work paths, bike paths, hiking paths, life paths

As you may have guessed, I was set free from my garage last week.  Stuart came from Lakewood Garage and broke into my cars prison. That day, Thursday, I kept my hiking boots in my closet, and went into the city for some art.

The Denver Art Museum was inviting and more interactive than others I've been to, but I think my favorite is still The Getty in Los Angeles.


The museum had few windows, but each one captured the mountains behind the city, which I couldn't stay away from for long..

..so I went for an early evening hike.

This week was the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, which is a pro bike race in Colorado. This was really exciting to watch because I'm a fan of cycling and Colorado :)

Saturday's stage started in Golden, CO, not more than 10 minutes from my apartment.  A few weeks ago I signed up to be a volunteer for the beginning of the stage.

Let's be honest. I mostly did it for the free t-shirt..

My duty was to have attendees fill out surveys. I quickly ran around and asked people to fill them out, returned the forms, then got a prime spot to watch the cyclists start Stage 6.

The spot was standing on the side rail of a bridge over Clear Creek.  There were actually a few of us balancing up there.

The tour was started with a cute flashback to old timey bikes..

You might not really care about this next vid, but let me tell you, it was SO exciting being there. The cyclists went by us 3 times and the crowd went crazy each time. There was such a fun vibe all day. I mean, these are some of the world's best cyclists that we've watched on TV in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, California, and now here they were in Colorado. 

After they left town we all wandered over to a local park that had food trucks, vendors, and a jumbo tron to watch the rest of the stage. 

The boy pictured above is the mildly famous "chicken boy". I met his mom and grandma waiting for the tour to start. This family traveled to every stage of the tour last week, and every day he wore the chicken costume. I had actually seen him on TV once. 

People in Colorado, for the most part, are friendly. A woman in her mid-fifties started talking to me when we were in line for some food and we ended up watching the whole stage together. There have been a few times that I've started something alone, hiking, or watching the tour in Golden, but because of a little boldness and friendliness, I don't have to spend the whole day alone. It's kind of nice. 

Sunday was the last day of the tour, and one that determined the winner. The church I attend meets in an old theater right in downtown Denver, so after the service I walked a few blocks with other enthusiasts I met at church that day, and we got prime spots to watch the time trials. 

Our spot was great because we got to see them go by twice.  This video shows someone who just started, then coming from the opposite direction we see Jens Voigt, who had 1km left before he finished.  Jens is a fan favorite and had been awarded the King of the Mountains jersey the day before. 

Well, my favorite cyclist didn't win and I didn't get on TV, but it was so fun and really cool to watch the tour and be a part of it. 

After work yesterday, I started today with an early hike. 

This time I had a goal. I wanted to get to the top of Golden's iconic South Table Mountain.

Oddly enough, the trail head was really hard to find. I had asked a few people Friday and most gave me vague answers like, "oh you just drive towards it and you'll find something"  Well I did find a parking spot and a trail head, but it was one of those parks that has multiple trails winding all over the area, so I would start following one and then it would turn sharply and I started going the opposite way.

Finally I found what I thought was going to take me to the edge, but it started to turn and I mistakenly thought it was not going to the end. So I went off the path and wandered around. 

The views were beautiful, but I could tell I still wasn't at the edge of the Table Top. And now I was wandering around off of the trail where there were big beetles,

 buck herds,

and rabbits infected with tularemia, according to signs.  Eventually I found my way back to the trail and followed it just to see where it would lead.  To my pleasant surprise it dropped me right at the base of the peak which had stairs leading to the top.

This is where I was hit with an epiphany.  This past few weeks I've been stressing over where I'll go next, which state, hospital, and etc.  Much like my mistrust of the path I was on today, I have attempted to force an opportunity, job, or place, and go where I think is best or makes the most sense.  What I easily lose sight of is that there is already a path laid out for me. God created me and has a plan in mind, all I have to do is patiently and humbly follow it.

And perhaps that place/job/situation/whatever ahead of me is better than any I could have picked or imagined.

That being said I had a preliminary job interview today.  Centura Health, who I work for now, has seasonal mountain clinics at various ski resorts in the high country during the winter.  While they favor people with emergency background, they seemed to be enthusiastic about my ICU training, and submitted my resume to 3 clinics, and 1 hospital which opens an extra unit in the winter.  I've also been communicating with my recruiters about ICU positions in the Seattle area.  So we'll see.. Rockies, West Coast, or no job and back to my parent's house in PA.  Whatever the path is, I'll take it, trusting it's the one God's laid out for me specifically.