California Dreamin'

The only thing that could possibly tear us away from Sedona was the lure of the California Coast. With wise forethought, Doug planned our next stop to teach a workshop in Monterey. As an added incentive, one of Doug's artist friends graciously offered for us to stay in a studio apartment on her ocean front property in Garrapata. As much as we love trailer life, we readily jumped ship and left the trailer in storage at a half-way point of our 700 mile journey, giving our reliable Honda Ridgeline a much needed rest. 

Once we were through the barren desert and the Los Angeles basin, we were in awe of the vast agricultural areas, reminding us how we all owe a debt of gratitude to California farmers. We passed field after field of vegetables such as broccoli, kale and cabbage, as well as groves of orange and lemon trees. One of the students in Doug's workshop has a husband who recently retired from a career in the agriculture industry. We learned from him that due to the temperate climate in Monterey, strawberries can be harvested for eleven months of the year. This explains why we see them continuously, then they disappear for a short period of time and reappear. 

The Monterey area is spectacular, not just for the amazing coastline, but for it's climate. The temperature stays between 60 and 70 degrees year round, with warming winter and cooling summer breezes. Conditions are ideal for everyone, but especially for hikers and plein air painters! We were blessed to be staying on a large property that had trails for Sue to hike and spectacular scenes for Doug to paint right outside the door to our apartment. 

   

The sunsets were spectacular too!

Doug really enjoys teaching plein air workshops. He loves seeing students react to the environment and take new risks with their work. Some of his student artists had limited pastel experience and others were new to the plein air adventure. They all were excited to discover new avenues of creativity using pastel, 
as well as the thrill of being on location. 

There certainly were abundant opportunities to capture spectacular views. The coast of California is shaped by plate techtonics. The Pacific Plate is moving east and sliding under the North America Plate which is moving west. The Pacific plate pushing downward is what created dramatic mountain ranges, even the Rocky Mountains as far inland as Colorado. This plate also formed rugged deep oceanic trenches right offshore, generating majestic waves. All of this makes an exciting environment for an artist to paint. The greens and blues of the ocean mixing with the surf and foam of the huge waves are a painter's dream and a challenge. Trying to capture the rhythmic movement of the ocean and the action of the crashing wave can lift the artist out of himself and into the scene. This is the joy of plein air painting. 

   

In addition to the ocean scenes, Doug is always attracted to the Cypress trees that line the coast. Their beauty lies in how they yield to strong winds, creating wonderful shapes. 

 

Other magnificent scenes of beauty abound, waiting to be appreciated: 

Doug has been to the Monterey area numerous times and is always reluctant to leave beauty unpainted even though he knows it will be there for him when he returns. Sue keeps changing her mind as to where she wants to "just stay here forever". Last week it was Sedona and this week Monterey. One thing we know for sure is we are grateful to our host for giving us the opportunity to experience Monterey on a more visceral level. 

As we prepared to head towards the desert to pick up our trailer, we decided to make the transition easier by heading south along the Pacific Coast Highway as long as possible before heading east. Neither one of us had been along this stretch before. "Blown away" is an inadequate term to describe this area. Rocky cliffs give way to rich and fertile rolling hills in some parts, while dramatic rock formations line other sections. Every new turn revealed jaw-dropping landscapes, each different and unique. There's really no way to describe this drive except to say it's a "bucket list" item. We were so awestruck we forgot to stop and take photos! Sorry!  

We did stop at Big Sur, which is one of only a few areas in the world where Redwood trees grow. Walking among the trees was like visiting old friends and a reminder of our visit to Redwood National Forest in northern California last year.

Speaking of friends, Coco made a new friend, Toby, who belonged to our hosts. For Toby, it was "love at first sight". As you can see, Coco was the typical coy female. 

Our next stop is Tuscon, AZ, where Doug will be attending the Plein Air Convention. 


  

Journey to Sedona

After a stormy trip south to stay with family in New Orleans and an enjoyable, but wet stay with artist friends in San Antonio, TX; we started a 1,097 mile journey which would ultimately take us to Sedona, AZ. We left San Antonio and drove through rain (of course) and high winds. We knew it would stop eventually as we were heading straight into the desert to Carlsbad, New Mexico. Meanwhile, back in San Antonio, there was a severe hail storm the day after we left, which probably would have put a dent or two in our vehicles had we stayed. This was the second time we narrowly escaped severe weather. There truly must be a guardian angel placing a bubble of protection over us.    

The town of Carlsbad is very near the famous Roswell alien crash site and Coco made some unusual friends. Fortunately, we've raised her to honor and respect differences in race and culture.

