A Snapshot and The Scoop: Something A Little Different

Things were a little different for last year's Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon due to construction on the mountain road, so while we were able to get to the summit on Ascent day to greet Torrey's dad at the top, I wasn't able to get to the top on Marathon day to play spectator. Instead I spent my day in Manitou Springs along with every other race spectator, watching the top via big screen TVs set up along the town roadways. I spent a lot of my time people-watching the crowd and cheering on the runners as they began to trickle in to their finish, which is what I supposed I'd have done at the summit anyway. Manitou is a cute little town, and I didn't at all mind being there for the day.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Pikes Peak Year Six

Once again, last August found Torrey and I at Pikes Peak, participating in and cheering on from the sidelines the runners of the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon. Torrey and I spent Ascent day at the top of the mountain, cheering her dad as he made it to the top. It was colder and windier on Pikes than it had been on any of the other 14'ers we'd climbed that week, and I was a little bit glad we had a warm giftshop/cafe to get into and warm up. Torrey keeps trying to talk me into running the ascent and up until now I've been adamantly against doing so . . . Now though, I might consider it. Just not this year; I'd like a little more running experience before I go for something like the elevation gain I'll have to suffer through in order to complete that particular race. We'll see though!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: The Wines of Colorado

What's a Pikes Peak visit without a little tradition thrown in? Torrey and I have been visiting Pikes Peak every year since 2014, with no end in sight, and in addition to visiting the peak and exploring Colorado for a week we also tend to stop at one very specific restaruant/tasting room right at the foot of the mountain. The Wines of Colorado combines awesome food (seriously, it's great) with an absolutely fantastic assortment of wines from all over the state. Every time we visit neither Torrey nor I walk away without several bottles of wine each. Something new we discovered this year? Their outdoor patio is pet friendly! Hoodoo got to chill with us as we prepared for five days of hiking 14'ers, enjoying little licks off my plate when he thought I wasn't paying attention. We've definitely begun looking forward to our afternoon on their patio before we hit the road to explore more of Colorful Colorado, and I can't wait for next year's visit. Good food and good wine, what's not to love?

Leave me a comment and tell me about a place where you stop every time you make a return visit to your favorite spot! I want to begin new traditions everywhere I go.

The Happy Jar of 2018

Upbeat. It's already January 1, 2019, I have my travel Wrap-Up posted (read it here), so I guess that means it's time for my Happy Jar summary! All year long I write down what makes me happy and slip the little colored papers into a glass jar on my dresser so that I see it every day. Usually just seeing the jar and the tiny pieces of happiness it contains is enough to get me out of a bad mood, but in the case of extreme melancholy I'll take out those slips and read each one of them, reminding myself that I have a lot to be happy about. This year's Happy Jar contained a whole lot of animal-related joy, as well as a bunch of excitement and accomplishment regarding our house. In case you missed it, Jared and I bought our first house in December 2017, and we moved in during January 2018. The house has kept us (mostly me, because I'm a busy-body) occupied with minor improvement projects, including gardening. Gardening, surprisingly, also featured heavily in my Happy Jar this year, as did travelling (duh). Check out a few examples of my happiness below, and feel free to share bits of what made 2018 great for you!

Last year Alisha and I scored permits to hike the Grand Canyon, this year we got permits to backpack the Tetons! Backpacking permits for major national parks are notoriously difficult to come by, and you usually have to book your trip on the first day it becomes available to reserve. The first Wednesday in January saw me glued to the NPS website, waiting as the site crashed for a nerve wracking two hours until I could be sure our reservations were accepted for our desired hike and dates. We got them!

2018 was filled with babies! Not mine (don't get excited) but there were a whole lot of the furry kind of babies that filled a vast majority of the year. The first was Leonard, an infant ring-tailed lemur who I took in turns with a couple coworkers to care for. Leonard was tiny when we first got her, about the size of my palm, and her favorite place to be was clinging to my neck. She still prefers sitting on shoulders, and it was our pleasure to have her home with us for a few days over Christmas.

I did say our house has been the source of a lot of my happiness, and I meant that. Including buying "adult" things, like a new couch! Of course, we had to make sure it was big enough to fit Jared, myself, Marley, Callie, Ghost, and all of the cats. It is!

I have wanted chickens for years, ever since some friends of ours had a flock back when we were kids. One of my requirements for buying a house was it had to be able to accommodate chickens! Just over a month after officially moving in, we got chicks!

