Mountain Escape .

One of the reasons I applied to so many schools out west is to get into the mountains. When I took a trip to the Canadian Rockies years ago, I loved the scenery out there. Talk about having the most perfect backdrop to do anything. You don't even need to be doing anything to enjoy it, all you have to do is look. I'm sick of the humidity, the heat and all that other nonsense that make the southeast virtually intolerable. I almost wish I could just go and live on a cliffside for awhile, to clear my head and be able to meditate and enjoy all of creation that is out there. Sometimes I think that we all forget all of the beautiful things that are here. People spend thousands on elaborate and ambitious trips to Europe and other corners of the world to see history and beauty, when it's all here in the States. Want cities? We got it. Deserts? Got it. Luxurious homes fancy hotels? Got that too. Lush greenery, got it, snowcapped mountains, got it, golden beaches: Got. It. All. Why go anywhere else?

My mom is trying to plan a family vacation when my brother and I get home from school this summer; we'd be flying out to Arizona and then taking an RV up through parts of Utah and Colorado. I don't think it could possibly get any better. Time spent with my brother and family, beautiful scenery, an escape from everyday life in an area I would love to one day live in. Count me in.

winter sunsets .

I honestly have no idea what to write about, so the first thing that popped into my head were these sunsets. There are a few things I love about winter. For whatever reason, every day that it's sunny, the sunset is gorgeous. It's perfect, and every time it's a little bit different. Sometimes there is a smooth orange glow, and other times it's a vibrant blood red. But something about the cold crisp winter weather brings that out. The other thing is just how cold and quiet the night is. There is this magic silence about it. Another thing? You can always see Orion, in particular Orion's Belt in the night sky. I've never been able to find it in the summer -- it simply isn't visible, at least where I live.

Barcelona: Day 102 : Several Things .

So there's a few things I want to talk about in today's post. The first, is just a quick shout out to one of the blogs I follow, Le Love, and a picture that they posted yesterday. One of the pictures in the post said 'let's find some beautiful place to get lost.' Well, tonight I revisited a place we had been as a class with Kathrin as a part of field studies. The place was Mount Carmel, and if you remember back a good number of posts, we visited there and it overlooked the city and you could see everything. This time, I returned at night, and while it was pretty chilly and windy, it was well worth the climb to see Barcelona all lit up at night. I'm a big fan of being up high and looking down all over things.