Here’s a few beautiful pictures near sunset as we drove from Ouray along Highway 90 into Utah. These pictures were mainly taken between the towns of Naturita and Paradox in the Paradox Valley. You can kind of see how we were entering a massive canyon/basin, and then finally climbed up the side to reach the plateau above. The moon was rising to the northeast, and the skies were shaded in the most incredible hues of colors. The final picture is (I think) the San Juan mountain range. I had stopped at the edge of one of the canyon switchbacks to take pictures of nature’s dusky light show and the beautiful valley below us. When I looked back and saw that mountain range, I let out a deep sigh — this was our last view of the majestic mountains of Colorado, and it felt like I was saying goodbye to a dear friend for a long time to come…

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I visited this area a couple years ago on a camping trip further up into the mountains with some friends. We spent a day hiking up into Yankee Boy Basin and to the top of Mt. Sneffels. Although I didn’t make it to the top, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life meditating next to a high mountain lake which overlooked a vast basin below. Whenever I need to recall the feeling of “infinity”, I think back on that experience.

Here are some pictures of our drive from Orvis into Ouray.

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Into the Wild — A true story about Christopher McCandless, a young man on an amazing journey to escape the confines of society’s social and capitalistic oppression and find peace, solace and the meaning of existence in the beautiful poetry of nature. One of my favorite movies, and one that I watched again in the first couple months of my journey to help me open my eyes more to the endless possibilities of what lies on the road.

The Art of Travel — High school grad. Conner Layne is about to marry his first love, but when wedding plans fail, he goes solo on his honeymoon to Central America, finding adventure with a ragtag group of foreigners who attempt to cross the Darien Gap in record time. Not a great movie, but still entertaining to watch.

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea — A six episode series documentary about the history of the U.S. National Parks system, including the initial ideas which led to the world’s first national parks and the expansion of the system over 150 years. Really fascinating stories and imagery! This series inspired me to make it a priority to visit national/state parks and other places of nature on my journey.

Baraka by Ron Fricke — While this film/documentary has no narration or dialogue, there are a vast number of themes that this movie touches on, and the cinematography takes the viewer on a journey around the world to view spectacular nature scenes and get a glimpse of generally primitive and ancient cultures. And as I witnessed each new way of life, it got me thinking about my own journey and all the places I’ve seen and people I’ve met, and how so much of what makes this life worth living is getting to interact with other people and share experiences, stories and culture. And that makes me ask myself … what am I sharing with other people? What is my culture?

Getting to spend some time alone is great for the soul when you create the intention of using the time to take care of yourself. I’ve spent a lot of quiet time doing yoga and meditating, taking walks in nature, and soaking in nearby hot springs. It’s so easy when traveling to focus your awareness on the outside world and neglect the inner being. So these activities have brought my attention back to the “self” where I’m now getting to feel all the tiny (or large) pains and imbalances in my physical body and stretch or heal them, hear the subtle voice of the heart and give it the attention it needs, and have time to reflect and integrate on all the recent changes (growth) in my life during the last few months of my travels.

Every day I’ve been reading or listening to the Sikh prayer of Japji: The Song of the Soul. This poem was written by Guru Nanak Dev, the first of the ten Sikh Gurus, and encompasses his entire philosophy and teachings. More than any other thing that I’ve been doing lately, these daily recitations have brought a deep sense of peace, calm and sweetness to my life, and is perhaps the most significant inspiration for my recent desire to do yoga and meditation again (something I’ve been resisting for a very long time).

Listen to Japji Sahib by Chardhi Kala Jatha (19:47 minutes)

Japji Sahib opens with a hymn called the Mool Mantra which is said to be the first composition uttered by Guru Nanak Dev upon enlightenment at the age of about 30. This hymn perfectly describes the infinite nature of God which exists beyond time and space and transcends any religious association (or perhaps is universal to all religions). SikhDharma.org has a brief description of the Mool Mantra with a line-by-line translation and various audio recordings, or you can also read a deeply philosophical breakdown of this hymn at SikhiWiki.org.

