Sarah Ause Kichas | saussie.com » travels

salty dogs, ocean style

Sarah — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:38:36 +0000

As excited as I was for our epic coastal roadtrip, there was one thing missing: my dogs. We were flying out there, and they would not be joining us. So, when I found out my coworker Mary was moving back to the Oregon coast a few days before we’d be there, I made plans to meet up with her and some dogs on the beach for a Saussie-style photoshoot. And boy, did I need it! As awesome as vacation is, sometimes you need something a little more familiar to recharge your batteries. And what’s more familiar to me than photographing happy, carefree dogs romping joyously in the wind? WIN.

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magic coast

Sarah — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:25:54 +0000

I had never been to the Pacific Northwest before (unless you count as a baby, which I don’t), so I was thrilled when Pim and I made plans to road trip from San Francisco to Portland after his brother’s wedding. We hung around the bay for a few days, headed up north and camped in the redwoods for a few more, then continued to Oregon along a cool, misty Highway 101. I’m not going to blabber on about how amazing it was, but it truly was magical. The fog, the trees, and the sound of crashing waves! We even saw a whale! I loved it so much that I’m already plotting my next coastal roadtrip (only this time I’m thinking from Portland to Vancouver)!

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return to Moonshine Gulch

Sarah — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:18:09 +0000

It’s been almost seven years since I last visited this dingy bar in the heart of the Black Hills, but it was first on my list when thinking up places to take Pim (Rushmore, schmushmore!). So we piled into the car with my parents and went out for a beer. Last time, I took a photo of a one-eyed dog on the steps of the porch… just months before I officially became a photographer and got my first newspaper job. Now that I’m a high-flyin’ critter photographer, I just had to revisit the spot… but sadly, the owners said they don’t get dogs anymore because they keep getting run over by jerk out-of-staters (flying 60 mph down this little country lane). But out of nowhere, a little dog appears on the porch, and I snap a few. You know me, I just couldn’t resist.

(photo of me and Pim by my stepdad, Bobert)

a birthday with the goblins

Sarah — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:43:09 +0000

Pim turned 30 last weekend, and big suprise, we celebrated outdoors. We rendezvoused under the full moon with Goblins, friends, and dogs. Plans to summit nearby Mount Ellen were thwarted by a flat tire way, way, way up in the mountains, but we managed to explore Goblin Valley and squeeze in a hike through Little Wild Horse Canyon. When the weekend was over, the roadtrip wasn’t… we headed west to Denver and then north to the Black Hills. It was time for Pim to meet mom…

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water and sky

Sarah — Tue, 11 May 2010 03:25:29 +0000

I’ve been suffocating lately, working in Chicago and Manhattan all week. The hectic chaos has actually left me stressed out… and that is not an easy feat. Today, I finally left the metropolis behind and headed south on a plane to Richmond. Despite a busy schedule still ahead of me here, somewhere over the Chesapeake Bay, I finally felt a sense of relaxation. But it was bittersweet looking out over that water. From up there, I finally saw nature again and could breathe a sigh of a relief, but I also saw his face.

A couple weeks ago, open water claimed the life of an old friend of mine. Since then, things just aren’t the same. I fear the water. I smell it, see it, even feel its humidity in the air, and I think of him. I wanted to go kayaking here in Richmond, but it looks like storms all week. I won’t let his accident stop me, but it will keep me confined to rivers and streams and away from big open water. I just need to get out there and face it, yell at it, while simultaneously bowing down to its power and beauty. These are two places we aren’t meant to be… the water and the sky. We are not fish or birds, merely visitors.

hot to cold

Sarah — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:14:42 +0000

The day after returning home from Phoenix, I was heading to Boston. I’d never been before, but it seems like a fabulous city. Cold, but fabulous. I was there on assignment, but snapped a few photos of my own while walking down the street…

orange you glad winter is almost over?

Sarah — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:10:19 +0000

70-degree weather in Phoenix was amazing… and so were the fresh-picked oranges. I am so ready for summer.

rocky mountain high

Sarah — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:22:59 +0000

The dogs and I spent the last three days of our trip exploring Colorado. I’ve never really been before (unless you count passing through while sleeping most of the way), so it was nice to finally experience a little more. I left my parents’ a day early so I wouldn’t have to have all-day drives and the pups and I could take our time in that big rocky mountain state. We drove through national parks and monuments, stopped for hikes in gorgeous canyons along the way, and even hit up the local dog parks when we could. We planned to camp, but weather pushed us to motels instead, and that was okay with me. They are good travelers, my little ones. We had a good time.

how to pee ice, and other tales from the Black Hills

Sarah — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:26:45 +0000

I beat the weather this time. Well, sort of. Every year when I go visit my parents in the Black Hills, the weather wreaks havok on my plans. Two years ago, I spent the night in a community center when the interstate shut down from too much snow. With no intentions of letting that happen again, last year I chose to travel a month earlier, and by airplane. But of course, it snowed too much just before I arrived and the trails I wanted to hike were all closed. Then my flight out got canceled due to freezing rain and I was stranded at the airport for eight hours. This year, I would not let the weather win again. I opted to drive once more (for flexibility if the weather did plan to suck) and to leave yet another month earlier.

I arrived on Monday, promptly checked the weather report, and discovered I’d have one nice day of weather… Tuesday. So mom and I (and the dogs) got up early that morning and hiked Harney Peak (one of the hikes the weather thwarted me from last year), and I showed that weather who’s boss! Of course, the next few days were cold, windy, or snowy… but I had that one good day, so my trip was a success. The only incident that I hold any sort of contempt at the weather for is when I woke up at 3 am one night, about to wet the bed, and had to go piss outside in the freezing, snowing, wind. I should explain. See, my parents live in a tiny one-bedroom ranch house. They built a chicken coop last week and decided I’d get to sleep in it, rather than taking up their entire living room during my stay. So me and the dogs had our own lovely 12-foot cabin, equipped with an air mattress, space heater, and no chickens. Oh, and no toilet. I’d have gone inside the house, but their dog would bark and I didn’t want to wake up the house at that early hour. So I bared my ass and peed ice… for like two minutes straight. It was miserable. But peeing aside, the chicken shack was quite nice and will never actually house chickens now. It’s going to stay a guest shack… and a guest shack with no toilet. Let’s hope future guests remember to let everything out before they go to bed.

I know you’d all love for me to continue with stories of my peeing adventures, but here are a few photos from the week…

Zoe at Sylvan Lake after we hiked Harney Peak

Bill’s barn

Baby Shitty stalks like a lion when hunting horses

Clancy is cute

Bobert unloads hay while wearing one of the many hats in his new hat collection

Jackie and Jemma

Sue’s dogs

Zoe on the trail to Harney Peak

and Pumpkin

fall

Sarah — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:15:19 +0000

While it’s still 90 degrees down in the desert, and the trees are maintaining their springtime hues, up here in the mountains, the temps are cooler and the fall color is at full throttle. Not surprisingly, this photographer could not be happier. Yesterday, the dogs and I hiked Daly Canyon, and today Ecker Hill (with old canine roommate, Chloe), and with such brilliant colors everywhere, I had to post. I love fall.