Friday Five: Online Shopping Addict

Hi guys! Sorry I’ve been a little absent lately–the semester’s starting to get busy and I literally have next to no time during the middle of the week for anything but sleeping and getting homework done. But I’m more thankful than ever to have three day weekends every week–it’s seriously my lifesaver.

Anyways, I didn’t want to let a whole week go by without another post so I’m throwing a little Friday Five fun in here!

Five Things I’ve Eaten Recently

•  The best vegan restaurant pizza I’ve ever had. It’s hard to find vegan pizza in restaurants. It’s even harder to find amazing vegan pizza. I’m not one for fake cheese (don’t get the Daiya appeal) so I always go cheeseless. The other toppings are the best part anyways, especially in this case. My mom and I tried out a new-to-us restaurant in my college town called Restaurant 415. They aren’t specifically vegan, but they have plenty of gluten free and vegan options and focus on locally-sourced and organic ingredients. My kinda place for sure! I ordered The Woodland pizza sans the cheese and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The crust was not too thin or too thick, and it came topped with garlic & olive oil, mushrooms, deliciously salty & crunchy kale (when do you ever see kale on a pizza?!), dried figs (ditto), caramelized onions and a balsamic glaze. The sweet and salty flavors worked together perfectly and I was in vegan pizza heaven. 

My delicious leftovers!

• Banana softserve…with a twist. Who doesn’t love banana softserve, aka frozen bananas all blended up until they look like ice cream? Seriously, one of my favorite blog food finds ever. Well, I also discovered a little trick recently: mix almond butter (or nut butter of choice) with a little  coconut oil and drizzle over banana softserve…homemade magic shell! You can even add cacao powder or whatever you want to make it even better. I like topping my softserve and shell with cacao nibs for the perfect healthified dessert.

Who needs ice cream when you can have banana softserve?

• Raw jalapeno poppers.  I’ve been eating them whole, putting them in salads…basically just loving them. I should have made more but I’ll definitely be stocking up on jalapenos this weekend!

So spicy, so clean, so good!

• Brown rice sushi from Whole Foods. I’ve mentioned before how disappointed I am in the salad bar at the WF in my college town. However, when I discovered their brown rice sushi, I just couldn’t resist. I’ve never had brown rice sushi before, let alone vegan-friendly brown rice sushi. I got the avocado carrot cucumber roll and it was great dipped in coconut aminos and as a salad topping.

An easy dinner at it’s finest.

• Salads…on salads on salads. I’ve had a salad-a-day streak for at least the last three weeks, and I don’t want it to end anytime soon. I’ve discovered what makes a really great homemade salad–chopping the greens, shaking everything up to mix it around and letting it sit for at least half an hour in the fridge. It all makes for a very tasty salad. The toppings and dressings are what makes them, though.

Latest obsession: taco-inspired salads.

Five Things I’ve Bought This Week

• A set of weights. Yep, finally jumped on the strength training trend, and I gotta say, I really love it! I’m definitely not lifting heavy yet, but it’s good to start out light. And besides, I’m not so much wanting to build muscle as I am wanting to lean out. So lighter weights+more reps=(hopefully) a leaner body!

And they’re green, what could be better than that (besides pink)?

• A geology textbook and cacao nibs from Amazon. Random, yes, but I needed to get the super saver shipping so the cacao nibs were a much-wanted add-on item. The textbook is obviously for the geology class I’m in–I took it because it’s supposedly a prereq to the meteorology program I want to get into after graduation and I don’t really love it so far (mostly because of the professor) but I have a friend in it so that helps a lot!

• A massive iHerb order. They used to offer free shipping in the U.S. for any order over $20 or $25 I think, but now it’s for orders over $40. I hate paying for shipping so I just stocked up my online cart more than usual. I got a few new-to-me items (raw buckwheat granola, a new brand of coconut flour) and some other things I can’t get in store (namely, peanut flour). I think I’ll be set with new products for awhile…

Love getting packages in the mail!

• Some new-to-me Whole Foods finds. Yes, I love shopping online for things I can’t get near me, but there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned shopping trip to the grocery store. On my last trip to Whole Foods, I got a bunch of new-to-me items and I’m loving them all so far. The best is the Thai coconut curry hummus by Hope Hummus–it’s a local brand, but they might have it in WFs across the country so definitely check them out if you ever see them near you. This is the best hummus flavor I’ve ever tried, period. I also got a couple new Larabar flavors, unsweetened ketchup, coconut oil spray, dark chocolate Nuttzo (it was on sale!) and WF brand pickles (because other brands have not-so-good ingredients).

