Don't Take Your Work Home with You.

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Upon arrival this is what I saw at 10:30pm at night, after driving through the Colorado Rockies and across the plain that makes up the San Luis Valley.

Quite comfortable and spacious with plenty of amenities, this wood-paneled apartment comes with everything except internet access, which I have found to be quite a serendipitous omission. It reminded me of the days when internet wasn't necessary, and the best ways to connect with friends and colleagues is to actually make your way over to them in person and talk with them, shake their hand, and see how they are doing.

But there is room for the clothes and even the bike and weights, and all the collective camera equipment used to make the photographs of this blog. The refrigerator is large enough and small enough at the same time, as well as the sink and overall kitchen. The bathroom is big enough and the water is hot enough, but this single room apartment can't be beat for its space, its view and seclusion. It is wonderful to come out here where there is no driving car, because its address says it all: Country Road 108. That means that it still takes about 3/4 mile to make it to the main road, which is still almost 3 miles out of town. No street lights, no stop signs, only a small sign that reminds us that this location is a private reserve.

It actually helps me put work where it's supposed to be: at work.

Road to Colorado

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Didn't really stop anywhere, I guess I just wanted to get to my destination. A couple of these shots were from my remote camera, but there wasn't really any great view to capture from the highway, you had to step out to the frontage road if you wanted to get anything.

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This house was the only one around for miles. Someone actually lives here, gets their mail here and and everything. He was gracious enough to let me sit in his front yard and snap a shot.

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This is right before you hit the Arizona-New Mexico Border heading east. I had to drive off the road to be able to shoot this guy. The clouds were perfect, so the extra drive was worth it.

Click for Larger Image. This shot actually required a 3Stop Hard Neutral Gradient Filter.

Just dry deserts and occasional mesa until you get to Colorado, where the landscape is a striking difference. Right near Durango, CO, is this vista of the Colorado River and the sun setting. In the distance, slightly to the right of center in photograph is the Colorado Rockies.

Traveling to Colorado

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Late Saturday night, packed and ready, I pulled out of Loma Linda and made my way up Barstow to the I-40 headed to Flagstaff.

Traveling at night is the best time because in the Southwest there is a lot of desert, until you get the to lower Rockies in Arizon's Flagstaff. I had my backseat free thanks to my cargobox


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So I set up the tripod and my camera with newly acquired PocketWizards and transmitter so that I could drive and when I see something pretty, I can roll down the window and press the transmitter to click a picture without me. The good news is that I don't have to stop, the bad news is that I can't see exactly what I'm shooting and also that I'm not in the picture.

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This is one of the shots taken with the remote camera set up, from the back seat of my Jeep.

Parting Shot at Mormon Rocks

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The night I left for Colorado, we closed out the Sabbath with some of the guys from Bible Study, they each are doing their separate thing, but we all came together to have a devotional thought as the sun set.

The Mormon Rocks are a collection of limestone that have a distinct enough formation that an official state park was fashioned around it, right of the Hwy-138 exit from the I-15 near Silverwood.

This evening we climbed and talked and shot this parting shot. I told these guys that it would be the last night for a while, although in truth, the study has been quite erratic and limited to the few times I was able to come down from the Central Coast, where my last assignment had been. But if there was anything I tried to teach anyone that came to the study was to make each of the lessons and things we had learned one's own, not just a collection of texts that link concepts together, but living and vital promises that practically affect each of their lives a deeper and meaningful sense.

But since it was the last time until October, I'll leave with a common phrase found at Bible Study: "Another Topic for another study later on..."

What You Really Can't Live Without

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So when I came home from Central California Coast, I regrouped and unloaded, and as I packed once again, this time for Colorado and Maine and Vermont, there was a difference in that I knew that not only would I be gone until mid-October, I would not be able to come to my personal storage space (aka my parent's house) and just pick up stuff and leave stuff back.

No, this time I had to decide what was important and what I was really going to use and what I could leave at home. This time, bike is going, and of course camera gear and computer, but I realized that a lot of conveniences could really be left at home, like a full file folder, and some books, and all I really needed was my laptop and camera, and a mouse. A few books I did reference, like Spirit of Prophecy, History of Redemption and the Nine Volumes, and my Bible goes without saying.

But what really helped change my life was the Yakima cargo box up on top that you see me unpacking. So many shoes (cycling and hiking and even dress shoes) and golf clubs, and extra jackets could go in there and not clutter up my back which would be reserved for definite items that were required to be kept safe like unsorted mail or important documents that have to go with me to each assignment, or luggage, or computer equipment or camera gear. But this allowed me to pack essential items and leave the BACK SEAT empty!! Which means I could pack the comforter and pillow and take a quick (or long) nap at any rest stop I come to. Colorado after all is a 16 hour drive from Loma Linda. And Maine is another 36 hour drive. Yes that Cargo box really made travel a lot different. I'm even considering bringing a desktop computer :-D