Over the past ten days, I have ascended the Great Sand Dunes, let my feet sift through black sand and red, waded through the Medano River wearing Glad Kitchen Bags up to my knees, walked into the vast open wilderness of the Bisti, and explored magnificent sculptures made of petrified stone.

I have hiked up mountains, smelled the Colorado Pines at Zapata Falls, and smelled the soft scent of the Lupines in Black Canyon.

I have had fabulous Mexican food, seafood, and pie.

I have driven to elevations of 11,000 feet on the narrowest of roadways, and crossed the continental divide.

I have engaged the manual mode of my camera to the point of obsession, made friends with my hand held light meter, turned off my cell phone and ignored the news.

I have waited for the light, waited for sun to come up, for the sun to set, waited for the rain to stop and waited for the skies to clear.

I have photographed the art of the landscape, the art of the day, the art of the moment that I was in.

I have walked to the edge, abandoned routine, and embraced my dreams.

“We create our own destiny. We become what we do.”