Mother's Day 2016

Mother's Day 2016 started with yoga next to my momma, taught by my amazingly talented-yoga-teacher-sister at Elan, then lunch at the Chocolate Café, some window shopping around old town- The Cupboard, TOPO Designs, etc. and then geranium gathering at the Plantorium.  And no, this is not an ad for these places, I just like to link to awesome shops when I can.  You never know who's looking for geraniums and now you know where to find them!  

Technically my day started with my wonderful husband making me delicious Kona coffee, and then going on a 7 mile bike ride around the Fort Collins trails before it got all rainy, so I shouldn't leave that out - but I just had to post a little bit about this wonderful Mother's Day with my beautiful mother.  

Growing up I took having an awesome, wonderful, supportive, happy family for granted.  It's not that I didn't know I had it, I just didn't know how many other people in the world didn't.  It truly is a gift to come from such a loving family.  I know without a doubt I wouldn't be the person I am today without the love and guidance of my mother.  She is such a strong, beautiful, faithful, hilarious, joyful, graceful, elegant, raw, honest, silly, crazy, wacky, quiet, peaceful, smart, witty, punny, zany, musical, tiny mom, and I am so so so so so blessed, and so lucky, and so thankful that I get to be one of her daughters.  My family is my rock, and they always have been, and they always will be, and this life is amazing because of them.  So thanks, Momma, for being such a fabulous you and giving us the gift of having you as our mother.  

The Canyonlands || March 2016

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you -- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls -Edward Abbey

Max here.  Sonja and I were planning our annual summer backcountry trips to Rocky Mountain National Park.  To obtain the permits for the days that you want you have to be on it, and apply the day they go on sale.  We lucked out this year and we have three dates at some of the most coveted spots in the park. While we were booking our dates for RMNP I happened to glance at the backcountry reservation system for Canyonlands National Park and noticed that there was ONE night available at a super prime campsite called Elephant Canyon 2 between March and May. That one night was exactly 5 days away.  The best time to be in the Canyonlands is in the spring and fall, the summer is so hot that it is almost unbearable. There it was, staring at us, we had one chance to get this spot this season if we wanted to go. We decided to pull the trigger and go for a spur of the moment trip to Utah. Life is for the living. 

I have a bit of history with the desert southwest.  I spent a week in the Canyonlands rafting through Cataract Canyon in high school, and I spent a month rafting the Grand Canyon in December of 2009. There are events in your life that change everything going forward. For me it was meeting Sonja, the first time I guided a raft in a river, catching a Steelhead Trout, my time in the desert, and catching my first Tarpon. Every time I visit the desert I come back with a new perspective. It is a freeing, humbling, quiet and peaceful place. Like people all over the world, I have a special connection with the solitude of the desert. I love it. 

It is about eight hours to Canyonlands National Park from Fort Collins but it seems to go quickly because most of the ride is beautiful (and because my wife is hilarious and awesome- wait- who wrote this part?). We camped just outside the park in Indian Creek at a campground called Hamburger Rock.  

The forecast called for rain the first night so we decided to keep everything easy and sleep in the car. We are glad that we did! A large powerful thunder storm rolled though the area, it rained and thundered, then it hailed, then the wind blew, and we woke up to snow in the desert. Not uncommon, but really amazing to look at. 

We checked in at the visitor center and headed into the park. Here we are at the Chesler Park Trailhead. Apparently a mountain lion had been spotted in the area. A little unnerving, but the Park Service probably has to let people know. What are ya gonna do? Fight back if attacked, I guess, make noise when you can. We most definitely did not see a mountain lion or signs of a mountain lion (other than the warning sign at the trailhead). 

After hiking for a short time we were able to see The Needles firsthand. I'm not going to lie to you.  This place is amazing and special!

We got to our campsite at Elephant Canyon 2 after a couple hours of hiking and taking photos. The hike into the canyon is not difficult, but it is not really something that you want to do quickly. It is nice to take your time and breathe it in. Look a little longer maybe. Idunno, you just have to see it for yourself. After getting to our super bitchin' camp (not our video) we put up our tent and headed into Elephant Canyon to check out Druid Arch.  You can find all kinds of trail guides for the area so I won't write another one...Instead here are some of our photos from the hike. 

