No S'more is Worth it

Currently, firefighters in Colorado are battling yet another forest fire. Here's the setting less than 25 miles from where I live...the Indian Gulch fire. 

Our dry, mountain climate sets the stage for such events, but when combined with some areas of severe pine beetle damage and years of fire suppression, opportunity for a massive incident is almost inevitable. Would you believe that almost 460,000 acres have burned this year. It's only March. Check here if you're curious to see where these fires are.

 Seems only appropriate to have a conversation about fire...as we head into the season of family vacations and camping excursions with friends. A campfire is the highlight of such adventures for many. There's nothing quite like gathering around the warmth of a fire, gazing at stars, possibly even cooking your dinner. It doesn't take but a minute for the fun and frolic to turn into something far more dangerous. As with most accidents, you only have to miss one step...look away for one second. Let's prevent that from happening this year. Let's teach our friends and kids to be responsible with flame by setting the example. We can take it seriously. Remember that, as Smokey tells us, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!"

When to say NO
* If fires are prohibited in the area you're staying
     - check in advance with the park/rec area you're visiting to ask about policies
     - ask if firerings are already on site
* Weather conditions are dangerous
     - if there's excessive wind or you're visiting in a drought or heat wave, don't risk it.

Where to Build
* If fires are allowed and there's no fire pit
     - build at least 15 feet from trees, shrubs, tents etc
     - watch for low-hanging branches
     - be downwind

How to Build
     - clear around the site (about 10 ft in all directions)
     - dig a pit at least 1 ft deep
     - build up around the pit with rocks
     - make sure anything flammable is kept far away (extra wood, tents etc)
     - make sure you have water nearby (also a shovel/trowel)
     - always use pre-fallen wood

While it's Burning
     - NEVER leave your fire unattended. Even a trip to the port-a-tree can spell disaster for unattended fire.
     - keep an eye on kids and pets.
     - size matters. While fun for a while, a fire burning too large can become unmanageable too fast
     - don't ever burn aerosol or pressurized cans as they can explode

When You're Done
     - it's best to let your fire burn all the way down to ash.
     - don't just douse, drown all embers until the hissing stops
     - stir anything remaining in the pit until everything is wet and cold to the touch
     - don't leave logs. scrape embers away from them so as not to reignite

What if There's No Water Handy?
     - while water is preferred, you can use dirt with a few very important rules
          * mix dirt in slowly with your shovel/trowel
          * never bury a fire. it will continue to smolder underground.



Two Purses Both Alike in Dignity

In fair Granby where we set our scene...

 

I'm one of these girls who has been carrying the same purse for years. In fact, it's not even a purse. It's more of a satchel I guess. About 7 years ago, my brother gave it to me for Christmas. It's a North Face, magnetic-closure bag. I immediately fell in love with this thing that enabled me to lug around my junk while keeping my hands free. It's just big enough to hold my wallet, camera, chapstick and some interchangeable accessories (ipod, hat/gloves etc). It's sporty. Once I received it, I never looked back.

That is, until last year. Last June, my brother got married. She's an incredible SIL and I love her like crazy. She's fun, caring, compassionate, hard-working on-and-on-and-on. She's also quite fashionable (like, catalog-worthy)...and outspoken. In making one of the many trips back to Omaha in preparation for the wedding, she called me out on my little satchel. "When are you going to get a real purse?" she said to me. Huh. She said this in teasing (sort of) and with a sly grin but I knew somewhere in there, she was serious.

Was I using a kids bag? Was I so "sporty" that the femininity had been sucked from my wardrobe? Had I lost the balance between fashion and function? Did I care?

When I flew in for the the wedding weekend, my first stop was to find a more appropriate way to carry around my things. I found a more fashion-conscious hobo bag to accompany me to the festivities. I bought it, not because it really matters one way or another to me, but because I knew my SIL would prefer that I arrive in my black satin cocktail dress, black patent-leather wedge footwear and baubles...without my old North Face shoulder slinger. As I pulled up to the rehearsal dinner, I walked a little taller, knowing she would approve of my new purchase. It was a sort of wedding-gift-in-jest. She noticed right away.

