wallflower

A little birdy told me life is good

2012-02-06T18:14:00.001-07:00

A new tool I discovered at work mashed together all the words on my blog and turned them into this lovely graphic, a fun summary of life lately. How are you all doing?

Life out of a suitcase

2012-01-17T13:25:00.002-07:00

...isn’t so bad. I haven’t unpacked my suitcase all year. The travels started on New Year’s Eve, when Katya and I visited friends in Grand Junction then continued when I went to Miami a few days later. And—just when I’d recovered from that trip—I went on a weekend ski adventure in Summit County. Women’s Adventure magazine news Between all these sojourns, I’ve been working my butt off. (Again,

Powder Hunting

2011-12-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

I tried holding winter at arms’ length and postponed winter activities as long as possible this year, even attempting mountain bike rides in the snow. But, now it’s in full swing, and I spent December powder hunting. Finding good snow in Colorado has proved tough, but I found some in New Mexico while trying to get home for Christmas. In fact, there was so much of that fluffy white stuff that the

Things people say

2011-11-21T21:13:00.002-07:00

I compiled these quotes a few weeks ago and just haven’t posted them yet. You’ll notice that many of them, funnily, have something to do with my being single. This theme has continued, making the quotes still relevant. “You look just like my future daughter-in-law.” A woman at Sunflower market glanced at me once then did a double take as I picked out my Braeburn apples. I was unsure whether she

Fishing in the dark and in the day

2011-10-20T19:58:00.001-06:00

In lieu of finishing a write-up about the adventure race last month (insert sheepish sideways grin here), I’m posting some photos from this week at Lake Powell with GoalZero, a portable solar power gear company with innovative ideas and the brains and brawn to make it huge. My plane back home is about to take off, so adios for now! Enjoy!

Birthdays and Life Lessons

2011-10-07T10:24:00.005-06:00

Today I turn 24. And what a year (a life) I’ve had! Although “24” has a more mature ring than “23” does, I hope the fun of 23 continues! The top 7 lessons and experiences of the past year: 7. First thing last fall, I got on a mountain bike. I still ride and enjoy my road bike (I even got a new one), but mountain biking opened opportunities for travel, new kinds of bike riding (including

Active Adventure in Aspen

2011-09-15T10:03:00.006-06:00

And now for the weekly update: In addition to a few days of travel, this week I’ve been juggling magazine deadlines, anxious about my first ever adventure race this weekend, and struggling with balancing and prioritizing it all, mostly because I’m so dang excited about them all that choosing what to focus on first proves tough. Our fall issue of Women’s Adventure is available digitally, so flip

An Orchard's Influence

2011-09-01T10:16:00.005-06:00

Mornings like these—cool and slow to brighten up, peaceful but with clues that people are quietly going about their lives—remind me of farmers market. Let me explain. I remember many mornings of huddling inside or standing in the bed of my family’s old pickup truck, anticipating 8 o’clock, when the cowbell would ring, cueing my dad and others to roll back the barrels holding ribbon across the

Blue Ridge

2011-08-26T13:19:00.004-06:00

This past week, I spent four days exploring Asheville, NC, with my friend Cameron, who's thinking about moving there. I'd never been and will take any excuse to visit a new place. We sampled the area's trails, bars, bike stores, outdoor shops, and cafés, drove the Blue Ridge Parkway north and south of town, and got a feel for local flavor (exemplified notably at Sunday's topless rally). But,

Traveling Writer

2011-08-16T10:36:00.004-06:00

I've been on the road a lot lately. My work and interests have carried me all over the U.S. (and beyond) this year, and I feel so lucky to travel often and experience many communities. There's nothing I'd rather be doing and no place I’d rather work than in adventure- and outdoor-focused magazines and websites. Spending full days in airports, planes, and cars does get to be a drag though. I don't

Sunsets vs. Rainbows

2011-08-02T22:03:00.001-06:00

Every evening I spend time on my front patio, where I enjoy my plants, a nice view, and fresh air. Some nights, I enjoy a sunset. Last week, a friend was over and we watched the sunset a little while. When he left I continued looking at the rays shining through pillowy clouds and onto the mountains. It was a pretty sunset but nothing extraordinarily spectacular—no otherworldly colors or cloud

Break Free to Bike Bliss

2011-07-28T19:32:00.005-06:00

For a long time I stayed in my comfort zone: on my road bike. Sure, I rode a fixie on my commute and to the bars. But, that’s still technically road riding. Lake Tahoe from the Flume Trail The uncertainty that comes with unchartered territory kept me from trying new types of bike riding. To justify staying jailed in my comfort zone, I had countless lame excuses: “I don’t have a mountain bike.”

