Looking Forward to Oregon In The Spring

 I'm happy this minute to be living in Colorado. The East is destroyed by snowstorms, the Pacific Northwest by rain. The days here are unseasonably warm and sunny. It has allowed for long beautiful outdoor walks and drives into the mountains. Aspen is still snowed in and the mountains have great skiing. A plumbing client of mine skinned up Buttermilk and skied down the other morning before our appointment. Great skiing with a sunshine day. I miss skiing but not the hassle of equipment and getting to the hill. Will I miss Colorado if my house and business sell? Greatly, it has always been a respite for me. A place to run to find myself. I have had some of the greatest outdoor adventures of my life in Colorado. If you have never been then you need to get a backpack and a pair of hiking shoes and come on out! You will be glad you did. The opportunities are endless here. I have worked for and performed in a Children's Theatre, had my own business, worked for ski mountains, and met and married my wife here. She was able to fly hot air balloons, become a DJ and radio personality, manage a health club and some of the nicest property in Aspen as well as get a real estate license. Life has been very good to us in the mountains.

   They say that Eugene, Oregon is where old hippies go to die! I am not even close to my death bed yet, far too many books to write and stories to tell and places to see. I have only the Pacific Northwest to explore. Do we question the rain and our ability to handle it? Yes. I suppose I will spend a large amount of time indoors writing, or building something. Don't know about our ability to withstand the cold. As nice as this winter has been I cannot do the cold anymore! Me a child of the cold and wilderness seriously thinking of the warm belts of America. Time and life sure does change your priorities.  I am no longer fooled by Fairy Tale endings because a lot of nice things turn bad out there. You cannot give in to the fear of change. It is harder the older you get but you have to push through.

Mount of the Holy Cross

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A memory of being in Colorado!

A View of Mount Of The Holy Cross From The Observation Deck At Vail Mountain.

Mount Holy Cross is the highest point in Eagle County. It is located in the Holy Cross Wilderness of the White River National Forest and is a part of the Sawatch Range. It is 14,011 ft high. The most distinctive feature is what gave it it's name. Depending on the snowfall of the winter a large white Cross develops on its slope. I would rate it a moderate climb. There is an excellent book named Colorado's Fourteeners that lists all of Colorado 52 Fourteeners. It is invaluable to anyone interested in climbing any of the mountains.

http://www.amazon.com/Colorados-Fourteeners-3rd-Ed-Climbs/dp/1555917461

On Becoming A Historian

   The picture I have of a historian is Doris Kearns Goodwin, me not so much. I don't think I ever consciously set out to be a historian or a historical writer. Yes, I have always written poetry ever since I can remember. I think my very first poem had something to do with Curious George and the Library in Albany, New York that my grandparents would take me to. I was just a rambling youth when I first made my way into to Colorado to ski the mountains. I just wanted a few powder turns on some steep and deep and that was the simple truth. So I wintered there with some friends of mine and had the chance to ski often. During that time I developed a great fondness and admiration for the owner of the mountain and his nephew. I thought the owner was what I would call a cliche, he was literally a mountain of a man. Someone I looked up to and admired greatly. As all things go in seasonal endeavors that season ended and every one moved on. I went to Florida to visit my little sister and then was called home to Albany as my father hurt his back and needed me to run the family Plumbing and Heating Business. I remember sitting on the Tarmac in the Airport in Washington D.C. and it was raining. I was on my way back to the real work world. My fondness for Arapahoe Basin and the family business that ran it was great. I was a Plumbing and Heating Contractor and that was that. To make a long story short, I returned to New York did the right thing a good son does and forgot about writing the History of Arapahoe Basin. Easy, right? Not so, something bothered me about it. Something had transpired and I couldn't verbalize it or put my finger on it. It drove me crazy. All of this is just the thought process to bring out the historian in me. You see, the same duty that made me run my family business now makes me understand that I must become a Historian and in the process write the story of A-Basin and Joe Jankovsky, the Mountain of a Man.
   Begin at the beginning, I couldn't grasp the concept. I know in Centennial, James Michener writes about the formation of Colorado from the beginning of time. Do I really think that I have the ability to go up against someone like him in my writing? The answer to me is to simply write it out. It is a process to become a Historian and the trick is to enjoy the process and journey. It doesn't matter how long it takes the answer is in the journey and the journey will reveal the truth I am searching for. It is one thing to talk about doing something. The real moxy is in actually doing it. Here is where I raise my non-existent glass and say, " I'll drink to that."

A Song very close to my heart.  "Where Do The Children Play" Cat Stevens

What is the Monument?

