View of Mesa Verde National Park from the highway at sunset

Partial side view of Spruce Tree House

Cliff Palace is the largest and best-known of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde. The site has 150 identified rooms and 23 kivas.

A section of Balcony House. To get there we had to climb up a 32 ft. ladder, crawl through a 12ft.-long tunnel, and climb up a 60 ft open rock face with and another 10 ft ladder to exit!

Getting ready to crawl through the tunnel. Notice how narrow it is!!

After Mesa Verde- on my way to the ice lakes trail- I stopped in Durango for lunch. I had always imagined Durango to have a very southwestern feel to it- with a lot of mexican and native american influences. Boy was I wrong! From the parts we visited, Durango appeared to be  this colorful little hippie town at the base of the mountains. They have a gorgeous main street and the tree lined streets with beautiful old homes makes me want to live there! I stopped for lunch at Raw Heaven- situated inside an old schoolhouse. I had a wonderful raw pizza and a berry custard pie for dessert.

In the courtyard behind the schoolhouse I got my hoop on for a bit. It’d been way to long since I hooped!

Walking through town, I stumbled upon an Interdependence Day festival (told ya- “hippie”). Interdependence as a social movement began to grow momentum around 2003. The NYC-based “Interdependence Movement (IM)” network is dedicated to advancing new ideas in order to “cope with a changing world that is faced with accelerated globalization, starker inequities between nations, and profound security and environmental threats.” I like that.

I was so excited to see a Food Not Bombs table set up. Food Not Bombs shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry in over 1,000 cities around the world to protest war, poverty and the destruction of the environment.

They even had a giant slip-n-slide!

And super rad VW buses!

While in Jacksonville earlier this month, I met up with Heather and her boyfriend Jerry. I photographed them about 2 years ago and since then have become good friends with Heather. We are very much alike with our love for pretty vintage things, photography, nature and compassionate eating.

Heather- I am so happy that I was able to see you during my trip, if only for a couple of hours. Next time we will spend longer together. I am so happy you’re in my life. MWAH.

July 30th, Joe and I decided we would elope on our Colorado-bound roadtrip. On July 31st, I bought my dress (on clearance at BCBG) and bright and early on August 3rd I headed to Atlanta where I’d pick up Joe from the airport. We were married on August 4th and headed to North Carolina on the 5th. We decided to take the slight detour to Asheville, NC as a quasi-honeymoon and to celebrate Joe’s 3 year vegan-niversary. Asheville is one of the most vegan-friendly small towns in the US.

While in Atlanta we stayed at an adorable bed and breakfast in Grant Park. The owners were very friendly and had no problems accommodating our  vegan diet.

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On the way to North Carolina, we stopped at an old-fashioned convenience store that advertised  views of Tallulah Gorge. I am a sucker for waterfalls and old things so we stopped.

In June I flew to Montrose, CO (the nearest “city” to where I now live) to meet Ryan, Jennifer and 7 week old Connor. I guess they wanted to see if I was super crazy before having me move into their home and spend all day with their son. While I was visiting we drove down/up (into the mountains) to Telluride. There was snow!  In June! Here are a few shots from the trip.

I ate breakfast on Ocean Ave at News Cafe. Gianni Versace frequented the cafe almost daily before he was shot outside of his mansion just down the street. But that is morbid, so we’ll move on. The atmosphere was quite pleasant. Ocean Ave is the last street before you get to the beach and you could feel the breeze from the courtyard at the cafe.

The News Cafe is not, however, vegan-friendly. For breakfast  I had the choice of a $10 fruit plate or a bowl of oatmeal.

The photo on the left is Versace Mansion

The epitome of art deco….

The Delano Hotel

Shopping at high end stores and trying on clothes I’ll never buy. The dress on the right was heavenly. It floated as I walked and twirled all around as I moved. If I had $500 it would have been in my bag immediately.

I ate lunch at The Cafe at Books and Books. Not only did the bookstore have a whole section of vegan cookbooks, the cafe had a vegan section on the menu. The food was fantastic.

The dessert of the day was carrot cake that also happened to be vegan. I got it with vegan ice cream. The main dish was a corn salad, black bean hummus, bagel chips, grilled tofu and salad. The black bean soup was also very yummy!

