Hiking Cinnamon Mountain in Crested Butte, Colorado. ©Victoria Lise 2018.

Cinnamon Mountain Summit, Colorado

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Late last week we made the trek to the summit of Cinnamon Mountain once again. After four trips to the peak I’ve still not grown weary of it. It sits nestled within Paradise Divide, enveloped by striking Rocky Mountains, blanketed in rich foliage and fragrant native wildflowers.  Despite the drought or perhaps because of it the flowers were in full bloom. There were no shortage of lupines, purple aster, columbines, osha, and a vast variety of paintbrushes. You may recognize Cinnamon Mountain from  Hiking Mountains at 55+ when we took my mom on her very first peak hike. What a memorable…

Summer Solstice from Paradise Divide, Colorado. ©Victoria Lise 2018.

Paradise Divide Sunset, Colorado

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On the first day of Summer and the day that graces us with the longest daylights hours we left work just before dusk to chase the solstice light. There was no guarantee I would capture anything but a memory which would have been more than enough. We were exhausted, burned out from too much labor and not enough play or even sleep. We didn’t even have a location in mind so we just drove. Drove down a dirt road with no destination. We’re beyond lucky in that way, to be able to have dirt roads within reach, mountains one can…

Alpine sunflowers cover the valley floor below Gothic Mountain, Colorado. ©Victoria Lise 2018.

A Colorado Mid-Summer Dream

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The land is once again dehydrated, dry, and drought. The air torrid and dust stricken. And the fire danger heightened back to extreme. Parts of Colorado are still ablaze and from the predictions of my weather app we are still quite a few days out from a small, small chance of rain. However, the hearty alpine wildflowers continue to bloom enlivening the thirsty landscape. Fields are full of alpine sunnies, mules ear, lupines, wild rose, purple aster, scarlet gilia, paintbrushes and those I’m not as well acquainted with and cannot yet call by name. They sway in the mid-summer winds…

Fathering Forgiveness

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There were many years I didn’t speak to my father on Fathers Day. Many years I didn’t even know him or whether he was alive or dead. Most would have filed him under the deadbeat dad category never realizing the impact the judgements and assumptions had on the daughter. The daughter of a deadbeat. About 8 years ago on the eve of a humid Fathers Day we sat in a workers cabin surrounded by tulip poplars on the curve of a Delaware back road. Me, my dad, and Alex. We sat there for hours until I hit a wall emotionally….

A Wall of Televised Truths. East Jesus Art. © Victoria Lise 2018.

Slab City and East Jesus

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Some end up there because of hard times, some choose to park it there during the tolerable winter months, others prefer the outskirts of society. Veterans, snowbirds, runaways, artists, a kaleidoscope of colorful characters occupy the barren desert acreage that many would describe as post apocalyptic.