My 2,000-Mile Journey

Although this journey took about 3 weeks to accomplish, I will make this as short and sweet as possible ;).

The first week of September I started out in Phoenix (flew from OR to AZ) and hung out with my friends down there before my big move back to the NW. It was great to see everyone again, just unfortunate that I had to say "hello" and "goodbye" in the same visit. Erik and I had a lot of time to talk, but it still didn't seem like enough. I think I left on good terms though, and we are going to try and stay good friends. While I was there it was storming pretty good, and I've been working on getting good shots of lightning... this will suffice for now.

6 days later, I drove from Phoenix to Orem, UT in 10 hours, where a bunch of my old friends live. I grew up with a family in West Salem, elementary school through middle school, and hadn't seen any of them since they lived in Oregon, 4 years ago. It was so wonderful to see them all again, and their husbands, wives, and children whom I had never met! The youngest, Samantha, who was my best friend in my younger years, and her friend Elise took me around Salt Lake to show me the sights and go shopping. We hung out a few times and it was great to catch up with her. I really missed that family! I had another friend who was another best friend in middle/high school, that lives in that area, and we were able to have time to catch up as well. Then there was my good friend Jake who I worked with at Reds, who took me hiking and to see sights in the mountains that I never new existed in that place. I always thought of Utah as a rocky desert, but this place was pretty beautiful, and the fall colors were just beginging to show through.

In these mountains, just outside of Provo and Orem, are numerous canyons, and each canyon had what seemed like hundres of waterfalls pouring down the walls. We went to Sundance, where the film festival takes place, and visited Robert Redford's resort and stables and said hello to the horses.

Other days we went to explore some caves in one of the canyons, and I went rock climbing for the first time in my life! Although I only went up about 15 feet, it felt like much more since we were on the side of an open cliff that overlooked the entire valley. The sunset was amazing that evening.

After spending about a week and a half in Utah, I drove SW another 10 hours through the boring state of NV back to the Sierra Nevada Moutains, where I worked this summer, to ride along on the horse drive from Mammoth Lakes to Bishop, CA (45 miles). A horse drive is like a cattle drive, by the way, for those of you that do not know, where we herd 90 animals all that way, coyboy style. It was a blast, but quite hot (105 degrees in the sun) since we rode in the desert the whole way. I don't have pictures of the horse drive yet, but will hopefully soon. Since I only had 3 days off this summer, I didn't get many pictures of the high trail, my favorite trail along the Pacific Crest Trail, but arrived a day early to do so, and capture the fall colors there.

Along my hike to Shadow Lake Lookout I spotted black bear tracks left by a medium sized bear, relatively fresh, but there was no sight of the bear.

It's always nice to get back to the Sierras, and I rarely get to see them in the fall, so that was a treat.

After the weekend horse drive I left Monday morning and drove back to Salem, OR in 12 hours where I am now. I had a great trip, and I'm glad I did as much as I did and saw so many people, "stopping to smell the flowers" rather than doing the whole 2,000 miles in one stretch. Now it's time to look for a job and a place to live......

What Happens Next

Well this blog title may turn into "Hug a Tree" because... I'm moving back to Oregon. Or somewhere near or around Oregon where I can find myself a decent job. When I turned 24 this summer, I had the mountains to really clear my head, and realized I'm not moving in the path I should be moving in being in Phoenix. Being unemployed for a year, along with many other things I won't get into on here, made me decide it's time. To make it short, Erik and I agreed it would be best for me to move on, do something for myself and give ourselves a chance to date other people. It will be tough, but I'm ready and excited to see where I will end up next in life. Erik and I are still great friends. After being together as long as we have I think we better be!

So here is my plan:
End of this month I'm flying back to Phoenix, where I will stay about a week to hang out with my friends down there, and to do something fun with Erik before I leave. I'll pack up my car and drive up North, through Utah where I will be visiting a ton of friends I have up there that I have never been able to make it out to see. It will be the first time I will see Utah. Then my plan is to drive East from there back to the Sierras where I just came from, to go on the Fall Horse Drive, were we herd the horses and mules 45 miles from Mammoth to Bishop, CA. That's not till the end of the month of September, so I have a lot of time to burn in Utah. Maybe see some National Parks, maybe go to CA early, we'll see. Then I'll be back in Oregon by the 1st of October. That's over 2000 miles of road tripping by myself! It will be long, but good for me. If I decide to make the trip shorter, I will just not do the horse drive and move along North through Idaho and into Eastern Oregon.

So that is what's new in my life. Well for the next month ;). Who knows where this feather will blow next.

My summer at Reds Meadow

Yes, I know it has been forever since I last wrote, but I had a busy busy summer with slow internet so didn't even try to get into my blog to write! But I will update you on my summer and what is coming next in my life.

Summer in CA was great. Mammoth is my "home away from home" and I always have a hard time leaving it. I got maybe 4 days off total throughout the 2.5 months I was there, and worked hard enough to lose 12lbs, but it was worth it with the amazing crew I worked with, and the animals I have grown up with. The season started off with the Spring Horse Drive, where we herded all 93 animals (horses and mules) from Bishop, CA to Mammoth Lakes, a total of 45 miles. It took 3 days, where we stayed in 2 different camps. It was the most fun I had had in a long time. I stuck in the front line where people dressed to me with a mule named Emma, and the front line kept the rest of the herd from escaping ahead of us. Then people along the sides and back would keep the herd from escaping out of the sides and behind.