Other than aliens, Carlsbad, NM is home to Carlsbad Caverns, situated in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. These mountains are an uplifted portion of an ancient reef, which thrived along the edge of an inland sea more than 250 million years ago. Over time, sulfuric acid dissolved into the surrounding limestone, creating stunning rock formations jetting down from the cave ceilings. There are over 117 linked caves.The largest chamber is 4,000 ft. long and 625 ft. wide, making it the fifth largest chamber in North America. 

Doug's father visited these caverns with his buddies when he was in his 20's and had just returned from WWII. He was so impressed that he told Doug he must visit sometime. Carlsbad Caverns was a perfect 1/3 stop on our way to Sedona and Doug was happy to fulfill his dad's wish.  

Our next planned "layover" before Sedona was Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Santa Fe area was originally occupied by indigenous people who built Pueblo villages. The city itself was founded in 1610 by Spanish colonists and is known as the oldest capital city in the United States. In current times, artists, writers  and retirees are attracted to the area for it's rich beauty and cultural history. How appropriate that Doug's mentor and friend, Master Albert Handell has a residence there. We enjoyed a day touring the area and visiting Albert at his studio.

Santa Fe, at an altitude of 7,198 ft., had beautiful, sunny weather in the 60's during the day (no rain!), but the nights dipped into the 30's, making us grateful for propane heat. During our last night there, temperatures actually dropped to 24 degrees. Even though he thought he was a seasoned RV owner, Doug learned a new task - flushing out frozen water and sewer lines. Is there a Boy Scout patch for that? 

A full day's travel took us gratefully downhill to an elevation of 4,326 ft. when suddenly; rising out of the miles and miles of barren, gray-green landscape; there "IT" was - the magical wonderland that is SEDONA. 

Doug had been to Sedona only once, over 10 years ago, and Sue never before. After visiting the gorgeous red and orange cliffs of Zion Canyon last year, we expected our Sedona experience to be about the same and maybe even less enjoyable because of the tourist hype. Well, as we rounded the corner and started through Oak Creek Canyon towards Sedona, the spectacular beauty literally took our breath away. Although Zion and Sedona are equal in magnificence, Zion's colorful vista is primarily contained within the National Park and narrow canyon with one-road access. Sedona, on the other hand, covers a much larger area with gorgeous cliff formations everywhere, extending outward from town with easy access by car and foot. Our campground was nestled right within this wonderland and away from the busy town areas. Sue was thrilled to have so many places to hike without the hassle of National Park crowds.

Doug was also in his glory, attending a week-long mentoring workshop with Albert Handell. Finally, he was able to completely immerse himself in painting, while bonding with other artists. Doug connected with fellow artist Michael Chesley Johnson, who lives part of the year in Sedona and part in Canada, painting and teaching workshops. Michael works primarily with oils, but also in pastel. Doug works primarily with pastel, but also in oil. This connective synergy inspired them to join forces next year to teach a combined workshop in Sedona from April 2 -8. Artist friends, mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information. We'd love to have you join us!

Here's a view of Sedona, through Doug Tweddale's eyes:

The red and orange cliffs were not the only highlights of nature. Lovely white sycamore trees flourished everywhere and Oak Creek Canyon satisfied Doug's love for water rapids. 

Sedona did have a peaceful, sacred feeling that cannot be described and sounds cliche', but is true. This is one place that needs to be on everyone's bucket list. We were reluctant to leave, but it helped to know that we will be back again this time next year. 

We were scheduled to visit the Grand Canyon for a few days before taking a long journey to California. However, since the elevation at Grand Canyon is 6,800 ft., we kept tabs on the nightly temperature not wanting a repeat of our experience in Santa Fe. Sure enough, night temperatures were predicted to go below 32 degrees the nights we were to be there. It did not take much to convince us to stay in the Sedona area (unfortunately we could not extend the stay at the same campground). We stayed about 40 miles south of Sedona in Campe Verde for another three days. Doug's sister Deb and husband Mike joined us with their RV. We visited Montezuma's Castle National Park, where there are a number of well preserved ancient Pueblo cliff dwellings. The site was incorrectly named in the 1860's by European-Americans who thought the ancient people were connected to the Aztecs and their ruler. Despite the politically incorrect name, there was a tangible peace and sacred stillness to this place and we were in awe of the history before us. 

We're headed next to Carmel, CA, where Doug will be teaching a workshop. 

Coco says: "Don't forget to put Sedona on your bucket list!"