Farewell to Summer
Even though the fall equinox came a couple weeks ago, I've been trying to hang on to summer a bit longer. Spending this change over in Phoenix, with the beautiful weather and sun shining, helped me cling to the fancy free feeling I've had the past couple months. A magical summer of travel, new experiences, and an open mind. The last week of September I attended several yoga classes and in almost every one, the teacher spoke about the seasons changing and our lives possibly shifting. This immediately engendered a nervous feeling in my stomach and a tight sensation in my heart. Does autumn mean I have to check back into reality and possibly take myself a bit more seriously? Panicked I started to reflect on my mindset over the past few months, and how I consistently felt reassured about my decisions and why now I thought that might change. Then I realized-nope-no reality check necessary. I can take my summer state of mind into every season. Maybe the sun won't linger but I am in control of my attitude and my future. So embracing change and seeing the leaves change (here in Kansas City) I'm excited for the next couple of months. But I wanted to post my last set of summer photos from the final Wanderlust festival of the summer. In the beautiful Mont-Tremblant.
Hike and photography class with Ali!!
View from the top of the mountain.
Lakeside at Sunset
Body art by Amir for the Wanderlust Spectacular!
Posing with the lovely Chelsey Korus & Megan Stockman.
Below with MC Yogi after dancing onstage at his set!
Quixotic killing it on the main stage!
And finally a little compilation of the Wanderlust Spectacular show :)
[embed]http://http://vimeo.com/103708106[/embed]
Farewell to summer...
jerome is my life
Yesterday I was at a coffee shop working on a very tedious photo project and as started to hit my editing limit I began to get distracted and lose focus. Instead of working I engaged in two of my favorite activities- people watching and ease-dropping! Two men sitting next to me seemed to be having a reunion of sorts and were catching up on each others lives. It soon become obvious that one of them was passing through the city and needed advice on Phoenix must-sees and road trip stops on the way up north. His friend was laying out a pretty detailed route through the city, hitting a few Arizona gems, stopping in Jerome, Sedona and finally Flagstaff before crossing the state lines. He pointed out some great scenic routes, look out points, wineries and much more. I of course had to butt in at one point and add on to his already extensive itinerary! This conversation definitely peeked my interest and temped me to hop in my car and take a road trip of my own. Although I fought the urge, I did decide to revisit some photos I took at some of these gorgeous locations. One spot that was on the way out of Phoenix was Arcosanti, an experimental community created by architect Paolo Soleri. http://www.arcosanti.org. I recently visited another site of Soleri's called Cosanti where his famous windbells are made and sold. They pour the bronze for the bells on site and handcraft each one. These are 10,000 dollar plus bells people! Anyway, both sites are pretty amazing to see. Here are some images from Cosanti shot with a 50 mm 1.4 lens (thank you Andrew Pielage for taking me and letting me use this!! http://apizm.com)
Beautiful architecture and gorgeous detail! Worth checking out!
Another stop on the itinerary was Jerome- a historic copper mining town that is now a tourist attraction as it is the largest ghost town in America. Now is it home to several wineries, art galleries and expansive views! I posted photos from my first trip there awhile back, but went again more recently with my good friend Sarah. Having such a stunning friend at my disposal, I made her model for me and play around in the unique setting. We also got to have a bit of fun with the Jerome fire department while we were there!
And lastly, just a few black and white photos from Sedona. It's interesting to see the scenery without the gorgeous red rock but you can still get a feel for how amazing this place is. A destination worth traveling to over and over and over again! Everyone on the planet should add Sedona to their bucket lists!
And there you have it! Some Arizona travel gems.