A Spokin' Life

“Well I guess this is as far as it goes,” I think to myself. Normally I’de push it a little further but being that this is my first solo winter camping trip out of cell signal, I decide not to push my luck.

It’s a little different now, camping in a wheelchair and all, where I would normally hop out and check the snow depth before driving through, I simply can’t. I found this particular spot just off the highway because my initial spot seemed a bit too “untouched” for Herb to make fresh tracks. Directly off the road the trail goes downhill which means if I get stuck, I’ll have to climb back up the snow covered hill to the main road. Not gonna happen.

This spot I found is fine though. Sure, its not in the most scenic location. Sure, there are quite a few bullet casings and a rusty old trailer parked beside me, and sure, Bella did bring me a nice jaw bone with a full set of teeth still intact that resemble some sort of obvious carnivorous animal. Not quite paradise but I’m here alone with no distractions, no television, just nature, a good book, and Bella.

As the sun begins to set, the mountain winds have already begun howling through the trees around. The light wind blown snow gets picked up into a cyclone before moving a few feet down the valley and getting dispersed yet again. I call Bella in before all the snow gets blown my way. For now, I leave “Herb” running with the heat on as the thought of how cold it’s going to be tonight chills my inner core.

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a 0 degree down sleeping bag. Being a quadriplegic, I no longer sweat or shiver below my place of injury so temperature regulation is one of my upmost concerns. I had been dying to go camping but was a little concerned with the temperatures out here in CO. Tonight I will give my new bag a test run but from what I can tell so far between this down bag and my 115 degree fluff ball known as Bella, I’ll be better than alright.

I awoke this morning to a fresh inch or two dusting on the windows of the van and as toasty as ever. The bag/dog combo worked perfectly. I think it could have been quite a bit cooler and I still would have been just fine. I’m guessing it was in the teens somewhere.

As I climb back into the drivers seat and start my descent back towards Boulder I think of how fortunate I am to still do the activities I love. So many in my position or with other disabilities give up on outdoor activities at the time of injury. It goes to show yet again with a little extra planning, it can all still be done.

Even as I go around and tell the guys on my rugby team about my trip, they look at me like I’m crazy. It’s ironic because I feel the same way about them–but they’re the crazy ones for NOT doing it.

A neat piece done for me by my friends at Rich Clarkson and Associates 

(2011 AVA 2 Platinum Awards won – Documentary & Pro Bono)

Keep on Keepin’ on

As usual, my trip home for Christmas was a whirlwind visit. It’s always good to see family and friends, even if it’s only for a hot minute.

I was shocked by the weather while I was home and Bella talked me into showing her the train station and RMC’s campus.

Christmas is always wonderful, but especially so this year thanks to our new family member, Addi Williams.

Nobodies happy here….

Can you tell there related?

Or spoiled?

We had to see Grammy, so road trip we did… All the way to grandmothers house (4 hours there- 7 home!)

So…. Backtracking a bit before the new years, I decided that I looked far to friendly to be a rugby player. Something needed to change. First, I went for the most obvious thing, a haircut. Secondly, I did something that took far more dedication than cutting a few measly strands of hair. I went face first into some asphalt biting a hole straight through my lip and chipping my front tooth straight in half. 8 stitches on top of my lip and 12 on the back side. Now I am ready to intimidate some motha f******! After I suck down 5 Advil that is…

I might have been out drinking with buddies. And might have fallen off an off-camber sidewalk. And my reflexes might have been a little bit slower than usual… So, yea…

But that was last year! I wasn’t about to let that slow me own in bringing in 2012 with a bang!

Clay came back to CO with me and we headed west to Aspen to party with good buddies and possibly ski a bit.

Do to the outrageous cover charge to get into most clubs or bars on NYE, we found ourselves at a friend of a friends house party. It actually turned out to be alright!

Drank a little bit through the shot ski

And had to take a picture of her! Wearing leopard print with flannel!!! Really!?

All in all, it was a good new years.

There hasn’t hardly been any snow out here yet this year. In fact, it’s been unbelievably warm and delightful. Bell and I drove up one of the canyons while Clay avoided rocks trying to snowboard down a few runs.

As you can see, the sun was soul warmingly brilliant.

2012 should be a big year. I have big plans and a lot to do before the world ends on 12-21-2012

Keep on keepin’ on

Believe it or not Guns N’ Roses are sill around AND still putting on one hell of a show! I know…. We were there.

Mighty close I might add.

While his guitarist tears it up!

I left the venue wanting to go straight to the tattoo parler and cover myself from head to toe but after my ears stopped ringing two days later, I realized it was probably a good thing I didn’t.

Last week a handcycle I ordered many months ago finally showed up! I ordered back when it was in the mid 70′s but am still excited to have a new ride to play with.

I decided to go visit my good friends Tim, Marcie, and Leo for some assistance in putting it together.

What started as a bunch of pieces slowly took shape.

I had the whole family hard at work

Until the final product arose. Now, if I could just get a warm front to blow through….

Keep on keepin’ on

It’s another snowy day here in Boulder. I’d say we have a least 18″ inches covering the ground glistening as the sun slowly burns through the clouds above. I’m finally getting around to posting what I had jotted down thanksgiving morning…

My morning started with sweet smells from the kitchen as my wonderful roommate and masterful chef Sarah began to cook.

One by one friends began to arrive. Before long and after a few glasses of holiday cider, everyone was jolly indeed.

Sitting in a circle on the deck, we each were given a paper feather to write something we’re thankful for. After everyone was finished, we put all the feathers together to form a turkey. It was beautiful.

From toots and belly rubs, to friends and family, an assortment was elegantly displayed. Somebody even wrote that they were thankful for the invention of the wheel! I can’t imagine who…..?

