The serene sound of the fall leaves doing the cha-cha with the wind combined with the awing mountainscapes that feast your eyes on the soft hues of pinks, oranges, reds and subtle blues woven into the evening alpenglow along with the wild columbines that dazzle the hillsides in arrays of radiant colors are delightful sights that tickle inspirations daily. The eternal sunshine that bathes you in its warm winter rays allowing for respite from the frigid airs that bite you on the ski slopes along with the roaring rivers that rage through the valley in spring can give a poet gospel to gloat about. The curious bears roaming through the woods, playing with flowers and berries while marmots run amuck in the mountainside rocks consorting with mountain goats who bramble about on ill-chosen paths provides a paintbrush with idyllic scenes to convey. However, my true inspiration lies in the predicament humans find themselves trapped in once they arrive at these peaceful nature scenes. Their purpose being flirting with death in any way they can while doing the activities we like to pass off as "hobbies".
Each season provides Coloradans with new and creative ways to test their luck in the great outdoors. Springtime provides river rats with the guerilla warfare of fighting your way through the pummeling rapids that give their best and most beastly roars of the year. Summertime seekers march their way up to the thin airs and glorious sights of the many 14thousand foot peaks or strap themselves into a $14k mountain bikes to weave their way through trees while gracefully romping over rock gardens and dusting drought-ridden berms down the skinny mountain trails. Fall bestows balmy conditions to take on the beastly climbs up cliffsides to send your 'Dawn Wall' while winter provides the opportunity to dodge "pizzas" & mamacitas down the ski slopes to find your apres-ski engagements in the village.
When you aren't testing your ability to escape death in the outdoors, you are celebrating your narrow escapes among friends. This is another strong source of inspiration for me; the sheer amount of après-celebrations Coloradans do. I'm not sure if any other state lives to celebrate doing an activity just as much as Colorado deems necessary. Nobody celebrates the act of putting on a ski outfit like a Coloradan. Oh, you took the gondola to the top of the mountain? Yup, you better celebrate this feat by popping bottles on one of the ski decks. You managed to dip your fly in the river for a cast or two? Probably should crack one of those craft beers to soak up the experience properly. You managed to put on your biking bibs and ride your bike down the street to the bar? Better have a margarita! Every small victory counts and deserves some sort of beverage in some kind of outdoor venue.
These are the sights and hobbies that make me love living in Colorado but the real gem that provides me with so much of my inspirations are the kooks that stumble into my little ski town. From the tourist that has lost all access of oxygen to their brain and the lifelong ski bum that is somehow still alive and partially well to the insane athlete that is crushing the gnarliest of dreams; these are the types of people that find themselves mucking about in this lovely little snow globe of a town. Living in Vail, Colorado has introduced me to a wide array of character types-- some that I wished to be mythical, while others have been inexplicably comical. They have stood before me in the flesh and provided me with many revelations and musings from clear observation of them interacting with their unnatural habitats. It's these creative situational solutions and quirky personalities that inspire me to put a little of the Colorado kook into each piece I create to celebrate this funky state I call home.
Stay Kooky Colorado,
& keep me offbeat!
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