Cattle Drive

Steamboat is a majestic town that you can't help but love. I'm sure it has a lot to do with it's location but there's something more to it. Perhaps it's because of the wide variety of people you find out here- from the former city slickers who needed to get away, the ski bums who want to "shred the gnar", and the venture capitalists who simply enjoy the scenery. Then there's my favorite people to see around town... the good old fashioned ranchers. You know the type. They own more land than you can imagine, and still walk around in cowboy gear. They own cattle and actually knows how to handle them. They are my favorite because I am amazed that with all our modern technology people like that still exist. It's awesome... and they definitely made my 4th of July celebration great.

It started as I was waiting for the Yellow Line, aka the one good thing that comes from paying 8% sales tax. This bus will drive me up the treacherous Bob Adams Drive when the sun is beating down and I feel too dehydrated to trek it. Yupp it was 9am and sunny, and I did not feel like walking up that hill. So, I contacted the bus driver about getting a lift and he informed me that he would not be able to make it for at least forty minutes because of the "cows".

It may have been the morning after Independence Day, and my brain may not have been functioning at its full capacity, but this guy couldn't come pick me up because of cows? What was going on?

That was when I noticed the crowds of people that were forming on Main Street. I knew I had missed the parade (something I had been genuinely looking forward to the previous day), but was it possible that they were having another one? I asked a random passerby what all the commotion was about. Before I could get my hopes up he responded "The cattle run."
"I'm sorry, the what?" I asked.
"I guess they are going to run cattle through the streets".

Huh. Cool. For some reason images of "The Run of the Bull" in Mexico gathered in my head, but I knew Steamboat tourists weren't that crazy.

Upset that I missed the parade, and too lazy to walk up Bob Adams, I decided to join the rest of the crowd and watch as the cattle were herded down the street. I got excited when I saw the first cowboy riding horseback leading the drive. They were coming, slowly, but they were coming. Just as they were about the cross my path the lead cattle suddenly stopped following the cowboy and took off down a side street. Although hesitant at first, the rest of the cattle soon followed and things started to get out of control. Luckily the men on horseback leading the parade were real cattle ranchers and knew exactly what to do. A few of them went down the side street to round up the run away cattle, while the rest stayed back with the remaining cattle and kept them in place. It was really funny to see, although I'm sure they weren't happy about all the commotion.

One poor little guy was so confused and unsure of where to go he began running back and forth between the two separated herds.

After a few minutes of mayhem everything was once again under control.

The "cattle drive" ended as quickly as it started with people resuming back to their normal routines. It was one of those not-something-you-see-every-day moments that I love about Steamboat.

Summer Reading

It's summertime and in my opinion there's nothing like ending a long day of sunshine by curling up in bed with a good book. There's also not much else I'd rather do on a rainy day, so if you ask me, summer is a prime time for reading. If you're a book junkie like myself and unsure of what to pick up next hopefully this will help!


Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen- Jacob Jankowski is about to become a certified veterinarian when his parents die suddenly, leaving him with nothing. Unsure of what to do with himself he runs away and winds up joining the circus. This book gives you an inside look at life during the depression, and the struggles of a man who falls in love with a woman he can't have... or can he? I found myself getting completely lost in this book, and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a change of pace, as it is like nothing I've read in the past.


Twilight by Stephenie Meyer- I was convinced I'd never read these books because a teenage drama series about vampires hardly interested me. Yet I found myself trapped in an airport with nothing to do, so I picked up the only familiar title on the shelf. I have to admit the first book was a pretty good read, but beyond that I was completely disappointed. I was never excited about reading New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn, yet I forced myself through them anyways. In my opinion the characters were completely underdeveloped. I think they all came off as whiny and miserable and couldn't stand reading about them. If a four book saga about a girl who falls in love with an immortal doesn't really interest you, you can easily save yourself some time. Simply ignore all the hype and watch the movies instead.


The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls- Imagine growing up with completely nonconformist parents; a father who is always on the run and a crazy mother that is more concerned about what she wants than providing for her children. Jeannette Walls describes her life of struggles and misfortune in such fine detail you feel as though you are right there with her. My favorite part about her writing is that she never once complains, she simply tells it as it was, allowing you to make your own judgments. If you are going to pick up one book this summer The Glass Castle should be it.


