Doing the Non-Doing.

Me and my shadow.

Craig and I headed down to the Arkansas River Valley this past weekend. Saturday was Craig's birthday and we were in need of a get away from everything kinda trip. Craig and I both love the Ark Valley, it's beauty is in the sage, pinion and juniper, the lovely Arkansas river and tall mountain peaks surrounding you. There's so much to do here or not do and the vibe is low-key.

Craig preparing for some morning birthday fly fishin'

Meanwhile I prepared one of my favorite breakfasts ever on the tailgate. GF oatmeal with almond butter, bananas, strawberries and honey and a Bhakti chai on the side, yum and good fuel for riding.

Craig with the goods!

After leaving camp we headed into Buena Vista for a stop at Loback's Bakery. This place is almost exactly like the bakeries in my Grandparent's town of New Kensignton, PA outside of Pittsburgh. It was established in the 1930's and still has the old display cases and wooden shelves, the bric a brac everywhere. I get a huge sensory memory hit every time I walk in this place. The string tied paper boxes, the old cash register and of course the old fashioned pastries and that smell just wafts out of the screen door onto the street. Nothing fancy here, basic doughnuts, maple rolls, cookies but I'm told they're oh so good. Unfortunately I can't even have a bite but Craig sure does enjoy them.

Heading up to some ST goodness.

After fueling up we ride, a nice long ride on super skinny singletrack that whips and whoops through the forest. Grinning at our good fortune.

No room to pass here.

It is this good..

We did have to stop once in awhile to stretch the old back and hips out, eat some stingers and put some pads on. There were many good burly downhills to enjoy.

Ringo putting the dog in cattle.

The view from my resting place in the back of the truck. This for me is heaven and doesn't get much better except when you add homemade GF/DF peanut butter and chocolate chip cupcakes with a candle on top. Dirtbag bliss.

Another day means more superfunkylovinit' trail riding. Some of it was smooth and buff and some of it was rough and tough..a good mix.

Food for our souls~

And food for my belly! GF/DF pesto pasta with spinach by a river, this makes me happy. Damn, am I becoming a foodie..

And this is what makes Craig happy. Being on the river casting his fly rod even if he doesn't catch anything.

The water was high, really high and cold. Great for ducks and the many boaters that were out but not for catching fish. But it was still a great way to spend an evening.

Cantilevered river cube house

Near Stone Cabin on the other side of the river is a piece of property with some very cool structures on it. A mix of modern and mountain, this place captures my imagination every time I see it, so I took some pictures of it from across the river.

Super cool, modern mountain hut on stilts. I want to go inside.

Our time out went by fast, too fast for me. I want to still be out there, in the sun playing and resting and reading and breathing and looking at my dirt covered hands. I find great nourishment in disconnecting from the day to day life, from the world at large, from technology and it's devices, from knowing what other people are doing, from chores, from the DOING, DOING, DOING, always DOING. When I'm home I have the drive to be busy. I need the non-doing and yes I know that riding my bike and making myself a good dinner and driving to a remote place is actually "doing" something but it doesn't feel the same to me and that's why I keep doing the non-doing, whatever that actually means.

Solo Fun and Folding Towels...

Sunday was lovely so despite the soggy weather and trail conditions I headed out from the house up to Gold Hill via 4WD and dirt roads. Being outside, pedaling my bike reminds me of who I am, the essential Carey. I was going to check out the condition of a particular DH trail once in Gold Hill, I was hoping I would be able to ride it. That's a lot of snow on them mountains for May.

However there was still a lot of snow on the trail, much more than in the picture above, as the trail dipped into the trees on a north facing slope, I would have been hiking and pushing most of the time. So I headed down to LH Canyon via a more traveled dirt road, practicing my patience.

I was pleased to find my backside trail open and ridable all the way back to the house from LH. There were a few wet spots here and there but not bad.

And there were plenty of these lovelies blooming a long the trail. It was a divine little adventure on a gorgeous day. When I got home there was laundry to fold, I do fold my laundry and put it away, I'm like that, gives my mind order and I enjoy the act of it, kinda like washing dishes, it's calming.
When I fold towels in particular I think of my Mom.

She taught me when I was young to fold towels in thirds and to this day that is how I fold my towels, they stack nicely this way and are compact. But mostly it's something that reminds me and connects me to my Mom. I'm not sure who showed her how to do this, I think it may have been her Mother in Law when she was a young women. I don't remember my Mother's Mother folding her towels this way. I think it's lovely how these small domestic chores connect us with people and once they're gone become rituals of connection, they are no longer meaningless tasks. I can't fold a towel without thinking of my Mom and I wouldn't want it any other way. Do you do something that was shown to you by someone and now you think of them whenever you do it?

What the???

Raw, Vegan Chocolate Mousse, so FREAKING good!

I've been experimented with my diet and food lately. I've cut out Diary all together not including eggs but I don't eat many eggs to begin with. At any rate I came upon something today that absolutely blew my mind and I had to try it and share this recipe because it's decadent, YUMMY and super easy to make. I got it from the Love Veggies and Yoga blog that I check once in awhile. Averie has some amazing vegan and raw recipes that I'm really loving including this one. I changed the proportions to suit my tastes but try it you won't regret it and you can't taste the avocado at all, yep I said avocado, holy crap!

• 2 Avocados
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder ( I used raw)
  
• 1/2 cup agave
  
• 1 tspn vanilla
  
• a dash of salt to taste

Blend it all together in a food processor until creamy smooth. You can adjust the amount of cocoa or agave to your taste, this is just a starting place. Place in fridge to chill. Be sure to check out Averies blog for more detail on her original recipe if you'd like. Chocoblitz!

No Thanks..

Snow at the house, May 11th 2010.

It's been a bit since I last posted. The weather has been crazy this spring, tell me something I didn't know, right? A lot of cool, wet days and it seems like it snows at least once a week at the house, accumulating snow at that. And that's just as the trails begin to dry out from the last wet spell. I was able to ride the backside trail from the house yesterday, finally it has opened up completely, or it had opened up. It was so nice to access this quiet trail and see that the north facing aspects had melted off, there were lots of small wild flowers blooming along the way. But for now it's snowing and it's supposed to snow through the night and tomorrow, possibly a foot or more, it's almost too much to handle for me this late in the Spring. Get me to the desert asap! Apparently this succession of nasty weather means we've been doing a lot of work around the house, getting rid of things, cleaning, organizing, it's all how you look at it I suppose and the forecast this weekend looks superb if not kinda muddy. My flip flops will have to wait and my shorts too and I'll have to refrain from buying a new pair of jeans because it feels like November. Time to eat some soup and wait for Spring to make up her mind.