Writing About Place, Landscape, and Personal History

I had the pleasure of writing a guest post on Kathy Pooler's blog about Memoir Writing.

I wrote about writing memoir and the journey to find your people. 
My book is not only a memoir. It is a travelogue. It is about how a place can shape you. It is about reflecting on what is important. 

Here is an excerpt of the post and the entire post can be read on Kathy Pooler's website:

Writing memoir helps me to work out the troubled relationships, honor my family and most of all, reminds me what is important. The beauty of writing memoir is making the commonplace memorable through life’s catastrophes, love loss, job loss, money problems, anguish, and confusion. How to tell that story is the crux of every writer in the history of mankind.
I live now in Tucson, Arizona; farther west than I’ve ever been. I can see what happened more clearly with the time and distance perspective. I realize I have a lot of experience with not knowing where I’m going, vulnerability, and living with uncertainty.
I write the stories of getting hurt, finding amazing friends, moving on and finding new places.

What an amazing journey it has been.

Fantasy Island Trails

This is my new favorite mountain biking trail in Tucson: Fantasy Island Trail.

Great riding despite several cholla in my leg that needed to be removed by my riding partners. Thanks for the save. 
This isn't my leg but this is what it looked like:

Here is the Garmin data:

Click to see larger photo

I can't wait to ride these trails again now that I have my mountain biking legs and am reading for the downhill. 

And a video about getting cholla off - never leave home without it - a 70s comb:

I Came To Bike

I moved to Tucson in 2012 to bike. Year Round.

The month of October I forgot that. 

And, most of September and November.  

Now that it is December and it warms up at lunch time, I bike. I bike on the weekends; every chance I get. 

I've been mountain biking:

Kentucky Camp near Tucson

Last year I biked the El Tour de Tucson. This year I didn’t. It was a rainy ride. I will do it again next year. 

Last year I ran the Tucson Marathon. This year I was a spectator and on the cheer squad.

In November I tried to plan my 2014 race calendar and while I had decided on a few races (triathlons and ultra races) I couldn’t click the submit button. I was really undecided – more than I’ve ever been. It used to be so easy to click submit on active.com and then just train. I almost signed up for a 50 mile trail run in Phoenix and I tried to get in to Ironman Arizona.

I like going long, but maybe I truly need to work on speed and do the shorter races. 

As of today, I’m signed up for Ironman 70.3 St. George, 24 Hours at the Old Pueblo mountain bike race, Colossal Duathlon at Colossal Cave Mountain Park, and the Arizona Distance Classic Half Marathon. 

This is a good start. 

Old Pueblo 24 Hour Course, looking south to the Tucson Mountains

Running From Moose: Sticking Close to Home

Running From Moose: Sticking Close to Home: Thanksgiving is coming up quick and it's got me thinking about the concept of home. We've packed up the gear, put the camper in st...

Writing about Place, An Interview

I was interviewed a few weeks ago by the Sonoran Arts Network editor, Shane. The Sonoran Arts Network is an art community in Tucson bringing together writers and artists.

Here is an excerpt from the interview;

SAN: What does the environmentalists’ phrase “sense of place” mean to you regarding the places you’ve lived?

KLodge: I believe there is a place on this earth that is perfect for everyone. When they find it, they will also find their voice. Whether it is becoming a writer or a community activist, in the right place you will find yourself. I think I found a part of my voice in each place I lived. I felt so alive walking the trails in Maine, Vermont and Colorado. I would hike these trails and think about my life and tell stories in my head.

View the entire interview here. 

Sonoran Art Network Interview

Here is an excerpt from my book, Continental Quotient that helps explain my answer above. 

From the chapter: Women Writing the West – An author talk in Denver.

This day in Denver is perfect. The Colorado blue sky that we discuss during the symposium starts to fade to evening as I drive back to the mountains over Berthoud Pass and the Continental Divide. Just after I cross the divide and the highest point on the pass, I see a full moon rise to the east.

As I continue to drive north to Granby I think about what it means to be a western writer and writing about place. I love every part of rural mountain living, even the cold, the wind, and less people. I hike and bike out my front door, I could never do that in the city. As I drive the last few miles up the mountain access road, I think of all stories around me; stories about these mountains, rivers, and the people who choose to live here. I know there are good stories; funny stories, well lived stories. I want to write them all.

