The Old Heads

We have some really fantastic neighbors at camp.

Ken, a climber, has been living in Nederland/boulder/Denver area for the past 30 years.  He's a 61 year old free climber with more muscle than me! He grew up in my hometown, Normandy, Misery. Good guy Ken is. We made lasagna last night and he was so sweet to throw down for the meal. He brought a can of Great Value white meat chicken. The meal was delicious and he raved over the results. It made me feel pretty good, as it was the first time I had ever attempted the nearly impossible meal of skillet lasagna via campfire! Ken sat up with us and chit chatted the old days like we'd know each other our entire lives. We had just met each other days ago when he had locked himself out of his truck, needed screwdriver, and I had offered him a cup of coffee upon the screwdrivers return.

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Tim, The Dude, is about 50, and has his name tattooed on on his arm. Makes it easy to remember Tim *Lebowski's* name. Everyone calls him The Dude, even though he was too stoned, and passed out while trying to view the movie ages ago. Very "Dude" like indeed. Tim is really more hair than man. He let his hair down by the fire and I wondered, as he blew on some coals to re-flame the fire, if that's he how he trims his hair. "It's like Janis Joplin's hair. I love Janis Joplin...", he said. After he said that I aggreed; and we sang 'Mercedes Benz together around the newly enlarged fire, ending with "That's all!" In unison and laughing. I sang a little of my/Janis' version of George Gershwin's 'Summertime and he really enjoyed that as well. Soon after, he graced us with a fer Beatles songs he had memorized to keep his sanity while marching for the Army; Rocky Raccoon being the most memorable.

About a week ago, on the way to Nederland from camp, we saw Tim walking down the gravel road and scooped him up, and gave him a lift to town. He was telling us about how he had felt sore because he was lazy the day before, that he should have worked out, and that his legs are just going to continue being sore, and he could really use a banana. Just after thinking that an old Buddy of his was driving towards him and stopped, asked him from his truck, "Want a banana Tim? I just gotta bunch in town!"; Tim had materialized what he needed just by thinking it. Crazy how the world works like that.

The night Tim came by for dinner I made sausage, potatoes, onion, and garlic skillet yum. He and his camp-mate Adam, a kid of 23, ate and enjoyed. It was a lovely night of new friends, once again, as though we had all known each other a lifetime.

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I hope I can snag a few photos of us and the "Old Heads". Great memories aren't created everyday, and great friends to share with them are getting harder and harder to find all the time.

The great lasagna skillet

I told you I would post a campfire meal. Well here it is!

Campfire Skillet Lasagna

8 in metal platter
8 in skillet and a lid that fits on it nicely
8 in sauce pan
Noodle pot big enough for lasagna noodle halves
5 cloves of garlic
6 oz onion
3/4 box of lasagna noodles, cooked
1 small can of cooked white chicken
1 big can of crushed tomatos
1 bag of Italian shredded cheeses
1 tub of ricotta
Lots of herbs and freshly ground pepper
Olive oil

Cheap aluminum pan for coals

Make a huge fire

Mix 3/4 bag of cheese with ricotta and add seasonings to taste.

Cook noodles.

Oil sauce pan and add minced garlic and chopped onion. Add Italian seasonings and black pepper. Simmer til brown. Add can of crushed tomatoes to onions and garlic, simmer til thick and delicious.

Use just enough sauce and a little oil to line bottom of skillet, and put a layer of noodles down. Add cheese mix in a smooth layer leaving just over half for another layer. Add another layer of noodles, add sauce and half the can of cooked and strained white meat chicken and half of the remaining shredded cheese. Add another layer of noodles. Add a layer of sauce, twhen more noodles. Add almost all the cheese mix, and another layer of noodles. Add more chicken, cheese mix, and sauce and a last layer of noodles. Top with the remainder of sauce, cover with more seasonings and the last of the shredded cheese. Smoosh the edges of the noodles down on the edges with a spatula, cover, and python red hot coals for about 30 mins. Replace lid with the platter, put coals in the cheapo aluminum disposable pan and put on ttop of the platter to broil the cheese on top. Clean up your mess while tthat broils for about 15 minutes. Take the llasagna off the heat for 5 minutes to rest (just enough time to toast some garlic bread or something).

