Roar of The Lion—

I didn't know anything about Durango
But I saw "Lion's Den" on the map and knew I had to go check it out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0SNC8nCkac


The Hill up to this Ridge is pretty steep!

 
But it's always worth the climb to be Where You're Meant to Be

To Catch a Great Sunrise

Or Just Be in an Awesome Space

Shelter during a Storm

Also worth climbing a Hill for

I Can See having a Structure like this at Bastion
A Cool Community Pavilion


SisterHeart Shoes!
From The SisterHeart Thrift store in New Orleans!
Did I ever mention the name before?

The Lion's Den is built right on this Ridge overlooking the whole city

Standing here surveying the whole of the land
I had a great sense I was right where I belonged


There's a trail that leads out the back to...

A Sacred Monument!

I heard this was built by a man for his Sister

I'm Glad this is here.

きれい です ね!

Which Animal Spirits do You identify with?

And then appeared

After The Storm...

One of the most Vibrant Rainbows I've ever seen!

 I'll eventually figure out how to line these photos side-by-side on the blog lol...

Fort Lewis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlbQahmfz0k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5jZRnO-OFs

I Love all The Bridges in this Town

Thanks for the free coffee Sister!
Street pro-tip:
Keep the cup and place it in front of you when you return.
This is so you appear as a customer and no one will hassle you if you just want to sit down, get warm, use restroom, charge phone, etcetera.


Community Gardens are most definitely the future

Grilled Nut Butter and Jelly Food Truck

Another Dream I'm not throwing away

I Hope we're All Working towards our Dreams


"There once was a man who became unstuck in the world
he took the Wind for a map
he took the Sky for a clock
and he set off with no destination.
He was never Lost."

~Taylor Steele

Carve

We are Human
We can Rise Above so many of our Limitations
We Can Be Whoever We Want to Be
But We are Human
So We're confined to that existence

But With Our Hands

We can Take What We Are

And Shape our Selves

However We Like.

We Can Work on Our Life

And Carve Out Spaces

For Others to Join Us there

We've been Given the Power  to Create

With this Power and With My Freedom

I intend to Create Beautiful things

Beautiful—Sacred Spaces—I intend to LOVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzymNwGNl-o

Care

The song ends.
The romantic chapter of a story concludes.
But the Story continues.
The Love Transforms.
The Care Remains.

That's a Choice We make
We choose what to do with the people in our lives—we choose what direction to steer a relationship
We are Free to choose to Care or Not

Even though Love and Care are Always the Right Choice
There would Be No Meaning—No Beauty
If We were Not Free to choose.

 

 

 The Library here is Beautiful
It has a splendid garden
And is a great place to sleep too (:

"I Don't Need a Drink, I Need to Hit these Bags.

I Don't Want Pizza, I Want Bloody Knuckles!"

~Me

The owner Chris said,
"You're a real Warrior
To go ten minutes with me!"

Thanks for saying that Chris
And thanks for the Spar!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcX7oX1JjrA

Found all this food
(And ice packs and a good sign)
Left it on this picnic table for people who Need it to find


Rarin' to Go
But Storms made me take Shelter


Discretion is the better part of valor.
Caution is preferable to rash bravery.

~William Shakesphere

Story Vortex!

This River Walk is a gem

It's colder by the Water though

I'm so used to going solo
Might take a bit of adjusting but
It'd be cool to bike Journey in a group
One day...

At the moment though
I'm just trying to find some Peace in my usual Solitude
It's been hard recently but it comes and goes

As I approached this Crossroads
I stopped and just began weeping
How Am I Supposed to Choose!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_Jgn7_MEYY

     I've never been the Jealous type. I don't remember much now but as a kid I didn't really ever exhibit the behavior. I do recall through my youth being drawn to hippie culture—for the colors and the sounds and the girls sure—but much more so than those things, for Freedom. I ended up becoming a pretty huge anime nerd/video gamer. The appearance of a Very fast Blue Hedgehog in my life at seven years old, and the dubbed version of Sailor Moon and DBZ, made sure of that. So that kept me out of trouble (away from drugs) and on a good path with an upbringing overflowing in role models (albeit fictional).

     As for Real Life role models, I was blessed to be inspired by many Strong Females, such as My Mother and Grandmother. Though I was taught to Respect women, I went beyond that and absolutely exalted them. I recall in High School writing a paper titled, "Why Women are Better than Men" and showing it to most everyone in my class. Those were lonely days for me, despite having like-minded gamer friends to play with (whom I still cherish as Brothers). I eventually met a girl that I started dating, but that relationship turned abusive when she started manipulating me by threatening suicide if I didn't A B or C.

