Jesse Murch 7/6/16 Jesse Murch 7/6/16

Day Two - La Push on to Forks

Rustling could be heard throughout or site as we each broke down our respective tents and packed up the car, we had read about hot springs not to far off and decided that would make a good destination one for the day. The sun was quickly painting itself over the horizon and onto the dense wet forest we awoke in as we put the last bag in the car. Route 101 winds around the outer perimeter of the washington peninsula, sandwiched between the Pacific ocean and Olympic National park. The road curved like a snake for miles between old growth pines and dark rocky beaches, music chirped through the car as we fueled ourselves on granola bars and cheap coffee. Turning left off of the 101 onto a small backroad that would lead us to the trail head our eyes became quickly averted out the window to the bluest water. The cascading teals swam through an opening in the pines like something from a movie scene. Naturally we pulled over and grabbed our cameras, scurrying down the hillside we approached the unreal waters and gazed in awe.

Surely our eyes were registering this wrong, water is only this blue in cartoons or movies and had to be created in post, but no the water before was indeed as vibrant as led to believe, we got our fill of photographs and proceeded back to the car too follow this blue serpent to two iron gates closing the road to the hot springs. This bewildered us as we discussed what to do, in unison it was set that we would hike from the gates to the springs, at first the road was flat and pleasant curling between trees adorned with spanish moss and emerald green vines, then we approached our first up hill about five miles in, this quickly became how the rest of the hike would go, straight up hill with little to no plateaus to catch our breathe on. The day was not your typically north western day, instead of misty mountains and over cast skies we received brilliant and hot sun with clear blue sky’s and one of the hottest days on record, even the mammoth pines and there draping shadows provided little safety from the heat. Dripping with sweat and feeling beyond parched we crested a hill to a valley in the mountaintops, the remnants of an old Hydro-powered dam lay before us, since demolishing it years ago the national park service has been working to help nature reclaim this area and bring it back to a stable environment once again.

At this point the hike was taking its toll on the group, yet we persisted on convincing ourselves that around the next turn the hot springs would be waiting for us. This was not the case after another hour of hiking would lead us to find out, as we sat on the road taking a small nap and break we discussed the ever pending thought of turning back, and although none of us are ones to give something up, with the heat ever looming and a lack of food and drinkable water on us we thought it best not to push on and started the daunting fifteen mile hike back to the car. After a few hours the car was before our eyes and the rush of fresh water and air conditioning gave us the last boost to hustle off the trail. Quickly after pulling away we were greeted with the symphony of gurgling stomachs that even a glove box filled with granola bars couldn't quench.

After a seemingly eternity we cruised into the small town of Forks, if it sounds familiar it should, the small town grew in fame a few years back when the popular Twilight books and movies gained massive attention. Driving through the town you could see countless merchandise shops selling memorabilia, even the local burger joint, Sully’s which we decided to eat at adorned such items as Twilight Lemonade and Vampire sundaes. The burgers cam out hot and fast and was much appreciated, after devouring everything in what seemed like seconds smiles came across our faces once again and we were ready to see what else we could before the imminent threat of night fall came upon us.

A long stretch of asphalt through dense woods leads out to the three beaches in the native reserve, our first stop the furthest out, beach three. After some time the road opened up and gave way to a vast stretch of sand, small houses lined the road and beach sides, docks off in the distance near a small port and the smell of the ocean quickly filled our noses. Off in the distance reaching high out of the ocean like old greek gods these massive old stone towers commanded there presence, as we walked the sand giving way and the waves crashing to our rights, in the distance one could hear children playing and laughing, the coast scattered with driftwood. This beach made famous by its signature single massive old growth tree that had long since given up and collapsed on the dunes, its trunk encompassed you as you walked inside of it, feeling like something out of a nineties movie being shrunk to fit inside such a thing. We spent most of the early golden hour here exploring the beach and photographing before racing toward beach one to close out our evening. The hike back to the beach was two miles long and weaved through a jungle, the trees stretched far beyond what are eye could comprehend into the sky, a humbling feeling of insignificance washed over us as we forged through, the air shifting from cold to hot as we moved up and over mountains, after some time that ocean smell returned to tease us once again and one could hear waves crushing onto this secluded beach. As the trail came to a head we were greeted with one last right of passage before entering the oasis in front of us, a stack of old trees lay fallen in a steep pile and required light steps and nimble reflexes to cross. Now on the sand at last we stripped away our shoes and any extra baggage and enjoyed this surreal moment in life.