Gardening has always been enjoyable to me, and I've kept at least a few potted plants throughout the years and several moves. Now that we have a house of our own, I can put plants into the ground! I started working on garden plots within a few months of moving (winter in Texas is a great time to do so!) so when spring came and I had the time, I planted my front and back gardens. I still have a lot more I want to do, including gardens along the sides of my house as well as a vegetable garden, but that's what this year is for.

Never underestimate the amount of joy I get from having visitors. Jared and I really aren't the most sociable of people, but when we have the time and energy to entertain, we love having people over. My sister in particular seems to practically live at my house for as often as she shows up here, but Jared's parents, my brother, and my mom and aunt have all come to visit in the last year, and we're always open to hosting more!

An absolutely enormous part of the last half of 2018 was the addition of Luna to the Tiger Creek family. Luna was a six week old little white ball of lioness fluff when we got her at the beginning of July, and to everyone's utter delight most of the staff at Tiger Creek were allowed to help raise her. As in, we got to take her home on a rotating schedule and care for her. Yes, we had a lion in our house. Frequently. And holy cow did she cuddle hard! It was awesome.

You guys, I finally got my orange kitten! This is not news to anyone who's been following along since August, but Jared surprised me with a couple of kittens at the end of July, one of whom happened to be a fluffy little orange tabby. Hoodoo and his sister, Rey, have settled in wonderfully with our already extensive personal zoo, and Hoodoo regularly accompanies me on my trips, including hiking six 14,000 foot mountains in five days (read it here)!

My last visit to Nebraska was not only a surprise to my sister (who graduated with her Masters Degree, woohoo!) but also a bonding moment for myself and Torrey. We've known each other since we were in grade school and have travelled together to Pikes Peak every year since 2014. This year, we decided to commemorate our annual vacation with a tattoo! That's right, we got a matching tattoo of Pikes Peak, where our artist took one of my photos and drew our tattoo from it. Torrey had the vision to color the mountain in shades of purple, and I think it turned out amazing. So much love!

I have always had a thing for photographs, going so far as to take as many photography classes in school as possible and even considering going to an arts college in Denver to pursue my passion with an acutal degree. I didn't follow that path, but my love of taking pictures has trailed me through the years. Now that I actually have a house where I can knock holes into the walls as I see fit, I knew I wanted to start hanging up my photos. The only problem was, I didn't know where to start. It was a conversation with my sister that inspired me to turn my hallway into a photo gallery, with various canvas prints of my favorite photos lining the walls. I finally began to turn my dream into reality (canvases are expensive, if you didn't know!) and have slowly started hanging my pictures. I love seeing my art on the walls of my home, and can't wait to take and print even more photos as the years and my travels progress.

So there you have it, a few examples of my pride, happiness, and accomplishments throughout 2018. There is absolutley nothing wrong with reflecting over each year and picking out the best parts of it, remembering the year based on the things that made you happy. I already have several things I know will make me thrilled during 2019, but I also keep in mind that I can find joy in little things. Unexpected happiness could be waiting in the future too, but I won't know it until it happens. So here's to saying goodbye to 2018 while ringing in 2019 with a bright and hopeful smile.

2018 Wrap-Up: Um, It Was A Year

Flagging. I'm not even sure what to say about this year. What a whirlwind! I would travel a bunch, then go several months without hitting the road, only to have several trips lined up back to back. Half the trips I began the year planning ended up falling through, but others popped up unexpectedly and I learned to roll with it. This was definitely a year for learning new things, not only about myself and my limits but about my furry and non-furry companions as well. This was the year I got lost, but conquered mountains. This was the year I discovered the puppy I raised to be a travel companion hates travelling, but then successfully raised an adventure kitten.  This was the year I decided I don't like camping in forests nearly as much as I enjoy camping in deserts. This was the year where sometimes, I just wanted to be home. I had some health issues during the later part of the year that sucked the energy out of me and made me wish for nothing other than a place to lay my head for hours on end, and I think my travelling reflected that. Yeah, it was definitely a year, and I'm honestly glad it's over. Take a peek at the summaries of each of my adventures below, and like the past few years check out my stats at the end of the post:

Between being sick with the flu and moving into our new house (!!!) I missed my annual birthday trip this year. Instead, I snuck away in February for a couple days and drove around Texas to check out seven state parks, including Monahans Sandhills pictured above. Ghost and Callie tagged along too!

I had a very unexpected adventure in March, which included a trip up to Nebraska and down to extreme western Texas. This trip included some one-on-one Father/Daughter time as we explored western Nebraska's national monuments during late winter.

