Happy Birthday 2015!

Published August 23, 2015

Last year set the template for all future birthdays — National Park visit, local hike & dessert 🙂

birthday month Nat’l Park visit: Crater Lake National Park. Check.
trail ran 10+ miles at White Ranch Open Space in Golden, 2 loops of hike & hills in summer heat. Check.
took advantage of Ash & Tom’s grilling skillz — chicken, grilled peaches & corn on the cob Friday; rib eye steak Saturday. Top that with homemade birthday cake: lemon curd, cream cheese icing, adorned with candied lemons. FAAANNNTASTIC!

Kicked off Birthday Week 2015 with dinner theatre in Boulder, front row table to Mary Poppins. Super fun Thursday, Chim-chimney!

: lemon curd, cream cheese icing, adorned with candied lemons – YUM!

: Mary Poppins pre-birthday celebration

: one year older but ageless on the trail — 10+ miles in Golden

: smoke currently clouds our mountain landscape (West Coast fires)

Ended Birthday week at the Shambhala Mountain Center, an hour west of Fort Collins. Quiet, peaceful alone time, deep in the Colorado Rockies. Good place to reflect — where I am, where I’ve been, where I’m going.

excerpt from buddhism & gnomes, October 2013

Don’t expect this to be a popular viewpoint, but I believe my God loves all his people & works through a series of faiths/religions to develop & activate our spirituality. HUGE fan of prayer & meditation.

I’m not a follower of Happy Buddha [I’m Christian], so why go? I challenge you to put your mind in the right place – push out judgment & preconceived ideas – get quiet, close your eyes, breathe, pray/meditate.

Diggin’ birthday month — lookin’ forward to 2016 🙂

: buddhist prayer flags: luck, happiness, compassion, prosperity, health & longevity

: banners & prayer flags line trek to the Great Stupa

Posted in Life | Tagged birthdays, faith, forest-fire, kyrkan | Leave a comment

inspiring individuals, bucket list destinations

Published August 20, 2015

Inspiration & motivation – key to maintaining consistency & keeping my head in the game.

Tammy, Marine Corps Marathon (Autism Research charity bib)

Sis – thanks for your support for Autism Research. Much appreciate you providing a face & spreading awareness to David’s day-to-day lifelong struggle. What an amazing journey you’ve taken us all on — crazy impressed, super inspired!

Billy Yang, Western States 100 – ‘bucket list’ endurance race

Kalle Ljung, Antarctica – ‘bucket list’ adventure destination

Posted in Family, MOVE; Stay INSPIRED! | Tagged #givingback | Leave a comment

Grays Peak 2015

Published August 16, 2015

Forgotten how good a 14er hike feels. Pre-dawn trailhead drive, first sun pop over the high peak.

Love of everything outdoors, BIG, immense, larger than ourselves.

Hour half on I-70, Exit 221 Bakerville – 8 miles from Eisenhower Tunnel. Five mile dirt-road journey. Struggled to maneuver the pothole minefield UP, secure off-road parking. Not a lotta spots left at 630am, gotta love Colorado hikers. Day starts early here 🙂

I last hiked Grays in September 2012. Trail was lined with yellow aspens and first snow of the season.

Hiking a month earlier in mid-August, today’s views did not disappoint. So much colour – like a Ravensburger puzzle, one of those 1000 piece projects you poke over during the summer. Not just one shade of green – slate green, moss, lime, yellow-green, forest.

Looked forward to the horizon. Stopped, peered back at my progress below – completing the straight puzzle edges first, framing a border, later patch-working the green inside. Two long stretches of boulder incline, but no huge scramble at the end.

Summit SUCCESS! Strong winds whipped so backed behind a man-made rock shelter. Chatted up fellow hikers planning their next ascents – before the snow flies (just a few weeks left). Parade of folks on top at 9am.

Fave quote: “I like your dog. He’s so warm.” LOL>

Return hike always seems longer than the ascent – a hiker mystery. Purposely drove West thru the Eisenhower tunnel, crossed the Continental Divide & lunched in Silverthorne before heading home (a 3 hour I-70 day mare – ARGH!)

Next 14er? Something near Leadville I think.

Haven’t been to the Nat’l Mining Hall of Fame & Museum. [ya’ll are thinkin’] How can I get a ticket, right? 🙂

Snow UPDATE, Wed August 19th: Colorado weather: Snow dusts high country, Denver sets record low