Day 366 - Hike

Thought of the day: I can't believe that today is already my birthday. A year flew past since I started my blog. I learned a lot by doing this blog and enjoyed it tremendously. Of course, there were days, and even weeks, when I had to force myself to keep going. It was particularly challenging when I was sick, busy or traveling. For the entire year, I had my backpack and camera next to me pretty much every day and I constantly reminded myself to pay attention to what was happening around me and to see and capture the extraordinary moments in the ordinary daily life. This year long journey has not only taught me to truly appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of our experiences on earth, it has also taught me something about patience and perseverance. Now, it's time for me to sign off and move on. A big hug and thank you to everybody who has followed my journey and sent me encouragements along the way!


Photo of the day:

Taking a hike with a few people this morning. There was no better way to celebrate a birthday than sitting on some big rocks, drinking coffee, eating a surprise birthday treat and looking out at the beautiful Boulder valley opening up in front of you. That was one of the most memorable moments that my wonderful friends helped me create throughout the day. There will be challenges and uncertainties, but I feel so grateful today to be living in this community, this world and on this day.

Day 361 - Jasmine

Thought of the day: We had an easy day today - family hike, long naps, movies.  It was good to have a day in the week to have no obligations no schedules and simply relax and enjoy some down time with the family.

Photo of the day: 

Jasmine was very happy during the hike. We saw a lot of beautiful fall colors along the way as the season was at the peak. Both girls collected colorful leaves to decorate their rooms.

Day 352 - Lila

Thought of the day: It was Friday - our regular hiking day.  Lila and I hiked for a good hour at Chautauqua with David's mom and cousin. We were also joined by Lila's friend Izzy and her mom. There were beautiful fall colors along the way and the trail was almost completely covered by fall foliage. Lila collected a bunch of leaves and branches along the way to make a collage at home.  She walked and ran all the way with her friend and in the last segment of the hike we were barely able to keep up with the two little girls! It's a day that will be remembered for many years hereafter, not in its full details, but as one of those days filled with luminous light and simple happiness.

Photo of the day:

Lila on the trail.

Day 339 - Gallery

Thought of the day: We took a hike in the forest today. It had been hard to predict the best days to visit Aspen in the fall. We had been here last year when the fall colors were in the prime. This year we picked the same weekend to visit but the reds were not quite here yet. We did get an abundance of yellow, green and many shades and colors in between. To our surprise, throughout the day, we didn't see any other hikers in the forest.  Indeed, other than the occasional booming sound made by all terrain vehicles nearby, the only sounds we could hear were the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds. It was good to be here.

Photo of the day:

A couple having dinner in a restaurant in Aspen downtown near an art gallery.  There were some nice autumn paintings on display behind the windows.

Day 324 - Happy Dance

Thought of the day: We spent a happy morning with our friends hiking at Chautauqua followed by a lunch picnic in the park.  We used to do that every Friday morning but stopped because we got busy with other activities. This morning’s hike and picnic reminded me of how important it is to firmly incorporate fun and meaningful activities into the regular schedule because it’s so easy for them to slip through the cracks and disappear into memories of the past. There are always other little things waiting to fill into the space and it's so important to get our priorities straight and put the things that are really meaningful to us first. In the long run, being able to prioritize can make the difference between a life that’s satisfying and fulfilling and a life that’s lost and aimless.

Photo of the day:

Izzy doing a happy dance after the hike.

Day 317 - Hiking

Thought of the day: School was off. Jasmine had two play dates and Lila had a friend sleeping over. In addition, we hiked in the morning, did gymnastics in the afternoon and ate out in the evening.  Amidst the whirlwind of activities, I had the most vivid memories of the happiness of Lila on the hiking trail and of the excitement of Lila and her friend when they chased after bubbles on our front lawn after dinner. I was not able to put together a quiet schedule as I would have liked to, but at least we were able to slow down and enjoy a few quiet and peaceful moments during the day.

Photo of the day: 

Lila on the hiking trail at Chautauqua. She was able to keep a reasonable pace on the trail, even though she was still easily distracted by a variety of interesting objects including these two "hiking sticks" she picked up on the trail.

Day 312 - Rocks

Thought of the day: We started our Sunday hike on a very warm morning and ended up coming home in a cool breeze and narrowly escaped a thunderstorm. Hiking in the mountains always made the girls happy beyond words.  At the end of the hike, it had an invigorating effect on Jasmine and a draining effect on Lila as she napped soundly for three hours after we returned home.  It's good to take a hike in the mountains once in a while as it reminds us why we moved here in the first place.

Photo of the day:

Off a hiking trail close to our home where we hiked this morning.

Day 250 - Paraglider

Thought of the day: We usually take our mornings easy during vacations but this morning we started out early to go up Mt. Rigi by tram.  On top of the mountain, we had a panoramic view of most of the high peaks and many of the lakes of Switzerland. It was an impressive sight. After lunch, we hiked down the mountain. Hiking in the Alps is an activity that I can never get tired of.  With beautiful scenery and cute little mountain villages along the way and tasty food that you can pretty much count on when you reach the destination, hiking in the alps can be a truly magical experience. If I can somehow make such an excursion every day, I wouldn't mind at all moving to Switzerland. Indeed, that would be a dream come true. Of course, the over-romanticized view of a tourist is one thing, living it is another. Daily life is filled with unexpected details and any or all of them can overwhelm and derail a dream. So, perhaps it is wise to leave it as a dream. I can always come back and visit to keep the dream alive.

Photo of the day:

It was a good day for paragliding.  We watched at least a dozen paragliders take off from the top of Mt. Rigi.  Some succeeded in taking off at the first attempt, some took multiple attempts. Lila was completely fascinated by their activities.