Shoot the Women First by Eileen MacDonald- In a world full of terrorism it is often hard to understand why such horrible acts are committed. It's even more difficult to understand why women, who create life and are often portrayed as nurturers could commit such crimes. MacDonald dives into the heart of it, interviewing women who have been convicted of committing the most heinous of crimes. She remains rather unbiased by presenting you with the facts and allowing you to conclude your own opinions. Although at times difficult to read I enjoyed learning about different cultural motivations for terrorism.

These are just a few suggestions, if you have any must-reads I'd love to know about them!

My Herione

I woke up around 8:30am from the sun shining brightly in my face. Realizing that it was early and I had nothing to do for the day I shut my blinds and rolled over. Less than an hour later I received a phone call from my friend Ryan, who works as a rafting guide. It only took six simple words, "Want to go raft the Yampa?" and I jumped out of bed.

my first time out this summer
The Yampa is probably one of the most mellow rivers to raft, but I loved being out on the water and couldn't wait to go outside and play. As it turned out, Ryan had invited all of the other CAs along, and a couple of his friends from Denver that were in town. We all met up at the shop, geared up and headed out. When we first got into the river the sun was shining and there were no rapids in sight, so we took off our life jakets hoping to catch some rays. Once we got close to town Ryan asked us to put our jackets on because th raft was branded with the company name, and were about to approach C-hole. C-hole is a man made wave in the river for kayaking competitions. Early in the summer it can be pretty intense. Our first time through I decided to "ride the bull", or sit on the very front f the raft. I was really nervous about falling off, but managed to hold on while the giant wave completley submerged me.

resting in the Hippie Hot Springs

Then we decided to paddle back and try to surf the wave. We'd been warned that we'd probably get dumped out so I prepared myself. As we entered the wave everything happened so fast. First one of Ryan's friends from Denver fell off the raft, and in Ryan's attempt to save him he was tossed off. I was standing in the back as I watched the front of the raft fold in half. I felt like I was on the Titanic as I watched my friends being hopelessly flung into the water. I braced myself, awaiting my inevitable doom. And then, as quickly as it started, it was over. The raft had made it over the wave and I found my balance. I stood there in shock for a few seconds then began pulling people back into the raft. Once everyone was in safely we all started laughing.

Mia and I taking a ducky out

Up next was the D-hole. It was smaller and much less intimidating than C-hole. After being the only survivor of our last escapade I was overly confident that I'd be just fine. Perhaps that's why I was caught so off guard when I was flung from the raft the instant we tried to surf it. I gasped for one last breath as the current pulled me under and spun me around like a rag doll. I lost all sense of direction and had no idea which way was up. All I could do was wait for the undertow to spit me out, hoping my life preserver to bring me to the surface. I soon felt my body floating to the top and broke the surface, gasping desperately for a breath of air. Yet it didn't come. My body was completely exposed to the ice cold snow melt and went into shock. My lungs were restricted and trying to breath felt like breathing through a straw after a 100 yard sprint. I panicked and immediately went into survival mode, swimming towards shore. The current was strong but I knew I was stronger. I kicked and kicked, not knowing how much longer I'd last. Then I heard Ryan's voice "NO! SWIM TOWARDS ME! WE'LL GET YOU OUT, SWIM TOWARDS THE RAFT." I turned slightly and saw the raft, it was further away than shore and I just wanted to get out of the water. I tried to take a deep breath and yell "I can't breathe". It took all my energy, and I hardly whispered it. I kept trying and was finally able to get the words out. Then Ryan's voice started to calm me "It's okay, we'll get you out, just swim over here." The current took me towards the raft, and my friends pulled my numb body out of the water. I shivered and took in a few deep breaths, thinking about what had just happened.
Ryan
Once I was safe I realized I had been on one of the most intense rides of my life. The adrenaline rush was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It was completely addicting, and I smiled happily, knowing the River was my new heroine.

Summer

Summer is almost here and it's finally starting to feel that way! It's rained every single day since I came back almost three weeks ago, but it's currently 7pm and the skies are still blue. I decided to spend a summer out here to experience life in Colorado when the snow isn't falling.

