Cactus Flowers:

In front of San Felipe Church, in Old Town Albuquerque, these flowers bloom on a prickly pear cactus.

As I was taking this photo, a woman surprised me. I spun to answer her question and ran my hand through the cactus, filling my fingers with tiny thorns that I spent the rest of the afternoon picking out (with my teeth).

Such is the pleasure and pain of desert beauty...

Laughing in the Face of Death (Valley) V:

 Desert Flower

I love surprise. I love juxtaposition. I love contrast.

Whether it's an outburst of life in an inhospitable environment, sudden silence in a world that's become way too loud, or a taste of coconut in a meat dish (thanks for the beef rendang, Alissa!) - these moments are why I explore. 

For me, travel is a search... a search for moments to be strung together in a necklace of beauty.

Nature Always Wins

Tell me I can't and I'll prove you wrong...

There's very little that I can add to this picture without sounding like a crappy teenage poet, so I'll just say these three things:

1. I shot this plant growing out of a stone wall on Alcatraz island, in San Francisco Bay.
2. Don't kid yourself - nature always (always) wins.
3. I could only smile when I saw this. It's why I travel. It's why I take pictures.