There’s always something new to try at Whole Foods.

Five Sites I’m Loving This Week

• Chicnova. It’s an online store I just discovered that has a ton of cute, affordable clothes in all kinds of styles. I haven’t ordered anything (yet) but there’s quite a few things I’m drooling over.
• Warby Parker. Notice the online shopping trend? Okay, so I haven’t bought from here either but I love the concept: you get to choose prescription glasses to try on at home, and you send back the ones you don’t like. I’m a sucker for hipster style glasses, so the next time I need a new pair, I’ll definitely be hitting up this store.
• DAMY Health. I don’t follow their nutrition plan by any means, but the recipe section has all sorts of amazing-looking vegan, gluten free and raw desserts. I kinda want to make them all…
• PicMonkey. The best free editing site I’ve come across. I just wish I could use all the upgraded features.
• Weather Channel. Yep, I’m a weather nerd and proud of it (that’s why I’m going into meteorology!) Besides just the forecasts, they also have weather stories and articles that are really interesting. For example, I found out the other day that Denver is in the top 6 cities for most snowfall. I actually don’t believe it, because for the past few years we haven’t gotten much snow at all!

Do you do any strength training? What’s one of your favorite sites at the moment? 

Friday Faves (November 2): Vegan MoFo Style

Hey guys! So I haven’t done a Friday Faves post in awhile, but I really wanted to recap some of the best things I ate last month in honor of Vegan MoFo. Seeing as I’m basically 99 percent vegan, all of my food is vegan, but I had a few exciting meals and recipes from October that I want to share with you guys again. So here goes!

 

Best Vegan Meal in a Restaurant: Raw Enchiladas with “Rawfried Beans”, Tasty Harmony

 

When my dad came up for Homecoming/Family Weekend at the beginning of the month, I had to drag him to Tasty Harmony, after practically drooling over their entire menu. Before you think I’m weird, this was the first time I’d ever gone to an entirely vegetarian (and mostly vegan) restaurant so I was excited. I ordered my first ever raw entree in a restaurant too, and I loved it. The “beans” were exactly like refried beans, only they were made with nuts and seeds. And the carrot cake my dad and I shared was to die for. I want to know how they made it, so I can make it at home. The best part was, my dad loved his meal too and wants to go back…hopefully when my family visits me next weekend!

Best New Snack: Apple Nachos

 

A lot of you have mentioned that you think these are super creative. I’m not sure where I got the idea from, but I love them too! They’re easily customizable and are packed with fiber, healthy fat (if you top with nut butter) and protein (if you top with protein frosting).

Best Weeknight Dinner: Socca Pizza

 

I’m so mad I only just discovered socca…because I could have been devouring it for years! It’s just so good, and deceptively easy to make. My favorite toppings for it are either traditional pizza toppings: nooch, red sauce, kale and kalamata olives; and I also like vegan creamy garlic dressing and kale for a take on spinach white pizza.

Best Money-Saving Grocery Trip

 

Yes, this was all bought at Whole Foods on one trip, and yes, it cost me under $30. How is that for being vegan on a budget? Especially for a picky, health-conscious vegan like me, it can be tricky to stay under budget (especially since I’m a sucker for impulse buys, especially seasonal items) but I’ve been learning a lot by doing my budgeting posts and I’m getting better at it. This just goes to show that you can buy “splurge” specialty items, organic products and produce without emptying your wallet.

Best Recipe: Pumpkin Macaroons

 

I didn’t get to post as many recipes as I would have liked to during Vegan MoFo, but I did get a few good ones in there. These macaroons were surprisingly easy to make and really good for a little snack. Unfortunately, I had to toss most of them because I made them around the same time as the fridge debacle (aka my fridge broke and I got a new one) so they didn’t end up staying fresh. But I want to experiment more with macaroons and recipes in general. I’ve been in a food rut lately and I need some new, delicious things to make!

Best Buy: So Delicious mint chocolate coconut milk

 

I can’t say enough good stuff about this product–even if you do dairy, please try this! It’s a lot better for you than the traditional holiday-type drinks and if you love the mint chocolate flavor combo, you will love this.