Now that shit is ready to eat! Nom and enjoy!

If you have a full kitchen and can hunt deals like me, this meal should only cost about 10 bucks to make and it wiwill easily feed 5. Or 3 really stoned campers.

Gooseberries

We went for a walk around Nederland, Colorado today. After a good fill of coffee and a mountain burger, we meandered over to the smoke shop for cigarettes. On our way, we go along this lovely pedestrian bridge over one of the feeds to the barker reservoir, paused, finished up the coffees, and had a good stare at the rushing creek below. On the visitor center side of the bridge I found a gooseberry bush (red currants)!

We had to run trash, and the only place we can dump is at the visitor center; so I pulled my car in there. I found free internet in the parking lot thanks to lil place called New Moon. Dropped the trash, couldn't pass up getting a few shots of the freshly rained on, darkened, wooden covered pedestrian bridge for my mother, and grabbing some of those ripe, ready for the picking currants! I got my shots, got my gooseberries, and went to look through the pictures; and the rain picked up again. A beautiful double rainbow fell over the quaint, mountain town of Nederland. Ran out of my car and quickly snagged a few shots of thebridge and the rainbow.

Great day in town. Now back to the daily grind of finding wood to dry out so we can keep cooking up a storm with our trusty old skillet. I'll try to remember to snap a few pics of our up-and-coming meals. Hard to do when, sometimes, it takes about 3 hours to make said meal. SCARFING HAPPENS. I am not losing weight haha!

A week of bliss

I told you I would tell you about "him" didn't I? Well, if I am Tank Girl; then he, is Booga. Started out as my best bud, now so much more.  But thats eenough of that. This isn't a love story.

A week in bliss...

Where to begin!?!

We have already had camp set up for a while pasted off Haul, and we are living very comfortably. We have some pretty amazing neighbors, and so with that, acquired some great new friends. Lars even has a new friend named Drakaryus, he is a very well behaved 8 month Lab/retriever. Quick Silver and Jyrnie are fantastic souls encasing the spirit of the wild, and ancient trades; all while yearning for even more knowledge and skills. Jyrnie is a bright ball of never
ending energy. She has the drive to make almost anything a possibility, but only after a good bout of stress occurs. Her heart is very kin to mine indeed. Quicksilver is a scruffy, dirty-hands-on young man; his eyes gleam with an abundance of ideas. His hands blackened with earth and work, the type that could cause MacGuyver (and myself) to wonder, "How the hell did he do that?!?". The trainhopper and the sweetheart, and the pup, three young hearts equally balanced making a trifecta of awesome ability. Great. New. Friends. Road family. THEY JUST GOT A BABY SQUIRREL! I love new additions! :D

With our new friends, we have enjoyed many cups of camp coffee around the fire, busker the "mean" streets of Pearl, and cusumed some amazing meals. Conversations of past travels, learnings, and experiences; we've already become like old friends.

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Bliss, is not ignorance in my book.

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Camp Ned

For years I have been coming here.  Its beauty never fades and the people are always amazing. Views across lakes, streams and mountains; a town that caters to the traveler. The reservoir contains waters fed from the highest peaks of The Rockies and trickles it's wealth down the Boulder Creek.

-SANCTUARY-

Just up 119, off Haul St., a small trailhead sits. There is camping, for free, inside of some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen across the lands. Upon arrival I found my old campsite had been cleared for some "re-forestation/fire/wild flower planting" or whatever; so we moved to Frenchie's old site.  I am pretty sure I had a hand in building the giant teepee standing at out camp almost ten years ago almost to the day (pictures soon to come). It was a really invigorating feeling to see the familiar sites I had missed so much, for so long. The air, so clear, the waters, healing, the sites, beyond beauty; one cant even begin to explain the spirit of the mountains with mere words. I'm losing my train of thought thinking about it and trying to type it out to you guys and gals. Bare with me :P

At camp, there is the teepee I spoke of,  a nice big fire-pit someone built with a 4 ft base, near by there is a pow wow in a circle of pines with a nice surround of large red rocks,  a convenient lean (that we turned into a dry spot for our gathered firewood) near a smaller fire-pit by our tent. We can look out of to the west to mountains galore, just near the tree line. It is sanctuary.

