Spring Break: Moab

To kick off spring break, we headed to Moab for the weekend to enjoy the sun, rocks, and freedom.

Saturday was spent hiking, belaying, and rock climbing... and then a lot of drinking by the fire.

Sunday was spent swinging the Corona Arch - an absolutely amazing experience!

Truly an awesome weekend!

Here's a video that captures some of the highlights:

I was reminded of the immense power of human connection while being humbled in awe of nature. We can build grand homes, cities, etc., but they pale in comparison to what nature does and provides.  At the same time, the bulk of the joy from this weekend was derived from the people - those I knew and those we met.  Life is a shared experience, and I couldn't be luckier to share this one with them.

I and Love and You

Living in New York was a profound experience – it shaped my life more so than any other time or place.  No other city in the world quite compares, and I developed a strong love-hate relationship with the way of life here.  I’m glad that now I not only visit the city with ease, having more interest in friends and memories than in museums and sights – but in my visits, I can soak in only the great love, leaving the hate behind.  I can look at an overcrowded intersection and appreciate the hustle and bustle, the diversity, the chaos, and the benefit of public transportation without being annoyed, exhausted, and focused on the potential interruptions to my busied afternoon.  I can reminisce and relive and relove. 

I came to NYC to celebrate the amazing union of two of my favorite people in the world – Emilie and Lyndsey.  Their relationship should be a case study for kindness, compassion, and love. 

Reasons why weddings are my favorite:

•  It is truly amazing to watch two people vow to love each other through thick and thin till the day they die.  I am overjoyed to see people I care so deeply about celebrate in such happiness and love – a moment unlike any other. 
• The timeline and story of their life is told by the significant players from all different phases and aspects of their life are gathered together to celebrate them.  It is a joy to meet these people and it allows you to gain a greater understanding of your friend.
•  Lately, for me, attending weddings has also been an opportunity for reunions. This wedding reminded me of the amazing friendships I made in NYC.   And outside of the wedding I was also able to see Terry and some friends from work!  I have always been blessed by wonderful people, and NYC gave me some damn good ones.
•  Good food – good drinks – good music – good people – party dress on – can’t go wrong.

This trip to NYC was a fantastic reunion.  A reunion and places and people.  And since I had to cut the trip short, it didn’t even scratch the surface… so I’ll just have to visit again soon!  J

get a job, take a hike, say goodbye

 Get a Job

When I decided to move to Denver, I knew it was a leap of faith.  More so than any other time in life, I trusted that somehow things would work out.  In the past few weeks, things have truly started coming together... so much so that I almost feel like I'm just nervously waiting for them to fall apart.

The week before our trip, my job search luck suddenly changed and I found myself with three interviews scheduled for jobs in Denver the next week.  C was gracious enough to reroute our trip to include a stop in at Denver to give me the chance to interview.  The first interview went so well I was able to cancel the others because I got the job!  I'm so excited to return to the classroom - I'll be teaching Kindergarten at a charter school that happens to be around 10 minutes from my apartment!  The school is going through a major change and a ton of hard work lies ahead, but I am anxious to meet the staff and start work... on Monday!

Fort Collins, CO

Since we stopped at Denver for my job interviews, C and I took a side trip up to Fort Collins.  Any town that values bicycles and microbreweries like this town is a town fine by me.  We stopped in for some beers and burgers, took a stroll around town center, and had a lovely afternoon break at the city park.

We also visited New Belgium Brewery (Fat Tire) and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon!

Aspen, CO
We set off to start our camping adventure only to find out the tent poles were still at my parents house in Dallas... so I got a new tent!  It was the happiest of mistakes because I couldn't love my new tent more.  I can't wait to take it on lots of adventures!

Aspen is beautiful - a very quaint (albeit rich) feel to the town with flowers at every step and dogs strolling about all around.
We hiked up Ute Mountain which overlooks Aspen in the valley below.

Throughout the whole trip Sally was a hit!  People were impressed with her hiking, her behavior, and her general cuteness.  We think she was a little traumatized by the nomadic lifestyle at first, but adjusted well in the end. :)  Such a good hiking pup.

Then we headed over to the Maroon Bells - one of the most photographed sights in Colorado.

