An Author Asks: 'Can Poetry Save The Earth?'

Vision Quest

Best Quote:

"You're on a vision quest, man. You're trying to find your place in the circle."

My Daisy - Dog

Colorado in October - it's a good place to be

Ironman Arizona is just five weeks away. It seems like only yesterday I signed up. Well, now it's very close. This week is a 21 hour training week (a part time job). I actually feel good; not too tired. My body seems to be adapting to the longer training runs and bike rides.
Tomorrow is a 6 hour bike ride; still don't know what route I'll take but the weather is looking good so far, highs of 55.

There is still only snow at 10,000 feet so I'm feeling fortunate that there is none at 8,000 feet where I live so I can still ride outside.


Life is good and this is a great place to be.

Life seems to be handing me so many great things right now. I will be writing about Snow Sports in the Rocky Mountain West for newwest.net this winter and my writing class in Denver is amazing. There are others things, too, but I won't gush here.

For now, riding and running outside, listening to the crunching of leaves and the cool mountain air, all remind me to be thankful for a good life.

Tonight, I look back at where I was a year ago, writing the story about Ironman and training outside in wind, snow, rain, cold. Here is the column from last year:
Anything is Possible.

No Snow Yet

Snow is still not in the forecast and I like everything about it. This year I have been blessed with perfect autumn weather for Ironman training. While it snowed a few days ago in Winter Park, there was no snow in Granby. I can still ride my bike and run outside.



November 21, will signal the last day of 2010 triathlon training and racing. Then I can look forward to skiing. Winter is one of my favorite seasons. I love skiing: downhill and backcountry skiing. And, like I wrote in last year’s column, In November, we wait for snow.

In November, we wait for snow. We wait for weather reports and clouds coming from the northwest. After ten years of living in ski towns, I still get excited for the first big snow and the ritual of getting all the ski gear out of storage: sweaters, hats, gloves, and ski jackets. Each morning as I walk to the door to open the blinds I hold my breath in anticipation for what poet Billy Collins writes in the first line of Snow Day: “Today we woke up to a revolution of snow” and hope for snow on the ground.

Click here to read, A Revolution of Snow.

Living in Vacation Land has its rewards

Just about a year ago, my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tim came to Colorado to visit me. One of the most fun things we did was go to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the elk bugling. I had never heard the elk bugle, or even know what it meant, until they visited and we went to the park.



I didn’t go this year to see the elk, Nancy and Tim didn’t come to see me this year.


Here is the column I wrote last year about their visit.

One of the benefits of living in vacation land is being a tourist in your own town when family visits and exploring the place you call home. Last week Nancy and Tim came to Grand County to visit me. I wanted to show off my town and give them a Rocky Mountain vacation they would remember.


They were on their own for the first two days while I worked. Trail Ridge Road stayed closed due to snow so they spent their afternoons in the Kawuneeche Valley watching the elk and searched for moose. I joined them after work. When I arrived, they knew exactly where to take me; we stood at the edge of Harbison Meadow and watched the elk through binoculars until dark. I became amazed at the elk as I stood next to the family from Oklahoma transfixed, as they were, at these majestic animals.

View the rest of the story here:

Hunting in Grand County, Colorado

It’s that time of year, again – Hunting Season. I never used to be a big fan of hunting. But now, since I choose to live where I do, it’s part of life. Last year I wrote a column about hunting, this year, I have too many other topics to write about so unfortunately there is no time for writing about hunting.
I had a great time writing (and learning) about hunting last year so I thought I would post a link to the story.

Here is the beginning (click on the link after the introduction to read the remaining column):

I've lived in ski towns for the last 10 years. I've known many hunters but have never hunted; and I have never held a gun.
When I lived in Maine there was no hunting on Sunday so I knew I could hike on the trails behind my house and not worry about hunters. Since I moved to Granby, in the fall I hike with my dogs on the trails of SolVista and never even think about hunters since it is private land.

Link to Outdoor enthusiasts should learn about hunting

Writer's Almanac Thursday Oct 7

Today's Writer's Almanac

RMNP - Continental Divide Trail Sign

I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards.- Abbey

He was one tough bird. Saw this quote and had to post it:

It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still there. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in the head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards.

Ed Abbey