Spending the last moments of the day photographing some amazing pieces for @siobhanaleabarrett lingerie and dancing about in the twilight of this paradise. These moments are the ones that live with us, that we carry and tell stories of for years to come, the ones that transcend anything and become truly meaningful as the sun finally rested in the sky and the familiar humm picked up driving off of the coast into the blackness we knew we had been changed and touched by real magic.

Jesse Murch 3/29/16 Jesse Murch 3/29/16

Recent Travels - Jefferson, NJ

It was late afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, the temperature was chilly but a jacket and one was fine. The group of us planned on meeting up at Steve’s ( @softfocusprod ) house and carpooling to the shoot location. There would be eight of us in total for todays excursion, and as i pulled down the road i was greeted by Kayla ( @kaylasavage_ ) who would be one of the models for the day, James ( @jamesorgyinthefacility ), Tori ( @graphicpsycheldelic ), and Robyn who would also model for the day. We all exchanged info and stories while waiting for Enzo ( @enzodadude ) and Jennie ( @jennyfromtherock ). Once they arrived we split up into two cars and headed off to the location for the day, an old church retreat buried deep in the woods, we parked at a forest service gate and proceeded to walk the long paved road that would end up at our destination.

The road was curved through bare forests and green pines before cresting a hill and revealing the retreat. This place was different then most abandoned places we venture to as the whole building was unlocked, and even with this there was no graffiti throughout, everything was clean and untouched. Also surprisingly the boiler was still kicking on and off providing heat throughout the building which was a pleasant surprise. We walked in through the front door and everyone split there separate ways like an episode of scooby doo to go explore the new terrain. The first floor consisted of a chapel hall, living quarters, a kitchen, and long hallways with ample light. The basement featured the boiler room, storage areas filled with old light bulbs and spare parts, and a full sized basketball court, while the top floor had a balcony overlooking the chapel, some bigger rooms leading to outdoor balconies, and access to the expansive roof via a runged ladder heading through the ceiling. After everyone had there fill of exploring we all gathered down stairs in the gym to begin shooting our first images.

These consisted of an antique couch being dragged to the center, a fire extinguisher being used to create atmosphere, and gorgeous rays of natural window light. Its always nice to have a big group on shoots from time to time, the interactions and the creative ideas that get thrown out consistently is always nice, as well as how much you learn by witnessing different peoples creative processes and ways of interacting while shooting or posing. After getting our image fill in the gym we broke off into smaller groups, some went to other rooms to do self portraits, others went to explore the roof before all gathering again by the waterfront behind the building where an expansive dock lay, James managed to open a nearby shed finding two sailboats that would provide a good backdrop and prop foursome photos, one by one everyone we had come with came out to the dock to utilize and photograph the happenings, weather it be James sailing the pond propelling himself with a fire extinguisher, kayla posing nude on a boat, or just to enjoy the sun on the water. The shenanigans lasted until all were cold and ready for the oddly climate controlled abandoned building once more.

One by one we tracked back into the brick building in search for more locations, we found this in the form of an outdoor balcony off of the third floor. Robyn had been out there smoking and the light that was coming through the trees lit her perfectly, after minimal posing instructions i shot off a few photos and moved back inside to see what else was around. Like a commune of artists each room had something creative going on in it as i wandered the empty halls, being surrounded by creatives always makes you push your work further and think outside of the box, being so i encourage you all to get out more with others and collaborate. We spent a few more hours wandering and shooting about the building before all getting hungry and wanting to head out in search for food and a re-charge. After some much needed pizza we drove around the town to a nearby reservoir where we planned on shooting until the sun set over the lake. This was cut short almost immediately as we hadn't even set our bags down before a self entitled park ranger showed up to accuses of being terrorists with no jobs and not paying taxes, i wish i were exaggerating but unfortunately this man was very ignorant, not wanting to further escalate and feed into this mans complex we packed up and went down the road to some power line trails to finish off our terroristicattacks, er i mean photographs, the sunset set in the perfect spot and we were all able to get beautifully backlit portraits. All in all the day was filled with adventures, new friendships, strengthened old ones, and as always photography and art.