     That continued for two years and caused me plenty of grief, though I did learn and grow a lot. One huge lesson I learned/way in which I grew from that experience of being manipulated and much of my time no longer in my own control, my value of Freedom, especially within a Relationship, rose even higher. I also read The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, which greatly inspired me Spiritually and helped me describe my philosophy regarding Love as "Loving Without Ownership." I became very concerned of using Love to control others and felt that was profoundly Wrong. This concern remains True with me to this day. Love Must Be Free. And I'm always careful with my words and actions to make sure I'm not applying any emotional manipulation in my interactions and relations.

   

      So Love being Free, I don't believe there aught be "Rules" in a relationship. This doesn't mean one should indulge in every opportunity for adultery one can (Actions still have consequences) but rather, simply be Honest and Open and express Needs, Wants, and Who We Are without reservation to each other. I believe this is the Way to building a strong and trusting relationship with your partner. Rather than saying, "If You Do This/Don't Do This, I won't Love You anymore!" say, "I Will Love You no matter What You Do, but if/When You Do This/Don't Do This, I Feel this way..."

     Finding that place of openly and Freely Loving someone without trying to control them, but also learning from one another and being honest with how they make You Feel, both positively and negatively, as you spend time and create memories with them, is in my opinion, one of if not The Greatest Joys in Life.

     And I experienced that Joy for about eight years with one of the Loves of my Life. We sang our Song together and we went for our dreams together. But we also both had lots of growing and learning to do and we couldn't teach each other Everything We Needed to Know. So when we didn't Need each other anymore and we started getting in the way of each other's Dreams rather than helping each other achieve them, our Song came to and end. I'll always Feel it was Beautiful, how we each clung on to each other 'til the very end. And even then, we still held each other and cried and talked. I'll always Love Her. And I'm looking forward to seeing Her and My Brother that she is with for Christmas.

     When We split, I was Single for the first time in my adult life. That was also the moment (within the same week or so) that I decided my Plan—to work and save my money through the Winter, sell as many of my possessions as I could, and come Spring, leave on my bicycle to accomplish my Dream. I thought at the time that I might never return, whether by Death or Choice, so when I decided to try dating with some of my free time between teaching children, training in Martial Arts, and preparing for the Journey (it was an absolutely amazing time of my life) I wasn't trying to "get married" or anything like that, but I was trying to have real and meaningful relationships with the women that blessed me with their Time, Just as I was trying to have fun and learn about myself and Love and explore this part of life that I was finally being able to experience.

 

     So maybe it was because of my lack of/very small emotions of Jealousy, maybe it was the influence of Hippie culture and their, "Free Love" or maybe it was The Alchemist, "Loving Without Ownership," or maybe it's Just who I Want to Be. It is probably all of those things, coming together to form Me and who and what I Am, but I "Fell in Love" with several Ladies I began to see at the same time.

     So when I say, "Fell in Love" what does that actually mean? For Me, it means firstly, I Care. I've spent time with someone. I've given them parts of myself, and I have received parts of them. We made an emotional connection together, beyond simple shallow lust or basic haha how do you do. We each Care about Each Other. From Within. What more is necessary than that to Love someone? But as for in Love—well I think the difference there is Caring about someone vs. Wanting that person as an active participant in your life in some emotionally close and meaningful way.

Here's a link to short article I found during that time of my Life that guided me quite a bit:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-website-jamesleonardpark---freelibrary-3puxk/CY-L-FRE.html

And here's a link I Just found on Loving vs. Being in Love:

https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/10/02/jane-welsh-carlyle-love/


We can care about Everyone!
It's a lot more difficult to care about people that Take from You or are only trying to, and a lot easier to Care about people that Give to You or offer to, but in a general sense, we can see the entirety of humanity as one big family and at least try to Care about Everyone.
But We Each only have so much Time and We Each only have so many Gifts to Give, especially the priceless meaningful ones.
A Ring from My Mother, or a Ring You've had since you were smol, for example.

Some names of the Peaks

And I Know what I Have to Do.

One More Night at The Lion's Den


Rescued Peanut Butter, Broken Glass Jelly, raw eggs, and cereal
Soy+Almond Milk, Special Daughter Bread, and apples from Manna
And a God Given Banan
With these ingredients...
I Crafted a Legendary PB+J!

Durango is an Awesome City!
I'll definitely visit again
For now, I Am headed thatta way!

But before I Go...
There's something I wanna show ya!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh-zkpET6Hc

I Named Her Goddess

I practiced almost every single day since getting her in Austin
Until I got to Atzlan
Then there was too much farmwork/mountains and not enough time

But back on The Road back on The Violin!