Of course Steamboat is a really expensive town to live in, so I decided to go the easier route and live for free... for a few months at least. Living in the dorms is one of the many perks of being a Summer Conference Assistant at Colorado Mountain College. There are five of us and we are here to take care of all the summer groups that come and use our facilities. So far we've been responsible for everything from putting linens on beds for guests to making bulletin boards. We check guests in and out, and ensure a safe living environment. It's a really fun job with lots of perks; we get to live here for free, there's plenty of delicious food, and we get to meet a lot of great people. We also got to help out with S.O.A.R, the summer orientation for kids coming out in the fall, and it's exciting getting to know them.

Other than work, my priorities have been online classes and house hunting. I've decided to take two online classes this summer- College Algebra and English Comp 1. Although at times I find myself wondering why I decided to spend my summer with more academics than necessary, it's really not so bad. Even though I have deadlines to meet I never have to worry about getting up early for class or missing an important lecture.

House Hunting has been quite the learning experience. Mia (my future roommate) and I decided to get an early start so we could have as many options as possible. After calling at least 30 people we checked out a bunch of places, and it's amazing the kind of stuff we saw. Everything from a beat down house that was practically underground to a log cabin that seemed like it would hardly maintain heat in the winter. We also saw some beautiful homes, and picked one out that is absolutely perfect. It's a two bed, two bath town home that's fully furnished. Although it's on the higher end of our price range I really like the feel of it and think we'll be comfortable living there. Living in the dorms was fun,but I miss being able to cook whenever I want and can't wait to do my own thing.

I went Rocky Mountain climbing...

I am definitely not a huge fan of country songs but I do find some of them pretty catchy from time to time. If you haven't figured it out, Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying is the inspiration for this blog title.

On our third day back in Steamboat, all of the CAs went on a two day retreat in Silverton, CO for some group bonding. I had never tried to hike a mountain before, and coming from sea level I'll admit I was incredibly nervous. It didn't help that everyone else had a lot of hiking experience, but everyone was in high spirits when we headed out around 8:30am. Their motivation kept me going, and our conversations made the time fly. I also have to admit that Mia helped me out by carrying our backpack uphill a majority of the way. Making it as far as we did was very rewarding, the views were stunning and I felt like we really accomplished something.

Unfortunately we were unable to make it to the summit because there was too much snow on the path and most of us were only wearing sneakers. It was still a lot of fun, and we are planning on hiking a 14er in Summit County within the next month. After that I guess I'll need to start looking for a bull named Fu Man Chu...

the whole summer crew except Lynda

all of us standing above tree line

we couldn't make it to the top because there was too much snowthe house we stayed inKendell mountain at night

Tomāto Tomäto

Shopping sprees, card games, hanging out with family, painting pottery, water skiing, tubing, babysitting, twilight, lunch with old friends, visits from new ones, Canada, homemade gelato, four wheeling and so on...

So far this summer has been packed with nonstop fun, but by far the most interesting experience I've had has been working with my father. He works for a produce distribution company, heading the repack division. What this means for me is countless hours of sorting through tomatoes, throwing out the rotten ones. I've never been a fan of tomatoes myself, although some people find them interesting because they aren't fully fruit or vegetable, and some people simply enjoy eating them. I however hold a personal grudge against them that seems to grow every time I work there. It is perhaps one of the most tedious jobs ever, sorting through endless boxes of tomatoes to make sure they are of the highest quality. In fact, it's probably something most people never even think about; all the hours of labor put into making sure your produce is perfect for the supermarket shelves.

So how can such a tedious task be one of the most interesting experiences of my summer so far?

Well, it turns out that while working with my father I have had conversations with some of the most fascinating people I've ever met. When I first met them I didn't know what to think, mostly that they were people from the inner city, living a different lifestyle than I'd ever been exposed to. I wasn't sure we'd have anything to talk about, or if we'd even be able to communicate since many of them speak very little, if any English. However, it turned out that many of them aren't originally from the US which intrigued me, because I love to learn about different cultures. This is my view of their struggles...

