Why Hiking in the Dark is a Bad Idea on Friday the 13th

So.... tonight I experienced my first time getting in trouble with the police.

There was a temple trip last night. On the way home, the driver (who shall remain anonymous) asked us if we were up for an adventure. I said, "YES!", naturally, and he drove us to the trail head to hike up Castle Rock.

What we didn't know is, a) it's illegal to hike in the dark in Castle Rock, and b) it was Friday the 13th and a bunch of teenagers were up on the rock causing trouble. Thus... the police were already there. Their car was in the parking lot with lights flashing, and there was an officer speaking to a  car there. We naively assumed that she had pulled someone over and they'd driven into this parking lot.

But the police officer came right over to talk to us. Her first question: Had we been up on the rock with flashlights? No, we didn't have flashlights. Was it not okay to hike now? Nope.

She asked us a long series of questions about who we were and where we were coming from. We explained we'd come to go hiking. She said, "You're going hiking in suits, dresses, and heels?" We explained it was a spur of the moment thing, and we'd just come from a church activity in Denver. Also, that we were Mormon. (It came up because we'd been to the temple).

She asked for all of our IDs, and explained that it just seemed a bit suspicious that we'd come hiking in the dark in such ridiculous clothes. Whoops.

She went off to run our IDs. Someone in the car asked the driver if he had a perfect driving record. He did! A little conversing, and it turned out we all did!

We could hear her talking to someone (her radio? her partner?) about us, slightly baffled that we'd just drive on up when there was a police car there already, dressed in our Sunday best but wanting to do some late night hiking.

Finally she came back and said, "There are warrants out for 3 of your arrests." That brief silence as we all panicked (well played, ma'am! Make us all think the other 3 are crazy--there were four of us) and then she laughed. She told us the park was closed at sunset. If we really wanted to hike it, we could come back in the daylight in more appropriate clothes, and sent us on our way.

Except there was another police car parked to block the parking lot entrance by then, so we stayed there for a while and tried not to stare as a teenager got frisked a little ways from us. Finally the officers sent the teenagers on their way and moved the police car so we could leave. As the kids passed us, they explained to us that a bunch of people went hiking tonight in honor of Friday the 13th. Ohhhhhhhh.... Whoops! What a bad night to pick.

The whole thing was actually pretty funny. It was definitely an adventure, as promised! And we learned a few lessons: a) don't hike in the dark, b) don't hike in church clothes, and c) if you see a police car parked in a parking lot with flashing lights... maybe that means you shouldn't pull in. :)

Fuzzball

That awkward moment when you've already spammed Facebook and Instagram with cute hamster pics and you get a couple more... but you don't want to drive people crazy.

Time to share them on the blog! :)

This is Fuzz enjoying a baby carrot that I gave her to apologize for cleaning her cage. She hates it when I clean her cage.

And here's some behind the scene pics of attempting to take a Shelece and Fuzz picture.

Fortunately we got one that wasn't blurry!

Driving

You ever heard this expression? It's been on my mind a lot lately, as I try to figure out my next steps in life. The basic idea is... God guides you when you actively move forward. Sometimes the future can be overwhelming and people get stuck, parking their car as it were, and waiting to move until God tells them where to go. But it's usually better to  move ahead as best you can, and as you do so, God answers your prayers and steers you in the direction you need to go. If you try to go the wrong way, He stops you (if you listen to Him)!

I pray about things a lot, but sometimes I wonder... Am I doing my homework enough to really figure things out? I think of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 9:7-9: "7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

 8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

 9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong..."

Last night, out of the blue, it hit me that I have been driving my car, so to speak. I've been making decisions and moving forward, even though I'm not sure yet if I'm moving forward in the right direction. I'll be honest, I've hit some dead ends lately. But that's okay--at least I know some things I'm not supposed to be doing right now!

As long as I'm trying, as long as I'm moving and praying and doing my best, I know God can guide me to do the things I need to do. As long as I'm driving, He can steer, and things will turn out all right in the end.

New Hair?

It's pretty late right now... but this looks like it could be a fun change:




We'll see how I feel tomorrow. :)

Denver Museum of Art

On the first Friday every month, you can get into the Denver Museum of Art for free. Lori has done this many times, because she's a lot more cultural than I am. :) (Although, I used to wander through the BYU Art Museum on occasion.)

It was really cool! So much art--7 full stories. I really liked the historical art--the ancient sculptures from Mexico and India, the lacquered decorations from Japan, the oil paintings from Europe... I was excited to see pieces by some of my favorites, like Monet and Norman Rockwell.

Turns out, I am still not a fan of contemporary art, though. I just don't get it. I guess I need an artist to explain it to me sometime.

There was one cool exhibit where you could pose for pics and look like you were in a painting:

It was really fun. And also, surprisingly relaxing. There's been some crazy stuff going on in my life this week that had me a bit stressed out, but it was really soothing wandering around and looking at pretty things for a few hours. I had flashbacks to some of my favorite field trips as a kid. :)

I may have to go back sometime. Pro tip: We were there as soon as the museum opened at 10, and we stayed for about 3 hours. It was almost empty at the beginning, but by the time we left, it was packed. Go earlier in the day if you go! 

Best Pic of Fuzz So Far

Tried to get a video of Fuzz, spinning her food around her cage again. Instead I got this great close-up shot of her running up to see what the camera was. She's a brave little girl!

May Already

Oh my gosh, how is it May already?!? This year didn't seem like it was going by fast until I realized June is only one month away.

And that means it's summer again.

And that means... I've been here for a whole year. WEIRD.

In some ways, Provo seems like a million years ago. But in other ways, it seems like I got here yesterday. It's been a good year. I've reconnected with my family and with old friends still in town. I like my singles' ward here. It's a different vibe than Provo. There's fewer of us and we're a lot more spread out, but it is kind of nice knowing pretty much everyone. The community is more tight knit.

Colorado winter and spring were a lot snowy than I expected (all these years, I knew Provo got less snow, but I didn't realize it was that much less.) But otherwise, life here is good. :)

There is one way Colorado Springs is kind of like Provo, though. It is a bit of a college town, with the Air Force Academy, UCCS, and the local community college. Lots of my friends in the singles ward are either finishing the school year or even graduating, preparing to launch into new places. And that energy inspires me to look at my own life.

What do I want to come next? Colorado was the right place for me to be this year, but is it still the right thing for me to stay? I'm working on figuring it out. What's my next big adventure? Going back to school? Traveling? Putting down roots and buying a house somewhere?

I did buy a pet, so there's that. :)

Time to start thinking and figuring out my next steps, I guess.