The rest of the summer I spent as a dayride guide for the horseback rides out of Reds Meadow. I took out 2-hour rides, half-day rides and full-day rides into the backcountry. The country is beautiful and I can never get enough of the scenery there. (Click on the pic to enlarge.)


I was able to go on one pack-trip this summer to Thousand Island Lake for 2 nights with some of my closest friends, Bryce and Jake (Bryce was the packer and Jake was the trail cook). It was nice to get out of the pack-station for a few days and camp with some pretty great people in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
3 of the 4 of my days off I spent hiking or relaxing by a lake with a good book, but one I spent with some old friends that I worked with at Devils Postpile National Monument in 2006 (see first 2 pics below). We went to see the ghost town of Bodie, and to Convict Lake, both within 45 miles from Mammoth.








All in all I had a wonderful summer that went by far too quickly. I made some new friends I think I will be very close to for a long time, and saw things I had never been able to see before. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as planned, but alas, there is always next year.

Adiós, Desert Heat!

Well, tomorrow morning I'm leavin' on a jet plane for the mountains. But no, not the rocky mountains. I'll be heading NW to the high Sierra Nevada Mountains near Mammoth Lakes, CA, and will be there until August 17th. It is currently snowing there, and 55 degrees! A little cooler than the 106 degrees we've been getting here in Phoenix lately. I will continue to update my blog as often as I can (although I will only have internet access about once a week when I get to town). Please stay tuned!

Here's some info for you in case you want to send me some love:

Holly Banks
c/o Reds Meadow
P.O. Box 395
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

phone: 503/302-6090

A Year of Unemployment

It's been exactly one year since I was last employed, standing on the dock of a lighthouse following gray whales with my binoculars. At this time last year I was packing up my room in a beautiful beach house overlooking the ocean and lighthouse, cramming my life into my jetta. I was headed back to the valley not knowing where life would take me next. Little did I know I would end up in the Sonoran Desert, far from the ocean, the whales, sea lions, and happy, free-living people who loved the earth as much as I do, not taking little things in life for granted. I traveled a lot that summer, seeing Yellowstone for the first time, discovering my love for photography, and taking a road trip with the boy through Yosemite, Vegas, and into Arizona where he would be starting a new life. I told myself I would not be able to live here. Being mid-August, with no air-conditioner in the vehicle we came down in ('76 VW Bus), it was too damn hot, and there were not enough people like me.
But a month passed of being unemployed, and I decided once and for all, it was time to take a little spin in life and live in the desert for a while; see what else can be thrown at me. So then I went through leaving more behind: my closest friends, rain, TREES, and of course, my family and dog. It was rough at first; after a few months being jobless and having no friends depression set in, and I became cranky and irritable. We started making some friends, all guys of course since that's all Erik works with, but eventually I met their wives and girlfriends. Now I hang out with all of these people once to three times a week, and am back to being happy. It still gets lonely at home when Erik is at work, but I've been hearing so many stories about peoples' horrible jobs and them wishing they were "free" like me, although I do wish I could find something full-time that I can enjoy down here.

But in the meantime, the mountains are calling for me. In one week I will be flying to the high Sierra Nevadas where I have spent my summers growing up and riding horses in the back country. I'm taking a job I used to do taking out day rides on horseback, which I really do love since I get little kids running up to me and asking me if I'm a "real cowgirl", and wanting their picture taken with me. Then there are all the LA folk that come up for their vacation in the mountains, who dress hilariously for a horseback ride, but that's what's great about being on the lead horse, I can laugh and laugh secretly at their pink sandals and shorts and they have no idea. Then there is the feeling of being on a horse, breathing in the fresh mountain air, with not a care in the world, but to just be alive. I will be spending my summer doing just that, and taking a day off here and there to get out and take some photographs. I won't have internet where I'm going, but will still update you as often as possible (the town of Mammoth Lakes, CA is about a 45 minute drive up the mountain from the resort I will be working at, where I can find Wi-Fi at cafes here and there). I'll be living in a little one-room cabin amongst the ponderosa pines, and wildlife. (click on the title of this entry to take you to the Resort page.)



But of course I will be back in the desert on the 1st of September, hoping to find a full-time position THEN, maybe with Arizona Game and Fish, maybe at a bakery. Who knows. I just hope there is more down here to offer for me then. I'll miss Erik while I'm gone, but we've gone through many long-distance shiznit before, we can do 3 months again. And he promised he'd come visit me ;).

A Weekend in Sedona

We beat the heat this weekend and traveled on north to Sedona to go camping and hiking. It was sooooo nice up there, with high temperatures in the lower 80's! We found this amazing primitive campsite tucked in the trees near a creek where the 3 dogs could play, about 5 miles from town. There were 9 of us total, and we had a blast!

While Robyn, Erik and I went hiking the following day, Adrian, Alynda, Jimmy and Nathan went mountain biking. We spotted so many color variations of prickly pear flowers, and century plant flowers. There were tons of longhorn beetles paired up in the yucca... must be mating season!


Prickly Pear

Century Plant



I love Sedona. It's so much more vibrant than Phoenix, but of course more expensive. The houses, buildings and pavement there are all shades of red to match their surroundings. It's a quaint little hippie town, with lots of art shops, cafes, and ...psychics?


It was a great weekend, but Erik and I got home exhausted and a bit sunburnt. All worth it though!