The Violin has always been my favorite instrument

Definitely was hard to pick up but a couple youtube vids got me started on the basics

Once that stuff is down it's all Just fun experimentation from there
So Yeah!
It's a really fun instrument to play!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyiX9aE1CTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiYP9ueRGuw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsMb66Lb9Sc

So to reiterate, after my Fiancee and I split, that was when I decided to work through the winter, sell my things, quit my jobs, and go for it—my dream of crossing the country on my bicycle.
And being Single for the first time in my Adult life, I also decided I'd try Dating.
This went exceedingly well!

I was in a super positive state of being and coming into a place of powerful self-actualization. Because of this I definitely had some sort of attractive magnetism that I'd never held before in my life. I didn't really understand any of that at the time, I was just genuinely super stoked that I was changing direction of my life towards a Dream that I'd carried since childhood. That honesty I believe was part of the magnetism.

So as it happened, I met up with many ladies, usually at a cafe or something, which was extremely exciting for me. Sometimes the date would go pretty well, and we'd clearly be interested in who the other person was, and maybe want to see each other again. I went on every date I could for about two or three weeks until I started getting that "broken record" feeling from repeating my story over a coffee table over and over again.

In that time though I met a couple wonderful ladies that I really connected with, so I started seeing them. I was open and honest that I was seeing Her, Her, and Her, and that come the Spring, I'd be leaving on my bicycle, maybe forever. So the dating waned off and thus began a truly wonderful time of my life. I saw these three girls more and more and as we spent time together and shared some beautiful experiences and built a trusting relationship together Emotions for them that I can only describe as Love budded for each of them.
I can still remember the moment for each of them.

And this was what I wanted. I didn't want to get married. I was about to leave on my bicycle, flying freely. I didn't want to just fuck around though. I Wanted to build strong and meaningful relationships. I didn't want to use anyone. I didn't have any sort of vision for my future beyond riding my bicycle, but I never had any intention to shut any of these ladies out.

So it was a very special time for me. I was learning about Love and so much about my Heart. After some months of this—and teaching elementary science and selling my things and training martial arts—she left the area and I met Her. When I met Her I had a strong thought that She should totally meet Her. So Her and I connected and now there was four ladies I was seeing.

A few days later, on New Year's Eve, I had plans with Her to go to a show and She was on Her way to my place. Then I got a call from Her, who said She was nearby with nothing to do. I remembered the thought that they should both meet, so I said, "Yeah... Come over right now!"
Then She called, and She had made a Pie.
And Her pies were The Best.
So I told Her to come by too!
And within fifteen minutes of each other, these three girls that I Loved were over my home, at the same time.

Any one of these girls made me extremely happy. So being in the presence of three of them at once made me absolutely manic. I could not not be happy. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. My former fiancee, who was not there then but had annexed off the living room as her quarters, had also taken the dining room table into there, so we just sat in a circle on the carpet, eating pie and cheesecake and drinking tea. I recall sitting there, unable to cease smiling, just looking at each of them thinking, "Wow. They're all here. And they're talking to each other."

So I knew this was a really special gift. After a couple hours of magnified bliss, She had to go, and Her and Her and I smoked and talked for hours more. We never went to that show. She had some friends to meet up with so we left and I dropped Her off, then Her and I went to a different party and that was how the Night ended.

Made it to where the paved road becomes packed dirt

At last
Camp

No leaves on the trees
Just as I was finishing laying down my bed...
Oh Great.
Snow.

Oh Great.
Snow.

So I woke up kind of distraught with every intention to tactically retreat
We simply aren't prepared for this!
Everything was wet and I was very Cold
But once I got all my gear on and body heat up as I moved around...

I came up here to climb this Mountain
So that's what I'm gonna Do Damn It

This Hike made possible and brought to you by SisterHeart Shoes!

Along with Double Wool socks wrapped in a plastic bag :D



Just follow the Creek
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Once I got to climbing any doubts Just Melted Away
I've always been Enchanted by the Subtle Sound of Snow Falling
That and the sound of my footsteps
All there was to hear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae1WQztONP0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDAayoAnO34

About a month later, She picked Her up and came to my place, then I drove the three of us to Her house and we all made Vegetable Dumplings together while listening to classical music. It was another Night of bliss and beauty. It was one of the most stupendous amazing wondrous nights of my life. And no offense to my brothers, but I much preferred the gentle care we gave each other over the gruff teasing and ego knocking I was used to.
When She came back to the area there were several other nights of coming together and they were all really amazing.
Cooking and Eating
Learning Magic
Walking in the Snow

So these experiences were all really influential to me.
I Never intended for a sort of Polygamist family structure
But I have always Wanted a Sister
And I did Want them all to stay in My Life
Now She's in Oregon and She's in Maryland and She's Happy with who She's with
And before I left I met Her and wanted to meet Her again out West
But that's not exactly what happened and We had our first taste of tragedy
Which She helped me get through
But She couldn't be everything I Needed and I was Falling Down and then I met Her
(Obviously I am leaving out a lot of details here. More than 3,800 miles worth).