Did you celebrate Vegan MoFo, even for just one meal? What’s your go-to weeknight dinner?

Alter Eco Giveaway WINNER!

Hey guys! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I have a quick recap of mine later in the post but first I want to announce who won my Alter Eco giveaway.

And the winner is… Sabrina @ Living, Learning, Eating! Congrats girl! Shoot me an email at ashlauren711@gmail.com so I can have Alter Eco ship out your goodies!

This weekend was Homecoming/Family weekend on the CSU campus so my dad made the drive up to spend the weekend with me. Two years ago my mom and sister were also able to come up but since I was still living  the dorm life then, we had to stay in a hotel. But now that I’m in a single lady pad (aka a one bedroom apartment) I can actually have people spend the weekend with me. We had tons of fun, despite the less-than-stellar weather. And by that, I mean it was literally in the 30s for most of the weekend. Not normal for October but it was still a good weekend.

On Friday night, my dad and I had a late dinner at Tasty Harmony, a mostly-vegan restaurant downtown. It was our first time eating there, but luckily it won’t be our last because it was so good! My dad isn’t a vegan or even vegetarian but he’s definitely willing to eat more plant-based foods. He got a garlicky hummus and veggie sandwich but I went with something a little more adventurous–the raw enchiladas. It was my first time eating a raw entree in a restaurant and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It was made with flax tortillas and filled with raw pepita “cheese”. It came with guacamole, salsa, cashew cream, a side of “rawfried” beans and a really good mixed greens salad. The beans were the real star of the plate–they literally tasted like refried beans, but our waiter said they were made with a mix of nuts and seeds.

Not my picture, but they looked pretty similar to this!

Now normally I don’t order dessert in a restaurant, partly because they rarely have a vegan option but also because it’s a big ED fear of mine. Well, I was really wanting one of their desserts because they all sounded so good, plus they were all wheat and refined sugar free. So my dad and I split a piece of carrot cake and it was literally the best cake I’ve ever had! Carrot cake is the only kind of cake I really like but I’d never had a vegan version until Friday. It was so cinnamon-y and just fresh tasting, plus not heavy at all. Well, that makes sense because Tasty Harmony makes everything from scratch, uses purified water to make their food and drinks (they even have a bar!) and most of their menu is vegan and gluten free. So it was definitely my kind of place and I hope to go back soon. My dad even wants to go back again!

Saturday morning we ran a bunch of errands, like filling up my car tires with air (sooooo fun, especially in the cold…NOT!), getting gas and grabbing some snacks at Whole Foods for the tailgate. Of course I couldn’t go a week without going to Whole Foods 😉 I got a few really tasty things, like black bean dip and veggie chips, plus some old favorites I was running low on. Then we had a quick lunch (Whole Foods’ sweet spinach salad is a total winner!) and headed out for the tailgate. Little did we know how cold we’d be! I was wearing a pair of skinny cords, a sweatshirt, a jacket, boots with thick socks and I brought mittens but I was still freezing, even with a thick blanket over me for the entire game! It didn’t go below freezing but it almost did. Of course, today it was back to the 70s…that’s Colorado for ya!

I look pissed…I wasn’t, but I was cold!

You could see “The A” from the parking lot of the stadium. There’s a big A on the mountain because CSU used to be the agricultural school, aka the Aggies.

The game itself…well, let’s just say that CSU sucked. As usual. I’ve only been to two of their games (the other one being the homecoming game 2 years ago) and they only won that first one. They only win a few games each season but it was still fun to cheer them on. The stadium was probably halfway full (since it was so cold out) but by the 4th quarter it felt more like a high school game by how few people were left! CSU was playing against Fresno State and both teams had pretty awful offensive lines so Fresno only got a few touchdowns, but CSU was scoreless until the end of the 4th quarter. They finally made a touchdown, so it was totally worth it to see them get a score right at the very end.

Go Rams (even though you aren’t the best team)!

On Sunday we ran a couple more errands, went for a long walk around campus and checked out some flowers (that were sadly dead) and had gelato for lunch. Yep, sometimes it’s totally acceptable to skip lunch in favor of the best gelato in the world. At least in my opinion! Guess what flavors I got? Pumpkin and soy chocolate. I am so predictable 😉 But seriously, I couldn’t not get pumpkin this time of year, and it was just begging to be paired with chocolate. My dad also got pumpkin and we agreed that it was perfect. We even got to eat them outside since it was way warmer, like in the mid 50s. Yeah, totally not warm but it felt like a heat wave after Friday and Saturday!

