Mother and Daughter Day

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The last time I photographed these two, it must have been a hundred degrees outside.  But this time we were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous fall evening, despite the fact that our fingers were numb by the time we finished.  I'm amazed at how much this little girl has grown!  And these are some of my favorites.


This one looks so classic and timeless.  She does serious so well.



Some poses simply cannot be planned.  She did this all on her own, and I thought it was absolutely precious.

 The light here was stellar!

 Kisses from children are always adorable.



I'm pretty sure she has either a leaf or flowers in her hand all evening.  And this is just a glimpse into her energy.

Leaves!



Some Style

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A friend of mine is a cosmetologist, and needed some portraits of a few styles for a salon coffee table book.  So, she brought over some models, and here are a few of the style samples she did.  I thought she did an excellent job!
























Sleepdriving

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"It buried a starlit fog
You remembered it all
I'm sleepdriving away

Metal and mold, bourbon and clove
Mirrors and smoke, yesterday's clothes
I'm sleepdriving away

Eyes through your window, I stare out
And some, someday we'll be too old

Cold will ache with making you jaw
You're only as old as you say that we are
I'm sleepdriving away"

Once again, the Grand Archives have found a way to be poetically perfect.  After we detoured to the most beautiful part of Wyoming in clothes from the day before and yet another wee hour nap at a rest stop, Yellowstone National Park was our last unplanned stop on our drive home.  If you are ever in the general area and thinking, "I bet we could just drive through for a couple hours and be on our way" you would be mistaken.  John and I had even both been to Yellowstone before.  Granted, we went as children, and the magnificence took on a whole new perspective as adults.  When I was little, I remembered Yellowstone being stinky with lots of bubbling mud and ginormous geysers.  Now, the smell is more tolerable, the geysers were not as big yet still impressionable, and the bubbling mud was still one of my favorite parts.  I took over 450 pictures, so I am proud that I narrowed it down to less than 30 for my blog.  I'm sure most people think "Awe nuts!  Somebody's stupid vacation photos" but frankly, I do not care.  I thought these were, in the words of Napoleon Dynamite, FLIPPIN' SWEET!






We saw this grizzly bear maybe ten minutes into Yellowstone.  We were surrounded by people who had been looking for one for two days.


It's difficult to tell where the steam ends and the clouds begin.





This would be one of the pictures I set my sunglasses down for a few minutes to take.  Of course, some jerkface ran off with them when I wasn't looking.  I am abnormally attached to my sunglasses, so I was miffed and randomly ranted the rest of the day.  I am still mad, even though I bought a new pair in South Dakota.  Why would someone steal a pair of scratched and warped sunglasses?  Seriously?










Somehow, we managed to pass by the Artists Paint Pots, the only thing I was adamant that I needed to see.  So, I backtracked, and I am so glad I did.  I got there at the sweet hour.  The light was unbelievable!



How amazing is the sunset, backlighting the steam?  Just WOW.


On the way out of the park, we got one last delight.  A whole herd of elk stepped out of the forest long enough for us to photograph them, then disappeared again.  That is too fortunate to even be luck!

Overall, I would have to say, this was a fantastic road trip.  We really didn't plan it that much.  John was offered a new job as the Chairman of Renewable Energy program at the local college, and he had a few weeks before his start date, so we packed up the car and hit the road to California.  With his previous job, he was always working, and never able to take a vacation, so this was great for him.  If I had to pick top three most memorable parts, I would have to say Moab, Pfeiffer Beach, and Yellowstone.  I loved the whole trip, and I am so fortunate to have been able to go!

Breezy No Breezy

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Sometimes, an instrumental piece by the Grand Archives is the best pick for a beautiful place with nothing to which to compare it.  Our last stop in Oregon was Multanomah Falls.  And it was spectacular!