a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
I live in Colorado so most of my posts will be in this category. I’ve further subdivided them into subcategories of hikes, summits, 13ers, 14ers, destinations, and bucket list items.
After somewhat of a lull in hiking in the latter portion of 2023, my 2024 hiking pursuits began just three days into the new year when Savannah invited me on a snowshoeing excursion to Forest Lakes. These lakes had been on my to-do list for a while but never seemed to make it close enough… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Forest Lakes
(This post was originally published back in 2019.) Bear Lake Trailhead to Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes is one of the first hikes Pat and I ever did in Rocky, way back when we were barely acclimated and still so new to exploring the park. It's a hike we've repeated at least half a dozen… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes
I've hiked in Glacier Gorge in the summer. I've also hiked in Glacier Gorge in the winter. A lot, in fact. Winter in Glacier Gorge is one of my favorite things in Rocky. And while I've published posts on Sky Pond in summer and Sky Pond in winter and Black Lake in summer and Black… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park: winter hiking in Glacier Gorge
Looking back, I realize I always took for granted that I grew up just 90 minutes from Yellowstone. For me, having a national park so close to home was just normal. Then I spent six years living in Connecticut, where the nearest “mountains” weren’t really mountains and the nearest national park was a full day’s… Continue reading A guide to visiting Rocky Mountain National Park
When I mentioned my plans for 2024 back at the end of December, painful inflammation in my big toe and carpal tunnel in both wrists were definitely not on the list. Alas, that's a summary of my year so far, and orthotics and wrist braces have become a part of my daily attire. As a… Continue reading Life and blog update
From 1952 to 1994, Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant was home to manufacturing facilities for both nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, including triggers manufactured from the highly radioactive elements uranium and plutonium. After a series of issues (the plant was actually raided by the FBI in 1989 after claims of environmental crimes) followed by permanent ceasing… Continue reading Colorado Destinations: Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge
In 1907, the US Forest Service – which was a brand new agency at the time – planned to build seven lookouts along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming to New Mexico. Only four of these lookouts were ever actually built; one on Medicine Bow Peak in Wyoming, and three in Colorado… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Devil’s Head Lookout
Back in 2020, I created a post to share some of my favorite sunrise and sunset photos. While all the photos in that post are still among the best sunrises and sunsets I've captured on camera, three years have passed since then and I've accumulated numerous additional wonderful sunrise and sunset photos. And so, given… Continue reading Colorado sunrises and sunsets
Well, it's that time again. Time for me to jump on the bandwagon of writing an end-of-the-year wrap-up post. I always enjoy looking back at what I've accomplished in the year while also looking forward to the blank slate of the new year that awaits us. So without further ado: January I never really got… Continue reading A year in review: 2023
This happens to everyone, right: you do something wrong and you get corrected and then you can never remember which version is wrong and which one is correct? As a kid I attended a school named for Chief Joseph and, in one of the more embarrassing moments of my time there, I misspelled the word… Continue reading Colorado Summits: Chief Mountain
Handstands Around the World 