The morning after I got to Key West, I rented a bright yellow beach cruiser and set out to explore the 4 mile long island. My first stop was the cutest little cafe called “Help Yourself“. They seem to focus on sustainable business practices and organic food. I’d like to share a bit of information I found on their website:

• We use all natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup and sucanat (evaporated cane juice)
• We only use whole grains in what we make – a whole grain means it still contains all the essential and natural nutrients of the entire seed
• We use no white sugar, no white rice and no white flour – the white stuff has been refined and is no longer a whole food, all the beneficial nutrients have been removed
• We use no dairy in our prepared foods – do you see any cows in Key West?
• Nothing we use has preservatives, additives or anything artificial – we’re 100% natural
• Everything we make is prepared from scratch - we even make our own coconut milk from local coconuts (the canned version has preservatives)
• We make fresh juices everyday and bottle them for your convenience – did you know drinking a fresh juice is better than taking a vitamin pill? The nutrients get absorbed into your blood stream and start working immediately giving you instant energy
• We use coconuts as a dairy alternative, there are lots of them around here – you should check out our ice cream it tastes great and it’s good for you!
• Have you ever drank fresh coconut water? – it’s natures super-potent energy drink, full of electrolytes, vitamins and minerals. We crack fresh coconuts daily and bottle the water so you can grab and go!
• We use local eggs from a farm in Ramrod Key, they are never more than a week old (most eggs in a store have been sitting around for 30 days or more)
• We use 100% fruit in our smoothies, mixed with either coconut water or coconut milk. It’s a great way to increase your daily intake of fruit.

If I lived near this place I would be broke-but happy!

The vegan french toast I ordered was drool-worthy. I can say, without a doubt, that it was the best french toast I  have ever eaten (vegan or not).

Why did the chicken cross the road? Probably to get to the tourists on the side who feed them ice cream sandwiches. No joke!

I stopped for a liquid lunch at the smoothie shop connected to The Sugar Apple health food store. I’ve never felt so good about drinking a smoothie- all of the tropical fruits I drank were local and not shipped thousands of miles to get to me.

“The Face on Your Plate” was one of the first books I read when exploring my new lifestyle. A must-read.

Here is the local guy (it has been so long since the actual trip that I forgot his name!) who fed me fresh coconut water and entertained me for over an hour. This is where the fresh coconut product from Help Yourself comes from.

The coconut is actually not a nut. It is a drupe and is the largest known seed. Coconut water is very similar to human blood plasma (chemical analysis indicates it’s closer in makeup to intracellular fluid).

The meat of young coconuts is often called coconut jelly. Coconut jelly has a lot of the same nutritional components of breast milk- like lauric acid.

For dinner, I ate at The Cafe. The atmosphere was comfortable and relaxing and the food was top notch. I had the seitan peppersteak sandwich and THE BEST chocolate desert of my life.

Lentils and tofu and beer…OH MY!

Two unrelated photos from the morning before I left. The photo on the right was from Help Yourself. I went back to try their house-cultured coconut milk yogurt parfait. MMMM!

We took our time taking pictures before the officiant arrived. Junior would kiss Sara’s shoulder and whisper in her ear- Sara’s laugh would fill the air with lovely music. Just the way a union of love should be.

Photographer AND Witness

After the ceremony, we headed back to the center of the island to grab a few most pictures.

If tropical island can have a ghetto, we were just steps away from it!

We got kicked off of the Conch Shop property, but not before we nabbed a couple of pictures.

The knotted trunks that so many of the trees in Key West had made for gorgeous drop off. I shot this with the 85mm 1.2L lens.

I met the owner of this jeep the evening before. He is a coconut “farmer” from Guyana. I spent a good portion of the evening with him as he educated me about the nutritional qualities of coconut and let me snap pictures of him cracking them open with a machete. He was in front of the INCREDIBLE (mostly vegan) cafe called Help Yourself. They buy FRESH coconut meat and coconut water for him to make their juices, yogurt and ice “cream”. AMAZING.