It was breathtaking.  The valley was covered in lovely wildflowers.  We hiked around the lake and bottom of the bells, then hiked around behind them to a hidden lake!

We came back later and make dinner picnic style at the lake.  Easily the prettiest picnic I've ever had.

The Braille & Discovery Trails were made to allow blind and physically disabled people to enjoy nature.  They really focused on experiencing the trail using all the senses, and enjoying nature in a broad but basic sort of way.  There were tons of factoids, tips, and tidbits along the way.

The Braille Trail encouraged sighted people to close their eyes, grab the rope and experience hiking as a blind person would.  C and I really enjoyed it!

Then we headed to Independence - an abandoned mining town.
Fun Fact - the town was abandoned during a particularly harsh winter that cut off supplies.  In order to survive, the villagers broke down their homes, made skis out of the wood, climbed up the mountain and skied down to Aspen!

We decided that our last day in Aspen would be town day!  We had some showers (yay!) and strolled around the farmers market.  Best part: we saw the most amazing street magician!!!

Seriously - mind blown.  I can't even figure out where to start to come up with a theory as to how he did his tricks.  Amazing! We spent the rest of the day drinking on porches and hanging out with locals.

Moab, UT
The contrasting scenery of the desert was startling. Such a different kind of beauty.  And so hot. Hot.

We stayed at Dead Horse Point State Park that is part of the Canyonlands.  The vast canyon was a perfect place to watch the sunset.


Then we dropped off Sally at the dog campground for the night and headed over to the Arches National Park.
This is Landscape Arch - fun fact: the longest natural arch! The length of a football field!!!

We learned this in a Ranger session we attended and I was absurdly excited by it... shocked, I exclaimed "NO WAY!" -  far beyond the general "oh neat" from the rest of the crowd. haha
The arches are created by the different types of rock mixed with salt deposited by the ocean (when it was over Utah), moisture from the rain, wind, and general erosion.  I love learning about the way nature works - makes it even more impressive how it all comes together over millions of years to create these beautiful structures for us to enjoy.  At some point, almost all arches start of as "fins" like this:

We spent the day exploring the arches and going on the trails.  We did all but one of the trails... lots of arches!


(I'm the tiny thing jumping in the middle)

We hiked up to Delicate Arch for sunset, disappointed a bit by the cloudy sky only to see a this brilliant moon on our decent back to the car.  It was magnificant.

Side note: we ate lunch at Eklecticafe - dog friendly covered patio, fresh ingredients, lovely staff - go there if you are in Moab!

And a note on the kindness of strangers: it had started storming while we were out and one of our campsite neighbors closed our rain fly for us and took in our chairs etc. so our stuff wouldn't get soaked.  A beautiful reminder that the simple acts we do for others can make such a huge difference to their days.

Ridgway State Park
We headed back over to Colorado for our last night of camping.  I'll admit, while the desert was beautiful and had awe inspiring arches, I was happy to come back to the mountain and Colorado! We had wanted to make s'mores since day 1, but rain and fire bans had prevented us from doing so until our last night!  It was such a perfect conclusion to our camp life on the trip!  Sooooo delicious.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
C's parents joined us for our final stop on the trip!  They generously put us up in a hotel which was such a delight after camping.
We all went on a crazy cool hike - 2000 vertical feet in less than a mile, 80% grade, unmaintained trail that follows a rock slide down into the canyon.

To treat ourselves after we went to Horsefly Brewing Company.  Yummy burgers, micro-brews, and a relaxed patio made for a delightful meal.
We went back to the park to attend a ranger session on astronomy - SO cool!  I learned so many factoids and loved seeing the night sky full with literally thousands of stars, constellations, shooting stars, and our galaxy... light pollution is legit and it is taking away our ability to see our magnificent sky.  We even got to look through telescopes at other galaxies, stars, etc. The next day we ran into the same astronomer and watch explosions coming off the sun!
The next morning we went to another ranger session on geology.  We learned about the absolutely rare conditions that needed to occur in order for the canyon to be formed... which like the arches only makes it more magnificent a sight.  This is a picture of the "painted wall" where you can see some of the different types of rock woven through the canyon walls.  Thanks to Ranger Zach, I can tell you all about the different types of rock, the rock cycle, and how it all came to be!

