Sunsets of Sunsets

As I’m always going through my phone and the photos on it, I realize I have an abundance of sunset photos just sitting in the album. Most of them are taken from my back porch, but some are from when I’m out and about. I thought I’d share my collection of nature’s warm hugs. Enjoy!

Huntress of the High Desert – 10.5.15 – Mountain City, NV

If you know my hunting past, you know that I have never had mule deer tag soup. Every hunt that I have gone on, I have harvested an animal, whether it was a buck or a doe. Okay, so the does were when I had a junior tag. Proud to say I’ve shot all bucks since then!

And I wasn’t going to let this hunt stop that streak. After not having shot anything since 2013 when I shot my first antelope, I was itching to feel that uncontrollable joy of harvesting an animal. I didn’t care if it was a trophy 4×4 or dinky forked horn, I was going to get something. I even packed my lucky beanie that I wore 15 years ago on my first hunt ever. I was determined.

Hunting in the High Desert – 9.1.15 – Northeast Nevada

If you read my post on my bull elk hunt last year (here), you’d know that me and elk have a love/hate relationship; as in I love to hunt them and they hate to let me shoot one. This year, my dad and I both got cow elk depredation tags. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a tag handed out to control the elk population more than what a normal hunting season does.

I was stoked to get this tag. My 4th elk tag in 9 years and I was going to finally be successful! I’ll just tell you right now, that it wasn’t the case. Elk: 4 – Me: 0.

Lassen Volcanic National Park – 9.7.15 – Lassen, CA

It had been almost 20 years since I had been into the park. And even then, we went 2 miles in and turned around. This time though, I got to be able to drive through the entire park and it was amazing. If you remember back in December (here), my boyfriend and I only made it a little ways in because the snow had the park closed down.

I was beyond excited that it was a gorgeous day to go visit. It was an impromptu trip, so we weren’t prepared to go hiking at all. It was more of a get-out-and-snap-photos type of trip. But it was the best. Matthew and I had made a pact that we would visit every national park that there is in our lifetime. This was the first one to cross off our list! We went into the museum and store at the Loomis Ranger Station, where we picked up a patch and a passport book for the national parks. Stamped it and now it’s onto the next!

Hiking with the Pups – 5.23.15 – Tahoe National Forest, CA

A year ago, I would’ve been exploring the lovely state of Iowa. This year, I kept it close to home. Matt was home for the weekend and we needed to take the dogs out for a run/walk. He wanted to take me to a little river he walked a few times with the dogs before.

Finding History in Nevada – 3.21.15 – Winnemucca Lake, NV

It all started with an article called “20 Truths About Nevada You Never Would Have Guessed“. I knew quite a few of them having lived in Nevada for 19 years now. But I never knew about the petroglyphs that were so closed to where I lived. They intrigued me. I had to see them. What a great part of history that was so easily accessible and fascinating. I had convinced my dad and boyfriend to go with me.

Boeing, My Black Lab – 3.21.15 – Nevada

Okay, yes, I am one of those weirdos that absolutely loves their dog. Dog lover, dog fanatic, dog mom. You name it, that’s what I am. I have one of those dogs that has a sporadic personality, it is seriously all over the place. And there are plenty of faces and looks to go along with it. In other words, my 2 year old black labrador retriever is quite “special”.

Valentine’s Day Fishing – 2.14.15 – Frenchman’s Lake, CA

Wow, it’s been a hot minute since I last posted about an adventure (more like three months)! I’ve been slacking majorly in the blogging and adventure departments. I haven’t had as many adventures as I would have liked to so far this year, but hopefully that’s about to change.

Sunny, Wintery Walk with the Dogs – 1.1.15 – Patrick, NV

Every once in a while, my dad asks me if I want to take our dogs for a run to tire them out. And usually it’s out behind my house at the sports complex or it’s down by the river. My favorite one of the two? The river. I love the landscape and there is hardly anyone out there. We go to an area out in Patrick, about 13 miles east of Sparks. They call it the McCarran Ranch Preserve, a restoration project on the lower Truckee River. The trail through it is part of the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway. 

Burney Falls – 12.26.14 – California

After leaving Lassen, we headed up Highway 44 towards our turnoff to Susanville. Matt asked me, “Want to go to Burney Falls? We have the time.” “Umm, I don’t want to get home too late because of the dogs. But I think…” “Screw it. We’re going.” And off we went up Highway 89.

On the drive, it was pretty neat to see all of the burn area from recent wildfires and how much land it covered. They saved so many homes from danger. It even crossed the road and threatened some homes on that side. I wish I had taken pictures of it, but I didn’t think of it until just now.