“Give because God gives to you. Love because that is your purpose in life. Shine because it is important. Share because it is demanded of you. How can you do it? In Japji, Guru Nanak gave you guidance, telling you the way he found liberation, ‘In the ambrosial hour, meditate on the True Identity. Your karma will be covered and you will see the door of liberation.’”
- Yogi Bhajan, May 2, 2000

It was interesting to watch the crazy trip that my mind went through… the worry, angst, and fear that I experienced. And finally remembering to chant a prayer of protection and meditate on serenity and project a good outcome of the situation. Ultimately the lesson that I “remembered” in this experience is that I need to be grounded and maintain a meditative, neutral mind no matter what.

Another example of this is when I was 14 years old and my dad and I were driving back home from Boy Scouts one night. We were sitting at a stop light at a quiet intersection waiting for the light to change, when I looked up and saw two cars smash head on into each other. Whoa! I’d never seen anything like that, and I remember feeling totally in shock. My dad looked over at me and asked if I was alright. I mumbled, “Yeah, I guess so…” He said, “I need to go help these people. Are you ok here until I get back?” I replied, “Yeah, I’m fine. Go help them.” He got out of the car and went to check on each person and make sure they were OK. I watched as he totally handled the situation with a sense of authority and calm until the police and ambulance got there and took over. When he came back to the car and got in, I just looked wide-eyed at him and said, “How did you do that?” “Do what?”, he replied. “Just be so calm and know exactly what to do and how to help those people.” He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, “Meditation, my son.” Ever since then I’ve tried to make meditation a daily part of my life… sometimes I take the time to do a full meditation with posture and chanting, etc. And some days it’s just repeating a simple prayer in my head or focusing on my breath or whatever. Regardless of how you do it, the goal is getting to that point inside where YOU are in control of your mind, not the other way around.

Later that night as I was getting ready for bed tonight and thinking about my friend in Mexico, I decided to play a prayer on my iPod to keep the vibration of peace and protection throughout the night. I looked at my collection of the the Sikh prayers, and used my intuition to find one that felt right. The one that felt the strongest was Sukhmani Sahib. I didn’t know what this prayer was for until I looked it up later… of course, it was perfect! The word Sukhmani is rendered into English as “consoler of the mind.” Other common translations are “Jewel of peace”, “Psalm of peace” or “Song of peace”, signifying the soothing effect it has on the mind of the reader/listener. Depending on the person reading or speaking, this bani (psalm) takes approximately 60-90 minutes to complete. You can listen to a beautiful recitation of Sukhmani by Prof. Satnam Singh Sethi in two parts:

Sukhmani Sahib Part 1 (37:50 minutes)

Sukhmani Sahib Part 2 (35:25 minutes)

You can find other Sikh prayers and music at www.sikhnet.com/gurbani

Our next destination was to Moab, Utah, and Jana had the great suggestion of heading south to take the less traveled route through Ridgway before heading west into Utah. Although the first hour of the drive through the Uncompahgre Valley is a little boring, the views get much better south of Montrose where you start seeing Mesa cliffs and mountains off in the distance. And we were fortunate enough to catch the full moon just as it was rising above the eastern mountains.

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About 5 minutes south of Highway 62 (leading to Ridgway), there’s a small pulloff for Orvis Hot Springs. For anyone traveling around western Colorado, visiting Orvis is a MUST! This is one of the nicest natural hot springs places I’ve ever been to. Don’t let it put you off that the property is surrounded by cow farms… the entire soaking area is fenced in, and once you’re bathing in the hot mineral waters, everything else dissolves away. They’ve got 4 outdoor hot springs pools averaging 100-107°, including the Lobster Pot which ranges 108-114°. They also have a 100° indoor pool (for kids?) and a private indoor tub which is first-come-first-serve. The entire outdoor area is clothing optional which is particularly wonderful considering the mountainous landscape and minimal human presence in the surrounding areas have the effect of putting you in a natural and primitive mood.

One of the coolest things I saw at Orvis was a tiny cat named “Meat” who is apparently a resident of the springs. She was originally a stray that was adopted by the owners after they saw her rummaging through their garbage eating old pieces of meat. I was told that she is over 20 years old which I’m sure is due to the fact that she drinks from the spring water and even loves to go swimming in the pools.