We worked our way back to camp and made dinner and started drinking box wine (of course). We spent the night hanging out at the campsite and listening to owls while watching the stars. It was amazing. It was so quiet that the silence was deafening. In the morning we hung out around camp and then hiked out.  We didn't make it into Chesler Park this trip, the Shangri-La of the Needles District. We were on a short timeline and we needed to get back to Colorado, but it is a short trip and we will definitely be back this fall. 

The only way to get to the heart of the Needles is really to hike.  It is unique and special that way. When the park was built there was talk of extending the road into Chesler Park, but it would be difficult to maintain the natural beauty of the area.  It is really great that people like Bates Wilson and Stewart Udall had a vision for the park and it is a lot the way they wanted it. They cared and they did not want it spoiled. It is special that you can get so intimate and so close with the area and the only way to do so is to walk. If you want to know you have to go. We both highly recommend it and hope you can make it. 

It's 2016, Mo Fo's!

If you have no idea what that blog title is about, you should go listen to some Mike Birbiglia. Specifically this bit.  I think he's one of the funniest humans on the planet.  He came to Fort Collins and I got to meet him - I think he'll probably remember me as the girl who couldn't control her laughter and sobbed and snorted in the 2nd row like a freak.  Actually, I'm sure he won't remember me at all, which is 100% for the best. 

Anyway, 2016 is clearly getting away from us already.  Where did we leave off- ah yes- last October where our lives became outrageous, and we both decided to quit our day jobs and leap into running our photography business from home!  YAAAAAY!  So far so good!  

Max has been busy over the winter with our business plan, all things marketing, and cleaning out our garage (which is mostly all my stuff - love you honey!).  I have been lounging about, enjoying having free time before our busy wedding season begins, but working hard behind the scenes getting set up for this coming year.  I've gone to tax seminars, photographer business meet-ups, and also enjoyed working from home during the day, rather than all through the night.  Bijoux is enjoying having both of us home most of the time, too.  At least I think she is- this is her usual position during the day- if she's not begging for food, then she's snoring away while I edit photos.

 

We had a lovely holiday season with our families, and we've endured some of the nastiest winter storms Fort Collins has thrown at us in a while.  I got to go to Omaha and Kansas City in January to photograph new Qdoba stores- it was my first official business trip as a #bosslady and it was super fun!  We posted a Sonja K Photography blog about it- make sure you keep up with the biz website, too!  

I was going to write a bunch more, but I'm going to save it for the next post.  Max and I just got back from a crazy last-minute-on-a-whim trip to the Canyonlands, followed by my first wedding of the season (I was the second photographer, so it was a nice way to ease back into it) and then a FABULOUS trip to New Orleans!  It's blizzarding out right now, so I'm going to go write those posts so you can read about our adventures next time.  But it feels good to be writing again, and I promise to post more pictures next time.  I'm just cozy on the couch and I don't want to go into the bedroom and turn on the main computer- mostly because I fear the power is about to go out due to the heavy snow on the trees. 

Oh, okay - I'll post a picture of the snow right now so you know what we're dealing with here.  

Happy Spring everyone!! 

Rocky Mountain National Park 2015 (Part 1)

Lots of BIG things have been happening with Sonja and me lately! It has been a crazy summer/fall and I am just now getting around to blogging about it.  For all three of you that actually check this every now and again-sorry about the delay....I am going to try to be better.  

We are super thankful for the busy "wedding season" that we have had this year. Sonja has a ton of really awesome images from her personal work and from our lives that we want to share with you.  As soon as we finish up the work that pays the bills we will get a bunch of new content up here.  Thank you for your patience, support, and for checking us out. Stay tuned!   

