ride dangerously.take a boda

so here i am at the eMi offices in kampala uganda about to go fall asleep in a hammock. i don't really know what to write as there is so much to say and the last thing i want to put down is a play by play. i want to note about things experienced, feelings felt, relationships with ugandans and americans, adventures survived and so much more of the like.

tomorrow i leave early for murchinson falls which is on the western most side of the country and will be there for three days. i'm going to safari around with others [others i don't yet know and hopefully speak a common language, but if not that's fine too] and see animals we only see in the zoo. i suppose this is an extended trip through an african zoo. yes, i like that. i would say this creates mild to medium excitement. okay but really, it's going to great! just another amazing adventure i've already packed into these short two weeks.

this morning i experienced all that is unreal about driving in kampala. it's CRAZY! i mean, i should have already known this from traveling previously to some similar countries but this is something altogether new. my friend and i chose to venture downtown on bodas. bodas are motorcycles with an impressively skilled driver who can maneuver through anything. i could have sworn my leg would have touched another moving vehicle at least 15 times and a person 7 more but in the end i was clean of any contact. helmets seem non existent and new borns in mother's laps are encouraged. girls sit two legs on the side and men three deep [perhaps a child on the shoulders as well] i'm not even kidding. we were dropped off at the aweeno market and didn't see another mizungo [translation=white person] until we were back at the offices. needless to say we got some looks. all in all it was a fantastic taste of ugandan culture.

of course...more to come :)

westtogunnison

yes, it's been a while. but this doesn't mean i've been bumming it on the couch waiting for adventure to seek me. it was the first-climbin'/campin'-trip of the summer weekend, family time x 2, and attempts at long haul climbing.
this past weekend just so happened to be a three day weekend [athankya fighters of our country past and present]. and when you work in the 9-5 world of business these little gems of free days off are glorious beyond spectacular. it means you can travel just a little further, stay for an extra night, not have to hustle back and of course pack in more action. or relaxing. or hiking. or simply staring off into the rockies. you can take your pick. we choose gunnsion with a side of laughter.

gunnison is home to western state college, a small state school that i don't know much about. it is summer time so the students have already launched into their summer plans, leaving the place a underpopulated, at least one would think. though this town was packed with people, be it bikers, climbers, babies in buggies, runners galore. we soon came to realize that there were three competition of sorts going on all in the same recreation area. splendid.
we were there to climb. the endurance climb actually. this entailed throwing your body up against conglomerate granite and hoping to the rocks gods that your shoes held on for dear life. thankfully, they did a better portion of the time. you could even go 'hands free' this rock had so much texture. it was fantastic for smearing [scientific climbing term which really just translates to nontechnical footwork gone awry.] we took on the challenge of climbing for 1,440 minutes. or 24 hours, if you wish. either way, we didn't make it and decided that once our tenacity ran dry and i took a nose dive into the dirt we best call it a night. this place, hartman rocks, is an excellent mecca for a weekend combo of climbing, mountain biking and trail running. it was inspiring to be 30 feet high on a climb and look out to see bikers moving so swiftly through the sand like texture and turns of the trail. it makes me admire and give respect to each nature loving sport. another thing that made me smile was taking part in a favorite past time of mine: getting hot and sweaty and then plunging into some body of water. the blue mesa for us which definitely deserves a trip back around to.

[hartman rocks : lovely photo by sejal]

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...and if you ask for something you have to be aware that it just might be granted to you.

denverrides

this city i live in, denver, makes me happy all the time. yes, i receive good vibes and a charismatic touch from the city. it is alive.
it also decided to start [with thanks to Hickenlooper and his green outlook on denver] the nations largest bike sharing cooperative to date. it's been a few years coming and hard work but now, today :earth day: it's making the launch. there are 40 or so kiosks with 8 meticulously crafted bikes at each station around the inner city limits of denver. the trek designed bike has a basket, gps tracker, fenders, chain guards, built in lock and automatic lights [awhat?] included in the cruiser style fit for any person. i know this because i went to a v0lunteer training where it took two men to hold up the 45 lb bike in all its glory.
though i think the rides are a little expensive there is really no way around the "cost" of using the bikes. austin tried this initiative with yellow Lance bikes and they were repeatedly stolen and found damaged. it would be a beautiful thing to share with out price and rely on our fellow neighbor to return the toy but alas it's not looking promising. but that is not here nor there and a fare there must be. i can't wait to see these bikes cruising around town and will get to jump on one tomorrow for a test ride and promote what this is all about. if you are a denverite go check it out!

