I had an itching to do some wilderness exploring and shooting so I assembled a small group of creative gal pals; Stephanie (@stephanieklotzphoto), Hannah (@hannahrosesesser), and Rachel (@notrachelmcadams), and we went on a 3-day, 2-night glamping trip to Yosemite National Park.

We stayed at one of the housekeeping units in the park. It’s basically a roof, bunk beds and a full size bed, a couple power outlets, covered by curtains and a fire pit, bear storage locker for all food and anything with a scent, and a table for meals. It wasn’t much but it was the perfect set up for what we wanted. It was kinda like camping but we didn’t have to set up tents and had a little more security with the bear lockers.

Over the course of the trip we visited a lot of the popular tourist destinations in Yosemite Valley, took lots of photos, made s’mores, wandered and explored! We worked with a handful of awesome sustainable brands also on this trip including Leave Nothing But Footprints (LNBF), Boody, Gaston Luga, Baume, Krochet Kids, Blanca Flor, and Fazl Socks. It was such a great time getting to adventure with these rad gals and I can’t wait to do it again!

A few weeks ago, I went on a day trip to Sequoia National Park. The trip was organized by one of my very talented photographer friends, Daniel Woods. We carpooled to Bakersfield where Dan lives, which is the halfway point between Los Angeles and Sequoia. We had a big group but unfortunately most of the models bailed last minute so it was mostly photographers. This did not stop the fun though!

We then caravanned through the canyons and forest to get to Sequoia where we continued on the windy roads. We were supposed to meet up with another car full of people there as well, but as luck would have it - there was no phone service! Our group of four cars got split up and since no one could call or text anyone we just did our own thing. The park was pretty packed since it was peak season and on a weekend so that didn’t help either. Thankfully, a couple hours later we ended up finding each other at the Giant Forest shuttle station! Tip for next time: BRING WALKIE TALKIES - or you’ll lose each other haha.

Once the group had been reunited, we wandered through some meadows and a forest path that led us to the most beautiful lookout of the mountains during sunset. We took so many photos but we also took the time to appreciate our surroundings and how incredible it all was.

After dark, some stayed to get starry Milky Way photos until dawn (they turned out so good!), some drove back to Los Angeles, some drove back to San Diego (I know, I know.. don't know how they didn't fall asleep!), etc. and I drove back to Bakersfield and stayed the night with a college friend of mine, also named Allison, who just moved there. :)

It's hard to put into words how creative trips like this make me feel, but I saw a quote today that really resonated with me. It said, "jobs fill our pockets, adventures fill our souls." - pretty much spot on. I've been so busy with my job lately that it's really been the weekends and adventures like this that have been keeping me sane. Anyway, can't wait for more amazing days like this one!

Models:

@jessicagjurashaj @jessicagunzs @_markohhpolo @sosodrunk

If you want to see other photos from the trip, be sure to check out the hashtag #DWxSNF!

Models:

Allison Carol