photo

Seems like things get this way every year at the beginning of December, a lot of reflection on years past and years to come.  If you ask me, I tend to be far to contemplative, always with my head in the clouds, so to speak.  I was the one who could sit in a chair and daydream for hours.  Or a tree, or a car – really I wasn’t picky when the opportunity presented itself.  Of course, that was all while I was awake.

These days, it seems I can’t sleep for dreaming.

All that daily reflecting has bled into the nighttime and I find myself tossing and turning, filled with imaginations for the future.  This year has had more than its share of challenges, but I am filled with hope and excitement for 2013.  Dreaming again feels good!

So this month, expect to see some reflections on my intentions for 2012 (Simplicity, Creativity, and Bravery) and also, I’ll be setting some shiny new intentions for 2013.

If, like me, you get to dreaming this time of year, here are a few resources that I think are swell:

–

This girl wrote a happy manifesto, and I think I’ll be joining her shortly!

Love this artist/author’s perspective – constantly finding inspiration from what she’s doing.

Or perhaps a manifesto’s not your style?  How about a letter to your future self?

–

Happy Dreaming!

Filed in:Inspiration

Over Labor Day weekend (I know, I’m a little behind on some of these posts – it’s NaNoWriMo‘s fault!), our friends and I headed out for a hike through Castlewood Canyon State Park.

The park is just off Hwy 83, near Douglas.  Especially later in the day, the trail was crowded with tons of people and dogs enjoying the little swimming spots created by the river that runs through the canyon.  All the times we’ve driven past it on our way up to Denver (it’s much more scenic, though granted much longer, to take 83 over 25) and I had no idea so many people even knew this little spot existed!

Much of what we could see used to be underwater, in fact, as there was a huge dam that created a lake out of the valley.  It’s since burst and was never repaired, and now it just stands like a huge wall separating nothing from nowhere.

Aside from the rattlesnake warning in effect (eep) and the hot hot heat (seems a distant memory now), it was a beautiful hike.  I’m glad that after passing the park from the road so many times, we were finally able to stop and check it out.

Filed in:Everyday Adventure | Travel

Tomorrow, I’m heading to Chicago for Thanksgiving.  One of my favorite places on earth, without a doubt.  So, in Chicago’s honor, here’s a classic :

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muPZLDBFscg]

It’s a tradition of mine to always have this on the iPod when I’m on the plane to Chicago – home, sweet home!

–

As an aside, I will note that the Frank Sinatra Pandora station also comes with a high recommend – especially when a glass of wine and a bubble bath are involved. Cheers!

Filed in:Music

One of those places in Colorado that has been on my radar since I arrived was Rocky Mountain National Park – and this summer we finally made it!  Cory’s family was in town so we headed out for an eight mile hike to the old mining settlement of Lulu City.

The trail took us right by the headwaters of the Colorado River – it was crazy to think that here you could wade through it without even getting the water over your boots – and yet it eventually ends up all the way in the Pacific Ocean.

I love all the different textures of the forest – I was actually surprised at how lush it was, as I’m used to hiking near Colorado Springs where everything is much more arid and not so much green.  I even found a tiny wild strawberry!

Another benefit of being in a National Park? We ran across wildlife like you wouldn’t believe!  Our group nearly walked over these two moose, that’s how close they got.  It was a little nerve-wrecking in the case of the moose since they’re not exactly cuddly, but they were females and it was awesome to see them at such a short distance!

And plenty of big horn sheep to top it off, of course.

When we actually got down to the river valley where the settlement used to be, there really wasn’t much there.  Well, aside from lovely views!  We found a place to sit and had some food, then made our way back.  The trail continued into a loop and various other branches, but we opted for the straight out and back option.  We lucked out on the rain here too – definitely thought we would hit a downpour but it managed to stay clear until we got back in the car after our hike was finished.

Funny, seems like every time we cross something off our list of places to see in Colorado, we add at least two more new discoveries.  We’ll definitely have to be back up here, as I still need to take photos on the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway and spend a day in Estes!  I’m sure more Rocky Mountain National Park hiking adventures will be right behind.

Filed in:Everyday Adventure | Travel

One of the places I’m so glad we got to see while Cory’s family was in town was Rocky Mountain National Park.  It’s a Colorado icon, for goodness sake, and I was just now making my first visit.  There are several closures right now, due to some construction near Bear Lake and a wildfire in another area of the park.  We decided since we only had a few hours of light left to take Trail Ridge Road, which is a main artery around the park with stunning expansive views.

In true Rocky Mountain National Park fashion, we saw plenty of elk on our drive along with plenty of…mountains!  The road goes up above 12,000 feet so it was much chillier than our earlier hike down in the valley.  If you’re going to do this drive, plan on bringing a few extra layers.  Altitude has a huge impact on temperature, especially when the sky is cloudy.

As far as skylines go, mountains certainly make some of the most spectacular!

If you don’t have a ton of time, I’d definitely recommend Trail Ridge Road as a decent overview of the scope of Rocky Mountain National Park.  It only served to whet my appetite for future visits!

Filed in:Travel

« Older Posts Newer Posts »