Rocky Mountain High in Colorado

 


Take the last exit heading just east of the Continental divide on Interstate 70 and you can find a lesser-known ski resort called "Loveland"  It has something for everyone who only wants to ski.  Otherwise quite minimalist (no lodging or restaurants or more importantly crowds).  Go to the top lift and you start from over 13,000 feet right below the Continental Divide!

The Denver locals love it as it is close enough to commute and not as crowded as the better-known ski resorts.  So quiet in fact that found a spot at the top to do my meditation and was the only one skiing down the mountain at the end of the day!  My friend, Dave, and I stayed in a mountain abode near Saint Mary's glacier 10 miles north of Idaho Springs.  It was only 20 miles from the ski resort, but we learned that if you travel at the wrong time the roads are jammed and it is a 90-minute drive (note to self).  

This was my second year skiing and communing with my brilliant friend Dave.  Dave has a mind, steeped in advanced AI and VR technology accented with countercultural experiences very different from mine.  So every time we get together it is an insightful journey into existential topics.  This time it was general artificial intelligence vs human intelligence, quantum universes, the secret CIA Stargate project, and the potential for altered mental states using psychedelics (e.g. psilocybin) to gain insight.  The commute also afforded us the opportunity to review the importance of patience and suffering to grow listening to an amazing reflection from my good friend Buddhist monk Gen-la Jampa. 


What else did I learn?  I can still ski- pretty darn well as long as I avoid the black diamonds that is!  And 3 days is about my limit (at least at this very high altitude.) I am in great shape and feel fantastic - as good as I ever have even though I need to have surgery in March to hopefully quell a silent growing "pest" doctors are telling me is cancer.  Surreal, and makes me see why some just want to ignore until they can't.  But I want to still have a chance to try my 120-year living experiment.   

Most importantly my time with David reminded me again that the best things in life aren't "things".  They are good friends experiencing the beauty and mysteries of life.  Carpe diem!

Quiet meditation at the top

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