Whew—this is tough though.

And Cold.

Had to take short breaks every now and then

She really put me back together and got me back on LionHeart
And having come back from all that, I was Stronger then Ever.
Stronger than I ever imagined was possible for me
But once I was flying again I couldn't stop thinking about Her, Her, and Her.
Especially how unsung my Love with Her was
Or how ruined my Love with Her was
Things with Her were perfect though which honestly allowed me to set those emotions down as there was seemingly nothing to worry about. Maybe that wasn't fair to Her but that's the way it was.
I Needed to pursue my Lost Loves.

But there was nothing I could do about Her at all, despite that being the most painful stuff of Life I have ever experienced.
And She clearly Needed
Needs
My Help
So that's when I came up with the Motorcycle plan.
And if you Want to know how that turned out
Here ya go:

https://ridelionheart.blogspot.com/2017/12/christmas-specialwater-bottle-earned.html

The further I climb the deeper and deeper the snow is getting

This has Definitely been Difficult

So clearly
We Need another Vegetable Dumpling Night
What Do You All Think This is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvGu5nBwBSQ

Yup
This is what I've been going for the entire time.
Bring Everyone Together
Make Everything Right
Be Friends.
And I'd rather have this
Than The World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMo3EWcmcEs

I admit it was not an easy thing to do
But being alone and in the Dark and processing out any emotions of bitterness or resentment and Working on myself was definitely the Right thing to Do
And I can't even begin to imagine what This Fight for Love of Mine has meant to all the People that I've met along the way
The Difference I've made
I don't even know.
It All also brought me closer to The Divine Above and Jesus
So can't really argue with that
And I'm Stronger and Wiser and I've reached heights that I Never before thought possible of myself
And I did have the choice
I recall many new beginnings offered unto me
Many Beautiful Sisters...
But I'm a Poet\Writer
And I'm Writing my Story

This is it.

No One owes me anything
Actually, I Feel eternally indebted to each of You ladies
That's one reason I Know I'll always Love You All
I Will always Cherish the gifts You've Given Me
The Gifts of your Selves
I was able to See You
Each of You
And Love You in Your Own Unique Way
Simply for Who You Are and What You Shared With Me
So Thank You All
For Loving Me and Teaching Me about Love

I Can't Wait to See You—I can't wait to go out to Bar with You and Brother.
You Ground Me and I Love and Cherish You Both.

Do You Want This Dream I've Sculpted for You?
I Will Not Throw it Away.
So I Guess we'll find out when I See You.
I PROMISE YOU.
I Will Not Give Up.
I WILL MAKE IT TO YOU.
So Please Have Hope Love

I understand why You cut me out—Can You understand why I made the choices I made?
I look forward to seeing You again one day
But I think I have lots of stuff to work out first
And I'm Sorry

My Name means Justice.
I Will Live Up to that or Die Trying.
So when you Want that in Your Life You can reach out to me.
The randomly bump into each other in five year plan doesn't really work for me
but You do as You like Love.

I'm glad You found Your Happiness.
I Hope You can tell me all about it over cake and tea at a Cafe one day

I'm slowly making my way towards Your corner haha.
It's taking me a lot longer than I thought but hey,
I'm in no rush.
Looking forward to seeing your house and your World you've made (:

And I assume I won't be seeing You for another (at the time of this writing) five years and six months
But if you ask me...
You're missing out on Vegetable Dumplings

So as far as I'm concerned You're all Family
Sisters if not Lovers
And one day I'll create a space that You can all live in
Even if you have other arrangements
It Will be there
As Your Home
Bastion


Until then I'll be traveling The World!


This is the point at which I turned around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCsnVL9yrxA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqAX7ECGKjw

Well?
Was I good enough?
Did I make the grade, Major Tom?
Was My Faith, Lord, sufficient
or are my perceived limits of my own abilities inhibiting me from reaching the level of Trust that I aught have for You?
Was I Weak?

I didn't make it to the top.
I was Cold and Fatigued and Concerned about My Life Ending if I should Fall or Get Stuck or Lost or too Tired to keep up sufficient body heat and the snow was still falling and every step was a slip on the invisible rocks underneath and I Just want this all to be over already I want to be Home already I want for it to be Christmas already I Need to See You Again already!
AND I WANT A DAMN GRANOLA BAR DAMN IIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTT

So I stopped and steadied myself and looked around and saw a leaf sliding down the slope of snow
And decided to turn that way too

I beat myself up over it the entire way down
I didn't make it
I didn't reach the goal
What does that mean.
It can only mean loss
She's watching I know she is I Need to excel I Need to Win 

I Need to KEEP GOING

I came this far
I climbed this high

Does This Earn Me Your Love?
Or Have I Lost You, like Orpheus of Legend, Just moments before rescuing You at last in some Cold Spell of Doubt and Cowardice!?

