There’s something about a body in motion.  It seems like any time I’ve hit a block – creative, emotional, spiritual, or what have you – the trick is usually to put myself in motion.  A walk, a run, a stretch, a flight – or a drive.

When I was a baby, my parents had a little trick they used when I was being fussy and not wanting to go to bed: they would put me in the car seat and take a drive up and down the highway – worked like a charm.  As I got older, I remember the three hour drives to my grandparents house – I would stare out my window and imagine all sorts of things.  Now, there are few cures like hitting the open road when I just need to clear my head, stop being so fussy, and think a little bit.

Colorado makes it easy because you can hardly take a drive anywhere that’s NOT beautiful and inspiring (exhibit A).  Combine the rock-star scenery with some good tunes, and I am a happy camper.

This weekend, my husband and I are taking a little weekend trip to Durango.  It’s supposed to snow (no thank you, weathermen – I’ll have no more snow on road-trip days until Colorado learns to salt their roads), but otherwise I’m really looking forward to the time in the car.  My plans include lots of snacks, lots of chatting and lots of singing along to the radio.

Anyone else find that long drives clear their head?  I highly recommend it!

Filed in:Inspiration
add a comment
  • Aaron Cohen PhotographyMarch 7, 2012 - 9:11 am

    Wow, beautiful photos! (I am a WordPress photographer too) I loved your story as well. Great post.ReplyCancel

  • Cabbie NotesMarch 9, 2012 - 2:30 am

    I’ll cast my vote for the benefits of a long drive. Sometimes I like to drive early on a weekend morning before it’s too busy to clear my head.ReplyCancel

    • Annabelle MintzMarch 12, 2012 - 3:43 pm

      that sounds lovely – I am not much of a morning person, and sometimes envy those who are. those quiet times are so important!ReplyCancel

I don’t know if I can explain to you why, but Wilkerson Pass is one of my favorite places in Colorado – and maybe even the world.  If I need to get out and take a drive, this is usually where I end up.  You’ll find a little rest area at the crest of the pass as you head West on Route 24, about an hour or so after you’ve left Colorado Springs.  And it really doesn’t look all that exciting when you approach it until you stop and get out:

There are a few little trails down from the rest area, but I’ve also just done some bushwacking and exploring – though I recommend long pants (I walked around here once in shorts and got eaten alive walking through the tall grasses).   I love that you can see Pike’s Peak on one side of the pass, and the Collegiate Peaks in all their glory on the other side – double views!

Wilkerson Pass was where I discovered the Love tree I featured in this post – there a bunch of aspens that I’ve come up to see in their fall colors, in snow-covered winter-ness and in summertime sparkle.  Aspens rank high on my list of favorite trees (am I the only one that has a list like that?)

There’s nothing like finding a rock with a view and pondering how big and beautiful the world is.  Nothing like it.  In fact, I think Wilkerson Pass is due for another visit from me pretty soon.  Some places just call you back over and over again.

Filed in:Everyday Adventure | Travel
add a comment
  • Inspire Me: Hit the Road | Beautiful GeometryMarch 7, 2012 - 9:05 am

    […] Geometry Skip to content HomeAbout Me ← Everyday Adventure: Wilkerson Pass March 7, 2012 · 9:01 am ↓ Jump to […]ReplyCancel

  • Birthday Sparkles « Beautiful GeometryMarch 27, 2012 - 3:22 pm

    […] I couldn’t find my red headband (perhaps kitten stashed it away?) so I went with red lips instead! You’ll have to trust me, as we only took two photos: one had horrible lighting, and in the other, I was acting as queen of the bizarre facial expressions.  So here we have better light sans awkward face (and head – is that more awkward?).  Seriously, this is why I do landscape photography! […]ReplyCancel

I’m sure it has been said by multitudes: always carry a pen and paper.  I was thinking the last few days about my plight from Monday’s post and this simple piece of advice.  I suppose a little note taking would have saved me some minor confusion and frustration.  Then I remembered a series of paintings that I saw at the Denver Art Museum by Tony Foster – he kept a journal of his trip down the Colorado River by painting a watercolor view of the canyon at each campsite, along with a few notes, a map of the location, and a small artifact he found that day (feather, stone, leaf, etc).

