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Wild Palinor

Wild Palinor

Tag Archives: Colorado

Invincible Summer

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by palinor in Uncategorized

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adventure girl, choosemountains, Colorado, courage, invincible, lifegoals, mountainbiking, Mountains, radgirlslife, sober

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer”

~Albert Camus

 

I look back and sometimes I can’t even fathom the person that I used to be. For years I never really had an direction. And for the last many years alcohol had control over me. I was a drunk, messy, emotionally unstable. But at the time I thought I had it all together and that I was fun to be around and was living life to the fullest.

But I was wrong

In December of 2014 I realized I had enough. Two bottles of wine a day was taking a toll on my health and my spirit. On December 26th I quit drinking for one year. There’s so much to tell on my experiences in that year but I won’t do that now because I’m still processing everything that I went through. I fell in love with mountains and the outdoors. I replaced booze with climbing and hiking. I learned who my true friends are. I broke open like a seed and only just now am I a vulnerable green shoot reaching towards the sun.

But that is another story for another time. I made it a year. And I will continue to stay sober because this journey has only yet begun. But as a present to my one year of sobriety I bought myself a fancy mountain bike because there is more than one way to enjoy mountains.

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Towards Heaven

28 Sunday Jun 2015

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adventure girl, alpine babe, Colorado, hiking, Mountains, nomad, on the road, rockymountains

I love my family. I really do. But we all need time to ourselves now and again. So even though I was in Colorado visiting my family I decided to take a brief hiatus and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park. I went high into the alpine tundras and then down into the valley. I hiked up to Mills Lake which is a beautiful and serene glacial lake with a cirque of peaks. The skies opened up and unleashed but it didn’t matter. It was worth it.

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“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” ~ John Muir

On The Road . . .

22 Monday Jun 2015

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adventure girl, Arches, Art, Black Rock Desert, Colorado, Edward Abbey, explore, Friends, Hot Springs, Moab, Mountains, nomad, on the road, Reno, Utah, wild, wild palinor

Finding time in a busy life of adventuring to write about my adventuring. That’s the trick, the magic. Holding on to those thoughts and feelings long enough to convey them into words on this medium. I arrived in CO almost two weeks ago but just now I’m going to write about it.

The road has been my home for over two years now. Moving, always moving. I’ve house sit or had extended stay with friends but all my belongings are in a 5 x 10 storage unit in Oakland. After stopping to switch out gear for the summertime I hit the road again. I had planned to be in Wyoming for part of June. Idaho for the beginning of July. But decided to head to Colorado first to see my family. And of course I drove there.

On the way I made a stop at the Burning Man ranch to see my friend Jay. I love the desert. Something so simple yet complex about it beauty combined with harshness. Dinner followed by a walk through sagebrush with the setting sun to soak in a hot spring fed by a geyser. Good company, conversation, fluffy clouds and warm waters. It was a good night and I was happy.

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On my way to Reno the next morning I had to stop and walk on the playa. One of the many places that I call home in this world. The wind caressed my face. The silence enveloped me into a peaceful state. I walked for a while, my feet turning white and smiled.

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The next stop of my journey was Reno for a couple of days. Some good friends are working on a large scale Burning Man art project. They’ve partnered with an art group in Taiwan to create a beautiful space, Mazu Goddess of the Empty Sea.

http://www.mazugoddessoftheemptysea.com/

I am so proud of my friends and I eagerly anticipate this project on playa. I spent a couple of days hanging out and lending a hand when I could at The Generator in Reno. I met new friends and reconnected with old. This community that we created, it has teeth and is growing into something so profound.

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After Nevada it was onto Utah.

Oh Utah . . .

“Men come and go, cities rise and fall, whole civilizations appear and disappear-the earth remains, slightly modified. The earth remains, and the heartbreaking beauty where there are no hearts to break….I sometimes choose to think, no doubt perversely, that man is a dream, thought an illusion, and only rock is real. Rock and sun.” ~Edward Abbey

Utah is magic. So many varied landscapes that don’t seem like they’re from this world or the next.

I decided to head to Colorado via the 70 which skirted parts of southern Utah and then through the mountains. Along the 70 I started seeing signs for Moab, Arches National park and Canyonlands. The exit approached  and without thinking I turned off. Heading the 30 miles to Moab and Arches National park. I don’t think words could describe the beauty that I only saw briefly. I did a quick drive to the Windows portion of Arches. I was spellbound for the short duration of my stay. Red rock formations rising skyward with arches scattered throughout. The La Sal mountains green and still tipped with snow in the background. I would like to say that something profound came to mind but all I could do was stare with my mouth hanging open. The one thing I did realize, is why Edward Abbey was so fierce about protecting this land.

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After Arches I ran into Moab to check the town out and grab lunch. It’s an adorable place with red rocks and mountains plus a river running through it. An outdoor lovers paradise. It had a good feeling to it. Made me happy. After only spending a couple of hours there my mind was already scheming on how to live there next spring for a month or two. Climb, hike, bike my heart out.

Back on the 70 I was speeding towards Colorado. Hwy 70 is a beautiful highway. You rise through foothills into canyons then huge mountains. It’s breathtaking the whole way. I had to pull over many times just to try and get some pictures that would do it justice. The hardest thing to do it take pictures of mountains that do them justice.Sadly my iPhone wasn’t up to the job. I did manage one panorama outside of Breckenridge at sunset that was lovely. I will leave you with that for now. Next up my time in Rocky Mountain National Park.

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