After soaking for a couple hours that night, we retired to our tent where we slept in warm, cozy sleeping bags while the temperature dropped into the mid 20’s. I woke up the next morning to find icicles in my beard and a layer of frost covering everything inside the tent. The eastern horizon in that area is all mountains, so the valley tends to be filled with light for at least an hour before the sun comes up over the horizon. It was a pretty awesome experience soaking in the pools that morning and watching the line of the sun slide down the western hills and across the valley as it slowly filled the entire area with daylight. We soaked for a couple hours more that morning, had some brunch, and then hopped back in the car for the next destination.

The town is also famous for the Yampah Hot Springs Vapor Caves, historic underground steam baths with an average temperature of 110° F. The caves have been used by the Ute Indians for over 100 years as a source of rejuvenation and healing. There’s also the Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge and Pool which is the worlds largest pool filled by natural hot springs water to a cozy 90° F. Many famous people have lived or stayed in the town including President Teddy Roosevelt, Doc Holiday, and Ted Bundy was imprisoned (and escaped) from there.

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About half of the road between Denver and Grand Junction goes through the Glenwood Canyon. This road consists of steep mountainous walls up to 1,300 ft. that flank the Colorado River on both sides, steep grades of up to 7%, and some places where the road bends more than 45° to follow the contour of the canyon. Driving through this 12.5 mile gorge is quite a sight! According to Wikipedia, “The canyon is widely considered one of the most scenic natural features on the Interstate Highway System of the United States.” We got a special treat on our drive that night because sides of the cliffs with their many layers of rock were embellished by a recent mild snowfall combined with the illumination of the full moon. Foot access to the canyon is available at four rest areas along Interstate 70 in the canyon. We pulled off at the Hanging Lake Rest Area where we stretched our legs, threw snowballs, and splashed some rocks into the river. If you’re in that area in warmer months, there’s apparently a nice hike up to a very scenic area called Hanging Lake.  You can see some beautiful photos of this area courtesy of JS Nature Photos, and some other great ones at Panoramio. Since I drove through the canyon at night, I wasn’t able to take any pictures of my own, so I’ve found a couple of other photo galleries for your viewing pleasure (one, two).

Another spectacular feature of this drive is the Eisenhower Tunnel which bores through the mountain crest of the Continental Divide. For those of you who like maps, here’s a zoomed in map where you can see the specific section of the road containing the tunnel. It’s actually a dual-bore tunnel which means that it’s two tunnels that are linked together — each tunnel contains 2 lanes of one-way traffic. The tunnel happens to be one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world at over 11,000 feet, and the length is approx. 1.7 miles with a 1.64% grade. That distance and sloping effect, combined with the fact that you’re driving at 50-60 mph creates a really bizarre optical illusion like the feeling of getting sucked into a black hole.

Driving on I-70 through Glenwood Canyon is without a doubt one of the more gorgeous drives I’ve ever been on, and I would gladly make plans to drive it again, even for a simple weekend trip of sightseeing, hiking and camping. And the fact that you can stop to soak in some natural hot springs along the way is like icing on the cake. More on Glenwood Springs to come…

As we were leaving Boulder and starting to head West, we stopped at a place just outside of Denver called Red Rocks Amphiteater (wiki, official website). The area has a large collection of massive boulders and rock formations. In particular, there is a natural amphitheater shape formed by two, three hundred-foot monoliths (Ship Rock and Creation Rock) that provide natural acoustic resonance making it a great place for concerts. Seats have been carved into the top of a low-lying rock between the pillars which fit up to 9,450 people. In addition to the amphitheater, the nearby rocks in the area also contain many dinosaur fossils which are viewable by nearby hiking trails and a museum.

Unfortunately my camera ran out after a few shots, so I wasn’t able to get any pictures of the amphitheater itself. But I did get some beautiful shots of the hiking trail in the surrounding area.

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• Pearl Street Mall, a pedestrian area in Downtown with tons of stores, restaurants, bars, etc.
• College area shops & hangouts at the University Hill
• Hiking in many places around Boulder including the Flatiron hills (e.g. Chautauqua trail), Boulder Creek Path, or up Boulder Canyon
• Boulder Farmer’s Market
• Boulder Public Library (free WiFi, nice place to chill)
• Live music at the Fox Theatre
• Tasty Tibetan food and tea at the Dushanbe Teahouse
• Best ever Indian restaurant called Tandoori Grill (few miles south of downtown)

Here’s a few other sources of things to see/do in Boulder.