THANK YOU Sara and Junior for letting me a part of such an intimate, love-filled event. Your wedding is just the way a wedding should be and you inspired me to go the unconventional route with my own. I love you guys and can’t wait to see your family grow.

In May I photographed this couple’s intimate wedding in Key West, Florida. Which, by the way, is vegan paradise- fresh citrus, pineapple, coconut and vegan cafes all over! I was so thrilled to be the sole witness (aside from the officiant) of their special day and even more thrilled that Sara and Junior allowed me AS MUCH time to photograph them around the island as I wanted. I even had a hand in picking the time of the ceremony based on when the light would be best. How is that for a wonderful bride?

The evening before the ceremony we headed out to chase the sun from one side of the island to the other for some amazing bridal/couple shots.

I love that Sara and Junior made the educated decision to purchase a conflict-free diamond ring. (from Brilliant Earth)

Drive around Key West until you find a beautiful spot. Park the car (likely illegally). Snap some shots. Jump back in. Repeat.

Sara wasn’t afraid to sit on the concrete, roll in grass or jump in the ocean in her wedding dress. I SO appreciate that.

Stay tuned for the actual wedding day!

By Airplane

If you are lucky enough to be on a flight where food is served, it will be mediocre at best- IF they remember to include the vegan option you requested. The best bet is to bring your own. While most countries will not allow any food, especially fruits and vegetables to enter their country, you are allowed to bring these items on the plane to eat. You can cut up some fresh fruits and vegetables to eat on the plane. You can bring some nuts and seeds. You can even bring some kind of a veggie wrap or sandwich. Finally and perhaps one of the easiest things, and ones that you can bring into other countries with you, are closed bars, like the various all natural fruit and nut energy bars.

I wouldn’t count on for certain, but you can generally find something at most airport restaurants. Moe’s Southwestern Grill has a couple of vegan options that are delicious and Panda Express (or other chinese restaurants) you can order their veggies in garlic sauce and lo mein noodles. Here is a report from PCRM about vegan options at airports. They list the top ten most veg-friendly airports and what you can order. http://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/airport_food_review_09.html

By Car and On Location

This is perhaps the easiest to take care of as you have several options.

You can:

• Bring your own food
  • Granola (my favorite recipe at the end of the post), muffins, fruit (if necessary, peeled and sliced), nuts and seeds, trail mix, bars (Cliff and RAWvolution are amazing), ascpetic and individually packaged containers of soymilk and packages of beans, rice and spices (just add hot water from the coffee maker)
• Stop at a grocery store along the way- scope out local health food stores, food co-ops and farmer’s markets ahead of time
  • Bring a can opener with you.  If you can’t find anything else, you can always buy soup (black bean, vegetable, etc) at a local grocery store (and salad…) and you’ve got a reasonable meal.
  • I also like to buy tortillas to make wraps.  If you can’t find vegan mock meats, you can usually get grilled veggies at the supermarket salad bar and hummus or canned beans. Example:  tortilla, lettuce, black beans, roasted red pepper, avocado slices.  It’s delicious and you can find the ingredients anywhere
  • Salad, along with a vinaigrette dressing that doesn’t require refrigeration, can easily be found.  You can supplement that with some hummus and a loaf of bread or pita and some fruit and you have a delicious meal.
• Stop at a restaurant- It really isn’t difficult to eat out. Help yourself out by doing some research ahead of time.
  • Find your emergency food. For me, it tends to be Taco Bell. I know I can always get a bean burrito, al fresco style to tide me over.
  • Websites like www.vegdining.com and www.vegguide.org are excellent sources of information for dining worldwide. my favorite place to look is www.happycow.net (it has saved my life many times).
  • If the menu only lists a steamed vegetable plate, don’t panic! Many restaurant chefs welcome the opportunity to show off their culinary skills to whip up an animal-friendly entrée for you…so just ask. Many dishes can be “veganized” with minimal effort, so put the chef to the challenge and enjoy the creation!
  • Most ethnic food includes more legumes, vegetables, and beans than traditional Western foods. So visit  Indian, Middle Eastern, or Thai restaurants and savor the delicious spices surrounding such staples as tofu, lentils, and chickpeas. Try falafel, spicy tofu curry, mung bean or scallion pancakes, or hearty lentil dal.
  • In the mood for an All-American meal? Veggie burgers and veggie dogs are on menus across the country from national restaurant chains to mom ’n pop diners (see the fast food/chain links below)
  • Replace cheese or sour cream in Mexcian fare with an extra dollop of guacamole or some light and refreshing pico de gallo
  • Want some mock meat? Many Asian restaurants—particularly Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese ones—feature great soy- and wheat gluten-based meat alternatives. Enjoy scrumptious kung pao veggie chicken, spicy Hunan veggie beef, or tofu pad thai (make sure they don’t use fish paste)
  • You can find more options for fast food and chain restaurants at these sites http://www.vegcooking.com/VegFastFood.asp and http://www.vegcooking.com/ChainRestaurants.asp