[designs and branding by crispin porter + bogusky]

gettinglost

so back to adventuring.....ahhh yes
i know sometimes it's great fun and all to get lost and even healthy to wander without knowing where you are going but i got sickly lost at cherry creek state park the other day. now, this place is 4,200 acres of hugeness. i did all the things i thought i should: scoped out a trail map prior, rigged the entrance fee by "walking in," set out a few hours before dark and even had high hopes of running the whole time. i did not intend on asking for directions but after meandering for a good 1.2 hours i opted for the second runner i saw of the night. whew! i turned around and started running with him and into the semi correct direction. thank you kind sir. the only frustration was that it was getting dark and i also had somewhere to be getting to. if it wasn't for these two factors, this is with out a doubt the best way to explore an unfamiliar place: get deeply hidden and discover your way out. if this poses some dangerous threat[in a light hearted way], all the better.
i used to run at a fabulous place in fayetteville that was an escape, if you will, to school and the whirlwinds of life. the ability to go there and move to nothing but the sound of the adjacent lake or the leaves bustling around you was great time spent. i've longed for a place like this in denver and think i may have discovered just this, it only took me 1.7 years, sheesh. being an urban park, cherry creek state park gives fascinating views of the cityscape, the chance to run through and near herds of mule deer [not the skinny kind of deer you see in san antonio because they are literally locked within the city neighborhoods] but free roaming and startling huge animals, plus some beautiful mallards in the water. i could go on about animals, but then again even a bunny will get me all giddy.
i'm not a fan of getting in your vehicle to drive yourself to a location to run. it just seems silly. problem is this is not a prime location from my house but i suppose neither was lake fayetteville and seemed like a treat when i got the chance to go. not being readily available is maybe what adds to the attraction of a place. well, next time i'll hopefully not ask for help with reckoning.

thoughtsalongtheway

sometimes the need to break free is so overwhelming that i'm not ever fully convinced what it would look like.
is it teaching english in another country, is it an extended road trip, is it moving into a colorado mountain town, or is it conforming and going to grad school to seek the life of being a student again? i think that this takes the words right out of my mouth:

"There is a secret set within each of our hearts. It often goes unnoticed, we rarely can put words to it, and yet it guides us throughout the days of our lives. This secret remains hidden for the most part in our deepest selves. It is simply the desire for life as it was meant to be. Isn’t there a life you have been searching for all your days? You may not always be aware of your search, and there are times when you seem to have abandoned looking altogether. But again and again it returns to us, this yearning that cries out for the life we prize. It is elusive, to be sure. It seems to come and go at will. Seasons may pass until it surfaces again. And though it seems to taunt us, and may at times cause us great pain, we know when it returns that it is priceless. For if we could recover this desire, unearth it from beneath all other distractions and embrace it as our deepest treasure, we would discover the secret of our existence.

- we long for life and we’re not sure where to find it. We wonder if we ever do find it, can we make it last? The longing for life within us seems incongruent with the life we find around us. What is available seems at times close to what we want, but never quite a fit. We must journey to find the life we prize. And the guide we have been given is the desire set deep within, the desire we often overlook, or mistake for something else or even choose to ignore. The greatest human tragedy is simply to give up the search. There is nothing of greater importance than the life of our deep heart. To lose heart is to lose everything. And if we are to bring our hearts along in our life’s journey, we simply must not, we cannot abandon this desire."

The clue as to who we really are and why we are here comes to us through our heart’s desire.

[desire:eldridge]

the closest things i've got to what i envision simply contains more than one ardor. i believe, the real secret to any one's existence will run dry if it is one passion singly deep. passions [not to be confused with fascinations], to name a few or the real few to be more honest [in absolutely no order whatsoever]are: architecture, soccer, jesus, climbing, jewelry design, cities and how they function. i would be inclined to say traveling, but who doesn't like traveling, its a luxury and a great deal of fun and though liked more by some than others, it just doesn't seem fit. i would put traveling as a means to pursue my passions. and sometimes that is just as so traveling to the nearest hobby lobby for supplies and goodies.
isn't this blog supposed to be about embarking on adventure and going new places?
i think i got a little off topic on this one but felt compelled and would hope you are out there doing the same thing, using your means accessible to cultivate living passionately as there is no other way to be.