-Stay Traveling Friends

Jesse Murch 12/16/15 Jesse Murch 12/16/15

The Grand Canyon - " wow what a hole "

As we awoke in Sedona, the warm air against our faces raising us from our slumber, we jumped out of the van, grabbed some fresh air, organized a little, and headed into town looking for breakfast. There is only one road that passes through Sedona and every few miles has a little town with shops and eateries. We headed north bound as thats where we needed to head after eating anyway, and found the last of the little towns on the main road. We drove looking for anywhere cozy and local and found that within The hitching post restaurant, inside smelled of eggs and waffles,the waitress a friendly older lady with a spunky personality asked what we would be having and brought out some much needed coffee. Upon finishing our meals we walked the town and checked out some local shops before heading back to the van to head north. The roads leading out of Sedona leveled out quickly and stayed straight and baron for the two plus hours we had on the road, no signs of civilization minus a few make shift ranches and some farm animals, vegetation was at a minimum only seeing small cacti and shrubs sparsely lining the roads. We made our way into the National Geographic Greeting Center for the Canyon and talked with a ranger and grabbed some trail maps, All this time you could not see or tell how close or far you were from the Canyon. We parted ways and headed to the road that would bring us to our first over look, passing through the gates you could still not see anything, how could such a massive place be so hidden in plain sight we thought to ourselves. We breached the first parking lot and got out to walk towards the trail, as we turned a corner the canyon revealed herself to us in full glory,my mind couldn't comprehend what my eyes were seeing, no photographs nor videos did any of this justice. Crawling out onto narrow ledges surrounded by 1000 ft. plus drop-offs around us just to fully immerse ourselves more and try to understand the magnitude of this magical place. The canyon walls layered in brilliant reds, purples, and yellows, the sky above a piercing shade of blue. It felt as though one was living inside a painting, as our feet dangled we took in the sights and just breathed deep hoping a little of the magic in that air would last with us eternally. After enjoying the views for a few hours we headed further down to find the perfect spot to set up camp for the night, and prepare our gear for sunset. The spot we came across was on a long straight stretch of road, pulling into the parking lot there were only two or three cars with no more then eight people, which was much improved over the super crowded first overlook.The parking lot made a horseshoe shape and at the bend a walkway reached out to the canyon edge. Mountain goat trails scattered the area high and low allowing you to reach numerous cliffs edge each spot big enough for a personal moment of meditation. As the sun set the remainder of people cleared out and left us to ourselves, Theres something so incredible about being alone on the edge of the grand canyon as the sun vanishes. Right after the last sliver climbs below the canyon horizon the skies transform to painted shades of indigo, teal, burnt orange, and deep red. Gazing forward one could see where the color pallets that inspired the natives came from, my eyes never saw colors like this merge so seamlessly, as they shuffled the sky brought forth its next treat for us in the form of millions of twinkling stars dancing. We spent the remainder of the night hoping from cliff to cliff cameras in hand trying to capture even an eight of what are our eyes where witnessing.Star photography is rewarding in the sense that it makes you slow down and wait a minute, to sit and think while the exposure is being captured for a few seconds to a few minutes each time. You haven't experienced the night sky until you've sat on the edge of a cliff at midnight surrounded by all those little diamonds in the sky. We stayed up late that night, who would want to go to bed being where we were, once we felt ourselves start to get tired, we packed up our camera gear and cooked some mac and cheese in the back of the van before sitting on another cliff edge eating our meals, talking of the days prizes and planning for tomorrow excursion.That night was perfect, those few hours on the cliff edge at the grand canyon, i was at peace.