Max gets the Wyoming CuttSlam

I spent last weekend in Wyoming with our close family friend, Jeff, working on the Wyoming CuttSlam.  The way it works is you catch the four native subspecies of Wyoming Cutthroat Trout in their native waters, document it, send it in the Game and Fish and you get a sweet certificate. FOR FREE! You can read all about it HERE. That certificate is pretty bitchin' right?  Wyoming is a really special place for me.  It always feels like home every time I am there. For real, they should probably call it WyHOMEing.  Even when the wind is blowing and the weather is cold I still love it, especially when I am with my family or friends. I guess you just have to be from there to understand. Here are my fish. 

The Bonneville cutthroat trout.

The Bonneville cutthroat trout.

Maybe the smallest Snake River/ Finespot Cutthroat Trout ever entered. I can't believe that it actually ate the fly, but I am proud of it. 

Maybe the smallest Snake River/ Finespot Cutthroat Trout ever entered. I can't believe that it actually ate the fly, but I am proud of it. 

The Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout.

The Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout.

The Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. I caught this one in 2010. There is no time limit on catching the trout. 

The Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. I caught this one in 2010. There is no time limit on catching the trout. 

Here are some pictures I took of Jeff fishing.  Wyoming in early September is amazing!

Here is the biggest fish that we caught on the trip.  It is a Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, and it came out of a tiny pool on a tiny creek.

That fish is probably 16-18 inches of native, wild, Cutthroat Trout. 

That fish is probably 16-18 inches of native, wild, Cutthroat Trout. 

I am the third in my family to get the CuttSlam. My mother and my father both have CuttSlams, so I guess the pressure was on. The CuttSlam is a really cool program that the Wyoming Game and Fish put together, and I am honored to have completed it. It feels like a connection to my family and to where I come from....If that makes any sense.  

If you have 3 to 4 days to spend fishing in Wyoming I highly recommend giving it a try. We pretty much had the water all to ourselves, the scenery was spectacular, and it was a really fabulous time! 

 

 

 

 

 

One Year Ago not Today

One year + 8 days ago we got married.  

It was one of the best days of my life.  

Family, friends, food, wine, dancing, laughing, a little bit of (happy) crying, sparkles, dresses, fancy shirts, puppies and cake.  It doesn't get much better than that.  

Thank you again to everyone who made our beautiful wedding possible, and to everyone who came and celebrated with us.  Our lives are rich and wonderful because of you!  

photos by the talented Jarrod Renaud

Brewers Olympics

Have I mentioned how much I love my job?  How much I love this town?  How much I love beer and sun and fun?  Well, here's a little snippet into how we get to spend our weekends sometimes.  In case you've been missing our posts lately, this is what we've been up to. 

sunny days, goats + veggies

foothills bathed in sunshine, cottonwood tree cotton-y things floating through the air, long-eared goats, fresh veggies grown by friends, smelly dirt, green fields, happy smiles

stopping by the CSA after an emotionally rough day is better medicine than could be prescribed.  

beautiful friends and beautiful veggies

after the rain

Well, it's June, and this blog should officially be re-named SalzburgsMonthly- but I warned you at the beginning that we do what we want, and lately that hasn't been blogging. Whewps!  However, here are a few highlights from the past month to tide you over until we do a post about our kitchen/house remodel disaster, because it's finally coming to a close [knock on wood]

 

a year ago

A year really is a long time.  I mean, it goes by in the blink of an eye- but a LOT can happen in a year.  Last year around this time we were sending out these:

Yes, people who received those in the mail ACTUALLY came to our wedding.  Again, we thank you.

I was picking out a spot for our wedding- it looked like this at the time:

I was, of course, still taking photos of Bijoux:

I was wrangling my bees who were swarming (to the tree next door)

Sadly the ladies have absconded this spring, but I'm looking forward to being on the SWARM catching hotline this year, and hopefully picking up a couple for myself.  It's always an adventure in the bee world!

I was mostly looking like a hot mess wherever I went:

but I was also meeting my running idol/all-around bad-ass Beth, from ShutUpAndRun (she finished her trail half marathon in the same amount of time it took me to do the 10k... but no one's keeping track, right?)  I was so excited to meet her, and I'll be "racing" with her again tomorrow at the same trail race.  Woohoo!

seriously, I'm starstruck here- LOVE HER!!  

