Loving Colorado!

I've only been in Colorado for several days, but I have fallen in the love with the area.

First of all, I need to thank my coworker Andre.  The only reason I was able to come out here was that he transferred to a different department within our company, which gave me the opportunity to take over for his customers out here in Boulder.  With all the trips I've been on to the Midwest, it was a huge relief to finally go some place new and exciting!

The first few days of my trip were not very different from any other business trip.  I held trainings during the day at a local hospital, then enjoyed some of the local restaurants for dinner.  This time around, I enjoyed a local micro-brew beer and pizza, fresh Japanese cuisine, and a delicious BBQ dinner over the course of three nights.  One thing that immediately stood out to me was how active people in this community seemed to be.  Every road had a dedicated bike lane, and you'd be hard pressed to go a half mile without seeing at least a few cyclists or runners.  This healthy lifestyle is also seen by the large percentage of organic and health-based restaurants in the area, along with the large number of dog owners taking a stroll around town. 


Yesterday was the first day that I transitioned from business to personal travel.  No more pricey meals now that its all out of my pocket!  For this business trip, I was lucky enough to grab a brand new Ford Mustang convertible, so the top went down before I even left the parking lot.  I left my hotel around 9:30am and headed north from Boulder towards Rocky Mountain National Park.

This could have gone straight into a Ford commercial!

I went along a scenic highway that meandered around mountains and streams, stopping every 1/2 mile to take more and more pictures.  As I continued driving far beneath the speed limit with my eyes constantly distracted from the road, I was awestruck at the unique rock formations that rose up from the beautiful streams that paralleled the road.  The only difficult part of the morning was finding the perfect soundtrack to my drive.  Once I finally located some James Taylor on my mp3 player, I knew this was going to be a great day.

I finally came across the southern most entrance to the national park called Wild Basin.  Now this wasn't my intended destination when I begin in the morning, but it looked like a great place to find some good hiking trails.  After spending some time getting the overview from a very nice park ranger, I drove down a long dirt road that led me to a parking lot where the hiking would begin.  As I began, I noticed a stick lying to the side that quickly became a perfect walking stick.  The trail was full of rocks and roots to overcome, but there was plenty of evidence that it had been maintained by the park service.  It was just perfect for an enthousiastic yet innexperienced hiker like myself.

The 2.7 mile trip from Wild Basin Trailhead to the Ouzel Falls

The landmarks on this trail were some spectacular sights of waterfalls that occurred along the river.  (I took hundreds of photos of the whole trip, but don't have my digital camera cable with me to upload - just cell phone pics)  So many times I was reminded of an old childhood favorite - Homeward Bound.  Each time I'd come to a peak and overlook the giant expanse of wilderness around me, I kept thinking of the imagery from that movie which took place in the Rocky Mountains.

Calypso Cascades

The whole trip up took quite a long time as I continued to stop for photos and exploration.  I was amazed to see so much of nature that was unscathed by man (besides the trail and occasional signs).   My last destination was Ouzel Falls, which had the longest drop of the three major falls along my hike.  After some off-trail hiking towards the base of the falls, I got some more amazing photos and stopped for my third granola bar of the day.  

The beauty of this landscape was breath-taking.

Ouzel Falls

My trip back down the trail was much faster than the trip up, partially because I was enjoying a downhill pace, but mostly because I wanted to get to Fort Collins before dinner.  I was shocked half way down to see my very first moose about 50 yards away in the woods!

I finally got to Fort Collins around 6:30 to my aunt and uncles place that I'm staying through Sunday.  In fact I'm sitting out in their backyard now where they have a view of the foothills of the Rockies through the trees.  Tonight we'll be going to the Colorado Rockies game in Denver and tomorrow we'll be going back into the national forest.  Such a great trip so far!

We'll I have to run, but will try to update in the next few days with the rest of my experiences!

P.S.  If any beer was served "as cold as the Rockies" from what I've experienced this week, it would be a disgusting 70+ degrees warm...

Monday Morning Rabbit Trails

Today I was curious what other events occurred on my birthday (November 29), so naturally I went straight to Wikipedia. First I found out in 2001, George Harrison died on this day. Then I began to notice some very interesting facts:

• "Denny" Doherty of the Mamas and Papas was born on November 29, 1940 (exactly 45 years before me) - my Dad's name is "Dennis Doherty"

• Two of the other founding members of the Mama and Papas were John and Michelle Phillips - my dad's brother Dick Doherty married Cheryl whose maiden name is "Phillips"

• As soon as I went to John Phillips's page, I noticed that my Pandora radio station starting playing "California Dreaming" - by the Mama's and Papa's!

