Well this post is going to be a whole lot of miscellaneous crap...

Every single day that something exciting or different happens, I say to myself, "I really can't foget to post this on my blog, otherwise I'm going to have to write an extensive post in a few full of everything I've done over the last few weeks."

A few weeks later

So here I am, about to write as much as I can remember because I was so incredibly lazy and dull that I didn't feel like posting anything because it took effort.

Instead of posting about what I've done, I'm just going to tal about whatever I feel like and whatever I bring up is what this post will be about. So here we go:

The last few weeks of living in Colorado have been an experience. I celebrated my first 1 month of being here last week by paying over $800 in bills. Yay for celebratory funds!! (not) I got a job and quit within a week because as much as I know money is a key component of being able to stay out here, my happiness with my job comes first to me. I promised myself that the one thing I wouldn't allow myself to do while living in Boulder is accept a job that makes me miserable and as much as I liked the people I worked with, the job was definitely not for me and it wasn't enough money for me to survive. That being said, I am keeping my head up and continuing the search with a lot of optimism.

I wish the rest of this post was going to be about me being outside and be the wilderness girl I've always wanted to be but I'm sad to say that is not the case. This is mostly due to the fact that I have been incredibly lazy. I did finally have my first outdoor bouldering experience with a new person I met! I surpassed my biggest fear of topping out by actually topping out 4 problems between 8 and 15 feet up. I was shaking like a cold chihuahua but I did it and was so proud. Can I do it again? Oh God, I hope so. But we shall see. Tomorrow I am finally going rope climbing again outdoors since the last time was the second week I got here haha.

However, I have gone hiking a little bit at Flagstaff Mountain which I didn't even know was 10 minutes from my apartment and it's absolutely amazing! I referred to it as a little kid on a jungle gym because there's so many boulder problem and so many just random rock formations that you can climb on and see an incredible 360 degree view. I could probably be up there for days on end (if only camping were allowed there. What a let down) But you should see how steep this mountain is and watching the bikers go all the way up every single day is incredible and truly inspiring so see women and men of all ages making it up this cliff. I see their struggle and I have the same face when I'm just walking up a steep flight of stairs. Some people really just amaze me at their constant effort in achieving a goal. It really puts some things into perspective. I will be on Flagstaff probably every weekend exploring until I get sick of it, which I will tell you now, is never going to happen.

Colorado really is an incredible place and if you love being outside, exploring the unknown, getting a taste of different ethnic foods, beers, and coffees. It's the place to be if you want to see smiles all around. Boulder is a land that is separate from the rest of the world. I honestly don't think you will ever experience anything like Boulder. If you really want my honest opinion, I don't think I fit in here. Yet. I still am not used to everything and how different it is from the east coast. When I am fully infused into the whole Boulder experience, I am confident I will never be leaving ever again.

So many memories already, and so many more adventures to come.

Bring it on, Colorado. Bring it on.

(Photos to come in next post)

Running into the Unknown

I have a strong disliking for running.

Let me elaborate on this hatred.

I would prefer to sit with shorts and a tshirt in -20 degree weather than go running. I would prefer to get stung by a jellyfish than go running. I would rather lift 190 pound deadlifts than go running for five minutes. Moral of the story? Running SUCKS. Who wants to be panting and sweating and feel like they're on their final minutes of life?

Well....apparently a lot of people.

However, today was a day where I am going to comletely contradict every single word I said above. Today, I actually enjoyed running. A lot. (No this is not a typo)

Yesterday, when I was on my usual adventure of driving around pretending I know where I'm going when I'm really just wasting all of my gas, I drove too far down Baseline Drive and ended up near 55th Ave and passed a sign that said Bobolink Trailhead. Since I have this uncanny infatuation with hiking and new trails, I made a sharp turn into the parking lot and realized there is a 3.8 mile trail that goes to South Boulder Creek. From what I could see from the trailhead, it was like the trail went into the unknown, which of course, intrigued me. So I made a promise to myself that I would run that trail today, which I did (And I am damn proud if I do say so myself)

First, let me explain that today's weather forcast is 82 degrees and sunny. Not one cloud in the sky. And knowing this, what did I wear? Black yoga pants and a black tshirt. No, I'm not emo. I'm just stupid. So talk about sweat. Okay, we won't talk about it, but I did...a lot.

The trail, was alluring; angelic. Wetlands to my left, the Flatirons to my right, bridges, small fast-moving rapids, plethora of colors from the grass, flowers, and trees all around me. It's as if  I just never wanted to stop running. Every single person I passed on the path smiled at me or waved. There were women riding their bikes with their dogs running alongside. There were couples riding their bikes together. In a way, it was like experiencing a moving phototgraph. If I didn't stop a million times to take photographs, I honestly don't know if I would've ever stopped running (until I reached the end of the trail, that is). As a whole, I ran about 3.5 miles, which is quite peculiar since running here should be harder than back home in NJ because of the altitude, but at home, I could barely run 3 miles. I guess when you are distracted by views that are mesmerizing, the distance is just a number.