One of the best gelato flavor combos!

Before my dad had to head back home, I made dinner for the two of us. I used some Whole Foods multigrain pizza dough (love that stuff) to make us a pizza. It was half red sauce with artichoke hearts, half vegan creamy garlic sauce with navy beans and kale. My dad went for the red sauce side and I went for the garlic side. He loved it, so I got him to eat two meatless meals this weekend and he loved both of them. I’d call that a major win!

Now it’s back to normal…or maybe not. I have a lot to do this week, like a midterm on Wednesday and a group video project to work on. Plus my fridge has been acting up and not keeping things cold enough. A repairman came by earlier and said he fixed it but I haven’t noticed much of difference yet. We’ll see though. Hopefully it’ll be fixed soon since I can’t live without a fridge!

What was the most fun thing you did this weekend? Have you ever gone to a cold football game?

Kid Approved

No worries–I don’t have kids nor do I want any for awhile! I just happened to spot another survey floating around and thought it would be fun to relive my childhood through all my former favorite foods.

Favorite Cereal: On normal days, Post Blueberry Morning. Yeah, I was one of those kids who always ate fairly healthy cereals. But whenever we’d go camping during the summer, my mom would buy us those multipacks of mini cereals, and my favorite was always Lucky Charms, obviously for the marshmallows!

Favorite Breakfast Food: Waffles, specifically frozen ones. Apparently when I was two years old, I would be in my bed in the morning asking for waffles! I can’t remember the exact flavors I liked, but I think I preferred the blueberry ones.

Favorite Drink: I used to love Capri Sun (especially the strawberry banana flavor), but mostly because when I was done drinking it, I used to turn it into a ‘cell phone’. Did anyone else ever do that?!

Favorite Lunchable: Oh gosh, this is a hard one as I used to really love Lunchables when I was in elementary school, especially on field trips. I think my favorite was the nachos one–though now I can’t imagine eating that fake cheese crap. The best part was always the dessert though!

Favorite School Lunch: Honestly, I rarely ate the cafeteria food, since I preferred bringing my own lunch. In middle school I did sometimes though and I liked the popcorn chicken or breadsticks with marinara. So healthy, I know 😉

Favorite Cookie: I used to love those Snackwell’s cookie cakes, especially the mint chocolate kind.

Favorite Snacks: Gushers and Fruit-by-the-Foot (rarely had them, but I enjoyed them a lot when I did), Rold Gold honey mustard pretzel twists and popsicles/fudgsicles.

Favorite Home-Cooked Dinner: I was such a picky eater as a little kid, but I always loved when my mom would make chicken curry over rice. I loved anything spicy, even back then!

Favorite Restaurant Dinner: I can’t think of specific meals I loved, but one of my favorite places to eat at was Red Robin.

Favorite Ice Cream Truck Snack: The ice cream truck was so fun! I really liked those orange or raspberry creamsicles.

Favorite Fruit: I’ve loved fruits forever, so I can’t remember a specific favorite from the past but I loved bananas, kiwis, watermelon and berries.

Favorite Vegetable: Like a lot of kids, I wasn’t a huge veggie fan (now I am though!) but I’ve always loved baby carrots.

It’s so weird thinking about how much my eating habits have changed! Some of the changes are because of trying new things and becoming interested in healthy eating, others are because of my eating disorder and fear foods that I still have and some are because I’m now vegan and have no interest in eating some of those things again. I would say that as a kid I had a pretty well-balanced diet–we would almost always have a home-cooked dinner, I’ve always eaten breakfast and I would usually pack a lunch for school but there were some treats here and there. I’m definitely happy eating the way I do now though–eating healthy makes me feel so much better!

What did you used to like to eat for breakfast? Did you have a favorite Lunchable?