Very weird! I gotta get back to work now...

Happiness - A Pursuit or a Provision?

Since the Obama administration and a Democratic majority have taken over US politics in 2009, we have seen plenty of the "change" that enticed a large number of American voters last November. However as I pointed out before the elections, it has worried me that people have given so much control to an administration that is taking immediate and drastic steps to bring us under a socialistic style of government. Not only is government taking over the auto industry, banks, and now even the entire healthcare system, but they are also overturning initiatives that were set up during the Bush administration to promote productivity and self-sustaining families.

I have resisted making any argument regarding the most recent health care legislation before Congress (which has frightening implications by the way). However, there was an article on Boston.com this morning that reinforced my negative opinions of this new administration with the title of "President shifts focus to renting, not owning".

Even many conservatives can agree that there were many reasons to look forward to a replacement for George W., but I think that the focus his administration had towards promoting home ownership was a very positive one. Many might argue that this was the cause of economic instability (specifically for the housing/lending markets), but I think that this can be mostly blamed on irresponsible lending organizations that were giving money to people who could clearly not afford it.

So instead of continuing to promote home-ownership by providing assistance and incentives, the Obama administration is now switching governmental support to pay for more rental properties. With this new direction, landlords continue to pocket even more money, and a larger percentage of mid/low income families are depositing their paychecks into their landlords accounts. How can you rebuild an economy on this concept of increased dependence on government? This is just one of many examples of how our government is continuing to reward those who are dependent on a hand-outs instead of rewarding the producers and contributors.

Is the Obama administration just catching a fish for families instead of teaching them how to fish?

Now before I am attacked, I will agree that 1) not everyone can or should be homeowners and 2) there is a real need for urban housing developments for low income families that would otherwise be homeless. I myself am a renter for now, but I look forward to someday fulfilling the American dream of home ownership. I could not disagree more with Barney Franks statement in this article: "I’ve always said the American dream should be a home - not home-ownership."

When our government was established over 200 years ago, there were protections for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. People immigrated from all over the world for their opportunity to become self-sufficient land-owning producers. For some reason in the 21st century, our government seems to believe that they are responsible for the provision of happiness. When you move support to increased rental housing, you are not protecting the pursuit of home-ownership. This has just contributed to an ongoing pattern of government provision rather than government protection. If anyone is in trouble, Uncle Sam is rushing in to bail them out because they believe everyone should be equal. Oh wait that sounds like... socialism!

People need to be free to succeed, but they also need to be free to fail. That's exactly what "land of the free" means.

Realized i missed getting my iced coffee this morning and considering how horribly this could throw off my day

Posted via SMS from Joe's posterous

Concerning Michael Jackson

Wow I never thought I would get so much response from a simple statement I made online.

After watching the Michael Jackson memorial service on CNN.com yesterday, I was amazed at the great adoration and praise that everyone had for what an amazing man he was. Not only from fellow entertainers, athletes, and musicians, but even from several clergy members. They said that he broke racial boundaries, revolutionized the music industry, and had a heart of gold.
I agreed with many of the sincere words that these people had to say. Jackson did leave behind a legacy as one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived. His global impact in this way was quite amazing. But I'm not so sure he was as much of a "saint" as people made him out to be.

However, as the memorial service ended at the Staples Center, I couldn't help but feel deeply troubled by the situation. Not necessarily grief that he had died, but more disappointment at how a man of such talent lived a very troubled life. As they carried him away in his golden casket, it reminded me of how the Bible talks about how empty all of this life's riches and accolades are in the end. Michael Jackson made millions of dollars each year on his music (plus the rights he owned to half of the Beatles catalogue), however he still died deeply in debt. It is a text-book example of how all the money in the world cannot buy happiness and peace, and reminded me of Jesus words:

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

Michael Jackson gained enormous success, money, and respect from this world, but did he forfeit his soul? I am in no way suggesting that he is "going to hell" or "deserved to die". I didn't even mention any of the things that he did or did not do regarding his child molestation charges. I was simply pondering a life of fame and fortune, but void of God.

None of us can judge or condemn him regarding his eternal home. I am simply saddened by a life that had so much, but seemed so empty. Even if he was the King of Pop, this made no difference when he stood before the King of Kings.