In the clouds, the air is thin, your mind wanders, and you become a transcendent being. Feeling so small that searching for your place in the world no longer wears on you. Because you are insignificant, you feel like you can do so much more. I know, sounds strange. Maybe you just have to experience it for yourself I suppose.

Oh yea! I said we, and you have no idea who makes I, we... Well, remember that friend that stopped by at McDonalds in one of my previous posts? It's him, my favorite person, but I'll tell ya more aanother day about him.

I need to remember to put down the sling shot or hatchet to blog so don't have to write fast when I find internet. Note taken. That's all for now.

Uncle Bills

I really hope I can get this smell off of me....


I have been sitting in a dingy restaurant around every walk of life for the past 13 hours straight. I had to completely re-vamp my website, and this blog, as well as sync numerous accounts and whatnot to my facebook, gmail, tablet, yada yada. I am just glad that 13 hours cost me 16 bucks. I'm sure if I had split it up, at different diners, on the road, yeesh... It would have cost me a whole lot more. I really think the staff here is wondering who the fuck works that hard.


I don't even get paid for this... I've consumed 1/4 lb of meat, a ton of fries, and enough coffee to give a blue whale a heart-attack.



Later, I will scrub every surface of my old, crummy apartment and bid it adieu.

Today marks quite accomplishments.

On my way out

For the past 10 days I had been really bothered by the notion that those of whom I had made a huge part of my life, would do me the love of bidding me a fine farewell. Yet, many of them have not even tried. I had felt like I gave St. Louis so much, just to feel like I was unwelcome the whole time I had been here. I have since figured out, that doesn't even matter. That it's ok, you still matter to me! I will never lose my love for St. Louis and the many amazing minds that reside here. The best friends anyone could ask for.

Instead, I waited until I am nearing the end of my residence here, to thank all of those that have been there for me in my transition out.

Sean, You pretty much have slacked and packed and breathed as much dust as me. For that I thank you. You've kept me just a little sane and that makes a huge difference in my world. Endless conversation, endless pots of coffee, and an endless stream of hilarity. I don't think that there is any amount of miles that will ever put our connection and sense of humor out of range to each-other.

Sade and Seth, You guys came over and cleaned me out of my good stuff, I hope all my neat shit fits well with all your eat shit at your house =) And BELLA! Thank you for being such an awesome kid and giving Miss Wanda Catson a new best friend forever!

Nathan, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness, strength, and persistence. Without your help, I may be sitting in a pile of stuff, still overwhelmed, and in tears. Thank you. I wish I had known you for years longer!

Josh, STRONG LIKE BULL! You are such a fun person, you made moving feel like way less of a chore. I am so glad you got me to take a break and go to open mic at Venice as well. I needed those little trips out of my miserable material mountain. I can't believe we got as much done as we did in such little time!

Justine and Krikit, You guys needed so much kitchen stuff and I am so glad I could give you so much stuff! Make lots of CUPEDECAKES and send me pictures!!!

Mina and Rob, You guys just rock. You don't even know!!! You guys make me feel like there is hope for humanity. You don't let me feel down, and you know so much of real importance in life; lessons I will take with me around the world =) And Mina! I could not have gotten through all this moving without your spirit. You're ability to make sweeping and stabbing rugs with brooms an art is pretty awesome.

Dan Wenzel, You have words of wisdom, a generous heart, and the ability to make people feel strong. Thank you for allowing me to be on your record, taking the time to listen, and being my Namasbro!

Matt, Thank you so much for giving me a roof rack carrier for my car! You have NO IDEA what a weight off my mind that is! SPACE! You have given me space! You even took out the time to install it. I can't thank you more!

Chris, You bought some of my stuff, gave me a job, AND are making sure my VHS collection is safe and loved. You have always been so cool and never have asked much of me. That = NEAT-O dude! Big hugs! Thanks so much!

Shawnese and JB, I am not friends with them on fb right now, but that will change. They neighbored me 2 doors down and have turned out to be such amazing friends to have. They sat and listened to me complain, rant, and freak out about how much there was to do and helped me clear out the last bit of stuff. What amazing people! I am sad to be heading out after just befriending cool peeps like them!

And obviously, my family, so much love, support, and understanding. My strength comes from somewhere, an ever moving location, the hearts of my family. Need I say more? =P

Much love!!!!