Now I have both bags. I use them for different occasions, channeling the SIL voice in my head for dressier events while still using my old standby when the desire for function supersedes. No one I spend time with really cares what I throw my junk into but lately I've been thinking about the greater implications for identity and stuff.

We wear many hats, and carry many purses, in our lives. Wives, mothers, girlfriends, mentors, business-partners, outdoors-women etc. We are often expected to "have it all together" for all aspects of our personalities. We are expected to have event-specific handbags for goodness sake. I've heard men say they'd love a woman who can look smokin' in the little black dress while also being adventurous enough to hold her own on a ski slope...backpacking trip...rock climb. In all honesty, we probably look for the same versatility in men. We watch for the briefcase, the purse/wallet, the backpack, the fanny-pack (oy!). We use these thing to identify others, to characterize them as "sporty," "superficial," "fashionable," "practical." None of us are any ONE of these things, but a combination of them all.

It's interesting when something as unimportant as a purse can force a look at the varied aspects of our personalities and culture. All of which, by the way, are alike in dignity.

Betasso Preserve

 Last weekend, my boyfriend had an obligation in Boulder. Needing a random adventure, I opted to join him on the day-trip and planned quite the little escape for myself.

We left the pup with a dog-sitter for the day and hit the road bright and early last Saturday. After dropping him off at the East Boulder Community Center for the day, I hit the town alone.

The plan: CU Boulder's Natural History Museum for the mind. Bikram Yoga for the body. An afternoon hike at the Betasso Preserve for the spirit. Top it all off with a dinner with friends over my favorite black bean burger at Mountain Sun and that, my friends, is a GREAT DAY!

The Natural History Museum is small but worthy (and free! suggested donation $3). One of the many cool things in the collection is a triceratops skull. It made me giddy enough to rival the munchkins running around. The lower level boasted an incredible art display called Portraits of Mass Consumption. Imagine visuals that could drive home the number of cans, plastic cups, paper bags and plastic bits that get thrown out in a matter of hours in the U.S. It's staggering but well represented. A great reminder that while it seems as if one paper Starbucks cup a day isn't bad, it's awful when multiplied by all Americans. I've been much better at bringing my own mug this week, that's for sure. And I think I try avoiding those in-flight beverages. Here's a peek:

Running the Numbers: Portraits of Mass Consumption

Artist Chris Jordan

January 20 - April 30, 2011

      The portrait above depicts one million plastic cups, the number used on airline flights in the US every six hours.

Bikram at the College of India was.... well, it was Bikram. This was by far the largest studio I have been in and it made me miss the cozy atmosphere of One Tree back home. It was harder to feel as though we were all working as a unit here that it does at One Tree and although I liked that it was well lit, this added to the distractions to overcome while trying to focus in the middle of my forehead. Overall, it did what Bikram was supposed to do-it kicked my butt and made me feel completely great. It was nice that they had showers on site so I could clean up for the rest of the afternoon.

As M was done with his work at 2, I went right from yoga to pick him up for our hike at the Betasso Preserve. The 3.3 mile Canyon Loop Trail just outside of Boulder was the perfect length for late in the afternoon, particularly after the 1 1/2 hour workout I had just come from. We ambled at a leisurely pace, snapping pictures (I couldn't get the Stellar's Jay to sit still long enough to capture. Maybe next time) and looking for wildlife, greeting fellow hikers and smelling the sweet vanilla scent of the Ponderosa Pines. Other than being nearly run over by some mountain bikers (on a prohibited trail), it was a perfect stroll. I kept picturing it as a perfect after work trail run. If only it wasn't 2 hours from my workplace. 

Last but not least, we hit my FAVORITE hippie burger joint/brewery, Mountain Sun. The first time I ate here, with my friend Annalea, I ordered the black bean burger and became very confused by the lack of meat, having only expected it to come with black beans on it....not to be made of beans. No matter though, I was hooked at first taste. Good thing too, as I no longer partake of the meat varieties. Some friends came from Estes park to dine with us, which was a great treat.

A chai from The Cup , served by a guy with the coolest sleeve tattoo I have ever seen, and I was set for the drive back home. A great Colorado adventure day.