And finally, after lots of hard work, C and I became Junior Rangers!!!

Yes, this program by the park is intended for children, but we completed our 14-page packet to perfection, and met with Ranger Zach and got our official Ranger badges!  You're all so proud, I know.

Norman, OK
Norman has been my home for six years of my life.  It will always hold a very significant place in my heart, full of memories.  In college, Norman went beyond the place I lived and truly embodied the world "home" and when I left NYC, it was the perfect place to come back to and reset. Many of my best memories are either in this town or with people associated with this town. Here are some of the sweet folks (blurried with excitement and jumping) who came out to the house for one last night of fun:

From the people to campus to shops and restaurants, I will truly miss you, Norman.

Sunday: Drove home
Monday: Goodbye!
Today: NYC
Sunday: Move to Denver
Monday: Start work
That is one crazy week!

drink, ski, and hike

My last two weekends have been full of adventure!  First, C and I took a lovely trip to Denver and this past weekend I did an overnight backpacking trip in Arkansas.  

Kirsten!:

I was sooo excited that I got to meet up with Kirsten & Preston (forgot to take a picture...).  Went to a cool little place with great queso and drinks - of course!  Kirsten would make an excellent local guide.   I wish we could hang out all the time!!!! 

St. Patrick's Day!:

I have an intense appreciation for holidays/festivals/celebrations.

We dressed up in green and these fancy stickers!

 Good thing we had extra because we gave them out to lots of strangers we met throughout the day. Everybody we met was incredibly nice and celebratory... well done, Denver.

We went to an Irish pub called Scruffy Murphy's where they had traditional music and dancing!

 There was a little girl dancer in the group who was ADORABLE. Here we met these guys and ended up spending the rest of the day with them! 

We went to a rooftop bar and met some more people.  Meeting randos is one of my favorite things.

And ended the night with some yummy pizza.

12 hours later we were home and exhausted!

Love my C.
Celebration - check.

Skiing!:

Ski day at Loveland!

I have never really been skiing before so I was very excited and also nervous.  I didn't know what to expect.   C and Mr. Gubes were excellent instructors! I borrowed all of T's clothes and skis - thanks T!! I learned how to snow plow, of course, and do parallel turns.  By the end of the day I was zipping down parts that scared me in the beginning!  And I only fell once or twice after lunch break! 

We went on a tree trail that was a fun change of scenery. 

I loved the atmosphere - everybody was nice and friendly, the staff was happy and chill, and there were dozens of adorable little kids learning too.  Also, everybody's ski gear is lovely - people just look good in ski clothes. It was snowing throughout the day, giving it a very 'winter in the mountains' kind of feel. 

I want to go on a legit ski vacation now - stay at the lodge, come in after a good day on the slopes and chill with friends, etc.  Any takers for next season? :)

We also practiced self arrest with my ice axe for our new thing of this week!  It was very effective, so rest assured that I probably won't fall down any mountains this summer!  Forgot to take a photo of this too... and we even put on silly hats for it...

A lovely, albeit quick trip! Love my C. Love the Gubes. 

Hiking:

A few weeks ago, I met an amazing group of women and decided to go on a backpacking adventure with them!  They are quite a bit older than me and I am inspired by their continued sense of adventure and youthful spirits.

This was my chance to test out all my gear, test my level of mental and physical preparation, and also have some fun with the women in the woods. 

It was rainy and cold the whole time... but it was awesome.  Pretty much the entire time we were covered in fog, but it created this beautiful enchanted forest look.

I loved my gear and I loved being outside (even in that weather).  In preparing for this weekend, I knew it would either make me incredibly nervous or incredibly excited for the PCT and after it was over I could not wait to finish planning and preparing and start my journey.  With full packs on, we hiked 12 miles the first day and 16.6 the next.  My dreams of PCT all of sudden became more real, and more importantly more realistic.  My confidence and excitement is starting to well overcome my nerves and anticipation.
Due to the weather, we decided to finish up early, head back into town, grab a shower and go out to dinner for a celebration.  Here is the group:

I feel so blessed to have met these women and have them help me prepare for this journey!  One of the best parts of any journey seems to be the people you meet along the way and they are no exception.