A few years ago a friend came to visit in Portland, Oregon and wanted to see the area. Who do you take on as a sidekick when you go exploring? Spock, of course. In a span of just a few days we explored strange new worlds, sought out new life and civilizations… Or, well, new to him. He was only a few days old!

Whenever my head becomes crammed full of thoughts and nothing seems clear, I know it’s time for a day in the car. Like a child with a security blanket, I have road trips. An hour or two on a road, preferably somewhere I can’t see any other cars, and my mind finds clarity again. Whatever problems seemed impossible before make sense again, my body relaxes, and the world is put right. Road trips are good for the soul.

Because of this, I’m regularly seeking out new roads to explore. I’ve built up a long list of my favorite highways over the years. One of the more famous ones I’ve been on is highway 1 in California, which goes through Big Sur.

Big Sur is a well known tourist area, largely because it’s in California, and is therefore mentioned on a lot of American television programs. What makes this area so special is how carefully it’s been protected. Despite the very large number of people driving this highway through the summer, you won’t see billboards lining the road. You aren’t going to stop at a fast food restaurant, or fill up your gas tank at a Chevron. There are three “towns” along the way, which are really just stops with gas stations and restaurants run by the few people who live along this highway. The residents have carefully guarded this beautiful stretch of land, and it makes for a gorgeous drive!

Highway 1 (not 101, but 1) was constructed in the 1920s and 30s. The old two lane road hugs the coastline about a two hour drive south of San Francisco. With the narrow road twisting through the untouched landscape, the drive has this wonderful surreal beauty that’s hard to find when most highways are choked up with bill boards and traffic and road rage.

Not that you won’t find lots of other cars in Big Sur in the summer, but in my experience most of the cars were into driving slowly to look around, were spread out well enough, and there were lots of pull offs for stopping to look out at the sea, and let any clusters of cars pass us by.

So what will you see on this drive? Excellent question. Well, you’ll see the California coast. You’ll see rocky cliffs along the water, and if you get out of your car, all sorts of colorful plants covering them.

I don’t have a great picture of it, but you should see Big Sur Cone Peak, which is the tallest coastal mountain in the contiguous US, and if you’re interested in doing things along the way, there are plenty of stops for camping or various water sports.

My personal favorite thing about the drive, which took a lot longer than it normally would have because of how frequently I stopped along the road to take pictures, was anticipating a different view around every corner.

Have you been to Big Sur? What are some of your favorite drives? I’m always looking for new roads to add to my “must see” list!

For a while, I took an unusual number of squirrel pictures. If I was still hanging out in this park, where there were dozens of squirrels, I’d probably still be doing it. They have such personality! See how this one is all “Why the hell are you taking my picture? I’m a squirrel, creeper!”

Meet Pieces. It wasn’t that long ago that his life began in the labs at think geek, but since then his adventures have taken him far for such a young zombie. While trying to keep his parts together, he is currently exploring the Sonoran Desert in his unending quest for brains.

Tune in on Fridays for his dangerous exploits with cactus, playgrounds, and the dangers of youth.

This is one of the first things that really impressed me here in Arizona-the dead cactus! You can view the picture above in it’s largest size right here so that you can see the colors closer up.

These odd cactus are shedding their skin all over the place. At first, it made me think that they had horrible sun burns that left their skin peeling off. Seems fairly close to the case.

It’s not quite the same as seeing the giant green trees that I’m used to, but I’m finding beauty in surprising places all over the desert.

There aren’t really pictures of my husband and I together, even though we’ve been together for eight years. This summer I thought I was determined to change that-but then never really did much about it. EXCEPT for these gems, taken on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. I think they’re more awesome than anything else we’d take, anyhow.