Travel is one of the greatest gifts. The opportunity to travel awakens something deep in oneself and simultaneously opens one's eyes and mind. Travel can open other less enjoyable parts of oneself as well, but this is a minor setback in comparison to what one gleans.
However there is a monster that lurks behind the corner of travel. Once one is safely home, feeling the comfort and familiarity of the American soil, this demon comes out and snatches away sanity. This beast is known to many as jet-lag.
Despite all of my traveling, I only recall experiencing jet-lag once, when I was very young, my mother took my sister and me to Germany. I recall awaking, starving, in the wee hours of the morn and unable to return to sleep. That's been my experience hencetofore with this notorious beast.
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| Wendy Helping Out Peter |
Brandon and I have been entangled in an all out war with jet-lag. Nights laying awake until 6am, when finally sleep engulfs us and we awaken at....1pm. We're hungry at all the wrong times.
My father has told me it's because it takes a little while for our souls to catch up with us. You see, our souls just can't fly as quickly as the airplane. Well I'm about to start playing Peter Pan and look for Wendy to sew my soul to the soles of my feet.
Despite this drawback, we are getting along fine. The refrigerator is filled with food, we continue to seek gainful employment in our respective field of career ambition (which at times has been horrendously stressful) and we continue to play in our beautiful home.
We have been ice climbing four times since we've returned home....well thrice we have succeeded in our ambition. We spent a sleepless night climbing near Golden, CO. It was fun to be back on the ice, and Brandon was sated....albeit brief. You see, Brandon bought new ice axes, which were causing him to itch to get out and use them. The BD fusions have found a space in our apartment. This new addition increases his need to get out to the ice.
Last Friday we spent the afternoon and into the dark evening climbing at the very picked out Hidden Falls (NOT so hidden) in Rocky Mountain National Park. The ice was very brittle, causing the falls to fracture often. Fun to watch my spouse lead up the falls, as large chunks of ice rained down upon me. Brandon had a bad case of the 'One-more-sies' a phenomena all wives and mothers hate - why do we have to become the bad guy, the spoiler of good times? Its dark, we've been here for hours, I can no longer feel my appendages and my muscles ache....
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| Brandon Putting in the First Screw on Hidden Falls |
We did have a go at dry tooling and mixed climbing, which I actually enjoy a lot more than Ice climbing (although it's more challenging - serious strength required).
Saturday we went on a reconnaissance mission into Dream Canyon outside of Boulder. Our hope was to find that ice had formed on the ever popular Boulder Falls. The Open Space Board closes Boulder Falls during the winter (somehow contradicting their namesake). Our plan was to approach the falls from above. Getting into the canyon was a scrambling challenge, but did not phase us. The thin ice creek on the other hand.....
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| Dream Canyon and the Thin Ice Creek |
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| Brandon and his Big Stick |
As dusk fell, we retreated up the canyon, only to discover that we covered almost no ground at all on the canyon floor. I'm certain that the attempt will be repeated - or we'll just risk trespassing violations when the itch for new ice gets too great. Which will likely be soon....
As the man is addicted. We spent this morning climbing several different falls, but he is still wandering the apartment in his long johns, hooking his ice ax to shelves and complaining to me about how he "just wants to swing them....break things, make them shatter." He has set up a pull-up system on our little deck - that has seemed to distract him...briefly.
I'm certain more adventures are to come....
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