There are just days that completely put me in a state of awe. I drove down the street to find an art store and end up finding a trailhead that gives me the push to get up every morning and run. I think when surprises like that happen, it's the world throwing a curveball your way. Every day is a new surprise if you go out and allow yourself to find it. Happiness, to me, is a scavenger hunt. You know what you're looking for, but you're not going to get anywhere if you don't go and actually look for it. So when you have those days where you are bored and hate that you have nothing to do, you can only blame yourself. Go out. Drive. Anywhere. Just go and find a new surprise. Who knows? It could be right out your back door.

That being said...I challenge you. I challenge you to go out one day with no intentions, no plans, no work to do. Go to the mountains, a park, your driveway, I don't care. And just do something. Explore, bring a book, bring music. Go running, write, play music, enjoy the view. I highly doubt you'll be disappointed.

The Royal Arch: It had a crown and everything!

Well this post is ridiculously overdue.

Go ahead, hate on me for not updating.

No, but really. Honestly, nothing all that exciting has happened these last few days. I had an amazing opportunity to work an event so I have been doing tha the past 2 days and tomorrow, I've joined a gym, gone there, applied for jobs, and, well, that's about it. Climbing has been nonexistant mainly because I think I pulled a tendon in my left ring finger so I have it taped up and decided to actually try and stay off of it for a week. Clearly I don't think things through first, because I always get hurt.

BUT! What I can talk about is me and Paul's first hike. It was a 3.6 mile roundtrip hike up to the Royal Arch which is this insane rock formation that is just a huge arch that overlooks the entire city. It kind of reminds me of the arch from The Giant Rope Swing youtube video (which, if you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you watch it...NOW. Pause reading my blog, go to Youtube, crank up the volume and watch.)

The hike, located in Chautauqua Park, also where you find the infamous Flatirons, was about 1200 feet up in elevation but at the top we were at a total of about 6,800 feet. Here's the kicker. Again, I totally forgot about the altitutde. Well, I didn't forget, but for some reason, I didn't think it would affect me. Welp, I was wrong. Typically I can hike 15 miles in a day with tons of hills, heat, humidity, and a pack on my back, and really not have any major issues. Well about 1 mile up this hike, I was dying! I mean, stopping to catch my breath every few hundred feet, chugging water, no humidity, and a lot of steep stairs. It's crazy what the altitutde will do to you. Again, like everything I did in Boulder, the hike was absolutely beautiful, despite the ridiculous amount of stairs, heat, and ridiculous scrambles we had to go through.

 Flatirons

 

Stairs to Hell

Once we got up to the top of the mountain and finally reached the Royal Arch (there is actually another summit that is called the "false summit" because everything  gets there all excited to be done and you find out you have another huge hill to actually climb before you can see anything) So after our quick, yet necessary, moaning and groaning about the fact that it was scorching hot and we weren't done was over, we continued on and finally, after about 15 more minutes, we saw the Royal Arch, and holy shit was it incredible. The view was surreal, the arch was as if it were a frameand the view of Boulder was the art that was placed in the middle of it. Kind of like stepping into a painting. There were perfect sitting rocks everywhere so Paul and I sat down (I found  this perfect little spot for my butt. I never wanted to leave), and enjoyed the view for a while amongst a ton of chipmunks. It was truly unbelievable, even if it was a short but brutal hike.

It really does blow my mind every time how absolutely beautiful nature is. The simplicity of the mountains, and the serenity of all the nature surrounding. Boulder is truly an amazing place. I haven't had to to really explore outside the city yet, but I do have a list, and I will accomplish that list no matter what.

"It's the Moments that make the Journey"

Estes Park Explored like Lewis and Clark

Before I even post about my last two days of inexplicable adventures, I just want to say something that I think everyone should think about:  

There is someone out there that has helped me realize what I need to do in life and has shown me that you venture on journeys because there is a reason behind it. There is a meaning for the decisions that you make, and even if you don’t recognize them now, you will. “You have to measure yourself at least once.” – Into the Wild

I know I’m no expert in moving or figuring out where you should go in life, but I think the one piece of advice I can say confidently is; explore your options, take risks, and make mistakes, because those are the factors in determining where your life will take you. You can come up with every excuse in the world as to why you can’t live your dream, but the only real thing stopping you is yourself. Every problem can be worked around. A plethora of opportunities are waiting and the only thing you really have to do is go and dive in head first.

So, sincerely, thank you (you know who you are), for helping me realize this and allowing me to share it with everyone that I know is at a phase in their life where they are just as stuck as I am.

*** Two Days Later ***

About 5 minutes ago, I reread the piece above so I could remember where to continue on my blog, and for some god forsaken reason, my memory has been obstructed by the views of the mountains and the delicious food I have been constantly consuming (I really just don’t want to admit that I can’t remember what I did 3 days ago). So I’m going to eliminate one of those days and talk about the only thing I can remember: My trip to Estes Park.