Jesse Murch 12/9/15 Jesse Murch 12/9/15

Sedona and Red Rocks State Park - " I didn't think the dirt would be this red "

Upon concluding our time in Phoenix, and grabbing the ever needed hot shower and night of sleep in something that doesn't have wheels, we packed up, said our thank you's, and got back onto the road. Sedona was roughly a two hour or so drive from where we had been staying, leaving phoenix the roadside attractions gradually got smaller and the cacti gradually got bigger. Again we found ourselves driving the straightest roads although this time instead of being flat they climbed as we went. We drove and crested out onto some flat land for a few miles before coming up on the welcome center right outside of Sedona. we pulled off and parked, immediately noticing how truly red the dirt was when stepping out of the van, i assure you that the photos may look saturated but that is in fact how this martian dirt looked to the eye, it was breathtaking. We grabbed a few trail maps, talked with a local national park officer, and had or coordinates to one of Sedona's best hiking spots. Driving to the trail head the first thing that you noticed is the structure of the town is unlike that of any other, set up in a strip of roundabouts as apposed to a road with intersections, all the houses and structure made with adobe and painted with the colors that natural form around the area. Everything about this town was cohesive and felt right nestled beneath the incredible rock structures. Everywhere you looked, all 360 degrees of view has massive and surreal stone structures painted in the rich red dirt as the light shined upon them.We found a small parking area outside of the trail head, parked, grabbed our cameras and water and proceeded up to cathedral rock. The hike started off slow, passing over a dry river bed, and traversing a slight incline sprinkled with low lying brush and trees. About twenty minutes into the hike we reached our first plateau overlook, it wasn't anything to write home about as far as height was concerned but to look north and see the massive stones we would be climbing shortly was mesmerizing.We grabbed a quick water break and continued on, this trail getting harder as we went, to the point of us putting the cameras in the packs and using both hands and feet to climb up these red cliffs. After another hour we were approaching the summit, tired, and ready for a break, but we continued to push on knowing we wanted to make it before sunset. As you got to the last leg and climbed the almost sheer cliff you breached up on the final over look, a six foot wide plot of land connecting the two cathedral rock structures, sheer cliff on either side and one of the most astounding views my eyes had seen thus far. Like something out of the land before time the red mountain tops scattered throughout highlighted by rich green trees. The wind whipped around us like a sort of welcoming dance, a congratulations to reaching and seeing what few get to. We spent most of our time sitting perched on the edge of the cliff feet dangling into the oblivion, lost in our thoughts. If there was ever a place you felt pure nirvana this was it. Just writing this gives my the warm rush all over again. We sat for a good hour taking in the purple majestic sunset as it coasted beneath the fiery cliffs infant of us. as it dipped the sky became a brilliant blue and revealed the moon for the first glimpse of the day. We proceeded to force ourselves to pack up and leave knowing we would already be walking back in the dark. The treck home was faster, we were more familiar with our terrain, and we were hungry. Arriving back at the van we headed to find a place to set up camp for the night and begin cooking, during this search we stumbled upon two interesting places, the first a literally Church built into the side of one of these massive mountains with huge glorious windows overlooking the valley. Ive never been one for religion but this place was sheer beauty and commanded respect over the town. The following place was far less grand but much more interesting, it was a sort of artist commune of sorts, multiple shops combined into a collective nestled between the cacti. As we wandered from room to room the hand crafted goods sang to us with there beauty and taunted us to buy, knowing we had a tight budget we decided it be best to leave, we continued down the road and found a cozy parking lot inside the mountains to spend a night. As the darkness slid in the sky became painted with brilliant twinkling stars, it was a perfect reward to a successful day, well that and the delicious mac and cheese we whipped up! As we were just about ready for bed and to crawl back to it we saw headlights beam up over the horizon and enter the parking lot, a cop car, thinking this was the last thing we needed, to get kicked out of a public place and have to find a new place to sleep we expected the worst, to our surprise the cop pulled and, pulled around and left just as quickly without saying a word. Not ones to overthink we shrugged and prepared for bed and the next day of adventure ahead of us.