And so I marched down the mountain
Knowing I would not Know
In the same space—though much intensified—that I am in every day
Not Knowing of your Fate nor how You are faring in your own Battles
Pained at the thought of being cast out by You again
And being weighed down by that pain—carrying it
But also Hoping that You Will See Me
And See This Sculpted Dream
And being lifted by that Hope

Alright.
Time to Finally Escape these Mountains!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAfsiS4UiWk

I couldn't see any of this coming into here last night

This area is Glorious!

I'm so thankful to be able to Behold the Beauty of this place—all the places I've been able to visit along this Journey!

I guess as Winter approaches Storm after Storm the Snow slowly makes its way down from the Great Peaks above

Woah
It's back to Autumn!

What a weird feeling!
Like the seasons are moving the opposite direction

A few thousand feet elevation makes a BIG difference!

The Season shifts with the altitude!

This Road is far less treacherous during the Day
And without Snow on it

So Long Rocky Mountains
I'll return one day
To Bask again in Your Beauty
And Raise myself again to more of your Challenges

This has been
A Profound Chapter of My Life

Thanks Kennebac Cafe for the art and for letting me rest and warm myself

Profound and Challenging
Where is the line?

The Line of Gratitude

Pain and Struggle and Strife and Resistance builds us Stronger
It's How We Grow
So I'm Thankful
And Forgiveness is so easy from a Space of Appreciation

But to go too far with that idea...
Could lead to Evil, Wickedness, Sin.
People shouldn't need to be beat down Just to toughen them up
People shouldn't have to suffer through abuse Just to wisen their Hearts
If that was the only way
Then Where Is There Hope in This World for Us?

But The Fact is
We Grow Strong
Carrying Weight

And Our Strength
Albeit Just One
Is a Huge Factor to How We Live
And How We Live—How We Do Things—Determines Much of Who We Are

Here's a Brother:

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a23799352/andy-weinberg-endurance-society/

I was going to Just keep pushing to the next town
But I'm glad I stopped here

It was 'cause of the name honestly
I believe names have power
The name of this place resonated with me
Target Tree

The first law of Yavimaya is that guests may kill only to survive.
As fires aren't needed in the warm weather, cutting trees for wood means death.

Yeah well all my things are wet and it's f'in cold so

I NEED FIRE!

I let my Fire burn down to embers
So I could dry my gear with the heat and smoke
Without melting or burning it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy9JkvhQtmI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqmvYFmPkmU

Cold Rain definitely makes Everything significantly more challenging
Or At Least less comfortable
But there's No Giving Up
Not for Me anyways
There Is Only Moving Forward
And I Knew that
Can You Understand?
That I Knew
Can You Understand Just How Heavy That has been?
That I knowingly stepped forward into this painful place
Ready to commit to Years of Darkness
Not only for the chance of Mending and Building The Love between Us
But also so that You would know that this Hand of Mine is Here for You to take as an option
So that You would Know That I Am a Man Who Will Forever Be in Your Corner
In The Hope that that knowledge alone would uplift You on Dark Days
If Nothing Else.

Like Diving into a Dark Lake
Like Spending a Night on a Cold Street
Like Choosing Years of Lonesome Depression
Like Standing for Something
Like being Ready to Fight for You

Like being Ready to Kill for You
Like being Ready to Die for You
Like being Ready to Live for You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWIMZUPejE

For Love
For You
For Us

Feeling Safe

Taos Rain

Emerging

Lazy Day

Leaving This World

Desert Woman

Sun and Sky

Escaping Raven

Giving Some Freedom for Love

A Worthy Exchange in My Eyes

I'm as Free as I wanna Be

If I wasn't Carrying Love for You All in My Heart

I don't know Who I'd Be.

Some notes on some of the song lyrics:

The word "Whore" is not in my regular vernacular.

I Do Not Want to See My Sister that Way.

I Do Not Want to Cast Any Sister Down.

I Will Not Judge My Sister.

I am not literally kissing strangers.
Maybe in a figurative way, like a hug.