Day 235 - Ridge

Thought of the day: We had an early breakfast this morning and then took a hike to Fira.  There's a stone trail from Oia all the way to Fira along the ridge.  Some sections of the trail looked underused and were overgrown with grass, but overall, it's an easy hike if you can stand the blazing sun - there were no shades along the trail at all. The view of the agricultural land and settlements to the left and the caldera to the right was just spectacular.  We walked past a few towns along the way including Imerovigli and Firostefani.  After a lunch at Firostefani, we walked the final leg to Fira and took a bus back.  I was surprised that during the hike of over two hours, we didn't run into any other hikers on the trail.  I guess most people come to Santorini in the summer for sightseeing and relaxation at the pool, not for hiking in a desert landscape under a merciless sun. It also doesn't help that the local people tend to exaggerate the difficulty of the hike. None of the hotel staff I talked to have done this hike, even though some of them have been here for quite a while. Now that we have done it and told them how easy it was, at least two of them said they would be eager to finally give it a try. Personally, I always need to walk, run or hike to get a better sense of a place and feel some emotional connection to it, sightseeing alone just doesn't do it for me. So I am glad that we did the hike today.

Photo of the day:

Portrait of the east end of Oia, the ridge, and myself next to the hotel pool.  The town of Fira perches high on the ridge (all the way to the right).

Day 205 - Hike

Thought of the day:  It was finally a sunny day and I took a little hike with Lila on a trail next to our house.  Lila was very excited about the hike - she packed her own snack bag, put it in her backpack together with her little water bottle, put on her sunglasses, hat, boots and kept herself busy on the trail with fascinating discoveries that were typical on a hiking trail: little stones, branches, dandelions, butterflies and such.  She even scaled a small rock all by herself and was very proud of it.  We had our snacks on top of the rock.  After holing up at home for two days, I was glad to spend a morning under the sun.

Photo of the day:

Lila running down the trail.

Day 192 - Wedding

Thought of the day: It was a perfect day in Estes Park.  In the morning, we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park and hiked on a short trail to Bear Lake, which was still completely frozen and covered by snow at this time of the year.  And then we hiked on Lumpy Ridge trail in town. The first trail was surrounded by a forest and it was covered by snow and slippery.  It was even snowing when we did the hike.  The second trail was snow-free and dry and ran through some pretty interesting rock formations.  It was nice and sunny when we did that hike.   The two hikes couldn't be more different even though they were just within a short drive from each other.  We literally drove from one climate zone to another in a matter of minutes.  Jasmine and Lila were very excited by the adventure and they both enjoyed climbing up and down the rocks along the Lumpy Ridge Trail.  In the evening, we checked out Rock Inn Restaurant which is a steak house and a popular music venue in Estes Park.  The girls danced an evening away to the merry tunes played by a local musician.

Photo of the day:

A wedding party in Stanley Hotel where we are staying at.  Today must be an auspicious day to get married as we spotted at least 3 wedding parties in the hotel.  Other than weddings, we also counted a lot of elks in RMNP and in town, including a dozen or so munching on the grass right outside of our hotel room.  However, I took a lot more photos of wedding parties  than elks, so the elks would have to wait until our next trip to get on the blog!

Day 169 - CWA

Thought of the day: This morning I took a nice hike in the mountains.  Good conversation, nice weather, and the beautiful view of a misty Flatirons made it a memorable morning.  I was reminded once again of the beauty of the nature all around us and our duty to pass it on, undiminished, to the future generations.

Photo of the day:

Larry Schweiger of National Wildlife Federation in a CWA discussion titled "Climate Change: Past the Point of No Return".  The catchy and alarming title was a play on words and the discussion was not meant to discourage concerned citizens from making a difference.  In fact, quite to the contrary, speakers on the panel encouraged people to do more but do it with more urgency as we are running against time and it's a race that we can not lose.  I didn't learn many new things from this discussion but I was very encouraged by the large crowd it drew - it was standing room only with a line waiting outside the door.

Day 132 - Hope You Dance

Thought of the day: This morning I read on the paper of a recent incident on a local hiking trail.  An older gentleman was lying bleeding on the trail and his situation was clearly calling out for help.  Groups of hikers and dog-walkers just walked right past him without stopping to offer a hand.  At the end, the poor guy had to basically crawl back to his car and drove himself to urgent care.  This story made me sad.  What kind of people would just ignore an injured older man and leave him lying on a hiking trail?  How do these people feel afterwards about themselves?  I am sure these people are not representatives of the general local population, however, I am not surprised that people like that do exist.  They are self centered and protecting their personal interests above and beyond anything else.  Some of them may also have been young and entitled.  I think it's an utter failure of parents to raise young adults who would behave like that.  This incident got me to think: as parents, how do we raise children with good moral values?  Action is worth a lot more than words, so it's necessary for the parents to set good examples for their kids.  And how about peace corps?  Some people say that by the time a person is old enough to volunteer overseas, his character and values may have been too well formed to be influenced for real.   So perhaps we should get them involved in community services early to broaden their perspectives when they are still young.  Unfortunately, there're really no golden bullets here.  There are influences that parents do not realistically have control of.  At the end, we parents just have to do our best and hope that our kids will find the light and grow into people with values and integrity.

Photo of the day:

Jasmine's friend giving Lila a lift up some stairways.  When an 8-yr-old is having so much fun playing with a 2-yr-old, I take it as a good indication that the older girl will grow up into a happy, caring young person.  The complete sentence on the wall  was: "When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance." Dance they did - in the sun.