Weekend Food & Fun

Ya wanna know what my least favorite part of the weekend is? When it’s coming to an end. I hate that feeling you get on Sunday night when you realize that the weekend’s pretty much over and tomorrow it’s back to the daily grind. Can you tell that I’m sick of school already? 😉 I know how sad that sounds, I mean come on, I’m only like 5 weeks in! Honestly, I actually love school this year (nerd alert!) but sometimes you just want a nice little break. Especially when you’ve got a crazy busy next few weeks ahead–in my case, 2 tests this Friday (eek!), 2 tests next week and a paper due in 3 weeks. Gosh, these professors are insane!

This is my "You've gotta be kidding me, 2 tests in one day?" face.

 But the point of this post is not to complain about school but to talk about my weekend! It started out when my mom picked me up around 6:30 on Friday. We grabbed dinner at Garbanzo, which is this really awesome fast casual Mediterranean place. It was a little too awkward taking a picture of my amazing dinner, so I’ll just explain it: baby greens, tabbouleh salad, fresh red cabbage, hummus, falafel topped with spicy cilanto sauce and grilled eggplant slices on top. It was drool-worthy.

I finally changed my nail polish! My sis got the shatter polish for homecoming, so I def had to try it out once I got home. Verdict: love it! And every time, it's a different design!

Saturday started out bright and early (if you consider 8:15 early, which sadly I don’t anymore since I’m used to being up by 7) with some Kashi Honey Sunshine-topped overnight oats. Oh how I’ve missed Honey Sunshine! I haven’t had it for months and forgot how much I loved it. Topped with frozen nanner slices and mango chunks, it was heaven in a bowl.

Please take me back, Honey Sunshine! I can't live without ya 😉

Around 11:30, my mom turned on the TV so we could cheer on my college’s football team in their big annual rivalry game. The Rammies did so well in the first quarter, but then they lost a lot of steam after the half. It was getting way too depressing so I stopped watching 😦 Luckily, my dad and I ended up going to see “Crazy Stupid Love” (I was shocked it was still in theatres) so it ended up being a great afternoon. I love comedies, and it was  really good one, so definitely see it if you have the chance. Then my dad took me to get froyo nearby–how could I pass that up? Despite the fact that I was freezing cold all day (seriously, the weather changed so drastically!), I still enjoyed my frozen yogurt. I got a new-t0-me flavor, apple pie. It tasted as good as it sounds 😀 Perfect for an almost fall day.

I have so many froyo pics on this blog, it's a bit ridic. But each one is unique and a piece of art (baha). Apple pie froyo topped with raspberries and blueberries.

After a Target run, we got home and I was able to make my own dinner–for realsies this time, I actually used the oven, which totally counts as cooking. I miss being able to do real cooking, but I’ve got a whole lineup of recipes that I want to make come Thanksgiving break. Everyone better stay outta my way–the kitchen will be mine 😆

I also appreciate the slightly better lighting I get at home! My dinner was a Gardein veggie burger topped with General Tso sauce, baby carrots, chipotle seasoned sweet potato fries and sweet potato tots. I think I OD'd on the orange.

The rest of the night was pretty low-key: SNL-watching, shower-taking, beating my dad at an UNO tournament. I am beast at UNO–no really!–I mostly always end up winning against my dad.

I think a big trend for me this fall will be layering--I love how cozy I felt in this outfit. Grey knit duster cardigan (A&F), burgundy plaid tunic (A&F Kids), navy culotte shorts (A&F), navy sparkle tights (AE).

Today was even more chill–at least until I had to head back up to school. When we finally got up here, my mom suggested Larkburger for dinner. It’s basically this pretty simple place with all-natural gourmet burgers and fries and such. Usually I end up getting the portobello burger but I wasn’t too hungry tonight and settled for the field greens salad topped with a grilled tuna filet and some edamame on the side. The tuna was amazing and the edamame was too (of course!) but the salad wasn’t great, mostly because they served it in this plastic container that was extremely hard to eat out of, plus the tamari ginger dressing  that sounded so promising, turned out to be totally nast. I hate when that happens, but I pretty much usually expect restaurant dressings to be sub-par. Luckily, it was on the side so I could just toss it without having the whole salad be ruined. I ended up saving the salad to eat sometime this week–in a more convenient way, like on a plate!

More Kashi Honey Sunshine? Yep, I'm a woman obsessed.

Now it’s back to the real world 😕 Oh well, not every day can be a blast and I know I’ll have some awesome days in the near future!