This year also included my first Ren Fest! Unfortunatley I didn't dress up, but Jared did buy me a cloak for my very own. I looked like a Jedi. Or an elf. I'd rather stick with Jedi, personally. Anyway, my ren fest experience was awesome and I can't wait to go to another one!

I also ran up to Nebraska to go to one of my oldest childhood friends' baby shower! It was a short and sweet trip and I was so happy to be part of her day. (Side note: I got to meet little Emily later in the summer on one of my stops by home! She was so precious!)

I had wavered back and forth on where to go during a week off at the end of May, trying to decide between the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico, or to make a trip of driving around the New England states. I kinda wish I'd chosen New England, because this was the trip I ended up lost in the desert. I got out of it, obviously, but I won't deny that it left me quite shaken for a while. And now I can't look at my legs without seeing the scars. I came out of it stronger once I'd spent several days laying on the couch licking my wounds (read: pride) and it wasn't long before I'd decided the Gila and I have unfinished business that I'll be looking to make right in the future.

Jared and I had a weekend run-away to Dallas, just the two of us, to celebrate our anniversary a little early in the middle of June. We did what we do best: visited zoos and aquariums, got up to shenanigans, and ordered lots of room service.

My sister and I embarked on a looooong adventure in July, visiting everywhere from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Arches in Utah. We really went without much of a plan, and in the end that turned out better for us. We like going with the flow, and not being sure where we'll end up, though we're both Type A enough that we had a general idea of what we wanted to see. Mountains to desert, with a few hot springs and geysers thrown in? Bring it!

I also went to my first ever convention this year, and of course it was a Harry Potter convention in Dallas! I had a great time at LeakyCon, and they're coming back to Dallas next year. I can't wait!

Y'all have heard me brag about this enough, so I'll keep it short: I met Torrey in Colorado for our annual August Pikes Peak visit, and while we were at it we hiked six 14,000ft mountains in five days. With my cat. #LikeABoss

I managed to find a weekend to go leaf-peeping this autumn, and was able to bring my kitten as well as my old Marley man. I have to say, a weekend in the forest (despite a midnight thunderstorm and a leaky tent) did wonders for my happiness.

Torrey and I accomplished more this year than just hiking a few mountains: we also finished the Buffalo River Trail, a 37 mile trail that parallels the Buffalo National River in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. It was cold, it was warm, it was dry, it was wet, and it was awesome.

Jared and I met my family down in San Antonio for an early family Christmas celebration on the River Walk during the weekend after Thanksgiving. The temperatures were in the upper 70's, the Walk was decked out for Christmas, and we had our fair share of over-indulging. Like ya do.

I just wrapped up a short surprise visit to Nebraska last week to be there for my little sis, who graduated with her Masters Degree this winter. I have to say, I am one proud big sister!

I had the fewest adventures this year since I started travelling back in 2014, but this year was all about quality. I had three week-long trips, and ten more smaller ones throughout the year, and I'm pretty sure I set a record for the least amout of money spent on my trips. Number of hours and amount of miles travelled was about average, and the number of states visited seems to be holding pretty steady. Check it out:

Adventures: 13
Hours: 1053.1
Miles Driven: 20,744
Total Cost: $3085.98
States Visited: 12
Hiked: 105.69 miles
State Parks Visited: 11
National Parks Visited: 5
National Monuments Visited: 6
National Forests Visited: 6
Wilderness Areas Visited: 1
National Rivers Visited: 1
Number of Nights Tent Camping Near the Car: 9
Number of Nights Sleeping IN the Car: 10
Number of Nights Backpacking: 7
Number of Nights in a Hotel: 8
Number of Nights in a House: 10
Number of Nights Driving: 1
Animal Companions: 28
Human Companions: 27

Overall 2018 was a good year, and I've already got my sister's and Torrey's summer trips planned out for 2019. I'll do everything in my power to get Hoodoo out and hiking with me as well, likely on several smaller trips throughout the year. I've got a big trip coming up this winter, where a certain desert is calling my name. Obviously I'm already looking forward to 2019. Bring it on!

14'er #1: Pikes Peak

Drained. Torrey and I have been visiting Colorado on the third weekend of August every year since 2014, and this year was no exception. We met in Manitou Springs for the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent, and also began this year's week of mountain hiking at Pikes Peak, on the trail to the mountain's summit. Last year Torrey and I decided to accomplish personal goals of hiking all of Colorado's 14,000 foot mountains, and we had six peaks on our list to hit this year, weather permitting. We had a tag-a-long on this trip as well, my new little orange adventure kitten, Hoodoo! Yeah, we were planning on hiking six 14,000 foot mountains in five days, with a cat. As far as 14ers go, however, Pikes Peak might not have been the best one to start with.

