This Beautiful Place - The Sierra Valley

Do you know what the perfect time of day is? When the sun dips low enough to let the blanket of twilight sweep relief through every fiber of your body. Do you know what the most beautiful part of the day is? When soft light bathes even the smallest pebble and bud in glow, yes glow, the glow you feel radiating through your smile because everything is alive and happy - for these few brief hours each night the world feels relaxed and at peace. For me, that is the happiest time of day because no matter where you are it is beautiful.

But this summer has been particularly great because we've had quite a few amazing thunder and hail storms! I was super pumped to experience a Southern thunderstorm, but we just have a different type over here - both are great, both still fascinate me (I've actually taken a few meterology classes and loved them, I toyed with the idea of become a storm chaser, ha!)! I love the smell of rain, especially in the summer because everything seems to steam off, feeling refreshed in the heat. But thunderstorms, now they leave the air charged and static and exciting! Add all of the above together and you have basically my elixir of life. Long story short, we took to the cruisers and set off to soak up this elixir and watch the sunset (Although separate, another pleasant thing that follows the best part of the day, sunset). 

The bikes certainly caught their attention!

Part of the storm, moving North (to the left)

The classic bird on a wire, thunderstorm clouds overhead

After we visited the cows, we ended up here, and decided to watch the sunset from the stacks. Pictured above is the other half of the thunderstorm moving on South, much less sinister as a cotton candy sky.  

Panorama before the sunset, just a portion of the valley.