It’ll hit you when you least expect it. For me, it was as I was driving down a narrow mountain road completely mesmerized by the fresh snow on the mountain peaks towering above, happy. Incredibly happy. The kind of happy that makes your insides feel like a perfectly toasted marshmallow. Everything seems right in the world + I was invincible to the doubts of reality.
When you tell someone you’re headed to the Swiss Alps for the summer the general assumption is that you’re going for the mountain peaks. That’s not untrue, but the Alps offer up more than summits! I first found the gorges [aptly named “Les Gorges”] on a rainy day last time I was here…they’re kind of a perfect rainy day hike. However, they’ve become one of my favorite hikes near the chalet, even on the sunny days! Let me tell you why…
We did minimal planning prior to hopping on a plane to Iceland. From time to time we’d talk about sitting down to plan. Every once in a while I’d scroll through a list of “5 must visit” or “8 best” list looking at photos + cocking an eyebrow at the Icelandic words. About a month before we showed up at the airport we decided we at least needed to find a place to sleep. A few Google searches + a colorful pros/cons list later we had our camper van booked. We also made reservations at a hotel in Reykjavik for our final nights in Iceland.
I spent a week in Iceland this spring, almost on accident. When I was searching for flights to Switzerland last fall I realized it was cheaper to fly through Iceland on Iceland Air than directly to mainland Europe. The airline’s website didn’t have to do much prompting to get me to book a “stayover” for the full 7 days. Once my flight was booked I spent a few months talking Robb into coming along to explore the island. Eventually, he gave in.
The one place it is perfectly acceptable to sit on the floor near a trash can is in an airport. Or that’s what I tell myself. For some silly reason 90% of the available outlets are always on those pillars surrounded by trash + recycling bins. From an architectural stand point, I guess that makes sense. From a self-respect + dignity stand point, not so much. Lucky for the batteries of my electronics, I’m not exactly overflowing with either self-respect of dignity!
And just like that, it’s December. We still grossly low on snow up here in the Rocky Mountains but the weather has taken a turn for the colder [much colder] so I guess we can officially say winter has arrived. Finally. The resorts opened 3+ weeks behind schedule which meant those of us lucky enough to snag mountain jobs were stuck with an extra 3 weeks of free time, sans paycheck.
I was standing on the corner of a busy street in a foreign city. It was my first time venturing out into Monterrey, Mexico on my own and I wasn’t sure of where I was going, what people were saying or how the hell to cross this street where it looked like everyone was playing human frogger. On the inside I knew I would survive to find the park I was looking for but on the outside everything about me screamed “confused tourist”. I could feel myself trying to be invisible with my crossed legs, fidgety fingers + averted eyes. I knew I couldn’t blend in + I was yet to dig up to confidence to own my foreigner status so I instinctively opted for invisible.
Spring showed up in February…but winter came back with vengeance in March. The mountains still aren’t sure what season it is, bouncing between fresh powder mornings and slushy afternoons. We might get another dumping of snow, in true Colorado fashion, but in my mind…summer is just around the corner. So close!
Heck, my version of summer kicks in before April is officially over! I actually have a lot on deck for my summer, but not in the traditional sense. I’m trying something new — combining a full-time job with a consistent travel-for-fun life. I’ve spent the last few months plotting, planning, working + negotiating to make this happen, and now it’s about to start happening!
It sounds like a really simple question, right? I’ve been asked “are you alone” a handful of times while out on the trails and I never know how to answer. I mean, the person asking me sees only me on a wide open trail or next to an empty mountain hut…obviously I’m alone.
Every time I’ve been asked I impulsively answer with the truth. Yes. Yes, I’m out here in the middle of no where all by myself. There is no one to pick me back up when I fall, no one to navigate for me, no one to defend me against hungry critters or crazy humans…just me.
We kind of live in a world of all the photos. Between Instagram, Snapchat and plain ol’ texted photos there are a lot of reasons to take photos. And, yes, I take photos for all of those reasons. I have tens of thousands of photos floating around Google Photos, Dropbox and other nooks of the internet abyss. Sometimes they get shared, sometimes they just sit around feeling lonely until I get ambitious enough to scroll through them.
When I decided to make the move onto this site [rather than run.around.aroo, where my oversharing used to live] I started scrolling through old posts…and then through old photos. Holy drunk monkeys, a single photo can spark so many memories! If you already follow me on Instagram you’ve seen these photos but I really like them + the stories they come with so I’m re-sharing them here. Oh, the things that can happen in two years…
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