Remedial Freelance Writing 101

2011-07-11T23:40:00.003-06:00

How to Kill a Freelance Writing Career Before It Even Starts: Go to the mountains with friends. Go to the mountains for work. Go to the mountains with friends. Go to the desert with friends. And stare at your computer, rearranging words for hours and days at a time in between all that leaving. Back in June, Kristy Holland reached out to me and assigned a GPS Gear School piece for Backpacker

TMG and The Ranch

2011-06-17T19:43:00.001-06:00

I got to hang out at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail a couple weekends ago. We saw everything from 10-year-old freestyle kayak champions and muddy buddies during the dirtiest 5k I've ever run to pro mountain bike racers and Xavier Rudd. Straight from there, I drove to a ranch deep in a canyon near DeBeque just east of Grand Junction. Three days without cell service and surrounded by a green

One hellish and heavenly weekend

2011-06-12T10:58:00.002-06:00

My apologies for being a little MIA lately. I’m just recovering from a few travels that I finally have time to tell you all about. To make up for my slapdash story-telling effort, I’ll include loads of photos that’ll hopefully compel you to keep scrolling through this post. Playing volleyball at our beach campsite. A Memorial Day weekend trip to Lake Powell turned sour before we even got our

What They Call Heaven

2011-05-16T22:28:00.003-06:00

What they call heaven is actually a desert crusted with dynamic rocks worn smoothly and cracked coarsely, streaked in hues of red, grey, and brown. The heat has dried out the stones, washed out the colors, and left them pale, parched. The Colorado River winding through this region has carved out canyons that show off this remarkable rock in cross-sections. Tiny wildflowers sit low to the ground

Playing in the Dirt

2011-05-09T23:57:00.004-06:00

We cleared out gear. You can see the office floor now! One week of being back in Boulder, and life is still good. The most major news is that Kristy has officially moved on from Women's Adventure to Backpacker magazine and that I'm acting as editor until the big boss at Big Earth Publishing makes some decisions. Fall issue plans are slowly taking shape, and I'm finishing the spring issue web

The Gila monster was good to me

2011-05-01T23:51:00.006-06:00

From a personal standpoint, the Tour of the Gila's 25th anniversary was a huge success. Next year, I hope to have both the guts and the fitness to race. This year, I just enjoyed a good week with family and friends in southwestern New Mexico. Despite not having punished my body for 5 days, I felt like the week was full and fun. I got to ride a little and hung out with some fantastic people. If

Carbon fiber oozes happiness

2011-04-25T23:42:00.007-06:00

My new carbon fiber baby. “Carbon fiber oozes happiness,” my sweet friend, Alyssa, told me this week. I completely agree. That happiness has oozed from the handlebars, traveled up my arms, and seeped into my head. It also rose from my seat, made its way to my abdomen, and is moving all around in my stomach, stirring gleeful feelings where the happiness meets in my throat. It’s caused by a

Multimedia

2011-04-18T00:27:00.005-06:00

Thanks to limited time and a shorter-than-usual production schedule at the magazine, I have lots of lousy multimedia material to share this week. It's all fun stuff, though, so I hope you enjoy! Six months ago, I met my good friend, Alicia. Last week, she sent flowers for our anniversary! I normally don't like little dogs much, but Daphne's visits made the oodles of work I did from home

Photos from Cayman

2011-04-11T09:14:00.000-06:00

I visited the Cayman Islands at the start of this month to get scuba certified and explore some of the top dive sites there. Three other journalists took part in this press trip organized by mfa, the company that does PR for Cayman, and we all had a total blast together. I'll write a piece about the Cayman Islands for Women's Adventure magazine, as we have an underwater destinations round-up

Fish Out of Water

2011-04-01T21:53:00.010-06:00

Having lived most of my life in the land-locked state of New Mexico, water is foreign to me. Outside my grandmother’s swimming pool, I’m only even been snorkeling once. That time, I was just yards off the coast of some island in Belize and within doggy paddling-distance of a small boat. So, you'll understand when I say that I was uneasy about exploring this unknown territory—water. I’ve

Questioning Life on the Edge

2011-03-24T11:25:00.000-06:00

Historical figures, world-class athletes, and renowned philosophers are always telling us what to do. Many times, they prod us to just get out there and do it*—whatever “it” is**. We’re urged to live on the edge***, go fast****, go hard, and go higher. At other times, these same wise folks tell us to rest or be still. How’s a girl to interpret these mixed messages? I've wondered lately whether

Spring is in the air

2011-03-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

As the weather warms up, you can expect to read more tales about my time in the saddle and on the trail (as I ride my bike and hike more when the sun is shining). For now, here are a few photos from last week's adventures. These are the adorable alpacas we saw while riding from the office to Hygiene Friday afternoon. This old firetruck I saw on the same ride reminded me of my dad and his

Memory's scrapbook

2011-02-28T22:59:00.012-07:00

Friends and family pack the dining room and kitchen, flow into the living room, and walk in the door. My dad is cutting his 50th birthday cake after blowing out and wishing on the candle. I wonder what he hoped for and keep my arm linked with Sue, who was like a second mom to me. David, who is as close as a father, stands on my other side. My mom is next to him. We're all listening to stories