sell some cameras - do I really need 52? (six of them are in those boxes)
2. See Redfish Lake
3. Hang out in Boise (one night is never enough)
4. Stay in a cabin
5. Throw a party
6. Stay in a yurt (we had reservations for one in July but they got cancelled due to fire hazard!)
7. Travel with friends
8. Camp
9. Kayak
10. Knit something
11. Road trip with my husband
12. Bake bread
13. Enjoy a Dole pineapple whip Thanks, Disneyland.
14. Make some big poster-sized prints x 2!
15. Try 10 new foods - 16 down (avocado, kiwi, tea, broccolini, broccoli rabe, bahn mi, espresso, stuffed peppers, mocha, Dolmathes, quinoa, eggplant, polenta, mushrooms, acorn squash, latte)
16. Try five new restaurants - (Copper Onion, Brewforia, Greek Souvlaki, Mad Greek, Dickey's BBQ)
17. Take the MAT
18. Visit a national park or monument
19. Get thee to an outdoor music venue
20. Grow some veggies
21. See a show at the Knitting Factory Thanks, UM!
22. Earn my NEPA Certificate (classwork is done, will get the official paper in Dec. 2013 when I graduate!)
23. Watch some baseball
24. Take a little family trip
25. Waste some film
26. Make a book
27. Hike
28. Go disc golfing
29. Relax at the cabin
30. Celebrate the 3rd annual Nut Brown Day
31. Drive the Greys River Road
32. Finish a big project
33. Make chile verde
34. Bike the Legacy Trail