I like sneks I no wanna kill fren

In fact, I Love all my fren

And Friends and Sisters

I'm Sure Everyone Will Agree

Are Way More Important than any particular object

And Not So Easily Lost

Nor Let Go of

"Art" to me is the idea/s which one inspires in others
So when someone creates some Art
(Thereby making them an "Artist")
Whatever they create is going to literally produce thoughts in the Minds of the Beholders
And if the Art is compelling enough, may evoke emotions as well
So I would say that the difference between "Good Art" and "Bad Art" is
Good Art is actually Saying Something
It has Substance. A Message. It Stands for Something and is not so easily Pushed Aside.
Bad Art Just Is
There's no meaning to it. No higher intention. It Just wants to convince you to buy some coffee.

Here you can check out My Artist Statement
My Mother's Friend made me a lil' Artist Page lol:
https://www.writeonbyzmn.com/artist-jph.html

And for the record
I had Wanted to take You to Shen Yun.

Still Do.

Lest a Leap of Faith be changed by the Looking
Lest a Gift be cheapened by the Appraising

For the record
Some Rules I tend to agree with
Like Don't Kill People
Others are Restrictive and Dumb and really Just have been put in place and enforced to impose a tax on the populace and enforce the system of land and resource control that keeps that populace in place so they can keep laboring and producing and their earnings be taxed to fund our War Machine and line the pockets of Rich and Greedy.

So Yeah Know the Difference

Just Don't Be a Dick.

Leaving the Library on a Damp Night
I figured to just get to the next town of Cortez...

But there was a Mesa along the way so I had to climb it!
There's a campground up here with a laundry mat they leave open 24-hours!
AND they have free showers!
I wouldn't use the machines but Just the space was enough
Plus there was a sink with hot running water so wow
Glad I Climbed The Mesa

Sister set me up in a campsite for the next night
You know what that means...

CampFire Night!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaa_3afMkqQ

With Camp All Set
Might as Well go for a Hike!
Might be able to get up there before the Sunset!

Always Set Your Camp first!
That's Priority #1!!!

That means choose a good location that is at least a little hidden
In general have faith but no Need for a big Neon sign saying, "FREE STUFF"

Unless You don't mind if people raid your camp lol
That's My main Strategy
Leave useful supplies that people might need (Food, Water, Soap, cold/rain gear, etcetera)
'Cause if someone needs something like that enough that they'd steal it then I'd Give it to 'em anyways so
Take Everything that you Need and wouldn't want to lose with you

Also, prepare your bedding and pyre

Set up waterproof materials and secure gear and cover bedding+pyre just in case it rains

Also keep bugs and varmints in mind

So Tarp/Tent

Bags+Pyre in/under plastic

Seal food in containers

It's easy Just don't neglect to do it

If You leave from your site and return tired and/or wet

You'll thank yourself for having your camp ready

Other campers will disagree with me
But I leave a little food offering off to the side
They'll say this attracts varmints
But I say, if a varmint does come snoopin' by
They'll be more quickly satisfied to leave if they find a little bit
Rather than ripping desperately into pouches and bags
Plus it's good to share!

This tip is a little more crude but I believe it works
Pee on the trees around your camp
Yeah! Like a doggo!
Marks your territory.
This is how animals communicate
If a varmint comes around and smells your urine it'll understand that this is another animal's territory.
Besides, ya gotta Pee somewhere, right?
The Nitrogen in your Pee is good for the trees anyways.
It's actually oddly unnatural that we normally urinate in clean water
We don't bat an eye about it 'cause it's how we all were raised but like
...That's the opposite of what to do
(Not that I don't appreciate a comfortable restroom)

If I was ever really worried about enemies or something
I'd sleep with my weapon close by me
And maybe set some simple string traps around
Just tied to a can or bell or something that'll make a noise to awaken and alert me
I sleep in my clothes anyways so I'd be up and ready to battle in a couple seconds
Which would defuse the chance of a battle anyways

My GrandFather Once Spoke to Me
"Why Does a Tiger Hide in The Jungle?"

The Tiger is the Biggest Baddest Meanest Toughest Creature around
The Tiger'll Win Any Fight
So Why does The Tiger Hide?

The Tiger knows their Strength
But The Tiger also knows their Weakness
The Tiger knows that if they Just go around getting into Fight after Fight
They will inevitably take damage
That damage could Just be a minor scratch
Or it could be a seriously hampering wound
The Damage will stack up over time
Even small cuts can become infected and fester and End Your Life
(Though modern antiseptics mostly end that worry)

Self-sufficiency is important
If You're Lazy and Careless and You put yourself out there and end up Needing aid
Food Shelter Supplies
The Lord Will Provide
But if You are tempted away from Your Path—away from The Light
Make choices to feed your addictions
Follow some promise of pleasure or riches
The Lord's gifts—All You Truly Need—can no longer reach You
And when You find yourself in The Dark and in Need and all that is available to You are Demon's Gifts
Best You Rise Up
For They come at a Cost.
Or You Better be Ready to Fight.

