Stormy day going up to Spring Green, Wisconsin

Jen "The Hurricane" Nordhem

Climbing Off the Roof of the World

We headed south from Denver to the mountains near the border of New Mexico, where Justin's parent's let us borrow their cabin for the weekend. It is situated in a valley that faces southward towards two big mountains - San Isabel and Ferdinand, which is a peak that rises 14,ooo miles above sea level. Above the valley the stars stretched in an infinite canopy at night.

It is bear country down there - evidence of black and brown bear activity was all over the cabin in the form of scratches, and Justin recalled seeing one during one of his first trips up there. It was scavenging food out of their cooler and reared up taller than 10 feet on his hind legs before galloping away on all fours when they started making noise. A she bear is said to inhabit the valley on a regular basis.

Over the course of the weekend we were making so much noise and smoke so that all the wild creatures of the mountains knew to stay away. With all the dinner bell gonging, Lil Wayne blasting out the speakers and the firewood in the stove for heating the hot tub we created a commotion all weekend. The mountain view was so immense and there was no one else in sight.

Things got buckwild as soon as we woke up in the morning. Somehow Jeremy got ahold of a machete and used it to cut up the watermelon, soaked in vodka overnight. I put on a headband and stuck long red feathers from the wildflower garden into it. Justin rocked a fake fur vest, and Jen decided that it would be an all bikini weekend as soon as the heat of the day started beating the valley.

On the summer solstice, storms were brewing in that mountain range. We ascended another 3,000 feet to a lake by truck, a wild ride that seemed to follow the route of the storm cloud. All around us it was sunny and clear blue, but right above us the thunderstorm raged. Half blinded by all the rain washing down the windshield with the broken wiper, we saw a lightning bolt spear the earth, a hot pink straight shock 100 yards ahead of the car and the sky boomed almost immediately.

When we finally got to the lake it was surrounded by clear streams of melting snow and mountain pines. I had never smelled anything as soft and sweet as those trees - the altitude, that fragrance, and the mimosas Ann brought made me dizzy with all the natural beauty. We dared each other to jump in and splashed around in the icy water hollering and creating a ruckus until it was time to roll out.

On the way back,, we met up with Suzanne and Curt, who promptly announce their engagement over a few pitchers of beer. It was officially a celebration, and that night we splashed in the hot tub under a clear night with endless stars that just got clearer and clearer, watching the lightning storm electrify the over the big mountains in the distance. The sun bowed out as late as it ever could, with the psychedelic shadows of sunset stretching long with magical light. The sound of gut busting laughter and music stretched throughout the valley and their vibrations seemed to echo back to us with howling reverberations.

The next day, I stayed with Jen and Justin as the rest of the camping crew took off back to Denver. Ann had said that if she couldn't find a ride back, she wouldn't mind hitching one. No one was particularly adverse to jumping on a freight train if necessary. Those guys were crazy badasses. We soaked in the sun and basked in the beauty of the amazing vista until the next day, a quiet stillness both humbled an awesome. Jen had taken me to one of the few places in the world where I have ever seen the sky as dynamic as this mountain one was. I would have been pining in loneliness had the crew that she had assembled not been so individually inspiring and fun. I could not have shared that time with a better group of people.

I've got to Raammbble!!

Yesterday I ambled past the Frenchmen snoring underfoot in my living room with nothing but a knapsack on my back and headed towards Midway by train after stopping at my friend's house for some quick bong hits. I got on the plane and thought of the drifters who have headed west before, people who have gone to the same place but by jumping trains. Decided that this trip would be a tribute to my literary heroes and the adventurers whose books I read as a kid that stoked the latent fires of wanderlust in my imagination.

When I think of Denver I think of Jack Kerouac... that was his first stop after Chicago in On the Road. He was in turn profoundly influenced by Jack London. Wanderers and hobo travelers heading west while getting more introspective with each mile gained, rambling on and on and on both in print and on foot.

"I've got to Raammmble!!" Led Zeppelin was playing in the bar Jen took me to after she scooped me from the pointed tented airport. We played air guitar solos and ordered shots of whiskey. They were kind enough to hook me up with a bmx bike to cruise around Denver in while I am here. We stopped at Jen's boyfriend Justin's bike shop on our way home and he hooked me up with a skateboard as well... traveling light and in style. Then we raged in typical Hurricane Jen style - she is as rambunctious as I have always known her to be, alternately endearing and terrifying all those around her.

We are heading to the skatepark this morning, but first I am going to the camera store so that these words can be illustrated. This evening we are heading south to stay at a cabin in the mountains.