Jesse Murch 11/27/15 Jesse Murch 11/27/15

Salvation Mountain - " We found an oasis "

After a hasty getaway from the Salton Sea we drove a few more miles and reached the eastern end of the vast lake and the final town we would drive through before reaching Salvation Mountain. As we pulled through the town we saw it was surrounded by massive power plants and power lines strewn around like cobwebs in an old attic, businesses and houses were just as deserted as the other small towns we ran through earlier in the day. The further we got the less building we were seeing, as they tapered off completely the roads became surrounded by piles of broken glass shimmering in the mid day sun, abandoned concrete structures coated in vibrant graffiti and cryptic messages were now the only thing resembling structures and life we saw. Miles into the distant desert as far as the eye could see were old camper vans on blocks with slapped together tent huts around them, “do people really live out here” we both murmured. Surely one couldn't survive out here for long, as we came up on one of the martian huts we saw a weather torn man sitting in a lawn chair in worse shape then him, he gave a slight nod as we drove past as if to answer or previous question. Cresting a small hill on the dirt road we traveled one could see a large mound in the distance, not like the sand covered ones we had been seeing for miles, this one was special for ever a few miles out the radiant colors it had been painted with glowed in the distance like a mirage from the movies. We sped up to make our way to it as if it was going to disappear before we could reach it, the parking lot was small and the van kicked up a dust storm as we pulled in and parked off to the side, the once small colored mound had grown quickly as we approached now towering over our van as we left the vehicle. “ Welcome to Salvation Mountain ” a friendly voice chimed from a few yards away, we glanced to where the voice had came and saw an older women sitting pleasantly in a shaded hut next to an old car hand painted with life lessons. She told us how this place was special to her for more then just obvious reasons,. That back home, which surprisingly was very close to our home, she could no longer walk due to issues involving her back but once she got out here to Salton Sea that she hasn't had a day of pain since! This was further proven by her climbing and painting the side of the mountain all day.After continuing finishing up our conversation with the pleasant lady we began exploring the most odd of places, starting with a “cave” on the far right entirely made by hand using only what was available which from the looks of it was adobe, branches, and old car parts, once inside you felt as though you just jumped into a child Dr. Suess book. Strange colors lined the walls in sporadic patterns, makeshift portholes formed with circular shards of glass molded into the wall sides, these let in beams of multi color light that danced around the open room. The air inside and out was clean and dry, we passed through a dimly lit corridor and ended up in a room filled with belongings of fellow visiter's, everything from photos to drivers licenses lined the walls, a penance for the extraordinary place they just experienced. On top of the mountain you could see the desert stretch miles until meeting mountains, we made our way down said our goodbyes to the kind women, took one last look back at the brightly colored peak and hopped into the van and off to our next adventure.

Jesse Murch 11/23/15 Jesse Murch 11/23/15

The Salton Sea - " Why is there a pile of dead birds? "

The Salton sea, this place has been scene to many post apocalyptic movies and documentaries due to its odd life. the sea is well below sea leve which has caused extremely high salt content in its water. In a past life the sea served the wealthy and elite of new old hollywood, but suddenly was rejeected due to the sea no longer supporting most aquatic life within it, this caused most of the surrounding areas of this resort desitnation to become barren and abandoned. Upon arriving you could see nothing but desert and sea for miles, as the van hummed past dead foliage and abandoned shacks we grew curious as to what was ahead for us. We continued on what seemed to be a never ending highway of deja vu, noticing quickly we were running out of gas we opted to stop at the nearesttown sign. The town resembled footage of a nuclear fall out, everything stuck and rotting in the glorious past, the shine of new paint was now coated in salt depsits and rust, roads cracking from unrepair and sun damage, then we got hit with the stench, something of rotting fish and other forms of decay. Since already in a town with no gas station in sight we figured we would let curiosity get the best of us and started exploring round the forgotten town. Like something out of a movie as soon as we left the van an old man peddled by on a bicycle and mumbled something toward us neitheer could make out. We continued on cameras in hand for anyting worth our time or film in this alien terrain. Rounding a corner near the van we stumbled into an unsettling amount of headless birds piled up and thought it best to be on our way.

