Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head

So yesterday, I was privledged enough to witness a fantastic storm. Originally my friend and I set out to take pictures of the lightning, but we soon discovered that was easier said than done...I think my reflexes are a little lacking :P.

So instead of capturing jagged bolts of light in the sky, I had to resort to drips of rain on the windshield, stop signs, and such. But hey, it's all good. :)

Favorite pic of the night..

Don't even asked how this happened b/c I have absolutely no idea...

Heading Home.

The last two states we hit up for our Family vacation were Texas and Colorado. I loved being able to see so much of my extended family in Texas! That was awesome. What was also awesome, was our little trek down the San Antonio Riverwalk. What was not at all awesome, was the fact that it was about 110 degrees during that trek. Oh my goodness. I almost died of heat stroke, I'm tellin' ya.

TEXAS

A restaurant on the Riverwalk.

St. Peter's Church (maybe? I don't quite remember..) Maybe I should just call it a church we saw while walking the Riverwalk:)

And then came beautiful COLORADO. I'd never known how much I'm in love with this state until this trip. (And the fact that we went from 110 degrees to about 60 degrees didn't hurt much ;). But still, good ol' John Denver knew what he was singing about with his whole "Colorado, Rocky mountain high" thing. There really is a rush that comes from driving through the mountains. Especially when you're at the top of one (10,000 ft up.) with no guard rails on the side that just happens to have a total and complete drop off... It's quite an interesting thing seeing your life flash before your eyes...

Thank goodness, we stayed safely on the road, and finally reached the top of the mountain- otherwise known as the Continental Divide! That's where most of the following pictures were taken. It was breathtakingly gorgeous up there.

Now Colorado is just wonderful all the way around, but Aspen...now there' s place for ya! Even though it was 'off-season' (a.k.a. no snow=no skiing), it was still the most darling little city! It kinda sorta had a Park City-esque feel to it and captured the essence of what I think an ideal town would look like. Oh it was just too cute. The neighborhoods were like something out of a book, and the houses looked like little gingerbread houses! Sadly, we only stayed there one night. -Sigh- someday I shall go back and explore Aspen in depth. I loved it. And the wild bear we had a brief encounter with outside of our hotel, didn't affect the cuteness factor one bit. ;)

(True story).

Believe me, I wish I was there too. :(

Now this picture was actually taken in Aspen's neighboring city of Glenwood Springs. We took a tram up to the top of yet another mountainous spot, ate lunch at the restaurant up there and of course- took some pictures.

I love Aspen!!!

In Aspen, there's a water fountain thing that all the children get to play in. :)

I have absolutely no idea what any of the 'decor' on this sign represents, so forgive me if there's anything sketch going on..;)

Ahhhh, yes that was quite the trip. Good times, good times. :)

And now begins the other adventures of life here in UTAH.

Clearly, we too are capable of having beautiful sunsets :)

Arizona.

And so our trip continued..From the beautiful shores of California to, what I thought would be, the dry, rather dead looking desert of Arizona. How wrong I was! Arizona is indeed a desert, but it possesses such charm and beauty! Someone once told me that they didn't think there was such a thing as ugly terrain. I was inclined to disagree at the time, but I'm beginning to understand what they meant. If you look hard enough, you can find magic in just about everything.

I also had a bit more fun editing this round of pics, and went a little 'Sepia' crazy... Normally, I'm content to just tweak the contrast and color saturation a bit, but some of those old desert-y towns have been around for forever and so I felt the need to enhance that :).

These pictures were taken at or near Tubac, Arizona (approx. 40 miles outside of Tucson). What made staying there even extra-special, was the fact that the golf resort encompasses a ranch started and owned by some of my ancestors- forever and ever ago. It's called the Otero Ranch and it was one of THE most relaxing, peaceful places I have ever been to in my life! Google it. We got to see a lot of the land and even took a tour of the original ranch house (built around 1789). It was sooo neat! :D
P.S. In 1959, Bing Crosby (LOVE him!), bought the ranch and helped turn it into what it is today. Score.

The old Tubac school which, sadly, we were not allowed to enter. Still, I think this is pretty much the eptiome of an old desert schoolhouse. :)

This church may appear ancient-esque, but it was actually built to accommodate resort guests. Deceiving...but still beautiful.

Crazily colorful tile, like the one on this staircase, was everywhere! So pretty :)

The original door of the previously mentioned ranch house.

The other original door and front entrance of the Otero Ranch House.

We made a friend :)

This picture is one of my most very favorites. Ever. In case you couldn't tell by the sheer ginormosity of it:). This is St. Ann's Catholic Church where, upon entering, my brother and I were asked to participate in a specific portion of the mass. We had no idea what that entailed however, and had to respectfully decline. It was a beautiful service nonetheless.

California Dreamin'...

To say that I ADORE California would be a gross understatement. Having lived there for ten years of my life (a huge part of that being formative childhood years), it's a place that's in my blood.
Confession: It's the beach that I really love. Other parts of the state are beautiful as well, but those of you who grew up on or near a beach know what I mean...
The following photos were taken during part of my epic three week Summer vacation that began in my beautiful California. :) Sites included Balboa Island, Chinatown, Disneyland, and Historic Olvera Street.