I have been looking forward so much lately- on to the next thing, always moving ahead, always planning for the future- but it's nice to look back every once in a while and see how far I've come.  It makes me appreciate where I am even more.  It makes me stop and think about the NOW.  

We're so close to having our house renovations finished- and once we do we'll post a big photo update on the house, and we'll be able to have friends over again.  It's been since January, so we're ready.  And if you don't know what's going on, you can always sign up for my newsletter!  

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Okay, it's late and I should go to bed so I can wake up early and walk/jog this race!!  

PIGLETS!

I took a lil' trip to Spring Kite Farm today to visit the newborn piglets and baby goats. 

**warning - extreme cuteness- please use caution when viewing- not recommended while driving or standing**

These little piggies were born last night at Spring Kite Farm in Fort Collins, CO. The end of the video is where I faint from cuteness overload.

snowy cabins in Wyoming with friends

At the crack of the new year (is that a phrase?  like the crack of dawn, just the crack of 2015?  and crack like "snap!" or the sound a whip makes, not butt crack, yes?)

Let me start over- in the wee light of the dawn of 2015-

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Earlier in January we were invited to spend a delightful weekend away in the woods of Wyoming to celebrate our friend Luke's birthday.  It was a super blast!  (shout-out to Cale who had the NoroVirus and couldn't come with us- missed you!)

The boys (read: men) rented a snowmobile to haul in all of our things (read: booze) and to drop people off, since the cabin was a hefty 8-mile snowshoe-trek in.  I stayed back at the parking lot/lodge (read: drinking wine at 10am) until Luke came back to return the snowmobile, and we were going to do the final snowshoe in to the cabin together.  I was stoked!  Until about 27 steps into the journey when my guts turned... like ruhhlll bad.  I attempted to keep on for about a mile or so, but I couldn't do it- I spent some 'alone time' in the deep woods (I'm sorry nature!), and thought I would be okay after that- but the wind was starting to pick up, and the sun was starting to go down, and I could see a hint of panic in Luke's eyes (read: terror)- mostly because I insisted on being the one to stay back and hike in with him, however I was now the one with the cold sweats taking poo-treks into the trees every two minutes, so we were seriously NEVER going to get to the cabin.  

We decided to throw out our thumbs and were immediately saved by two snowmobile angels who are now our best friends.  *shout out to John and Renee*  Our snowmobile adventure (which would have taken us another 4 hours to complete at my pace on snowshoes) was over in mere minutes, and we arrived at the cabin JUST in time for me to use a real bathroom!  Yaaaay! 

We arrived to a tidily primped cabin, with fresh (read:old leftover from people before) popcorn and a beautifully set table that Ryan, our new housemaid/ghost, had prepared for the evening.  

We were trying not to panic about the rest of our group who were hiking in after we did, AFTER dark- but they were beasts and totally rolled in ahead of schedule, in the dark, headlamps and all!   Total Bad-Asses!! We then all warmed ourselves by the roaring fire, ate a delicious dinner of Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes, and played games until it was time for bed.  

We only almost died once in the middle of the night when we all woke up (from sleeping on our mattresses circa 1974) to the smoke alarm going off- whewps!  We wanted too desperately for our boots to dry, and sadly they had begun melting into a smoky puddle in front of the floor heater, filling the cabin with toxic plastic-y smoke.  Mmmmm.  Thank you smoke alarm!  *note to all readers (so, Mom- but you already know all this stuff) don't go to sleep in a new place without checking for smoke alarms and CO detectors* 

The next day brought snowshoe adventures,  sledding adventures, oh heck, ghost stories, naps, food, food, more food, slender man, Sigourney Weaver, munchkin battles, goulash, CHEESECAKE, champagne, birthday toasts, and late night glittery snow shenannigans under the full moon.  The next morning it was time to pack up, and after the 8 mile hike out on Sunday, in mostly beautiful, a tad-bit Wyoming-y weather, we were ready for giant cheeseburgers in Laramie.  