Jesse Murch 11/20/15 Jesse Murch 11/20/15

Joshua Tree National Park - " I've never seen stars like this "

A few hours down interstate 99 and we found ourselves in Bakersfield and surrounded by low lying foliage and desert mountains of rich purples and tans. Nightfall reached us shortly after making our way into Twentynine pines, the nearest town to Joshua Tree, at this point the roadways stretched flat and straight for forty miles on end, this is were we found out that our reliable and trusty van was limited to a less then satisfying ninety five miles per hour. The light pollution was just about at zero due to being so far out and the cold air killing an atmospheric haze. as we zipped down the open roadways with the windows down and a late night nineties boyband playlist singalong happening the night was one ill never forget, Me and a good friend with nothing but a horizon of stars in a new land. Upon reaching the entrance of Joshua Tree National Park we read a sign saying to quietly find a place to sleep and camp and not to worry about paying the camp fees until the morning. This put a slight smile on my face, knowing that there are still places in this world that gain trust onto fellow peers and trust an adult will act as such, now i don't know if this is a sad reflection on myself or this worlds current status but thats neither here nor there. Through the help of the always trusty trip advisor app we found a nice camping area outside of the famous arch in the park and nestled our camper in-between rock formations and began setting up our van for sleeping and our photography gear for capturing the brilliant display the sky was putting on for us. The night brought upon us howling winds and frigid temperatures, although warmer then the previous night in Yosemite the winds were far worse. We propped our selves and gear up high on the close rocks, weighted down our tripods, and sat bundled up as the long exposures jammed. We stayed out for a few hours before the bitter cold made us pack up and retreat back to the van, the time i was out on those rocks sitting just me, my camera, and the surrounding stars was a real form of magic, i felt my soul cleanse, the mess thats usually in my head cleaned, it was the truest form of peace and happiness. The night spent in the van again brought shiver but was bearable. Again we had found ourselves pleasantly awoken moments before the sun was about to rise. We pulled back to curtains to reveal the glorious scene beyond the windows, tones of violet and teal painting across the rocks and sky, stepping out of the van was like stepping onto a martian terrain. We packed up our gear and headed into the vast desert to begin capturing the beauty that surrounded us. We climbed on top of the massive stones, down through dusty trails avoiding cacti. Quickly we grew hungry and thought it best to go find some food before the mid day sun, we headed into the nearest town and grabbed a delicious skillet of vegetables and eggs. As delicious as breakfast was and as needed as the coffee we raced through it fueled for more adventure. On the way back through the winding roads into the park we made a quick pit stop at the local donut shop. Once back inside the boundaries of the park we headed further south until the road went from pavement to sand, we pulled off and followed a rocky trail to what was a mining town.All that was left of the town was some old stone foundations and a couple closed off shafts. We perched on a cliffs edge and took in the view while picturing the old town bustling with pick ax laden workers. Continuing down the road we made our way to the location of Skull Rock, a formation thats as old as the park itself, massive stones reach to the sky with the unique weathering on them transforming them to form a skull overlooking the vast desert. We climbed and took in the last of our time in the amazing park before foraging onward to The Sultan Sea. Joshua Tree was a unique landscape and brought our eyes and cameras spectacular sights. There was absolute magic in that desert, the kind that makes you happy to be where you are with whom you are with.

Jesse Murch 11/18/15 Jesse Murch 11/18/15

Yosemite National Park - "The heat doesn't work"

