It just hit me last night, and hit me hard. With an alternate, very real reality surrounding me in my new Boulder community it has been far from my mind to think about traveling, leaving again to go explore another continent. The recent floods in Boulder have raised many thoughts on life, priorities and focus. It felt like an entire week went by and I hadn't really gotten "anything" done. I was fresh off six wonderful weeks traveling in Simba all over the west and had plenty of "to-do's" to catch up on. But when disaster strikes and there is so much uncertainty surrounding and filling the day, it is amazing how those "to-dos" seem to have less relevance and getting "anything" done just doesn't matter. I had barely unpacked my car when the rain hit. Feeling settled back into the house wasn't quite normal yet. I was still asking my roommate where things were when the rains started pounding. We woke up to our neighbors basements flooding and 5 inches of water in our storage shed. Our minor damage was nothing, 3-7feet of water filled some peoples homes. The entire town of Lyons had unreal destruction and scary needs for evacuation to save the lives of the people living there, never mind the sense of home was completely washed away. I definitely feel lucky to still feel safe in my home, to have a place to be and reset and to be able to offer an able body to those in need. The first week home went by and instead of paying bills, catching up on correspondence and planning for this next adventure, time was spent with the people that came through our home, taking to my own two feet with close friends to make our way around town and observe the massive changes to our community, and reading as much as I could to understand the surrounding situation. It will be a while before Boulder is back to its normal bubble, but the town is filled with amazing resources and able people that I have no doubt huge steps towards that "normal" will happen daily. Never-the-less the sound of rain coming down or the sight of dark clouds filling the sky sends a chill up my spine and sets a pit in my stomach. We are fine, but there are so many that are not and I only hope the weather can give a break so that the recovery can happen.
The plane ticket is still there. An incredible trip and opportunity await me. The Chilean board of tourism graciously covered my long journey from Denver to Punta Arenas and I will board that flight on Wednesday to head south. Punta Arenas is by far the furthest south I have ever been and the mystic of the mountains, the history of those that have traveled there before me for their own exploration and the culture that surrounds the area are all the wonders that hit me last night and woke me up to what I now need to prepare for in the next couple of days. The basics are the 63km Patagonian International Ultramarathon race will take place on September 28. The route looks to be a beautiful perspective of the Torres del Paine National Park. The weather may be a beautiful, or it could be a bit chilly and windy... I just hope we get to see the views of those incredible mountains. The event boasts several distances and is established to help raise awareness for conservation of the Chilean Patagonia. To be honest, I need to spend a bit more time on the website and getting my head around this awesome trip and adventure. I'm excited to be traveling with a few other athletes to the event and to enjoy a tour of the park the following week.
More to come... just felt the need to share some thoughts.