While I was out in California, I took a lot of time to think about a lot of things.  Some of it was self reflection that I knew I needed to perform, and sometimes it was thinking about things that were thrust on me.  Nothing gets you thinking about your life quite as much as when your family and friends there all tell you that you've been a "total idiot" and knowing that they're completely on target.  Only family can really say that with love and mean it.

There are lots of great places out there to go and be reflective.  Places where there aren't many people, but the scenery is enough to take your breath away.  So one day I took my sister's SUV, a couple bottles of water, no map and went trekking through the mountains to see how much of the area I could remember to navigate.  I was amazed at how much I remembered.  The entire set is here, but here are a few choice shots for your Friday.  As always, click on any picture to see a larger version.

I started by heading up Gibraltar Rd. into the mountains.  It's a thin road full of switchbacks and great views, including one from a popular climbing spot where I learned to repel and climb, and once hung upside down 100 feet in the air.

Once you get to the top of the road, you turn west onto Camino Cielo (the rest of Camino Cielo is closed due to fire danger).  Camino Cielo literally means Sky Way.  You're literally driving on the top of a mountain ridge, with Santa Barbara to your left and the Santa Ynez valley on the right. The haze that you see over the mountains in the second picture is smoke from the Zaca Fire, one of the largest and longest burning fires in California history.

Then after driving through Santa Ynez (with many stops in between), I stopped off at Najoi Falls (which was pretty dry) and then back down through Santa Barbara where I watched the sun begin to set off the Mesa.