Back in COLORADO!

Yep. I'm back here to do one thing. I am hiking up Longs Peak on Saturday. I mean, sure I will be with family and enjoy their company, but getting to 14,259 ft. is my goal. A bit nervous though...apparently is somewhat dangerous, but I am going to be smart about it. Gotta climb with your head...be safe. Theres a lot to live for and only second chances if you survive.

Amarillo

Yep made it. Its 1:17pm. Not what I thought.

On to OK City, OK

Woke up late

Im ready to get on the road, but I wont be stopping as often today. Im in a bit of a time crunch...hope to be home by late tomorrow...

From Santa Rosa, NM...

-Mantis

Made it to Santa Rosa...

Yeah...
I made it to Santa Fe. What a beautiful place! After walking around downtown for an hour snapping pictures, I headed back to the hwy towards Oklahoma City. Obviously I wasnt gonna make it there, so I stopped in Santa Rosa. It was 10pm by the time I arrived at the motel. Only a 2.5 hour drive!

Ugh

Now I sit in a Denny's about to enjoy my steak n eggs. I cannot wait to go to sleep though...

Sorry no pictures yet.

-Mantis

Do you know the way...to Santa Fe?

I can blog from my phone...

Im headed to Santa Fe.

394mi. from Denver

Time to come home...

Yep. Today is Monday, April 22. And I am starting a road trip home.

I will be going south, then east, then north. (Potentially...)

I am homesick.

This is not to say I haven't THOROUGHLY enjoyed my time here!

I am blessed to have family that took me in for these 3 weeks.

I will never forget the time I had out here and I cannot WAIT to come back!

But I also cant wait to be home.

SO...

Here is to another adventure...

-Mantis

Now what???

Well, I have finished the videos of the road trip. Each one took nearly 4 days to complete and late hours. The total time for the videos is 5 hours 29 minutes. Wow...

BUT the bright light at the end is that I have discovered my love for movie editing.

Hmmm....

Anyways, my concern now is that I have nothing to do on the computer (aside from making more movies that would be many times more pointless than the two I have completed.)

I think it is time for some adventures.

As Calvin and Hobbes put it,

"It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy...

Lets go exploring!"

-Mantis

My first Colorado "frienemy."

I'd like to introduce you all to Shower-Bee. He was the first thing I really was introduced to.

My very first shower here, I noticed SB relaxing on the blinds. He was cordial (as most bees' are, you know...) and we exchanged terrifying introductions.

After that, him and I became ole pals, but never could quite trust eachother.

He, well, was a bee.

I am something 100,000 times his size.

You really cannot blame us for being stand-offish.

It has been 18 days since we met, but tragically today I was faced with the pain of saying goodbye...

SB had nearly passed away and was found on the floor of the shower.

In my attempts to revive SB, I frantically fed him some Vernors ginger ale in hopes of getting him "back in the air."

All attempts failed, and moments later SB made his last flutter of his wings...

Farewell old frienemy. You will and will not be missed.

Rest in peace in your "Honey Comb Heaven."

-Mantis

 

 

ITS A MIRACLE!!! (8:55pm) 

 

SB is now moving again...and at the hint of a slice of lime, SB was actually getting a bit frisky!

 

Hallelujiah!!!

 

Praise the Bee Gods!!!!

 

SB has a second chance at....

 

 

...stinging me while I shower...

 

 

Great.

 

-Mantis

 

 



SIlly weather, snow is for winter!

Saturday here in Louisville was 70 and sunny. Sunday was a modest 50 and partly sunny. Sunday night, the temp dropped.

I had gone back to Johnny's to relax. Ali walked in and so began another night of poker.

It was my lucky night.

I won a lot of the big hands, including getting a 4-of-a-kind with deuces. And had two free cigars that night.

After Johnny's closed, Ali invited me to go shoot some pool. I can't say no...

We went a few blocks away and I soon discovered that Ali was quite the pool player. I lost, but held my own!

After a jalapeno buffalo burger, the bar started to close down.

Ali and myself enjoyed more cigar outside the bar. We were in the middle of the Pearl St. mall. Temp falling, and snow just beginning to fall.

Once home I fell asleep pretty quick, only to awake a few hours later at daybreak to this...

Yep. This was the roof, just outside the window. Its hard to tell, but that is about 7".

I wasn't expecting this, because the last storm they called for 16", but we got a mild dusting.

But this one was NO mild dusting...

Look at the small table. That is at the very least, 14"!!! Just crazy.

 Look at the back of the car! SO MUCH SNOW!!!

 



Yep...had to use a large broom to get all of it off!!!!

Now, being in the "land of opportunity," I wasn't sure what I was going to do next.

 

 

I like golfing...

 

 

I like snowboarding...

 

 

What to do..........

 

 



 

So I decided to do both!!! Yes. That is me on a Burton, with golf shoes, snowboard goggles, a golf shirt, sweat pants, my driver, a pink ball, backwards hat, golf glove, aaaand to top it all off, my favorite cigar.

Life is good :-)


-Mantis

Hearts and Prayers to Boston

If you pray, pray.

Not much else to be said.

