Adventure Time!

And I was all, "What the lump?"

"Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something."

Rocky Mountain High

Just got back from Colorado. The trip was so much better than I expected it to be.

Summit of Pikes Peak

We went horseback riding in Garden of the Gods, took a train ride at Cripple Creek through old and abandoned mining country, toured the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, drove to the summit of Pikes Peak, hiked Red Mountain and the Manitou Incline, and I even ate sushi in Colorado Springs.

Horseback riding. Awesome.

The altitude is incredible. It's 900 feet above sea level where I live, and Manitou is around 6,000. Colorado's state motto (or something) of "Got Oxygen?" has a new meaning for me (because I didn't "got oxygen" most of the time up there). I really appreciated our Subaru Outback, too. There's a reason it's the unofficial state car of Colorado. I think I've found the place I want to be.

...Also, there were no mosquitoes (bonus points!).

  After we left Manitou Springs, we headed towards South Dakota and visited Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and the Badlands before heading home.

The Badlands.

Going to Manitou

 So in a few days I will be leaving with some family to visit some other family in Colorado. Although the weather says it's supposed to be raining there, I still think we're going to have a blast, rain or shine. Here are some pictures of the area.

The view of Pikes Peak from Manitou Avenue.

Manitou Incline...unfortunately as of right now it's illegal to hike on it. Hopefully that'll change soon. Like right now soon.

Apparently they have coffin races. Unfortunately I won't be there for that, since it's in October.
Shucks.

The Manitou Incline once again.

Balancing Rock in Garden of the Gods (just watch, I'll unbalance it)

Manitou Springs with what I'm assuming is Pikes Peak in the background.

I don't know what this is. (Yes I do, I just choose not to tell you)
(You could probably guess it)

Colorado Railway (not actually in Manitou Springs)

Colorado, here I come!



Thankfully I am getting a new camera (well really it's the same model of my old one but it's a new camera so I guess it counts as a new camera...) so I will be able to take hundreds and hundreds of pictures as you will soon see I am very capable of doing.  Toodles.

end of day

Guess what, people. I did have a boring day.

Now look at this picture.

I'm off to watch Tangled.

Good night. Hopefully tomorrow will be more eventful. Or not. 'Eventful' doesn't always mean 'good'. I'll see if my camera works...I miss it. A lot. A lot a lot.

Life After Camp

I've just returned from a week of summer camp at my favorite island home. I would be sharing pictures but my poor little camera got soaked on a canoe trip. My camera is now sitting in a bowl of rice in hopes that it will recover.

Camp is a really important thing for me. I've been going to this place for six years and this was my last year as a camper. One whole week of being on an island, (ideally) without cell phones or iPods, having fun with each other (like star tipping) is such a different thing in this era, but it's been real. When I started out, I never thought that the island would mean so much to me. Now I can't imagine never going back (so it's lucky for me I can return as a leader next year).

The philosophy that guides this camp is that of the Four-Fold, or the ideal of living a fully balanced life mentally, physically, socially, and religiously. I've tried to apply it to my own life, and although it's very difficult to start, once you do try it, it's worth it. Kind of like water skiing (which I also did at camp). It's tough to do it, but it's really worth it in the end. Stepping out of your comfort zone is hard, but the results? Priceless.

Peace out.

not so bad.

Forgive me for not capitalizing my title. It's too hot to care about capitalization and punctuation. And stuff.

So, today I hung out with my friend who I haven't really been close to in awhile. We were great friends throughout middle school, and then she went to a different high school and then we didn't talk for awhile. But today we hung out (and I should specify that by "hanging out" I mean mucking horse stalls and giving her horse a bath and almost dying in a head-on car crash with a UPS truck) and I thought it was going to be incredibly awkward, but actually, it was...a lot of fun.

Moral of this story?
I don't usually do morals. But the moral of this story is that you shouldn't be afraid of doing things because you think you should be afraid. You should never be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone. I use that phrase a lot, but it's so true. You have to push yourself to find out who you are, and that's something that never changes.

Philosophical? Yes. True? Also yes.

By the way, I took this picture. Isn't it pretty?

Salutations.

Hello. Welcome to my new blog. I'm an intriguing type of person you're going to want to know. Or something. I don't really have a plan for this thing, so we'll just see how it goes, I suppose (that rhymed).

Here's some fun for you stalkers out there:

I enjoy horses (I have a Tennessee Walker), music (I'm a cellist), and taking pictures (that's pretty much it...wait no...I like food as well). I'm an older teenager so I'm not the wisest person in the world, but I hope someday I'll be more than just your average idiot (excluding ACT scores, anyways...standardized testing is not my thing).

I hope this is a fun experience, y'all. Hold on and buckle up because this is going to be a bumpy ride (Hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Have a lovely ride.)