I feel connected to Pam Houston’s writing at this moment. When she writes about her ranch in Creed, she tells her readers how she finally has “earned the right to be here.” I feel like I might have, too.

Fraser, Colorado 8,550 feet

Confessions of a Former Peak Bagger

One of my favorite chapters in my book, Continental Quotient is Confessions of a Former Peak Bagger.

I wrote this story while living in Colorado. 

One of the best aspects of being a writer is reliving all these stories as I write them. I was first introduced to hiking by my boyfriend in 1988. I had never hiked a mountain and I didn’t have hiking boots. I bought boots for the hike to Mount Lafayette.

I’ve always been goal driven and always had a need to look forward to something. When I started hiking in the White Mountains of NewHampshire I had a goal to finish all the 4,000 footers. When I moved to Colorado I only had two mountains left to hike to be a member of the club. 

I will hike these mountains. I will finish them by 2015. How’s that for a goal?! 

Here is an excerpt of one my favorite stories in my book, Continental Quotient:

That summer, I would read the White Mountain Guide, looked at the map, and planned my day or overnight trip, and bagged every peak I could. The best part was seeing all the checks next to the peaks in the back of the AMC Guide. I spent almost every weekend hiking and backpacking; it was my escape.

My high school friends were in college, and I climbed peaks on the weekend. Nothing in my life was going right, I checked of another peak. I took a college class and dropped out because I didn’t like the teacher or the subject matter and would drive north to climb Mount Jefferson and felt a sense of accomplishment. I spent almost every weekend in the mountains while living in southern New Hampshire; either going up for a day hike or overnight backpacking adventure. I hiked alone. I backpacked overnight alone. I wasn’t scared of anything I loved the solitude of being in the mountains.

Have a great day. Hope you are out hiking in the Whites.

 

Continental Quotient - Stories from both sides of the Divide

My book, Continental Quotient Stories from Both Sides of theDivide will be published next month. 

Have you ever dreamed of living at a ski resort, living in the mountains, and walking out your door to hike, ski, or mountain bike? This is exactly what happened when Kristen decided to take her first job working at a ski resort at 29. After a few years living in the best ski resorts in the east, she becomes the westerner she always wanted to be and moves to Colorado. 

This collection of stories takes place in mountain towns across the east and the west – both sides of the divide. Some stories are funny lift line stories about meeting interesting people and some serious about living in a tough, arid landscape. The stories are filled with poetry and love of place. Kristen finds forever friends in all these places, learns how to ski bumps in western powder, and becomes a triathlete.

I am fortunate to have four advance reviews from writers I respect.

My former editor at the Sky Hi News wrote this:

 “For all us East Coast refugees who spent countless nights poring over photographs and maps dreaming about moving West—the mythical West that is as much state of mind as place—Continental Quotient rekindles fond memories of envisioning our futures and retracing the trails that led us here. Lodge’s stories also bring into sharp focus a discovery that many of us who succumbed to our impulses and made the crossing may not have expected: a land populated by kindred spirits and steadfast friends far from the steamy confines of the East’s deciduous milieu, where the tug of family and childhood remains resolute and unassailable. Standing astride the Great Divide, Continental Quotient plants a foot in each world and dares us to follow. It’s well worth the journey.”  —Drew Munro, Longtime eastern transplant and rural western newspaper editor

This writing project is classified as a memoir; an inspirational memoir. I hope that readers will be reminded about their adventures in the mountains and all the great people they met. I hope they will also think they can truly do anything they dream about – climb mountains, run a marathon, move to a new place, - anything is possible. 

Pre-Race Poster

This book is my journey telling tales of the years searching for the best place. The stories take place in gorgeous mountain settings from northern Maine to western Colorado. As an outsider in these places I fell in love with them easily. But when it was time to go, nothing held me. I was able to move on, easily, maybe too easily while eager to find the next best place, to get to know another place. There are still so many great places I want to see. 

Catalina Highway Tucson, Arizona

Sunday River, Maine

I now live in Tucson. Much like the other places I moved to, I had never been to Tucson prior to the move; but had a sense that I would love it – and I do. I found mountains and trails here, and I found my people: the outdoor lovers, the runners, the bikers, and true friends. 

View Continental Quotient's Pinterest board with photos that accompany each chapter.