Thank you for the wonderful memories- cheers to a new year, friends!

art and summer times

We have a beautiful botanical garden in Denver that hosted some more beautiful art from Chihuly this summer, and we were able to take a trip down there with my parents.  It was SUCH a perfect night, and although there were about 40 million people at the gardens that night, it was so fun!  We ate dinner outside, in the little cafe at the gardens, and watched all the fancy people dressed up for the fundraising galas or weddings the gardens were hosting that night.  Technically I think it was just the early days of fall, but it felt like it was still summer.  Looking at these photos while giant snowflakes are falling outside my window right now is keeping the chill out.  Also the hot pink down booties I'm wearing.  We just finished up a lovely dinner with my mother-in-law and her sister who was in town for her first Broncos game.  Even though the Broncos lost, I think they still had fun, and it was good to see them both!  So many things to warm the heart this time of year.  Happy 2015!!

Austin, TX - part deux

Some more from our trip to Austin last month- Enchanted Rock, a true dive bar tour, ending with me getting everyone kicked out for "holding up the game with my photography" (they take their games of shuffleboard VERY seriously down in Austin apparently- so watch out!), a REAL LIVE LONGHORN, some of the most delicious food in my life, and two of the bestest friends we could ever ask for.  

moo?

first stop on the dive-bar tour- Carousel Lounge- keeping it real.

some amazing music, and some WEIRD ASS BARS- although, I do love Christmas year round, LaLa's. 

breakfast glamour shoot.  I think we were the only table not wearing skinny jeans, flannels and beanies.  

Rio Rita's

PLEASE STOP HAVING FUN NOW!!!!!

moon tower!!!!

I think my directions were to be as sexy as possible.  Well done, everyone.  Well done. 

coming down from Enchanted Rock

there was a lot of this

there was a lot of this

and a lot of this

love these cats!

Fishing (warning- no photos of actual fish)

In September (yes, that's how long it took me to make this crappy video) we were privileged enough to do some fishing on the Governor's ranch in Wyoming.  It was a cold and windy b*, but what else is new in Wyoming these days?  Although I was skunked (I'm blaming it on spending most of my time photographing, NOT on my lack of skill) it was a super fun trip with the new in-laws and the hubbs.  We'll be back, Wyoming fishies- you just wait. 

Beer Town

It's hard to go anywhere or do anything in this town without it involving beer.  Sometimes it's inevitable, sometimes you have to seek it out.  Last weekend we sought it out and took the New Belgium Brewery tour (which Max has been on approximately one meelion times, as they make ALL the shirts for NBB- but it's still fun, even if you've seen it all before!  I learn something new every time!)  It was a beautiful way to spend the day!  (we also bought our first air plants- not shown below, but I'll be sure to post a picture if we can keep them alive longer than 3 weeks!)

Austin, TX - part 1

We went down to Austin for an epically beautiful weekend.  We toured the divy-est of dive-bars, meditated with Deepak, hiked to the top of Enchanted Rock, ate world class BBQ, and caught up with some of our best friends, getting to see their beautiful home, meet their newest kitty, and hang out with their newly announced baby bump.  Eeeeeeeeeee!!!  We know they are going to make the world's coolest parents because they are the world's coolest friends.  

Inside and outside Rio Rita Lounge

It's always Christmas at LaLa's

These were some characters we met along the way.

RMNP

we camped.  it was cold.  there were bears, supposedly- Max came face to face with a deer? in the middle of the night-  Colorado is incredible. 

again- I didn't edit, and these are only the film shots- I think I have digitals that I will add later.  This was such a fun and much needed trip.  Only love is in my heart.

Backtracking

Here are some photos from pre-wedding- May, I believe.   One of my most cherished trips ever-  seeing family I haven't seen in too long, meeting some of them for the first time, touching the coast again. 

My heart will always belong to California.

 

Also, I didn't edit these, and I didn't cull them down for this post because life is too short.  We have this amazing technology now of scrolling- so if you are bored by the number of photos I posted, scroll fast, my friends.  But it's high time I got these out into the world.