We started on Highway 88 with no destination in mind – in search of somewhere lovely to spend the afternoon.

There were a few stops to photograph soft soiled vineyard overtaken by grass directly across the street from healthy vineyards and orchards, enjoy chocolate dipped soft serve cones at one of my favorite roadside spots, and visit a vista point outside of Jackson where we could see old gold mines in the distance across the highway.

Then we found a section of the Mokelumne River (Big Bar) off of Highway 49… the riverbank was just steps from the parking lot and we were the only people there for much of the day. We spent hours wading to rocks and sitting there quietly… listening to the rushing water, soaking up the sun… marveling at the beauty all around us. We chased the sun til it disappeared beneath nightfall… stopping to take it in from the roadside because it was too gorgeous to drive through.

When life presents challenges, and it will, these are the moments I will reflect on… the ones that remind me how beautiful life is… how green the trees are, how powerfully the river rushes and how loud its sound is over my heartbeat, how delicious the yellow flowers smell, how warm the sun feels on my shoulders, how peaceful my soul is when everything else is perfectly still…

Jacie