Over one hundred years ago many of our ancestors stepped off a boat and into a world of possibilities. It wasn't easy. They had to wait in seemingly endless lines just to see if they'd be accepted into this new country, hoping they wouldn't be sent home for contracting something as simple as modern day pink eye. As they were herded like cattle through various rooms they held onto their most important possessions, often no more than a suitcase for many.

Many people were separated from their families and flat broke, but they risked it all in hopes of a better life. Once accepted into the country, they worked very hard for little pay to try and make it better for the next generation of their family. After all isn't that what the American dream is all about?

This all sounds like ancient history to many of us, but the struggle to become a citizen in this country is still very alive.

One man I talked to while working with my dad came here from Africa. I had seen movies like Blood Diamond, so I had some understanding of the fighting and mass killings that were happening over there. Yet the Hollywood film didn't seem to do it justice after talking to a man who lost it all over some precious gems. As difficult as it was for him to talk about, he managed to tell me how his entire family had been killed, and he knew he had to leave or he would probably die as well. He decided to come to come to America because he speaks decent English and wanted to work for the government as a translator. I don’t know much about how he gained citizenship, but after hearing accounts of these atrocities first hand I made a promise to myself- I would never purchase or wear jewelry unless I knew for certain no lives were taken for it.

I also had the privilege of working with a woman who was able to escape from her life in Cuba. She explained how she used to be a gymnast, and came to the United States to compete. As her fellow gymnasts prepared to head to the airport, she arranged for a friend to pick her up. This was the beginning of her seven year struggle to become a permanent resident of the United States. She started out in California, where she didn't even have enough money to file papers for citizenship. Since she didn't have a green card, she couldn't get a job, so she had to work under the table doing things such as cleaning houses. Eventually she decided to take a three day bus ride to Buffalo, NY so she could live there. During the ride she was completely terrified of being caught and deported back to Cuba. She had also just started learning English so she couldn't communicate well enough to order food at rest stops. As if that’s not difficult enough, just imagine taking all of you possessions with you on a bus. I know I wouldn’t be able to do it. Luckily for this woman, after years of struggling and working hard she was finally able to gain full citizenship for the United States.

When I asked her why she decided to leave she explained that living there had its positive sides, for example you never had to pay for medical care or education, and everyone pretty much made the same amount of money whether they were a doctor or a school teacher. But it also had its negative sides, because the country often ran low on food, and she remembers endless nights of going to sleep with an empty stomach. In her broken English she also tried to explain that she was friends with children whose parents worked for the government, and they always seemed to have more than her, more money, more food; more anything matters in a communist country where everyone is supposed to be equal.

It's crazy to imagine how different people live, whether they choose to or not. It was definitely interesting talking to these people and hearing about their struggles in life, and I am happy that they were able to make it as far as they have. I guess it's just something to think about next time you pick up tomatoes in the grocery store.

Bye Bye Steamy B

It honestly feels like just yesterday I boarded a flight to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to embark on a journey. I had only been to the town once before and didn't know anyone that lived here. I was clueless as to where I'd end up, if I'd enjoy it or despise it. But here I am almost nine months later finding it impossible to say good bye to this town. As I began packing up my room last night it was almost painful to realize I'm going home. I don't want to say goodbye to all of this beautiful scenery and all of my friends. I think about all the great adventures I've been on and all of the new things I've tried. I'll never forget climbing up Howelson Hill my very first day here, or floating down the Yampa with strangers who quickly became good friends. Eight months ago I was completely unable to do 180s, and I never imagined working for Grenade in Vegas.

Luckily for me this journey's not over, I'll be back out in Steamboat June 1st to work as a Conference Assistant at the school. And of course I'll be starting my second year in August. Still, it's going to be very sad saying goodbye to close friends who have become like family throughout the past few months... I read this right before I left for Steamboat and it always makes me feel a little better about things.

A Reason, A Season or a Lifetime
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When something is in your life for a reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a Godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then without any wrongdoing on your part, or at a inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on. Some people come into your life for a season, because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.Believe it, it is real. But only for a season! Lifetime relationships teach you lifelong lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind, but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season, or a lifetime. -Author Unknown