Drawn the Road Again

Tag: west

  • Campus mission

    Campus mission

    This is the seventeenth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. Like its neighbor in Santa Cruz, Mission Santa Clara de Asís is one of those missions that’s…

  • Model mission

    Model mission

    This is the sixteenth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. After the splendor of Carmel and San Juan Bautista, I have to admit that Mission Santa Cruz…

  • If these walls could talk

    If these walls could talk

    This is the fifteenth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. San Juan Bautista was the first mission I ever visited, more than two years ago now. It’s…

  • Mission Control

    Mission Control

    This is the fourteenth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. I had some technical difficulties with the site this week, so Mission Monday couldn’t happen on Monday—but…

  • Neon queen

    Neon queen

    If you’re into neon signs or period architecture, Fresno is something of a wonderland. But truth be told, I planned this entire leg of my trip around this sign alone. I mean, look at her! She might have seen better days, but to me she’ll always be a masterpiece.

  • Lonely outpost

    Lonely outpost

    This is the thirteenth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. The “Soledad” in Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad means “solitude.” And boy howdy, is that ever…

  • Blushing brontosaurus

    Blushing brontosaurus

    Vernal is the known as the gateway to Dinosaur National Monument. And don’t get me wrong, I’m always game for a national park—but I would have come all that way just to see the pink concrete dinosaur. (Priorities, right?)

  • Mountain mission

    Mountain mission

    This is the twelfth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. Note: At the time of my visit, the façade of the building was ensconced in scaffolding. I…

  • Birdland

    Birdland

    I’ve written about California’s Central Valley before, and I have a feeling it’ll come up again. But there are just so many things to love about the place. Perhaps the best part of all is the birdwatching. The Central Valley is a main thoroughfare along the Pacific Flyway, and hosts thousands upon thousands of both…

  • Village sanctuary

    Village sanctuary

    This is the eleventh installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. I’m not entirely certain why, but this place also makes the list of my favorite missions. Mission…