This is the Nature of The Predator
The Predator Wants an Easy Kill
A Quick Meal
The Predator Doesn't Want to Fight
Even if they themselves are Strong
That's Risky
The Predator will only Fight if and when they know they can win
Against a much weaker opponent
Or with the Element of Surprise
Or with some great numerical advantage

The Warrior is of a different Nature

The Warrior does not seek Thrill

The Warrior is not concerned with consuming

The Warrior seeks Growth

The Warrior wishes to be Tested

The Warrior delights in Struggle

The Warrior wants to Triumph

Triumph is only earned

Victory given cheaply is not Triumph

So it is Good to know What You are and Where You are

These things can be discovered through exploration and the testing of our Selves and Reflection

And if You aren't Happy with What You are and Where You are

Know that You can change

You can grow in any direction you like

It Just takes an investment of Time and Energy into that sphere

But it has to be an Honest endeavor

You Have to Want to change

When You can't figure it out

Or You've gone as far as You can

That's when You Fall to Your Knees

And Pray

North

East

South

West

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-52tFMMZ91s

I once heard a story of many years ago

Ancient man would cook around their campfires

Wolves were a problem in those days and would attack in packs sometimes

But the Fire would keep them at bay

There were some Wolves that would wait 'til the humans moved on

Then scavenge their site for scraps

These Wolves became Coyotes

There were other Wolves that would approach the Fire peacefully
They learned to bow their head
The Humans would feed them
These Wolves would sometimes then Join the humans' group

They were so loyal and useful and grew such close bonds with the people

They would be described as Best Friends

Eventually Agriculture was discovered
And some people settled farmland
The Wolves ceased to be Hunters
Instead having to protect other animals
They learned to be Shepherds
These Wolves became Dogs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgHbdl2iY4M

All the cool Mesa stuff was about 20 miles from the campsite

So I left my gear there and rode out without my weight

I decided I was done taking the easy path long ago

Obviously I don't Want to Waste my Time

I have a Goal I'm trying to reach

But if it's Worth it

To See anything Cool or Special or Interesting or Beautiful

I don't let obstacles stop me
No matter what they are
Not anymore

And I'll Go Any Distance for Love

So I'm glad I'm going out of my way here
What a Special Ride

I can't remember a Time it wasn't Worth it

Top of The Mesa to You :D

I'm pretty sure that's where I was Just climbing

There's other things I want to do in this life too
Other Goals to accomplish
Places to See
Dreams to Weave
But despite hardships and difficulties
I Love Living like this
I Want to Travel on my Bicycle for as Long as possible

I forgot my gloves and it was actually pretty nippy
So being able to go downhill with my hands in my pocket was super practical (;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf3BISqAWNM

This tarantula was crossing the road!

Wildfires are a natural occurrence out here
They're actually part of the Biome
The charred ground is super fertile
So even though the Fires destroy
They make way for new growth
Which takes many years but
The Earth is Patient


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB0ordd2nOI

Yeah so Museums are Awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z40AsHrVJEo


No Wonder people settled here
It's Gorgeous

These exhibits were super Interesting
They showed a Nomadic people transitioning to agricultural communities by learning masonry and building structures

The structures are all mostly broken down and gone now

But we can still see how they developed their Masonry Skills over Time!

It took a few generations...

But they started making some really cool homes!

They started out by digging these holes and building a roof over them
They eventually figured out how to craft smooth rock walls with mud
The right mixture of stuff in the mud for a stable mortar is Key

I Want to Build on of these!


And if they could do it so can I, Right!?
(They didn't even have Power Tools!)


As this peoples' population grew
So did their Masonry skills developed

So this area was their first large community

These Cliff Villages are an Astonishment to the World...

Definitely Amazing

We can see how they slowly grew and expanded their villages

This is totally where I'd of lived!

Tenders of The Sacred Fire

Where would You Want to Live?

Anthropologists are apparently baffled as to the purpose of this particular structure

Clearly it was Just a chill (and Sacred too of course) community hang-out area
Like The Lion's Den will be at Bastion!


I Just Loved to see and study the masonry techniques
Look at how they irrigated the walls!

Evidence of modern renovations/preservation work
They didn't have Silicone back then!


But Yeah my point is
If they could Build it
So Can I!

 They call this Cliff Palace

I like to imagine the simple joy that must have filled the days of these people
I'm sure life was very tough and harsh
But I'm also sure they all must have had a deep appreciation for the Gifts from their World around them and a Pure Love for each other member of their community.


