Tag: explore

The Wild Wild Wild West: Lone Pine & The Alabama Hills.

by admin

A wild adventure took us to Lone Pine California for 5 nights, 6 days. We found this location sort of by accident, if anything is ever truly an accident. We were heading south; moving from the Sacramento area to San Diego and looking for a few epic stopping points along the journey to our new Southern California homestead. 

I found this location while scoping out free to cheap BLM camping near the desert of Southern California. Popped up on my Pinterest page one evening was this gorgeous shot of snow capped rugged mountains and out of this world boulder rock formations. I explored further and it guided me to the town of Lone Pine California to a place called the Alabama hills. 

The Alabama hills is a destination for cinematographers and movie buffs alike as hundreds of movies from the 1940’s to present were filmed at these iconic desert meets the mountain locations. 

There are 2 camping options there; The Alabama hills recreation area and Tuttle creek campground. Both are owned by the bureau of land management (BLM) in which you can camp up to 14 consecutive days for free to upwards of 5$ a night. Rates go up a bit at tuttle creek during high season April-September. 

We decided to stay at the Tuttle creek campground as it seemed less busy than the Alabama hills recreation land. Also for that 5$ a night you got pit toilets, garbage cans, fire ring and a picnic table. The other location is authentic bare bones boondocking. Both are wonderful options.

Since it was off season, February- the water and sewage dump station were not available. We packed in all we needed; water, food and propane to have a comfortable stay.

We posted up in site #26 towards the back of the campground. It had absolutely gorgeous, unobstructed views of the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The grounds were maybe 10% full of campers, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. 

The first couple nights the weather behaved. It would be in the high 50’s-low 60’s during the day. The evenings were another story; 27-38*. We traveled in a camper van with heat, which made those evening temps more manageable. But nonetheless, it got cold!

This is a interesting landscape! It is a valley that sits right between the Sierra Nevada mountains and Death Valley national park. The location is the dry side of the Sierra mountain range.  Very low humidity, and dry sweeping winds that chap your face and lips raw in a matter of days. 

We were able to work from our campsite. The Verizon signal was decent and the wifi was very good. On our days off we played at the Alabama Hills recreation area and did some lovely hikes with our dog Gypsy. The day we hiked, was probably the nicest day we were there, almost warm! We hiked the trail to the famous arch that framed Mount Whitney. There are tons of little arches forming too. It’s fun to scope out the landscape and see if you can spot any arches in the rocks; large and small. 

The last 2 nights of our stay, a bitter cold, unforgiving windstorm rolled in. It shook our van all night, and on the second night it froze our propane lines. We all dog piled up with wool blankets to stay warm. We ran out of heat, and our van got down to 48* at night. In the morning we had to cook breakfast outside in the 30* temps. 

The fun part of the windstorm was that we watched the 80’s classic  “Tremors” while the wind howled and shook our van. Tremors was filmed right at the place we camped and explored in the Alabama hills area.

By Friday morning we were ice cold and sleep deprived. We had a wonderful stay, however it was time to head further south to warmer temperatures. 

On our way out of Lone Pine we stopped to get some comfort food at the Alabama Hills bakery and cafe. The cafe got great reviews and didn’t disappoint! Decided to splurge a bit, ordered the breakfast burrito and the peach-berry coffee cake. It was a great way to end a wonderful adventure through the rugged, eastern tip of the infamous Sierra Nevada mountain range. 

No wonder so many old west flicks were filmed here. By the end I felt like a real modern day cowgirl exploring the final frontiers of the west.

Risk; the road to growth and joy

by admin

What is it about taking risks that is absolutely liberating and a bit scary at the same time? 

That sense of aliveness that comes from stepping into unknown territories and new frontiers. Risks are dreams waiting to be realized and consciously created. The willingness to take a risk, or chance is the ability to trust that whatever happens is guiding you more near to inner growth and joy no matter what the outcome. 

Everything begins as a dream, from our deeper self. We are the dreamer dreaming our own dream. A risk is a intentional action that acknowledges future uncertainty about deviation from an expected outcome. Risk measures the uncertainty one is willing to take to realize a possible future gain. Taking a chance on changing careers, moving somewhere new, investing in ones education, starting a new business all begin as a dream, a vision from ones heart and being.

I don’t believe our life dreams are random, they are leading us to our divine purpose and gifts.

Without risk there would be little growth for forward momentum, as nothing is certain or stays the same. To have choice to stay the same, or move beyond is a gift to our souls purpose. I believe within each human lives a dream that is asking to be known, seen and worked towards. That thing inside that feels “oh so right”- a true alignment with our mission is what moves us forward beyond current realities.

3 levels of taking risks:

Level 1: Dip your big toe in:

How do we know what and when is a good time to take a risk? Dip your toe in the water. Start by taking small risks. Play with the edges, get just a smidge uncomfortable. Learn to trust your instincts. Get curious about the outcomes, studying risk is a great way to begin. Be playful, explore and see how each time you take small steps, that can help you build more confidence in yourself and the universe in which you are co-creating with. 

Level 2: Turn within: 

Ask yourself what you really want for your life. Life map, what would it take to get there? What are your biggest fears and possible obstacles, and what would happen if you stayed the same, or grew into this new dream? Straight up journal and meditate on this, begin to listen to your soul and trust your inner compass, your true north. 

Level 3: The leap of faith: 

You have done the work to lead up to this moment. You have taken smaller, intentional risks, explored your edges of comfort and learned to be open to different outcomes. 

You are ready for the leap of faith! The bigger step towards your dreams aka: souls calling. 

Maybe you want to invest in your future with additional schooling, a new home, relationship or career. You are happy and comfortable where you are, you also feel there is something bigger waiting for you. 

Jump into the abyss of the unknown! Yup, it will be a wild adventure, you will fall and pick yourself back up; becoming stronger and more resilient. You will meet people along the way that will help you realize your dream. Even the perceived “obstacles” are opportunities for you to grow, and awaken your potential. You will question your decision at times, and remember the days you were comfortable and content. Through this all, you will also feel alive, excited and learn things about yourself you had no idea existed. 

You will create your dream, and it will look different that you imagined- most of the time “better”. You will arrive at your new reality a bit scuffed up, polished and even brighter than before. Like a coal under pressure that becomes a diamond.

It hasn’t been easy, but looking back you have grown so much as a person. You have made new friends, and built more confidence in yourself. You may, or may not have “arrived”.

At this point you realize that the dream you dream is a story inside you waiting to lived, not achieved. That each risk, large or small; bring your closer to living your life more fully, with presence and deep intention. With each risk, your heart opens to more grace and possibility. You learn that whether you take a risk intentionally or not, life itself is a risk as well waiting for you to play with it, exploring and learning great lessons along the way.

Risk; is the ability to tune in, listen and create our lives consciously with mad faith, moving from the place of desire to grow and create expanded joy in our lives, fearlessly.