Wandering toward the wormhole

Five days and counting until I leave the Land of Enchantment for the rainforests of Costa Rica. For years I have watched with envy as friends went south when the first flakes began falling. My ties to the newspaper always kept me chained to the mountains where frankly, life was pretty good. They say that Eskimos have over 400 words for snow (in fact they only have about a dozen). As a ski town writer I had to come up with what felt like 400 metaphors, similes and personifications for Jack Frost’s happy little dandruff all too regularly. Eventually, when a 20 inch powder day hardly made me want to get out of bed, I knew it was time to go. Well, Winter pulled a fast one last week catching me off guard and vexing me like Pop Rocks on a chicken pock. Thankfully, the wormhole to paradise is a few short steps away.

In the meantime I have enjoyed the last days of limbo before the journey. A road trip with Dad, hot springs and beautiful hikes have kept things fulfilling.

Here are a few photos from the last week, and here is a link to the group I will be joing in Costa Rica. www.costaricacurrents.com

Getting high for boosted clarity

Leadville, Colorado 10,152 feet

Riding a caffeine buzz in the corner of a Colorado Coffee shop has lead me to good things in the past. That’s where The Local was born, and as I sit here musing at the raiser sharp contrast between snow and rock on the surrounding peaks, I can’t help but feel the same sense of inspiration. This time I’m not feeling compelled to sit in one place and create, but rather head for the horizon with open heart and mind. First stop is in Costa Rica where a group of us from Los Rios, the rafting company I worked for this past summer will spend two weeks rafting different rivers around the country. Along with us raft guides will be a documentary film maker who will be telling the story of the rivers and the potential threat of dams that are being proposed. From there we’ll head to the ocean to do some surfing. The trip is 16 days, but I’m guessing I’ll call the airline and tell them that I won’t be on the return trip. I don’t know where I’m heading from there, but I’m guessing I won’t experience winter this year.