desertclimbing

only a white-out blizzard could come close to stopping me from getting into a car and driving straight west into the rocky mountains. but with great coincidence a spring snow sprung on denver early thursday morning and apparently this was even uncommon for denver. AWESOME, not. not awesome. do you know when you have something on your mind that is heavenly and soon to be happening and you will learn to do a triple back flip over night to bring it to fruition if need be? well, going to moab was that. once the idea is instilled in the brain even 12" of non-plowed snow roads won't hold you back. and it didn't. so maybe against out better judgment we set out.


our destination was moab, utah and this place turned out to be even more entrancing than i had imagined. nothing is better than topping your expectations. we set up camp on the colorado river and strategically located ourselves near the only bouldering around and just a short drive from the crag. the city of moab itself caters to the outdoor enthused souls and is sprinkled with the everyday tourist here and there. though mostly around town are avid mountain bikers, off-roaders, hikers and even ballsy base jumpers [one of which we saw].oh, and of course trad|sport|boulder climbing lovers. you can feel the energy and the passion that each collection of people has for their respected extreme sport.

we climbed slab, we climbed cracks, we traversed on flakes, we took the wind head-on and reached the top of the most pleasant multi-pitch climb i've encountered so far and all the while rejoiced in the fact that we were of the few denverits who were not treading through countless inches of snow. yee haw! however, one thing i do recall missing a sight of: a sunset, unforgettable or just the same as any third tuesday dusk of the month, i didn't see one. well, there it is, i've got to go back and see a sunset and of course check out more of what moab has to offer. if you are close you should not pass up this treasure in our country.

picture skills: pat harris :)

lunch funSchlessman

who says you can't have an adventure on your lunch break?
I simply can NOT stand going to the hangout/break room, grabbing my lunch and plopping back down at my desk to stare yet again into the oversize monitor. which by the way does not lend itself to being discrete enough to watch humorous you-tube videos or anything else as equally inappropriate in this office. and plus, I'm on a busy corner that gets a lot of foot traffic, yeah as opposed to bikes or scooters..just sad.
so usually, when the weather permits and it most often does in colorado, i venture into Lowry. formerly the lowry air force base but permanently closed in 1994 and just missing the awful developer's suburbia sprawl that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. lowry has truly been well executed as an urban development neighborhood and i like it. the feel, the flow, the functionality, the uhhhh aged flora. okay that was a stretch. but there are many aspects of this denver tract that i admire. and i work here, so bonus.
one place i go often, say a couple times a week especially in the winter is the public library. this is just a small branch of the mondo size dowtown hub library and i believe is designed with the reader in mind. i usually drive there which i am a little ashamed of but yesterday walked for the first time. i guess i value the library time a little more than the stroll to get there and plus i can't be taking 2.5 hour lunches, unless i fall asleep in the park, then its more than okay [which has been accomplished many a time]. so the Schlessman library is always packed with all sorts of folk. the lowry up scale type, border line homeless, small cute children, elderly, business men and women on lunch breaks, nannies with 6 kiddos and i'm sure many more stereotypes if you observed enough. essentially all the combinations of people in such a small well flowing place is an attractive atmosphere. It makes sense that "in a complex social fabric, human relations are inevitably subtle. it is essential that each person feels free to make connections or not, to move or not, to talk or not, to change the situation or not, according to his judgenment."[pattern language:the flow through rooms]
even just an hour of my day spent diving into books on foreign countries, religion, wine and|or magazines on climbing, improving physique or revamping and making the most my hall linen closet makes me love life a little more. and as taking the place of a top favorite pastime of 'going to barnes and noble to read books and scan through magazines' you can now leave debt free with books [i think like 15] in hand. well, i have accumulated a few small late charges. eeeeeee.

dexternew home

the unavowed secret of a man is that he wants to be confirmed in his being and his existence by his fellow men and that he wishes them to make it possible for him to confirm them, and . . .not merely in the family, in the party assembly or in the public house, but also in the course of neighborly encounters, perhaps when he or the other steps out of the door of his house or to the window of his house and the greeting with which they greet each other will be accompanied by a glance of well-wishing, a glance in which curiosity , mistrust, and routine will have been overcome by a mutual sympathy: the one gives the other to understand that he affirms his presence. this is the indispensable minimum of humanity.
[house cluster:towns:pattern language]

For some odd reason, I like moving. Yes, organizing, boxing, transporting, de-boxing, and re-organizing. I think it is the modest idea of simplifying your possessions that i am most attracted to. and disgustingly enough, we as humans are a representation of our possessions. well, as it goes moving means that you are relocating to a new place. we all know how i feel about new places; new place is synonymous with fresh adventure. park hill is the setting and sweet is the vibe. the developmental high for park hill was during the City Beautiful movement creating tree lined streets up and down. this is where you feel like everyday is that perfect sundays drive.
i can't wait to live and venture through out the streets and into the local flavor of this historic district.

here's the house. come visit! vegetation to come.