#SundayStills: Searching for #Peace


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#SundayStills: The #Texture of Sand


I have never heard of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park until I watched a video of a man’s road trip on YouTube. His road trip was about him driving from his home in Phoenix, Arizona to the border of Montana and Alberta, Canada. One of the states he had to drive through was my home state – Utah – in which he stopped and camped in 2 spots – Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and Antelope Island State Park.

Though he only showed clips of the park, I instantaneously knew I must make a trip there. The park is located in southern Utah, about 90 minutes from the Arizona border and it was one of the destinations on my recent road trips.

Most of the park is made for camping and it’s a playground for ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) with only one parking lot for day use. My aunt and I were one of the first ones in the park that day as, with a ATV tour later in the day, we were running on a semi-tight schedule.

The sand in this place was created by the constant wind that’s transporting the particles from the surrounding mountains to this exact spot, creating sand dunes in certain spots of the park. Walking on the sand isn’t like walking on the beach. It’s much better, I think. The sand has a fine and soft texture that even if it went into your shoes, you wouldn’t feel it until you’re walking on solid ground again. I found it hard to walk on the sand as my feet sank with every step, making my steps feel like I was dragging a cinder block.

Because of the constant wind in this place, the sand is constantly shifting, wiping away the footprints and any trace of disturbance in the sand within minutes and maintaining this line pattern in the sand. I will definitely visit this park again but next time, I’m doing an ATV tour.

For SundayStills

#SundayStills: Thinking of Brighter Things


As the days become shorter and the nights become longer, I can feel S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) hit me like a ton of bricks. This year, however, instead of feeling like not wanting to do anything (perhaps this will hit me later), I feel annoyed because I haven’t been able to finish the tasks in the garden because of the shorter days. Since my mom’s been in China, I feel like I haven’t stopped working in the garden and now, one week before my mom comes home, I feel like I still have a ton to do. I wish nothing more than for the sun to shine just a little bit longer right now.

If I can have one bright thing to say among this is I’m heading south toward Arizona this week for a couple of days. Checking on the day length, the sun sets about 30 minutes later down by the Grand Canyon, which should help brighten my mood. I am looking forward to visiting the Grand Canyon again and re-doing Horseshoe Bend to make sure my pictures are not drowning in shadows again.

The photo of the raven is from a previous road trip when I visited the Bryce Canyon in December. I remember how bright the snow was, so bright that I was squinting and had to shield my eyes. Sometimes, under the right conditions, snow can be ridiculously bright. Though there’s no forecasted snow during the days I’m at the Grand Canyon, I do hope to maybe see a hint of snow in the distance. Crossing my fingers that the weather cooperates.

For SundayStills

#SundayStills: Monthly Color Challenge – Brown and Gray


This picture was taken over 2 years ago and when I look back at the pictures of the garden, I can see just how much has changed and how the climate has changed. My cloud shows me photos of the day’s past each morning. Yesterday, I was shocked to see that last year at this time, it was snowing. This year, who knows when that will happen. The ski resorts were supposed to open this week but had to be delayed due to the lack of snow, or so the news says.

Meanwhile, all the deciduous trees in my backyard dropped its leaves simultaneously last week and with the rain that came a few days ago, everything is still sopping wet. I suppose I will just have to hand-scoop the leaves and pile onto the soil to be used as mulch.

Having been gardening for a few years now, I love seeing mushrooms in the garden and anywhere. Mushrooms are my friends. They are present when there is something to decompose. I couldn’t believe how much mushroom I saw in the garden last year, especially in the asparagus bed. Alas, I didn’t take a picture of them. I found these big fellas near a pond when I visited the mountains a few years ago but you get the idea. I hope to have more mushroom in the spring since I scattered a whole 5-pound bag of mushroom spawn earlier this year.

Okay, enough brown, let’s do gray. I don’t like just any gray skies but first, I should clarify. There is photogenic gray skies and non-photogenic gray skies. This is the photogenic kind of gray sky. The non-photogenic kind is what I’ve been experiencing the last few days. It does not make me want to leave the house. On the other hand, this gray sky makes my photos so much more unique and special.

Do you think so?

For SundayStills

#SundayStills: 3 Very Different #Trees


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#SundayStills: #Birdwatching


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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #357 – Into the Woods


Happy Sunday! Egidio from Through Brazilian Eyes is the host for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge and the topic he’s chosen is also one of my many favorites – Into the Woods.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #356 – Quiet Hours


Happy Sunday! SH is the guest-host for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge with the theme Quiet Hours. Hope you enjoy my take on this theme.

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#WeekendCoffeeShare – Festival, Day Trip, and Summer Garden Update


Happy Saturday! A big thanks to Natalie of Natalie the Explorer for hosting WeekendCoffeeShare each weekend.

It was a strange week, in my opinion, being back at work on Monday after a 3-day weekend. I felt like my mind struggled to concentrate and needed time to get back into work mode. One of the reason of why I felt this way was probably because the long weekend was a busy weekend. My mom and I attended the Colonial Heritage Festival on Saturday and I got my day trip on Sunday.

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#SundayStills: A Few Stories about #Flags


I have a few stories I don’t think I’ve yet shared about flags, which is this week’s topic for SundayStills. Hope you enjoy.

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CFFC: View from Below – Low Angle #WordlessWednesday


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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #355 – Creativity


Happy Sunday! Anne-Christine from Leya is the host for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge and she is starting a new series in which she will be looking back at a previous Lens-Artists Challenge theme. For the inaugural challenge, she is looking back at challenge #42 with the theme of Creativity.

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#SundayStills: Memorable Sunrises and Sunsets Over the Years #Sun


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CFFC: Looking up at Trees #WordlessWednesday


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Four Corners Road Trip 2025 Day 6


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#WeekendCoffeeShare – Home after a Road Trip


Happy Saturday! A big thanks to Natalie of Natalie the Explorer for hosting WeekendCoffeeShare.

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Four Corners Road Trip 2025 Day 3


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Four Corners Road Trip 2025 Day 2


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Four Corners Road Trip 2025 Day 1


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#WeekendCoffeeShare – On the Road Again


Happy Saturday! A big thanks to Natalie of Natalie the Explorer for hosting WeekendCoffeeShare.

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Hello June 2025!


Why, what do you know? June’s here or I should say, the start of the dog days of summer.

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#WeekendCoffeeShare – End of May 2025 Garden


Happy Saturday! A big thanks to Natalie of Natalie the Explorer for hosting WeekendCoffeeShare.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #349 – The first thing I thought when I saw this photo


Happy Sunday! Tina is the lovely hostess for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge and she is challenging us to write the first thing that came to mind when I saw the photo.

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