Otherwise, they would not have been able to build such a Wonder of Human Creation

I'm not necessarily aiming for World Wonder here

My simple ambition is to Just Create a Sacred Space on this World
With My Own Hands
Where I Can Be
Where I Can Have and Protect a Family
Where Travelers (and Sisters especially) can Learn and Be Safe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEPSb0LHJyY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bceG_s-bGk

So Great to meet you Brother Ryan and Sister Morgan!

The living space you built in this van is amazing
Thanks for having me as a guest in your Sacred Space

Bless You Both on Your Adventure!

Bless You both too Brother Monza and Sister Sierra!
We'll all Meet Again I'm Sure!

Some more cool old architecture

We use underground pipes now
But this used to route water


Create the Future
Honor the Past

One last level in Colorado...
Cortez!


Sacred.

Perfect.

  

 Special.

 

Each of You

Everyone Is in their own way I Suppose

Our Country owes these People much
When will we Give Back?

I'll Keep My Pride
And Nothing Else

Lotus Mudra and Shadow Gratitude

Scorpion Handstand

Triangle pose No. 2 (yin)

Dancer Pose

~Photos by Mike Znerold

Do Note
There's Sinful Pride
And Then there's Family.

Just to show y'all what I do with some of my Time
This is some of My Work
I Rescued all this food and left it on this bench here at the Soup Kitchen (;


And at the Library
The Point is
Serve Others!
Give Back!
And don't let Good Food go to Waste!


Though I'm apparently not allowed here lol


Not that I had a problem
Met plenty of folk
Helped out some Brothers
As Best I could


I try to follow Jesus' Way
He Knows What He's Doin'
But he had Ultimate White Magic and was completely Undefeatable
For us normal folk we have lines and have to make decisions
So if You ask Me
If A Man Protects and Cares for his Sons and Daughters
If A Man Respects his Sister and Loves his Wife and Honors them All
Then he's a Brother to Me

If he's a Predator
Not interested in the Preservation of any sort of Goodness
Selling his Soul and his Love
His Loved Ones
To the highest bidding Demon
If a Brother has Fallen
Corrupted by his Wants...
Well, some Men Need a Headbutt
Or a swift Kick to the Face

I Just Need to Be With My Loved Ones


I Need to Protect Them

And I Need them to Know that I Need these things
Because I Am this thing

I Need Love

I Need what I Hold Sacred to be Honored

To Me
All these Needs
Are What is Worth Fighting For
In This Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW-o9qzeTXo

I wrote this poem a couple years ago
Feels relevant still
I'm grown and changed in a lot of ways since then
But in the same space—still the same person in others
Still Carrying the Same Love

Ripples of Love

     Lightning and Wind
     Here comes a storm again
     Didn't mean to cause it
     though I know I did
     I see it's here 'cause I can read the sky
     Eyes of the Hawk—Heart of a Phoenix—Upon their wings I fly
     My Love is boundless, bold, and true
     But is it not too much for you?
     Tapping into infinity is no shallow thrill
     I'd die for it—You know that I will
     But we can Live for it instead
     No need for anyone to be dead
     We just need to get the hell out of our heads
     We're wise and far out and probably know way too much
     I know I can't stop thinking about the next time we'll touch
     And I'm sorry but you're wicked hot and I Love You
     Do you want me to train myself to not want to?
     'Cause that exercise ain't easy and it's hard to undo
     So what is it? What is it? What am I to you?
     Knight in Shining Armor or Panda on Puppet Strings?
     Man of Your Dreams or a Jump to Oblivion?
     And do you see the true me—the me that is yet to become?
     A man who maybe just maybe quite possibly could be someone?
     And who that someone is is not up for anyone else to decide!
     So here we all sit now. Are we enjoying the ride?
     The gusts knock me around and rain spatters my face
     I dance around electric strikes scarcely moving my place
     Imagine a man in the dead of dark on a cold winter night
     Rain drenching him as he rides with little sight.
     I am he, but laughing! Taking in every delight!
     I'm alive I'm alive! I really feel alive!
     Though I suppose there's something empty inside?
     Perhaps it's because I shoulda chose me
     I'm the only me that I wanna be
     And that me is definitely
     Someone I wanna see
     And he doesn't just stay here
     So he's gonna say Peace
     He sees what's goin' on even if you don't
     And he's got your best interests in mind—You've even got his best coats.
     Nothing I ever said was untrue
     But what do I know I don't know more than you
     That's probably why we're all here
     You do see what's going on, yes? My dear?
     Maybe you think I'm crazy but I'm under spiritual attack
     Not that I'm mad as it is quite automatic
     I Love You I Love You and you might think this is weird
     But let's all just hold hands and Let Go of our fears
     And can we please agree that Love and sex are pretty fucking weird?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbi3PzQ8-Hw