Night and day

Sometimes you need to be able to change your look quickly from day to night. For me, this often happens at work. I go to work with a more casual and easy look generally. It makes working with kids much easier. For my day look, I wore sandles and kept my hair down and makeup light. This look is more simple and I could run errands and go about my daytime business.

 Dress: JCpenny, Shoes: DSW, Earrings: Charming Charlie

THis is my "It is really sunny and bright out right now" look. Too much sun in my eyes and I think Luna back there would agree.

 The evening look. For evening, a quick shoe change to some cute heels, a little bit more makeup, and the hair in a ponytail. A fast switch for when you have a date or drinks after work/errands.

 Shoes: Target

What about you girls and guys? How do you take a look from day to night? Any new ideas?

Inside the caves...under the ground

One of my biggest fears is mines. In Nevada, we have a lot of them, both new and old. This fear stems from my 4th grade field trip. First we learned all about Nevada history, then we watched a video about mines called Stay Out and Stay Alive (may not be the exact video but similar). Let's just say the video scared the heck out of me. The next day after the video our class was going on a field trip to visit a (safe?) mine. I was up all night with nightmares and terrible thoughts about this trip. When our class finally got up to the mine, I refused to go in and sat outside the whole time and to this day I still do not like being underground, mines, or even replicas of mines.

When the boy and I decided to go on our trip to Great Basin, we researched all the amazing things to do and see. One of these things that everyone seemed to recommend was Lehman Caves. It looked neat, but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to go. My fear stopped me. The night before we went I was once again having anxiety about the thought but as an adult I figured I could do this. Plus, caves are not man made like mines are, so there is a little bit more security there. Well, ladies and gents, I did it! I conquered my fear and went in. It was amazing and interesting and such a surreal experience. The pictures I have aren't great but we had to keep moving and I didn't have much time to set up. All I have to say is, conquer your fears. Go out and do something amazing.

  

Great Basin National Park!

I have a bucket list and part of it includes attempting to get to all the US National Parks. I love the wild, beautiful places of the world and it would be wonderful to get to them all. They are such important pieces of our nation and just amazingly beautiful. Plus, I have wanted to visit more since watching the Parks And Rec. last season and wishing I had Leslie Knopes job. haha.

Source for photo

The boy and I decided that we would pack up and take a road trip to our state's Great Basin National Park since we both were excited to see it! Of course it was better than we expected. Here are some wonderful pictures from the park. I'll try to let the pictures speak for themselves...

Bristlecone Pines are some of the oldest living organisms on earth. They grow in some of the harshest environments in the US. This one is at around 10,000ft. in elevation and just below a glacier. 

One of the southernmost glaciers in the US is in Great Basin but since we've been in such a drought, there isn't much left. 

 Wheeler Peak is the second highest peak in Nevada. 

Great Basin also has one of the darkest skies in the country. It is far away from most major cities so there is hardly any light pollution.

It was a wonderful trip (besides the flash flood warning) and I would love to go back again someday, I would highly recommend this park to anyone who wants to visit magical places with such rich wildlife and history. There are also caves inside the park, which I will post about next time. I just have far too many pictures for one post. 

Road Trip on The Loneliest Road in America

Highway 50 through Nevada has been called The Loneliest Road in America and was once the route traveled by Pony Express riders through the state to deliver mail (Pony Express History anyone?). It is an empty expanse and lovely salt flats, mountains, and valleys with hardly any towns or other people seen for miles. While most people might find this "lonely" as the the nickname states, I find it beautiful and enchanting, at least to visit. This is where the boy and I began our road trip from Carson City, NV all the way out to Great Basin National Park. Summer road trips are great and can be full of fun and interesting places. Here are a few photos from the road, or The Loneliest Road.

On the road to Great Basin.

Shoes: Teva

An old sign/road marker for the Lincoln Highway.

The Pony Express. Sign in Austin, NV about halfway through our journey.

The lovely open road. So much sky. 

Eureka, NV. Another small town along the way.

More signage marking the Lincoln Highway.

Yay! I survived.

Ward Charcoal Ovens outside Ely, NV. 

Cows on the open range!

Welcome to Ely, NV!

That was the end of Day 1 of our road trip. The next stop was Great Basin NAtional Park, where we camped for a few nights before driving home. Since this post is a bit picture heavy, the next post will be from inside the park. Enjoy!

Edit, edit, edit

I am currently very busy editing photos from my recent camping trip to Great Basin National Park. It was so incredibly beautiful and amazing. The park system is so amazing and I am glad to finally be able to say I made it to my state's greatest park (in my opinion). I will update you all with pictures from the trip and more information when I am done. For now, enjoy this picture of my getting ready to leave for our long road trip, but finding a stow away in the car. That's right, the dog really wanted to come with us. Haha.

 Pants: Loft, Shirt: unknown 

Oregon Adventures

I've been in Oregon (mainly Portland) for the last few days watching my lovely little sister graduate from dental school and exploring around the area. I love Portland and the surrounding areas. They are just so green and full of tress, so different from my desert existence.I was so excited to go to Portland and for it to be cooler than Reno and for there to be more rain. Well, turns out it rained more at home than in Portland! Haha. It was soooo hot so my wardrobe consisted of shorts and tank tops most of the time. Not much in the way of fashion for this trip but lots of travel photos. Here are some of the photos from my week of adventures! Enjoy.

Summer Blues

It is barely summer (break) and I already have a bit of a bug. Yuck! The AC is on so it's nice and chilly in the house but me, I am wearing a sweater and drinking tea. And reading of course. I feel strange knowing it is probably 75 degrees outside and I am wearing a sweater, but it's one of those things I take comfort in when I am sick or feeling icky. I hope you all enjoy your day and hopefully this too will pass quickly!

Sweater: Loft, Yoga pants: Old Navy, Earrings: Modcloth.com