“Cheers!” we all said as we looked around the circle.

A little balancing contest…

The feast went well into the evening… Outside I might add, where it was 70 degrees.

As the day progressed I began to think about what I’m really thankful for. So hear it goes…

This year I’m thankful to have been given the opportunity to grow both physically and mentally. I’ve had both my struggles and victories. Each ultimately teaching me in their processes. I hope for continued growth and to better learn how to brush off the minor setbacks, learn from each mistake, and reflect from my achievements. Much easier said than done.

Keep on Keepin’ on

And much love and thanks for all the comments on my two year post

I’m sitting here in Aspen thinking about where I would have been had I not had a mountain bike accident two years ago today. Who knows? I’ve finally gotten back to where things feel almost normal again. I can only hope that ‘normal’ would have been this good had I not have had the incident.

I drove up to Aspen in my own vehicle and am staying at a friends place on a pull out couch.  I get dressed, eat, take showers, go out drinking, and do whatever the hell else I want while I’m visiting. It’s pretty great to feel like a normal 24 year old again.

I hang with most of the same friends and quite possibly see them more often than I ever would have if I had one of those ‘Job’ things everyone keeps talking about. I’ve also met an entirely new crowd of people with different disabilities and without. It’s amazing what you can learn from others. My social network just keeps on growing with each passerby.

I’ve began to construct long term goals again. I’m trying to excel in rugby. I want to become as strong and fast as possible. I’m lucky enough to have one of the best coaches in the country who reminds me that this goal is within reach. Just keep pushing.

I’ve also recently been reunited with my good friend the camera. I realized that no matter what kind of day I’m having- good, bad, or anywhere in between- once I put my eye against the viewfinder, everything else doesn’t matter. It’s my time to be creative, focus solely on whatever I think is important and nothing else.

This is an important thing to remember about life in general. It’s good to be creative, focus on what makes you happy, and do your best to forget about everything else. I have become pretty good at channelling my mind and therefore am generally a cheerful guy.

It’s good be back in the swing of things and I think it’ll just get better from here.

But you know, life’s a garden. Dig it

Keep on keepin’ on

So I’ve been experimenting quite a bit here lately. I came to realize a few nights ago when trying to figure out how to enlarge my photos for your optimal viewing pleasure that every update I did sent you an e-mail. Sorry about that…

The good news is that I believe I have figured out how to upload larger sized images. Now you can click on each picture to view it in full screen mode. I am also trying to add a gallery page (top left) that will hold different projects that I’ve been working on. Now that the snow has started to fall, I should have some more time to catch up on computer work and just blogging in general.

One of my more recent outings to Pearl Street proved to be productive in many ways. It was a few days before the snow started to fall so I was still trying to capture the color. Once I arrived at Pearl Street, I noticed the way the light was hitting an older gentleman who was sitting on the corner begging for money. First, I passed him and kept on for about a half a block. Then I stopped and reconsidered what I had just seen.

“Push through and approach subjects,” I heard Jay from the photography workshop saying in my mind, “it’s not easy but whats needed to be done to get these shots.”

I wasn’t sold yet so I pushed back up to the corner and secretly watched him beg for change through the tented lenses of my sunglasses. I still had a tough time approaching him for some reason but knew I would regret it if I didn’t.

“Excuse me sir,” I questioned, “if I give you a buck, will you let me snap a few frames?”

He was so excited he jumped off the bench with thrill. He kept asking me, “Where do you want me? You want me to smile? Should I be over here? Should I be over there?” He was bouncing around from side to side so excited and thrilled to have his picture taken I don’t think the dollar meant anything to him. I explained to him how I liked the way the light was reflecting off him right where he was and that he needed to do nothing more than what he was doing before I approached. Snapping a few frames, I explained that I am working on a picture book of the People of Pearl.

Grinning from ear to ear he patted me on the shoulder and said, “come back any time son.” And I plan to.

As I continued down the mall I came across a street performer that I’ve seen many times. This gentleman is about as flexible as they come. He actually can make himself fit inside the plexiglass box he’s sitting atop. I once again put my camera to my eye and hoped that something would happen to spark interest.

Once again, I heard an instructor from the photo workshop in my mind. “My best pictures were not taken, they were presented to me to be captured.”

There’s nothing spectacular here but I like the way the image portrays a longing for more. An interesting side note is as I put the camera away and cruised pass him, the same guy secretively pulled out his iPhone 4 and started texting somebody. Only in Boulder.

These next couple shots were of a friend of mine Akira who is a trials rider. For those of you who don’t know, trials riding involves hopping around on top of boulders, walls, different size and shape obstacles either on one or both wheels while seeing how much you can do without putting your foot on the ground. Akira was leaving town in about three days so I wanted to get some pictures of him before he left.

Akira is roommates with a friend of mine and fellow photographer, Dane Cronin. We set out to find as much color, light, and gesture as we could muster. The University of Colorado’s campus had the most trees that were still changing color and we all knew our way around so we met up on campus. The first place I chose was a bridge over a pond. I knew of this spot because I had ridden across the bridge myself back in my hay day. All we needed was good light. We had to wait until all the students were gone so that it wasn’t too distracting in the picture but when Akira hopped up on his rear tire in the one and only ray of sunlight- it worked out quite nicely.

This next one is at Norland Library. We made it about 7 1/2 min. before the security came out and told us we couldn’t ride there. We were done anyway.

And this one Dane took of me obviously taking picture of Akira. I just thought it gave a bit of perspective on how the first shot was taken.

A couple pics from the SCI Recovery Project fundraising event last week.

Fritz listening to himself speak

And of course a few Halloween shots.

Yes, I was a chariot racer

And Yes, my friends are creative

And Yes, Bella never gets any love

Thats all that’s going on for now

Keep on Keepin’ on