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Get out and see something.

Sometimes I find myself teetering on the edge of depression because of an unsettlingly familiar schedule. When day after day after day I wake up, go to work, come home, eat, clean, read, go to bed, then wake up and do the same thing all over again, eventually some inner demon comes out and I find myself all of a sudden doing something unexpected. Recently I had plans to go out to dinner with some friends for the evening when all of a sudden I found myself driving up the 101 freeway calling a friend in a city 100 miles away to have some crazy night in the mountains.

The plan: Drive up to a location in the mountains named “lizard’s mouth”, and with minimal gear take pictures, explore, and spend the night.

The problem: Below freezing temperatures, high wind, and nowhere to pitch a tent.

Exploring a small cave.

By the time we had arrived at Lizard’s Mouth night had already fallen, and the stars were blazing overhead. We put on our gear — which consisted of some jerky, a portable stereo, a tripod, a camera, a sleeping bag, some water, and a couple of flashlights.

The short walk to Lizard’s Mouth was accompanied by odd rock formations, brilliant sparkling stars, and dance music thumping from the stereo strapped to Sal’s pack

A little place to nap under the stars.

On arrival we set up camp, and gawked at the view. We played around with taking pictures, explored the odd rocks and caves, snacked on jerky, and finally decided to turn in and sleep under the stars.

This proved to be difficult as the only place to sleep was on a slanted, uneven rock with gusts of icy wind that penetrated and danced around inside the sleeping bag. Though it was far from the best sleep I’ve ever had, every time I opened my eyes I was greeted by the city

Room with a view, but terrible amenities.

and the twinkling stars. Just when I had finally become tired enough to nod off into a dream, my name was yelled out. “Justin! Look the sun is coming up!”

I peeked out of my sleeping bag and saw the fresh morning light sparkling around the mountains, ocean, city, and rocks.

The sun peeks over the mountains and says "Hi!"

The sky was beginning to lighten to a blue and soon the sun would peek over the distant mountains and spill it’s light onto the vast stretch of ocean before us. We packed up our gear and spent the rest of the morning exploring more of the rocks in the area.

A little garden gnome would be a perfect addition.

After a little fruitless geocaching we headed back to the city where we ate breakfast and recounted what we had just done.

Justin Blogging, Daily Picture, Life, Observations