   The Colorado National Monument is a part of the National Park Service and is located near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado.  It hosts incredibly spectacular views with deep canyons carved into the limestone and granite-gneiss-schist, rock formations. It is desert land high on the Colorado Plateau, with pinion and juniper forests on the plateau. You can watch golden eagles, desert big horn sheep, coyotes, and red tail hawks. Rim Rock Drive winds along the plateau with magnificent views. The Book Cliffs are the largest flat-topped mountains in the world, the Grand Mesa awaits your viewing enjoyment. Some activities are road biking, hiking, horseback riding and scenic views, with a visitor center on the west side containing a natural history museum and a gift shop.

   The Monument Canyon, which runs the entire width of the park, and includes rock formation such as Independence Monument, the Coke Ovens and the Kissing Cousins are some of its main features. It has been recommended to Congress for designation as a wilderness. The monument includes 20,500 acres (32 square miles).

   The beauty of the Monument is unsurpassed in its grandeur and breadth. It is truly a unique place on Earth.

A Song from the surrealistic rock group Yes from the 1970's.
Roundabout
"Roundabout" Yes
 
Go out on a walkabout.
Enjoy the American Wilderness!

A Beatle's Revelation

 
 Several years ago I was having a discussion with a friend of mine who is also a devotee of Paramahansa Yogananda and the Self Realization Fellowship and he startled me with a minor revelation. He pulled out a copy of the album Sgt. Pepper by the Beatles and showed me the Swami order. All the Gurus where dispersed among the faces on the album. I shouldn't have been surprised because I knew that the Beatles had sought enlightenment in India and that George Harrison had some type of an awakening there. It wasn't until recently while viewing the documentary Awake - The Life of Paramahansa Yoganada did I realize just how much of an influence the Autobiography of a Yogi had on his life. He kept many copies around his house and when he had visitors he would randomly hand them out to his guests. He credited the book for changing his life and saving him from the clutches of drugs and alcohol. A very easy thing for him to be involved in given his profession.

   For all of those unfortunate creatures out there struggling with some form of addiction albeit alcohol, drugs, sex, or some new form of mania, here is a link for your salvation. I will leave you with a quote from Guru Deva Paramahansa Yogananda. "You must do Kriya Yoga everyday! If you are suffering or if you are searching for something greater than yourself give it a shot. It just might change your Life.

Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda

A Beatles Song
"Dear Prudence" The Beatles

NAH OON KARA (Where The River Of Blue Rises)

The Appaloosa colt was startled at it's reflection in the pristine water. The colt raised its head listened to the chirping, clicking, and guttural sounds of the near bye herd of elk and wandered into the large meadow of fresh green grass. Several Ptarmigan took flight in the distance. They rose above the lush delta formed by the trinity of rivers, the Blue, Ten Mile, and Snake. The colt shied away from the sound of a tree being fallen by a beaver. He listened intently at the crack of a branch from the stand of Aspens behind him and looked nervously toward them, his body tensed for flight and his nostrils flared as he bucked, snorted and farted. Through the scrub oak he saw a tan brown figure move slowly toward him. It's long black hair held tightly to by a leather string, it's body clothed in rawhide. It suddenly accelerated and broke into a run at him, twirling a foreign object about its head. The colt wheeled to the right and broke into a gallop. Heading along the river and angling out into the open field. A second and third figure sprang from the water of the river and forced the colt to veer toward a narrow opening in the Aspens. The horse although young was wary and sensed the creatures closing in from the back and sides, it instinctively leapt and turned sharply back toward the river avoiding the narrow opening lined with logs waiting to be slid into place. Its freedom secured the colt relaxed into a steady gallop and quickly distanced itself from the invaders and rejoined the herd as they galloped into the Valley of the Blue.

A Blue Song
"Blue Sky Mine" Midnight Oil

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Missing My Thunder Shirt

I was struck last evening about how nice it would be to have my own thunder shirt. Our golden Gracie gets very upset at beeping noises like trucks backing up, or the weight scale noise on the TV show, the Biggest Loser. She also falls apart at the sound of thunder. So we invested in a garment called a thunder shirt. It's principle is based on the work of Temple Grandin who was a pioneer with Autistic Children. She invented an apparatus that would gently squeeze an autistic child and give them comfort and calm their aggravated spirit. Her work is revolutionary in that field. Her principles helped us to overcome the flight instinct in horses.
Watching our twelve year old golden chilling out after a beeping episode, I thought that perhaps it would be nice have my own shirt that I could slip on when I started to obsess over anything. Over the years I have passed through phases of obsession and have come out the other side a better man. How nice would it have been if I could have just slipped on my Thunder Shirt.


Information for Temple Grandin.
Temple Grandin

A Song for Old Hippies to Relax To.
"Orange Skies" Love