Happy New Year!

I have to say, 2008 was one of the best years of my life. That may sound dramatic, but after the harrowing disappointment that was 2005 (a worst year of my life, following the break up with Jan), there were times when I wondered if I'd really be successful in recreating my life in a truly happy way.

Well, 2008 included great travels to the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota, two camping trips, and the lifestyle change of living my dream in the Eastern Sierra as a staff writer for the Mammoth Times in June. The first half of the year was a dream come true, being able to work from home as a freelance writer for the Sun Community Newspapers (now sadly folded) without having to answer to a so-called boss or punch a time card!

I've included just a few shots I had time to download that reflect some of my travels. In May, I went on a camping trip in Lone Pine, pitching my tent near Tuttle Creek for magnificent fews over Owens Lake in the distance and, pictured here, sunrise on the Sierra Nevada. Note the beautiful blooming lupin! The second shot was taken up at Lone Pine Lake on the Mt. Whitney Trail. I've also included a view out over Owens Lake from where I pitched my tent. Fantastic!





In May, I went with the Sierra Club on a camping trip to Santa Rosa Island, one of five islands in the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Santa Barbara. I'd camped there before with Jan in May, 2003. It was great to be back with a Sierra Club group.






These next three shots were taken in the Badlands of South Dakota in June. Memorably, I had at long last made it there as well as to the Black Hills on a fabulous six-day trip (again, with the Sierra Club).





During that same trip to South Dakota, we drove to the southeast corner of Wyoming for a visit to Devil's Tower.



The Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills! An ongoing work in progress.



Here's a shot from my first Sierra Club hike after I'd moved to Mammoth in late June. Seen here is the Hoover Wilderness area near Tioga Pass on June 29, the day before I started work at the Mammoth Times.

Billey Bronco Beast, at Home in the Snow

There she is - the 1987 Bronco (aka "The Beast"), built in the same year my nephew Erik was born and photographed this morning after a storm dropped an additional 5 inches last night. I had brushed most of it off before taking the shot.

I purchased the Beast for snowy days for a mere $1000 from Bea's best friend Karl who owns the Chevron service station in town. That means she comes not just with a mechanic, but with chains, jumper cables, a mini solar panel that plugs into the cigarette lighter to (theoretically) help charge the battery.

Because let's face it: I'm not in Sherman Oaks anymore. Somewhere along the way, I clicked my ruby slippers together and wound up in the most beautiful winter country I've ever seen in my life.

But with that weather and with that country came the need for four-wheel drive! I mean, okay, I could have gotten used to putting chains on the Honda every time I drove up the 203 into town, and taking them off when they were no longer required on the 395, or some version of that on-off pain-in-the-ass scenario in freezing weather, but who wants to deal with that?

Hence: The Beast! It's the first time I've ever held the pink slip to two cars, not to mention being the owner of an American one. Learning to drive the Bronco in severe weather like we've had for about a week now has been quite a change from the little Honda (sidelined to the back driveway).


The Beast gets me through conditions such as the above. That was my morning commute today, in 4 wheel drive, about 8:15 a.m. just coming into the Town of Mammoth Lakes on Highway 203. As I forged ahead slowly but surely, others could be seen at the foot of 203, struggling to put on chains in the high winds or paying Dude in the Big Camper $40 to do so. Scam.

Mammoth Mountain is obscured in the distance by a blizzard, winds reportedly as high as 100 miles per hour. When my editor, Diane Eagle, saw the Beast parked in the lot before she got to work, she announced that I was her hero! Always good to hear words of praise from the Chief. Because it's understood that if the conditions are truly hazardous on the 395 (the wind was fierce this morning, creating potential white-out conditions near the airport), I can choose to stay home.


And that's my new home in the far distance, the area blanketed with last week's snow before last night's storm blew a fresh powdery layer in. Contrast that shot with the first one on the previous blog. At least the temperature is hovering well above zero these days. Last week, it was below 10 degrees at night!

Oh, I'll bet my cousin Patricia is now wondering if I'll ever decide to buy an actual, bona fide, brand new car? You know what, cuz, depending on how things go this winter, that may actually be on the New Year's agenda! Meanwhile, the Honda will take me to my southern California life, and the Bronco will take me through the winter wonderland.

Love to all - and here's to a magical Winter Solstice.

Where I Live Now, Beauty All Around Me

So this is a view of the ranchhouse where I rent a loft studio off Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra, about ten miles south of Mammoth Lakes. The shot was taken during the summer on one of my many walks out on the ranchlands - miles and miles of walking opportunities with views of the Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains (if you can squeeze under the barbed wire fences!). The ragged peak in the distance is above Convict Lake. Believe it or not, there's also an amazing restaurant out there - so I have the best of all possible worlds.



And this is a view from the window my loft, taken shortly after I moved there in late August. In the far distance are the White Mountains. Boundary Peak in the center was long rumored to be higher than Mt. Whitney.



But ever since a snowstorm on Monday dumped the first serious blanket, this is what the landscape southeast of my home now looks like! Out of view is Crowley Lake. I wake up every morning to a white winter wonderland. In the far distance of the photograph across the snow-covered ranchlands are the White Mountains.


The shot below is taken from the same spot as the one above, only I've turned around to face the house. That's the foothills of the Eastern Sierra in the background. You can see my 1987 Ford Bronco "beater car" parked in the driveway, which I purchased for snowy commute days into Mammoth. My little white Honda is half buried in snow out of view, pretty much useless until I learn how to put the chains on the front tires!



These photos were taken on a mid-September autumn hike in McGee Creek, about a five mile drive from my house to the trailhead. It's a good, steady uphill hike with quick rewards! Unfortunately, fall color was truncated this season by an early frost, so this was really my only fall-color hike. Still, it was glorious enough to create enduring memories.





Here's the view from my loft area over my bedroom to the Christmas tree and out the window that has all those amazing views. Merry Christmas!