We were up and on the trail way before it was socially acceptable to even be awake, hiking our first hour in the dark with only our headlamps lighting the way. A small handfull of other hikers were on the trail with us, both ahead and behind, and we leap-frogged each other for a while in the dark. It took a few miles before we settled into a comfortable pace, but eventually the miles seemed to melt by as dawn broke around us.

Hoodoo was fidgety on my shoulder, not quite sure what to make of the whole hiking business as we moved through the forest. He startled a bit every time a squirrel chattered at us, and stared over my pack at a doe and fawn who watched us from the side of the trail. He wanted down every so often and we would stop to let him, but he never wanted to stay on the ground long. I think both he and I were more comfortable with him on my shoulder for our first hike together. He paid close attention to everything around us, and I'm sure his kitten brain was busy figuring out exactly what was going on around him.

It wasn't until after our halfway point to the summit, where we stopped for a breakfast of hot oatmeal and cold mountain water, that I began to think maybe I'd bitten off more than I could chew. Torrey had hiked the trail several times before on her runs, but it was my first time, and I was exhausted by the time we hit treeline. Still three miles and a couple thousand vertical feet below the summit, I began to stop for rests more often, becoming shorter of breath and light headed. I knew the signs of altitude sickness, but was determined to push through, so long as I didn't become nauseous. Torrey and I sat down and had a serious discussion about whether we should push for the summit or turn around. We were not looking forward to hiking back down (remember, the summit is technically only halfway - we had to go down too), and the weather was a concern. Fortunately, Pikes Peak is one of two 14ers with a road all the way to the top, and in the end Torrey and I decided to head for the summit and wish on a star that we could hitch a ride to our car. 

The last three miles were some of the worst I've ever hiked. I was so tired my body was trying to fall asleep while still putting one foot in front of the other, and my light-headedness morphed into a pounding headache. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open and my feet moving forward, and I knew better than to try to look ahead for the summit; I'd only disappoint myself. Finally, finally, after thirteen miles and over ten hours, Torrey, Hoodoo, and I summited Pikes Peak. As we enjoyed the endorphine rush of summitting we ate salty fries and a cold drink from the summit house and happened to strike up a conversation with a couple of fellow hikers who we'd been leap-frogging all the way up. Turns out they had a ride waiting for them, and they offered us a ride down the mountain as well. We gratefully accepted and made small talk on the twenty mile drive back to Manitou Springs, where they dropped us off at our car with a wave and a wish for luck on the rest of our summit attempts. As we unloaded into the car, I couldn't help but admire the ultra runners who are insane enough to run up Pikes Peak every August in exchange for a shiny medal and a jacket. Having now hiked it myself, I don't think I ever want to do so again.

Hoodoo

Excited. Ok, confession time: you know that thing people do where they make shit up as they go along and hope everything works out for them? Yeah, I was totally doing that when I decided to take a cat hiking with me. I've wanted an adventure cat ever since I began travelling, and I already travel with my dog(s) as often as I can. I've hiked miles and miles with Callie and Ghost through forest, desert, prairie, and more, so I know what it takes to care for an animal while on the trail. Surely a cat couldn't be too different from a dog? It's not like I did it on a whim, though, either. I'd researched (blogs, outdoor magazines, social media groups, etc) for years on how to choose and mold an effective adventure cat, so I wasn't going in to this totally blind. I knew everything depended on the personality of the cat, who had to be chill enough that potential scary situations wouldn't make them run off, but also had to be outgoing enough to embrace changing scenes and conditions with ease.

For as long as I can remember wanting an adventure cat, I've had an image in my mind of a little orange and white kitten wearing a sky-blue harness, walking next to me along a trail somewhere. I don't even know where the image came from; perhaps I saw a picture somewhere once a long time ago and I picked it up and ran with it, or perhaps it was a dream I had and decided to make a reality. I have no idea. All I knew is that one day I would have my little orange kitten, and his name would be Hoodoo.

I had been having a really, really bad week when my husband came home late from work one day this past July. He was late enough that I had started to worry something had happened to him, but my relief when I saw him pull into our driveway shifted into curiosity when he pulled a carrier out of the back seat of the car. Now, in our life pulling a carrier out of the car almost always means I'm going to be thrilled; through our work and our own inability to say no to an animal in need we've had more than twenty different species of animals come through our front door, and I keep a running list of the number and types of animals we've housed permanently or temporarily. Seeing a carrier, when I knew all of our own animals were accounted for, meant Jared was bringing home something else for us to care for and I could hardly wait for him to get inside so I could coo over whatever he'd brought me. When I finally glimpsed inside the carrier, though, I stopped dead. He'd brought me kittens!!! As in, plural! I immediately sat down on the floor in front of the carrier and coaxed two nervous kittens out into the light, and nearly burst into tears when I realized one of them was a little orange tabby. The other was a light grey tabby seal point, and both sported adorable little ear tufts that delighted me. Usually Jared and I have a discussion about whether or not we're fostering an animal or keeping it, but I knew without even opening my mouth that these kittens were ours.