-Mantis

3:30am snack

After the movie got deleted, I readied myself for bed. But I was hungry...

Wasted time wasted

So tonight I got home from golf and errands at about 7:30.

After having a weird supper, I began to edit my second video of my road trip.

This one was over 3 hours long.

Towards the end of editing I nudged the laptop I work with and my external hard drive fell off, unplugging along the way.

It is now 2:11 in the morning and when the EHD fell off, guess what else happened. All the video was erased.

I had just spent 6 hours editing and adding clips and pictures and I am literally back at square one.

Luckily I have been drinking Jameson all night so that I didn't throw the laptop out of the window.

Well. Here's to a wasted 6 hours wasted. Lets not let that happen again.

(not so happy)
-Mantis

Just a taste of a Rocky Mountain Sunset

I had to test out my new tripod for the camera and when I looked East, I knew exactly what I was going to test it on...

They obviously don't do it any justice, and they didnt turn out as well as I hoped, but here is a Rocky Mountain Sunset...

These are called the "Flatirons." Named so because when the pioneers settled in the area, the wives likened them to the Irons used on the husbands clothing. Starting from the right, there are 5 of them. 1 and 2 are the farthest right (looks like only one with a diagonal line through it, but there are two,) and 3 is to the left of them. After that, I dont konw what is 4 & 5.

I believe this is Longs Peak. I am told it towers over the others in good daylight, and from the looks of it, there is a great deal of mountain in the clouds...so I can only speculate. Also, this picture shows the different altitude layers starting low in the foreground, and going to Longs Peak-which is a fourteener.

This is a saddle between North Arapahoe peak and South. (Norht is to the right) Arapahoe Peak is the one I was unable to conquer on my last visit out here in 2002.

Gotta love a good panorama picture. You can see all the way to the North where the Mountains seem to taper off. But its just so far away!!!

Shopping. Lunch. Cigar. Masters. Blog.

So far thats been my day. Got a new tripod. Had lunch at Noodles. Travelled 300ft away to the cigar shop. (Not johnnys...) watchin the Masters.

Midday Walk

It seems to me that I have certain habits that will indefinitely lead me off a paved-or even beaten path. My feet just go their own way off to the side. When I venture into the unknown, even if the unknown is only a large field, I go to places that maybe I am not supposed to.

Today was no different.

Today I was feeling a little blue. A little crabby, if you will. So I decided to go for a walk and risk where my feet would lead me.

I started down the paved pathway that is in between the houses, to the paved switchbacks, and down to the flat paved path that led on for miles. But not for me.

My feet immediately walked to the side of the path.

Mud.

Snow.

Just a slippery mess that I thoroughly enjoyed. As I kept walking this absolute disaster of a path, My eyes venture and I see a hill. Quite a ways away. But I wanted to get to it.

So I did.

Lazy day!

Yep. I had a really lazy day today. I sat on my futon til about 630pm. Watched a few movies and played poker on my phone. The snow continued to fall outdoors, but I was indoors. Didn't even step foot outside today. Fantastic.
Had a red-letter day for health too. Cereal for breakfast, then for lunch I had this...

Cookies n cream ice cream, peanut AND peanut butter m&m's, chocolate sauce, and
 an ice cream cookie.

Top that off with a 9.7% alc. beer called Hop Juice IPA and we are set.

 

 

I should probably shower at some point tonight.

 

-Mantis



SNOW DAY...kinda

It can't really be a snow day for me because I don't have a job out here(yet, possibly). BUT I am staying indoors today. Watching movies, eatin big bowls of cereal...ya know. Classic stuff. I am basically a big kid. Get me some Lord of the Rings goin on. Maybe a glass of milk with some Oreos. Yep. I'm rockin it out today.

BE JEALOUS YOU ALL. All the 2 dedicated people who check my blog!!! HAHAHA. Ok Sorry. theres like 3.

Oh boy. Mantis is squirly today. Ramblin on.

Should probably slowly back away from the computer before I get hurt. Trapped indoors and the Manty goes a lil haywire in the noggin.

I will get some pics of the snow when I want to. Then put them here. Maybe. Just kidding. I will. Chill. Jeeze.

Ok. That's enough from me for a couple hours...not like anything is going to change. I'm still going to be indoors.

Watching movies.

Bein' squirly.

Watching movies.

-Mantis

I love my brother...

Addy sent me this. Hes a damn amazing bro. Best I could ask for.

I miss ya bud.

-Mantis

4:00am Photography

So after I went to bed, I couldn't go to sleep. I played some poker on my phone, then thought maybe I could get some cool pictures of Boulder at night. I knew the camera had a long exposure setting and decided to check it out.

SO...here are the pictures.



This is Boulder at 4 in the morn. Seems like a city that never sleeps.

 



"We are surrounded by the heavens above, yet insist on looking down."



Ursa Major (Big Dipper)

 

Starlight falling through midnight branches

This was the pathway home...and to the lookout point over Boulder

I am hoping on getting a tripod soon. Things will be much more still and less blurry. Its 5 in the morn here so I will be off to bed.

Thanks for checking in!

I love you all an hope you are all doing fine :-)

-Mantis