Best of luck!

**If you have tips that I haven’t listed, I would love to hear about them! Leave your suggestions in the comment area

Katelyn’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oats (you can make this recipe gluten free by using certified gluten free oats)

2 Tbs ground flax

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup semi-sweet (vegan) chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup organic natural crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

5 Tbs Coconut Butter ( you can use Earth Balance if you like- but the Coconut Butter makes for a longer shelf life and is tastier!)

Directions

Combine all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, Earth Balance (coconut oil), and vanilla. Once the peanut butter mixture is combined, mix it with the dry ingredients until the oat mixture is moistened. Press the granola in a shallow pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Watch it carefully, and mix a few times throughout as it can burn very quickly.

*The granola will get crispier and crunchier as it cools.

Cool for at least 20 minutes and store in a sealed container.

* I love to eat mine with almond milk and slightly (or fully if I forget about them!) frozen blueberries and strawberries

Enjoy!

Chelsea’s dress had beautiful beading and lace detail.

I love ring shots

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Shield your eyes for the next series-because Chelsea is just too hot to handle! I was super excited when Chelsea asked me to take a few pictures for Tony before the wedding and was even more excited when she said I could share a select few. P90X body in da house.

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Tony is such a sweetheart. He left gifts for Chelsea, her mom and his own mother. I quickly captured a few shots of Chelsea opening her lovely necklace.

I couldn’t resist another ring shot before heading out the door

Chelsea and Tony opted for a “first look”- so we headed to the Emporia State University campus.

From the beginning, Chelsea talked of her beautiful veil and how she wanted a shot of it blowing in the wind. Here’s my take on it. I think this one is over-the-fireplace canvas worthy.

Gorgeous colors, yes?

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These pictures aren’t technically anything wonderful, but they just crack me up. The bitty chair, the naked baby on the floor-and goofy Tony. The “first look” definitely helps to ease nerves.

Perspective

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I love Chelsea’s face

and the bubbles too

Tony is a firefighter, so after the ceremony we headed to the station for some shots with the fire engines. I love when clients give me ideas for pictures that have meaning to them.

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I love these two!

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It was THIS big. Yes,  I am a 5th grader.

Aww how sweet, the first dance- and then BAM return of the P90X body. Just look at her back, shoulders and arms!

The image on the left is probably one of my favorite wedding dance images. It may not be all the way in focus-but the grain, the movement and the feeling to this one just moves me.

Chelsea’s brother gave the sweetest speech that brought tears to my eyes- and everyone else’s.

The most dancing I’ve witnessed of all the weddings I’ve shot to date.

Love it! Especially Sarah’s (gal on the far right) expression.

and finally, I leave you with this. The chick who caught the bouquet (just look at her fly) and Sarah’s disappointment.

Thank you Chelsea and Tony for flying me all the way to Kansas to photograph your day. Your relationship is beautiful.

Anywho-this post is not about me… it’s a quick one about Chelsea and Tony. I went to high school with Chelsea back in our tiny little Kansas high school. I couldn’t have been happier when she asked me to shoot her wedding. (doing so knowing, at the time, I hadn’t booked any of my own weddings) Chelsea-you were such a calm bride-made my job so much easier and I could tell just being around you for the day how much Tony is in love with you. It’s refreshing.

Here is a quick preview of them on the bridge over Wooster Lake at Emporia State University. More from me soon-promise.