New year, new intentions

Welcoming 2025: Intentions and New Adventures

Like many, I found myself asleep long before the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. We tucked in around 10 PM, only to be jolted awake by an impressive barrage of exploding fireworks as 2024 slipped into 2025. The loud celebration took me by surprise, since I’m used to a quieter way of ringing in the new year. Okay, I’m old and I guess this is the way it’s done in Texas.

Happy 2025!

As the firework echoes faded, my excitement for 2025 came into focus. Instead of the typical New Year’s resolutions, which, let’s be honest, often fizzle out, I prefer to set intentions. They feel warmer and more inviting, a guiding star for what’s to come.

This year, my sweet lady and I have united our aspirations: to cultivate more Art and Love within our home. She paints, bringing colors and emotion to life on canvas, while I capture the stunning landscapes of the American West through my lens. Our intention will be to create together—more paintings, more photographs, and, above all, more love and connection in the shared creative space.

Next Road Trip is a Big One!

As for my January plans, in a few days I’ll be heading to California, making time to visit family in Northern and Southern California, attend some medical appointments and finish off my tooth implant in Mexico. But between all that, I’ll be on the lookout for captivating photography opportunities along the way. The majestic landscapes of Death Valley are calling my name for my annual photography excursion! This will be the “big photography event” on this road trip so I’m gearing up for more Death Valley adventures on my way back to Texas.

My First Adventure to Death Valley’s Racetrack

When I made the photograph below, in 2015, it was my first time to the Racetrack Playa. My Jeep was almost new to me then and negotiating this 27-mile long and lonely desert road, paved only with sharp lava rock, felt like a good test of her. Upon arrival, my next task was locating those famous moving rocks. Turns out that I had to hike something like a mile or more from the parking area before running across this fine example of the mystifying legend of these moving rocks.

Photography conditions that afternoon were so good that I spent the night there, staying up late to make other photographs of these amazing moving rocks under the light of the full moon! Some of these moonscape photographs are in my Death Valley Gallery. Conditions that night were perfect, even offering me a rare moonbow to incorporate into some of my captures.

So, I’ll be going back to Death Valley later this month, sadly, not in the Jeep. Instead I’ll be in the comfort of Joy and staying mostly on the paved and less treacherous roads during the day, scouting out new photographs to share with you, staying comfortably warm in Joy’s coziness during the cold desert winter nights.

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Zooming Rock-Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California

The Loosely Planned California Leg

While I’m in the Bay Area, I hope to sneak away to the coast for some camping and seascape photography. The Texas landscape is beautiful in its own way, but there’s something I deeply miss about the rugged coastline. I can’t wait to capture the waves crashing against the shore, with the sunset painting a colorful backdrop.

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Sunlit Symphony of Sea and Stone.

February Family Ice-Fishing Plans are Firming Up

Mark your calendars—I'll be sharing photos and stories from my adventures beginning around January 10th and continuing until I return home at the end of the month.

And let’s not forget about February, where another ice fishing adventure in the Colorado Rockies awaits. More details on that to come!

Here I am from a couple winters ago, the ice fishing newbie.

Cheers to you and and Living an Intentional 2025!

Here’s to a powerful and magical 2025, filled with love, creativity, and breathtaking moments! Keep an eye on this space to watch my 2025 journey unfold.