The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park in Winter

For the past several years, my mom has travelled to Arizona for the Gem & Mineral Show in Tucson. It’s long days at the shows but a few times we have made it into road trip where I got to check some national parks off my list. One of those times we drove to the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert.

I loved how the snow dusted the barren landscape. The temperature was a high of 35 that day but the sun was out. It was so peaceful with hardly any other people walking the trails or cars clogging up popular areas.

I remember our bed & breakfast, Brad’s Desert Inn, had themed rooms. We were in the eagle room (go birds) and the owner would make the most enormous breakfast. She told us about her dreams for renovating the rooms and I hope to go back one day to see how they turned out.

This trip had many memorable stops. Arizona is one of my favorite places but I definitely loved our time at this park. Stay tuned for a more detailed blog post on the route we took and stops we made along the way!

This national park has preserved part of Route 66. This old Studebaker sits at the crossroads where the newly built I-40, runs almost parallel with it.

Painted Desert Inn

sedimentary layers of Blue Mesa

Agate Bridge

Like a giant chocolate log cake.

This is where I bought a petrified wood specimen to further my collection! :)

Elena + Brendt: Golden Winter Wedding

Elena + Brendt’s wedding was filled with much love, laughter, and support. As Maid of Honor and photographer, I had a unique perspective and A TON of help from my partner in crime, Zack. Thanks love! 

They envisioned a silver + gold affair at an intimate, family-owned venue. That morning, fog hung over the grounds as white clouds rolled in, showing snow was imminent. It came down like little cotton balls so we couldn’t resist going out and having fun. It snowed well into twilight, making it so cozy + romantic inside. It was an honor to share it with everyone- I had a blast (and even managed a couple of pics of myself all dolled up!)

Enjoy it friends

 and

BIG  C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S  to Mr. & Mrs. Napp!

Check it out! I love these fur stoles that Elena gave to all of the bridesmaids- a perfect addition to the wintery day. 

During their ceremony, Elena + Brendt performed the tradition of “jumping the broom.”  Below, in Elena’s words, is why they choose to incorporate this unique part of her heritage into their wedding. 

“The marriage of slaves wasn’t recognized (like many many other rights) - it wasn’t seen as legit. Jumping the broom is a ceremony that was something they did to recognize their marriage ceremonies in their communities. It also represents the sweeping away of the past- some places even wave the brooms over the heads of the newlyweds to represent that! I wanted to honor my ancestors by jumping the broom. So much was taken from them and I wanted to jump to honor them. Brendt and I are both the results of interracial marriage and not too long ago, that wasn’t recognized either! Love is love and we are thankful we found it. We are thankful for all that our ancestors have fought for to get us here, and we jump the broom to say thank you, and we made it!”

My parents came too!

Zack + I managed to have some fun while on the job ;)