Now this, this is a journal that satisfies the right AND left brains, wouldn’t you say?  Who says taking notes can’t be practical AND beautiful?

Looking at these pictures again, like the first time I saw the exhibit, reminds me to slow down a little and take it what’s around me.  And that there is value in keeping record – something I don’t do often enough.  So, here’s to taking notes – whether it’s to remember where you snapped that shot of Pike’s Peak, or your journey down the Colorado River, or maybe just how you made the most of your extra leap day in February, 2012.

You know me, I’m all about everyday adventures!

Filed in:Inspiration
add a comment

One of the great things about Colorado Springs, and probably Colorado in general, is that there are trail heads just about everywhere – one can hardly keep track of them all.  This post is an example:

You see, some friends took me on this hike in 2008 when I first moved out here.  And I all wrote down was “Catamount Reservoir” – I have since learned that there are two reservoirs with that name, North Catamount and South Catamount.  Can’t tell you which one we hiked to, where we parked, or any other such insightful details except that it was cloudy.

I don’t remember the hike being too challenging (I had just moved, therefore elevation would have been an impacting factor) – we hiked over a ridge from where we parked and down to the reservoirs – it was maybe an hour or two.  Of course, none of this helps much since I don’t know where it was that we parked.

So, I’m afraid that the most profound thing I have to say to you about these photos is this:  Take notes when you take pictures, so you don’t end up like me.

Hope you all had a happy Monday!

Filed in:Everyday Adventure | Travel
add a comment
  • Abigail NeedlesFebruary 28, 2012 - 7:30 am

    These photos are beautiful! In the last one, it looks like there’s a lion’s head looking down to the ground! See it?

    I’m using my blog to remember what each of my photos are in SA 😉ReplyCancel

  • Inspire Me: Take Notes | Beautiful GeometryFebruary 29, 2012 - 8:03 am

    […] Geometry Skip to content HomeAbout Me ← Everyday Adventure: Catamount Reservoir February 29, 2012 · 8:00 am ↓ Jump to […]ReplyCancel

I’m a midwest girl at heart, but I have a little thing for Texas.  And if I had to pick a favorite place in Texas, it would probably be Austin.  Not just because my awesome big brother lives there, but that helps!  We spent last weekend in Austin and so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite photos from that trip, plus a few of our past visits.

One of my favorite parts of Austin is how much there is to do outside.  When we visit, we like to hike or bike the Green Belt – I love that it runs all the way through the city – and we also spent a day boating on Lake Austin (this is a seriously awesome past-time).

I loved visiting Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, where I was able to get some great shots – I could take photos of flowers literally all day long.  It was a small center, but it had longer trails you could hike, if you desired.  We stuck to the center where the gardens were, and still had a lovely time.

On this trip, we took a tour at University of Texas, which was a beautiful campus – much more “college” feeling than my urban-center alma mater DePaul – but it didn’t nearly feel big enough for the number of students that attend (50,000+!).  Also, college pride level at this school is through the roof – every other person we passed was wearing burnt orange, and of course, there were longhorns on pretty much everything a longhorn could be put on!

And of course, no visit to Austin would be complete without some really tasty grub.  I won’t go into all the details here, but if you’re interested in more detailed reviews of restaurants, etc, that we visited during our trip, check out my yelp reviews. (Full disclosure: I didn’t actually eat at Chuy’s, but rather the neighboring Shady Grove – I just loved the sign – but from what I hear, and from the 1.5 hour wait there that Sunday morning, I’m guessing the food is delicious there too.)

It’s pretty hard to capture Austin into one post, but this is a tiny glimpse of some of our past visits – I’m sure I’ll be adding to the memories as time goes on.  Have any of you been to Austin? What was your favorite place to visit or eat?

Filed in:Travel
add a comment

« Older Posts Newer Posts »