weekend getaway

.....70's style.

we snuck away to the tiny town of Arnold to be off the grid for a little while. 

no phone service, no internet, no cable.

our cabin was awesome...musty, funky, and majorly 70's. just the way a cabin should be. 

you see...sometimes life is hard, and weird, and busy, and stressful. things need to be processed, relaxing needs to be done, and remembering what truly matters is brought to the forefront. 

luckily, aaron and i need the same things when a long weekend comes our way....an adventure, something new, tall trees, fresh air, a new challenge, and nowhere we have to be.

the first night there, we settled in, made a fire, scoped out our new surroundings, mapped out weekend activities, snuggled the pups and played jenga before drifting off to sleep. the next morning, we ate breakfast on the deck and set out to explore a few nearby towns (murphys & arnold). there were a ton of flea markets and outdoor vendors set up for the long weekend. after cruising around and exploring old treasures, we headed to lunch at burgerz....a cool little stand right off of hwy 4. I had the salmon burger...two thumbs up!

the big agenda item for the rest of the day was calaveras big trees national park...what a place! we started with the north fork walking tour before heading to explore the south fork. stand outs: "big stump", 270ft sequoias, and the couple making out nonstop at every marker. what a treat!:) 

sunday, we set out for bear valley. we knew we wanted to explore via mountain bike, and had heard good things about the ride to alpine lake. it's only a 7 mile ride....however, you gain around 1100 feet on your way up. us sea level people were feeling all 8000 feet of bear valley! the ride was awesome (and hard!), and the lake was incredible. I intend on going back to camp at the lake.

as usual, the weekend ended much too soon. before I knew it, we were back on the road. so glad we took this trip before we kiss goodbye for the month of june. 

....long story short, I needed it deep in my bones. and as usual, the great outdoors delivered as she does. I have been soothed and humbled once again.

....here's to a wonderful week:)  

(our awesome/hilarious/retro/cozy cabin)

a few shots via iphone:

...back to the grind:/