Oh, P.S. an update on my foot. Thanks so so so much for the well wishes! It’s still in pain, I wrapped an Ace bandage around it and hope it might help–hey, if it doesn’t, at least people will know why I’m limping around 😀 Plus I feel cool with it on, please don’t ask me why!

 

What fun things did you do this weekend? What is your dream froyo flavor?

Estes Park Day 4 (and a half!)

If you missed my first three recap posts, go here (day 1), here (day 2) and here (day 3). This one is the last vacation recap!

TUESDAY

It was our last full day in EP, so we wanted to make the most of it. So what did we do first? Pool time 😀 Again, we got some quality water time in and not too many people were still at the condos, so we had it mostly to ourselves. A rousing game of Monkey in the Middle was involved!

Right after lunchie time, my dad, sister and I drove to the town’s little amusement park. It’s pretty small and basic compared to others I’ve been to (like Six Flags, of course!) but it’s still a lot of fun. The dark clouds were starting to roll in, but we were chill about it. We got a couple of slides in on the giant rainbow colored slide and then headed over to the mini golf course across the river. As soon as we started our first hole, it started to pour! Everyone left the golf course in 2 seconds and we were all crowded under the little awning. Fun times 😉 But like almost all summer rainstorms in good ‘ol Colorado, this one lasted like 10 minutes so we were able to finish start our mini golf tournament. Even though I lost, I was the only one to get a HOLE IN ONE! I was actually pretty proud of myself 🙂

My mom had gone into town to do a little shopping so we met her at the local brewpub for dinner. It was my mom’s choice, mostly because of the beers there. Unfortch, none of us really loved the food. We’d been there a few years back, and it had seemed to be a little better then. I got the shrimp cocktail and a side of wheat bread. They were both okay, but def not amazing. Plus the service kinda sucked, so we agreed not to go back again.

After that disappointment, we did a little more window shopping in town then grabbed dessert. We went to a little place that has handmade flavored waffle cones (can’t pass that up!) and luckily, they had a strawberry froyo that I got in a marshmallow-flavored cone. It. Was. Deelish. When we were standing around eating our cones, a car drove by and someone leaned out the window and honked an air horn really loudly. It freaked my sis out, and she dropped her cone on the ground! She was kinda upset about it, but my dad bought her another one. It wasn’t funny at the time, but it kinda is now 😉

So yummy (and so colorful)

WEDNESDAY

Last day. We had to wake up at the crack ‘o dawn (aka 8 am) so we could leave by 10. Even though my mom was freaking out that we’d have to pay overtime, we got out with plenty of time.

We drove into town, car packed to the gills with our stuff (why does it always seem like you come back with more stuff than you left with?), and stopped in a Christmas boutique. It was really cute, all the different themed ornaments and decorations.

Oh hey random peppermint horse!

Then we went over to the deli where we were getting lunch-to-go. The deli is right by the movie theatre, so all the sandwiches and salads there are named after movies! I got the Strawberry Fields salad and it was truly a Hugh Jass salad. It was piled high with lettuce, fresh strawberries, sliced almonds, cranberries and a raspberry vinaigrette. We took our lunches into Rocky Mountain National Park and picnicked (I had the hardest time spelling this word, bee-tee-dubs!) there. It was really yum, but since it was ginormous there was no way I could finish it!

Now this is a salad!

Since we were right by a hiking trail, we packed the cooler back in the car and hit the trail. In the past, we’ve usually done one or two big hikes when we were in Estes (usually around 7 miles roundtrip) but since we hadn’t spent many days this time, we decided to just do a quick little hike. Luckily we didn’t do a longer one, because halfway through, it started raining and thundering so we had to get back to the car anyway.

You can kinda see the lake

This tree just looked so cool!

Rain is beautiful

The rain died down en route to another hiking spot, so we got out there for another quickie hike. The place we went to is called an alluvial fan, and it was caused by a dam breakage that led to a deadly flood back in the ’80s. Luckily, it didn’t kill a lot of people, but it brought down millions of giant boulders and killed trees in its path. It looks really cool now, though. I was stupid enough to wear a dress and flip-flops, so climbing on all those rocks was tricky business. I didn’t trip or anything (I’m such a klutz) so that was good.

Part of the waterfall

My dad. So cray-cray!

These mountains are BIG!

I wasn't kidding about the dress

One last look at the alluvial fan

What is one of your favorite vacation memories?