Summer Adventures // Pt. 1

Over the past few months, I’ve been collecting memories through photographs. It’s been a wild summer already filled with adventure, bad weather, and good friends. We’ve traveled through the mountains of Colorado, the deserts of Arizona, and made so many new friends (both furry and a little less).

Early in April, we took a trip down to Southern Colorado for a family emergency. Attempting to make the best of it, we stopped in Gunnison for a chilly camping trip.

I’ve also fallen in love with Tributary Coffee Roasters in town! Every time we drive through I make sure to stop in with my sticker covered travel mug and punch card.

One of our first camping trips of the season in Buena Vista, Colorado saw no rain but instead a mild wind tunnel. 4/10.

Staying up late to watch the sunset and waking up before the sun to watch as it rises is such an incredible experience and I’m always willing to lose a few hours of sleep over it. 10/10.

I’m living for these long nights with beautiful sunsets on dusty roads.

After a long, frozen winter, the dusty roads are more than welcome.

Photography is one of my first loves, an art form I’ve cherished and molded for my entire life. But I’ve been feeling stuck, unable to create for months. But I’ve taken a step back, taking along my camera only for memories, for capturing the joy-filled moments on the road.

I’m accepting where my art is at and loving the time spent reliving these photos.

This summer has been filled with tons of adventures and miles ran in new places. Training for big mountain races has given me a lot of chances to explore mountain ranges and push myself harder than I have before.

In early June, we ran up and down Pikes Peak and it was an odd experience. To push through over 6 miles of climbing and scrambling, you summit by a massive, modern visitor’s center. You can drive up the entire mountain to stop in and have a snack in the lush cafeteria.

Although I understand the tourism industry is so important to our state, I miss the little café that perched atop the mountain waiting to serve homemade doughnuts to weary hikers.

In June, I found myself back in Leadville, Colorado running a race I never expected to return to. The marathon was just as brutal as I remember, but even after a year of learning to run again, I shaved over 30 minutes off my final time.

This race was my first marathon in 2021 and I was so stoked to share it with two amazing people who also chose the ridiculous race as their first marathon.

I took a good fall about 5 miles in, flying down the trail and scraping up the left side of my body. Thanks to the kindest racer who stopped and helped bandage me up, I was back on my feet and even ran into him again on my way up Mosquito Pass and hurting.

My favorite part of these trail races isn’t just being able to run in the incredible mountains of Colorado but the amazing community that looks out for each other and brings so much joy to these events.

After Leadville, instead of taking a nice break, I decided to join a few buddies and hike four 14ers in one day. Camping at over 12,000 feet the night before, we then packed up and hit the trail to summit all four mountains before the afternoon rain storms came.

If you have a chance to set up alpine camp and drink coffee while bundled up in innumerable layers and watching the bright sun rise, do it. 10/10.

Finally, I raced the 45th Kendall Mountain Run. 12 grueling miles of climbing up and down Kendall Mountain in Silverton. The incredible views of the San Juan Mountain Range and downtown Silverton were so worth the exhaustion and crawling to the summit.

This is just the beginning.

I’m still trying to find my artistic voice again, falling in love with creating photographs that share my passion for madre tierra.

But that’s the beauty of life, of art, of creating.

We never arrive, we only exist in this present moment, finding our own way to share our souls with one another.