Leaving the warm Venice air proved to be difficult knowing we would soon be welcomed to cooler winds and white powered on our boots, still we picked up the camper van, loaded our packs and gear into its selected places, picked our music for the five hour drive, and started up to Pacific coast highway toward our first national park of the trip. The drive started off slowly winding through the hollywood hills and the un-nerving Los Angeles traffic before having us climb over mountains wide and high. It was about two hours in of these hill climbs before we descended and had us traversing flat desert roads north through Bakersfield.After passing through Fresno we started heading east inward two the gates of Yosemite National Park, we heard reports of snow storms days prior but until reaching the gates we had no idea how they had and will affect our journey. The swirling roads that lead into the park were fine at first, then suddenly the sides of the roads became peppered white, then the roads themselves, eventually as we passed through the small mountain town of Fish Camp the roads had iced and the snow was coming down viciously. We passed sign after sign stating no vehicles past this point without chains and four wheel drive. It would be smart to turn back, then again no story ever begins with “and then we turned back ” so we proceeded on. Luckily for me Tom has had experience driving vans on snow covered roads, still the drive wasn't without its fears as Yosemite seems to not be one for guard rails or any other measures that would save a wayward vehicle from falling thousands of feet to its doom. We made it roughly a half hour past Fish Camp and decided to find a lot to park and camp for the night, the snow falling had made sight non existent and we were beginning to push more snow then driving over. Upon parking and setting up camp we thought it best to have a small quick snack of trail mix and water, then prepare for bed. The back of the van was spacious after folding out the cushions and the three hundred and sixty degrees of curtains covered all windows nicely for privacy and darkness. We did however have one downfall in our first night in the wilderness, the heater, we quickly figured out did not plug in and work. Of course we had the heat from the van but it would need to stay running in order for that to work, and being that we had not seen any gas stations since turning off the main highway we knew this wouldn't be an option. We threw on double layers of sweatpants and sweatshirts along with blankets and tucked in for a long cold night. We awoke early, minutes before the sun rose over the skyline to the sound of a plow truck, well that and the immense cold that had crept in while we slept. Taking the many clues that sleeping in wouldn't be an option we tossed our boots on jumped up front and headed out.The next stop? Half Dome, and yes that should sound familiar as aside from being featured as a backdrop on all apple computers and photographed by some of the worlds leading photographers. The roads although increasingly better then the night before were still slick with ice and snow unable to be scraped clean by the plows. We winded further and further, higher then we had ever traveled before in this journey. As we turned a corner before us like a glowing red fire on a sun-kissed horizon was the entrance to a tunnel, it was long and resembled more of a lit cave then anything, as we drove through anticipation to where this would lead out grew, words couldn't do justice what laid before our eyes upon reaching the end. We pulled off immediately into the lot on the left side of the road, there before us in all of its glory centered between its sister peaks, Half Dome. For this marked the first time in my life i was left utterly speechless, for all at once my eyes soaked in the rising sun, the deep teal aura of the sky, the snow topped peaks surrounded with brilliant green pines it seamed to suck any words from my grasp immediately. It took everything in us to peal ourselves away from this view but we knew more where to come and that the road was calling. Originally we had planned to head up and over the mountains and onto the eastern side of Yosemite but due to the overwhelming snow all roads but the one we were on had been closed, luckily the road was a massive loop so no back tracking needed.Upon getting into the van and heading out we started the decent into the valley of Yosemite. The mountain tops receded but we were rewarded with an increase in gorgeous pines and sun soaked fields. We soon found ourselves driving beside the Merced River down Northside Dr, we immediately found a clearing and pulled over. As soon as we pulled off i knew the image i wanted to take, i grabbed my camera and a wide angle lens and positioned myself onto the river bed facing upstream the river provided a mirror like surface that portrayed gorgeous symmetry and took in all the blue tones that saturated the landscape. By this point our less then small breakfast of trail mix and water was proving to not be sufficient, our stomachs growled and turned begging for nutrition. We set off to find food, this proved to be more difficult then anticipated, we traveled for miles on back winding roads with no sign of food. We stumbled onto a couple hopeful spots but due to the weather all were closed. What seemed forever but turned out to be only an hour or so of driving found us off of the snow covered mountain roads and proceeding off the mountain ranges, at the end of this road a quaint mountain town with a small diner/convenience store nestled in the center. The hosts were gracious and kind, asking about our journey and provided quick food and beverages to quench our hunger. We said our goodbyes and feeling well nourished we climbed into the van for the eight hour drive to Joshua Tree National Park in southern California.