Rockies

I realize that you are all just dying to know where I am now. I didn't make it to Canyonlands (national park just south of Moab, Utah) yesterday. I'm at a hostel in Durango. It's exquisitely clean, as the owner works here full-time, instead of putting a bunch of vagrants in charge (yes, I had chores every morning in Santa Fe). My dormmates were definitely more fun at my last hostel. I've thought about how my blogs have gotten more fru-fru the farther away from Houston I am, and the longer I am gone. That's true for everyone else, too. The Episcopal church I went to this morning even had its own fru-fru liturgy. Admittedly, I liked it, and it incorporated lots of stuff from Scripture that's usually glossed over in our patriarchy, like about God being our mother and how all of nature is in her womb. I came back to the hostel after church to eat some delicious vegan pot stickers from the local co-op, then headed out to explore the Colorado Trail, 487 miles of beauty all the way to Denver. My afternoon hike, which was less than 487 miles, was gorgeous. It looked just like Rocky Mountain national park, all green and blue with water so clear you can see way down into it. There were lots of mountain bikers to watch out for. The Iron Horse race was yesterday, between the bicyclists and the Durango-Silverton train. The bicyclists won. People here ask me if I mountain bike. I like my spinal cord intact, thank you very much. It's interesting how people try to connect with you when you are passing through with interests of their own culture. In response to local assumptions, I told the people here that I do not rock climb or mountain bike; I told the people at the monastery that I am not a nun; I told the people in Terlingua that I did not have any pot. Maybe I should ask them if they like to drive long distances across the United States, not knowing half the time where they're going to sleep that night. I am still planning on heading to Utah tomorrow. That will be less green, and more red. I really don't find green all that inspiring, no matter how scenic, so I am excited about returning to desert. I will be in Tahoe in less than a week to begin the vacation part of my trip with friends (yay!), so I will be getting in all the dusty red I can before then. Go in peace and love.

"Football is all about the blue chakra." ~overheard at hostel in Durango