snowshoethissnowshoethat

what more could the state of colorado possibly have to give? don't answer that, not just yet. i can't get over how much there is to explore and it's not like i'm sitting around thinking about the one great weekend trip that happened two summers ago when i first moved here and reliving that. to have a passion is to purse something with intent. deeply. along with so many other Coloradans there is a true pining to be outside. there isn't much to explain here, just that this is how you are wired and what you long for. i suppose i have a crush on the rocky mountains and sometimes they like me back. isn't it rather amazing that people live in flat places with no geographical flux around them? and more than this, they are okay with it. perhaps there is proximity to such terrain. how dare i be so presumptuous? don't answer that either.
great news here: the means to pursue the passion of this so called outside life can come in so many forms. you can hike it out, ski down it, run through it, climb up it, bike around it, float down it, snow shoe into it and these are just what come to mind. i'm partial to a few but always willing to give anything* a shot.

so, the weekend before last we went on a hut trip. not until two months ago did i actually know what a hut trip was so don't feel unfit if you don't know either. apparently and supposedly there are a network of cabin like huts that connect vail to aspen. and here in the rocky mountains they are the 10th mountain huts, 29 of them to be exact and built for the men who trained there during WWII. pretty sweet if you ask me. well, we snowshoed in with 7 new friends and gained around 2,000 ft. over 6 or so miles. it was tough, but not like the hate-my-life-rightnow-why am i doing this for fun-tough. just the ordinary great accomplishment feeling where you are still in decent spirits. we blazed through new snow, got the hut heated, melted and boiled snow for water, played cards on an elvis deck and chatted with new friends all the while up in the mtns. in the middle of nowhere colorado. and thanks.


*by anything i mean almost anything, where right now i'm not sure there is anything i wouldn't try but not just anything.

snowfriends

"wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe"

two great friends came. one from the northwest. one from south texas. we ventured to the mountains and skied at keystone, one of my favorite spots. there is a way back part of keystone and takes some time to reach but feel like you are in the depths of the mountains and far away from all built infrastructure, except of course for the crucial ski lifts [but those can stay]. here you are free to wander in all the silence of snow capped nature.

[Manda rockin' skis]

[Court on her new board]

glenwoodsprings

so we have a fun list. a list of fun things. fun things we want to do. the list is long. things we think will be fun. and most usually they end up following though. this past weekend was nothing shy of that. great fun.
since we have 10 days to expend at Vail and Beaver Creek we thought we better use them since the snow will soon be gone and these are both unbeatable places to ski. you could spend a whole season at Vail and still not touch every run, it's THAT big. trying to get lost is always the objective when riding there. just when you think you've seen enough on the front side of the mountain you finally cat-walk-it to the back and embark on a new plethora of white trails. a world of bowls and moguls and trees to play in. you could take one named run and never ski the same line twice.

so we decided to stay in Glenwood Springs which is a mountain town west of the two ski resorts and has tons to offer. a town of about 8,000 and not trying to grapple with the showiness of other colorado ski towns. i just found out that Amtrak makes a stop at Glenwood, must be a heck of a great place. Not far from outstanding skiing, tons of mountain biking in the roaring fork valley and all things water on the colorado river. the laid back folk, and a hostel for us to stay in rather cheaply is exactly what we enjoyed. and, after a hard day of riding nothing sounds better than soaking in the hot springs. it's an entire pool of natural water full of salty minerals, diving board included. you betcha we froze our butts off to wait in line behind the 8 year old's to get a few good cannon balls in. nothing like jumping off a diving board takes you back to that childhood feeling. though jumping off of a diving board wasn't on the "fun list" it was a small surprise and these sorts of things happen when undertaking adventure.

[winter aspens of beaver creek]

[the view from copper mtn.]

on winter:
there is a privacy about it which no other season gives you ..... in spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself

i once spoke about seasons. how seasons are an amazing attribute to a place and its specific locality. when a city can offer the residents 4 distinct seasons, i am allured. thank you denver for doing just this but my heart is longing for warmth. spring just needs to hurry on up.don't get me wrong i'm all excited for march skiing and great powder and attempting to wear shorts while flying down a hill of snow but the trip south to mexico hasn't curbed this desire long enough. that is why a trip to moab, ut is in the works. all for some red rock climbing, miles of mountain biking trails, camping along the river and least of which 70 degree sunshine in the desert. it seems that in the depths of the winter i finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. does summer time seem to set you as free as it does me?
as i looked back to what i described my season of life to be, i've realized since a year ago how i have lived through that season and on into others. not always so boldly obvious but that there was a time needed for that spell of my life. if i gave thought and limited words to the current season i would say: a time of never-looked-at-before-reflection with a side dish of simplifying material needs and a glass of looming educational dedication..hmmm, seems odd. but maybe that is just the winter speaking.