I sat with my back to the rock, wedged into a small ledge and took a deep breath.   Boulder was below, clear, beautiful, alive.  The sounds of a band welcoming in a weekend of CU football drifted up, birds circled above and below me.  I was halfway up the First Flatiron nestled into a natural rock seat with no gear.
I took another calming breath, smiled at the world, wiggled my toes, and turned around continuing the climb.  The freedom was exhilarating, no harness, rope, belayer, or mental thickness.  Despite my …

Standing in the middle of the silent highway I watched the moon, slowly appear over the horizon only to vanish again into the cloudy sky.  Big, full, vivacious, and yet so easily hidden behind the mists of the evening.  Birds sang.  Something rustled in the grasses.  Far away emergency lights flashed silently.  Someone had died there an hour before.  Someone else had died over that hill 2 days before.  And another over that hill, and another beyond that mountain, and another in that lake, and another in that car.  So much death …

 “Boulder is the #1 flash flood risk community in Colorado.” This was written on my water bill this month (and is every spring).  Think about it.
The Big Thompson flood killed over 150 people and was caused by nothing more than rain.  The same thing can (will) happen again in many other Front Range canyons.  Will you have enough time to get out of the floodpath?
Boulder County has recently implemented a new emergency notification system to augment the current systems.  Citizens can be notified via email, text message, and cell phone calls …

 Boulder Blind Cafe
All hints of light disappeared as the second curtain dropped behind us. We continued on, at what seemed like an unsafe pace for such conditions.
“Door! Put your left hand up.” was spoken ahead of me.
I put my hand up just in time to feel the side of a wooden door frame as we dodged right.
Through the doorway was a large space filled with the bustling noise of people. We were in a line, 9 of us, including our guide, each one with a hand on the shoulder of …

Tonight, the day after Thanksgiving, I sit in my living room and listen to the world going to sleep thinking over the past couple wonderful days to those things I am most thankful for, and I begin to write.
 
My family. You are amazing. I tell you this whenever I can, but truly, you are the most amazing people, and the fact that I get to call you family makes my heart sing. You taught me all my first lessons, nurtured my first curiosities, and showed me how to quest for …