Hoodoo and his sister, Rey, took a few days to adjust to our household, but once they did it became immediatly clear that Hoodoo was the kind of cat who would make an ideal adventure kitty. He proved himself to be outgoing yet cuddly, and without any trouble he made friends with the others in the house. He became incredibly attached to me, to the point where he now follows me around the house and even comes when he's called. His favorite place is up on my shoulders and we've figured out a way for him to ask to be held when he wants up. I know it sounds crazy, but cats really can talk if you know how to listen! I had a trip to hike 14ers in Colorado already planned for the end of August, and it didn't take much to talk myself into bringing my kitten with me. A quick check with my travel partner, Torrey, and we were all set to take a kitten hiking with us! And it was around that time that I started to make shit up as I went.

Ideally you start adventure cats young, only a couple of months old when the world hasn't taught them to find comfort and safety in their own home. Hoodoo and Rey were only about 12 weeks old when they came to us, so age and a cynical world view weren't a problem. We were car camping in established campgrounds, and I was able to turn the back seat into something of a kitty refuge complete with a litter box, food and water, toys, a carrier/hide box, and lots and lots of blankets. Hoodoo spent the vast majority of his car time on either my lap or Torrey's, where he alternated between sleeping in the most adorable positions and playing with anything he deemed worthy. Hoodoo spent the first few days of travel either on my shoulder or in his own little travel satchel at my hip, as I was way too afraid to let him out of my arms. We spent a few days in Manitou Springs during the Pikes Peak Marathon, and we couldn't so much as walk down the street without someone stopping us to ask about Hoodoo. He soaked up the attention like a sponge, purring constantly and leaning into anyone who scratched his ears, even gracing a couple of special people by climbing from my shoulder onto theirs.

It was on the trail, though, that he really glowed. We were still learning during our first couple of mountains, but by our third and fourth (Grays/Torreys) Hoodoo and I had a mutually understood language that allowed both of us to be comfortable. Hoodoo spent most of his time on my shoulder and pack, shifting every so often to look ahead or behind as the miles passed. Occasionally he would meow in my ear and let me know he wanted down, so I'd lower him to the trail and he would walk along with Torrey and I as we went. He was always on a leash attached to my wrist, so he couldn't go more than six feet from me, but he loved walking along the edge of the trail, sniffing bushes and chasing flies. Our pace slowed down when Hoodoo was walking, but I didn't mind so long as there wasn't a threat of bad weather. When he was done walking he'd meow and put his paws on my knee and stretch, so I'd pick him back up and put him on my shoulder again. If it was raining, (snowing, hailing, sleeting) or too windy, Hoodoo burried himself inside the front of my jackets against my chest and stomach, sometimes popping his head out of the collar to look around, but mostly remaining hidden from the elements. I got more than a few weird looks from fellow hikers who noticed the lump under my jackets, which always turned to delighted surprise when Hoodoo showed himself. I had more strangers take pictures of me (I know it was of Hoodoo, but I was still in them by proxy) than I've had in my entire life. It was a strange feeling to be the center of attention when I normally avoid drawing attention to myself, but if one little adventure kitten could bring happiness to the mutual suffering of hiking 14,000 foot mountains, then who am I to deny it?

By the end of the week, with six mountains under his paws, Hoodoo was an old pro at Adventure Kitten-ing. He had no fear of the tent, curling up inside my sleeping bag every night except when he decided to be a holy terror and party at 2am. He knew how to handle the rain and wind, and had figured out how to walk next to me and keep the leash from tangling. The only thing that really seemed to bother him were dogs, and I made sure he was always secure on my shoulder any time we met one. (Because, honestly, I was nervous of the dogs too. Who knew if they were cat-killers?) With such a successful first adventure with a kitten in the mountains, we're already planning next year's trip. Torrey and I have a goal to hike Colorado's 14ers, and we'd love for Hoodoo to be the first adventure kitty to summit all of them too! Of course we'll be travelling lots more in between mountain climbing adventures, and I can't wait to see where my little orange adventure kitten and I end up next.