Paul (my roommate), my friend, and I had the intention of going to Estes Park to venture into the mountains in search of the boulders that the Estes is famous for. What we didn’t account for was the weather; but let’s back up to the beginning of the day. The drive up there was about an hour, taking Route 36 up to Rocky Mountain National Park. But here’s the thing about Colorado that always makes me end up in a state of awe. Boulder is a busy city. Not a New York City, I’m going to get hit by a cab while attempting to hold my cell phone, beeper (do those even exist anymore?), ipad, ipod, and laptop while jay walking across one of the busiest streets, busy. It’s busy in the sense that there’s always something going on. It’s almost as if Boulder is never at a stand-still. Every day you will see bikers in groups of 20 riding along Pine Street or musicians and jugglers occupying the areas on Pearl Street, entertaining the children that are holding their ice cream cones in one hand and holding the hand of their parent in the other. Food carts and farmer’s market filled with people from as early as 8am. You can’t turn a corner here and not find something going on. It’s consistent movement, in a mellow way, 24/7/365. So here is my sales pitch to you on Boulder: *said in a Mr. Moviefone tone of voice* “If you love the outdoors and want to get away from the rambunctious noise of the city but still want liveliness in your everyday life, Boulder is the perfect place for you! Climb a mountain, grab some food at a local coffee shop, and listen to street musicians all in one day!” (Did I convince you to move?)

Do you love to deviate away from a topic? Well, obviously I do. So let me get back to my original purpose of that whole paragraph. Boulder may be a busy city, but if you drive on Route 36 or any highway for that matter, within 10 minutes, you are in the middle of nowhere. You have zero cell phone service; you see no form of civilization. It’s just mountains. Pure beauty for miles and miles. Something you can’t find in New Jersey. As we drove, we saw ranches, elk, and mountains. The temperature dropped by the minute and you could start to see snow at the peak of the mountains in the distance. No matter how long I live here, I know that the landscape in Colorado will never not take my breath away.

We finally arrived to the Estes Park welcome rock, which is, of course, where we stopped to take our obligatory touristy photo in front of it so we (or maybe just I) could post it on every possible social networking site available.

Our original plan was to go to Lumpy Ridge where there was supposed to be some easy and harder climbs so all of us could be satisfied. We were told by a worker at the outdoor store that just look for the twin owl rocks and that’s where we have to go. Strangely enough, there are these two huge rock formations that look EXACTLY like two owls looking at each other. We were all in shock that we actually noticed them because we aren’t the most observant people. But when we saw the owls we clearly stopped to be tourists again, took pictures, and continued on to the entrance where we saw a sign that gave us the depressing news that the area was closed due to raptors (Yes, I immediately thought Jurassic Park and wanted to make a raptor sound so badly but I really need to keep my friends, so I withheld). We then decided to turn around and go back to the guy from the store and ask for the next best option, which was Endo Valley. We headed down the main street of Estes Park to a gate where we paid to enter a dirt path that took us to a campsite where we could park and hike a path to what would be the bouldering area. What we didn’t realize was that even though it was 70 degrees in Boulder, that doesn’t mean it’s 70 degrees an hour away. That being said, it was 55 degrees and the rock was still wet from the snow that melted from the day before. And as we continued walking up the mountain, our breathing became a lot heavier due to the altitude and exactly what we feared happened: snow started to trickle down. I’m pretty sure that within that 3 hour period from being in Boulder and getting to that point, we had experienced all 4 seasons in one day. About 20 minutes later, my Sanuks were soaked along with my socks and as my breathing was becoming heavier and heavier, we hit a foot of snow with more coming down. That’s when we realized that bouldering may be out of the question. I decided to back out of any bouldering that day, even if rock was dry, because I really don’t want to reinjure myself trying to climb something I’m not capable of. So my friend and Paul tried two climbs but with the rock being wet and the weather just not doing it for us, we decided to bail and just explore town for a little bit. We realized we have all the time in the world to go back, so it’s just going to have to be an adventure we take on another day.

 

(Please excuse how awful i look in this photo. I swear I'm much better looking)

When we got back to Boulder, and after the hour long nap I took in the car (Those winding roads and quiet mountains sure can put a girl to sleep), my friend and I decided to grab our crash pads and head into Boulder Canyon to see what we could get in last minute because everything was mostly dry. We first headed to this hiking trail that had these angelic red rock cliffs. They weren’t really boulder(able), but we still put on our shoes because they stick better and climbed up some 30-40 foot rocks. The view was what made the easy climb worth it and being outside at any point in the day overlooking the city is just inexplicable. We then moved on to a boulder that was on the side of Boulder Canyon Road that we saw in a guidebook. The climbs would’ve been good, but the landing spot wasn’t the safest and the beginning footholds were wet which we didn’t consider. And to top it off, it started raining, so we just decided this wasn’t our day and went home.

 

 

Some may say that day was a complete bust and some may say it was a waste of time. But I saw it as another travel experience. Another day to explore what surrounds me. I may have not been able to climb, but I saw 4 seasons in one day, I sat on a 40-60 foot rock formation that overlooked the entire city from a 360 degree view, I was able to spend the whole day outside with great people, and I can cross Estes Park off my bucket list (not for climbing of course).

 

I like to see the glass half full. If one day isn’t the way you expected it to be, that just gives you the opportunity to make another day that much better. You have your whole life to do the things you want, but if something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted, then turn it into something even better.