walking rino: street art with theo


I’ve got two little wildlings, Otis and Theo. We spend a lot of quality time together as a group, but it’s incredibly rare that I get to have one-on-one time with either one of them. So the other day, upon realizing that Otis had class and Theo’s school was closed, I decided to take Theo on a special adventure-- just the two of us. I toyed with the idea of journeying up to the mountains for a hike near Kenosha Pass, but then decided it would be fun to stay in the city and put on our explorer caps since we have plans to see fall foliage for the next three weekends…


Of course I had to seize the moment and catch up on some overdue appointments too, so before we took off on our local adventure, I took Theo to the doctor for a wellness check-up. In hindsight that might not have been the best way to start off our special day, for it was temporarily marred by the 4-year-old vaccination schedule. But eventually he stopped crying, and the experience led us to have an interesting conversation about viruses. It also helped us choose our word of the day: “antibodies.”


As a reward for displaying courage and good behavior (all things considered), I treated Theo to a chocolate croissant. He was amazed by its construction and started yelling, “There’s a real live chocolate bar right in the very middle of my treat? It’s real live!! Isn’t that amazing, mommy?” Oh that Theo. He’s got “a million sweet tooths” and is truly a little boy after my own heart. Not wanting to leave the coffee shop without something savory, I grabbed two spinach empandas before we set out in the direction of the RiNo Arts District…








Now I’ve blogged about the ever-changing RiNo before. It’s a neighborhood that houses some of Denver’s best restaurants, bars and coffee shops. It’s also the epicenter of the city’s best street art, and there’s lots of it. The new murals are spectacularly detailed and there brand new pieces thanks to #COCrush15 which took place last weekend. Some of my RiNo favorites include works from artists Mariano Padillo, Jaime Molina, Mike Martinez, Hollis & Lana, David Shillinglaw, Scott Albrecht, Hyland Mather, Mike Graves, Blaine Fontana, Robin Munro, Sandra Fettingis, Jake Mertens, Lolo YS, Jeremy Burns and Max Kauffman*…just to name a few.  

(*As I was about to enter Max’s art house I noticed that Theo was starting to get sleepy, so I’ll be back to check it out next week.)

I’ve always been a big fan of street art, but it wasn’t until my friend Risa and I had a conversation about its larger importance that I fully began to understand how beneficial and inspirational it is. You see, I’ve always appreciated street murals from a beautification angle; they provide design, color, and art to a wall that would normally be vacant or plastered with tacky advertisements.

But street art also holds a second (more important) purpose. Namely, it makes art accessible to everyone: to parents with work schedules that are incompatible with museum hours; to children who don’t have easy access to art or transportation; to neighborhoods that are often underserved when it comes to public investments. In short, street art can inspire a creative force in almost anyone, regardless of income.

It also makes for a really great one-on-one adventure….

Enjoy!
xx,
Batya







 












 

For more info, check out this column and this column by Lindsey Bartlett.

Overheard Theoisms:
“Those guys have coffee bean heads. That’s silly, so very silly.”
“…and then these octopuses were fighting bad guys- the Storm Troopers- before they were beamed back up to space. Yes, that’s what it’s about…”
“Hey, why is that man walking a fish with a dog’s leash? That’s hilarious.”
“Mommy, do you think we can keep a pet giraffe in our garage?”
“I’m going to show them my sword of justice. Then they will know I’m a superhero.”
“These leaves look pretty, but they’re not real. At least they don’t look real to me.”
“Torchic (Pokemon doll) told me this was the best tour ever. Hey, Torchic sounds like tour.”
“Is this where the natural gas comes from? I want to see it.”
“That silly monkey is playing games with me. He’s a funny guy.”
"Please can I go in here? (Closed Populist garden) I promise not to trespass."

in instagram: chihuly and the denver botanic garden (with my trusty iPhone)


It’s been almost 7 years since I registered for a glassblowing course at Urban Glass on Fulton Street in Brooklyn. In my late-20s and early-30s, very few things could get me to rise early on the weekend, but glassblowing sure did. It was so exciting to try something new. And while it turns out that I’m actually a terrible glass blower (I thought my experience with sculpture would help, but it didn’t) it was so much fun to try.

The fruits of my glassblowing labor bore a few sad looking vessels and something that vaguely resembled an ashtray, which is not practical at all since I’m not a smoker. I also managed to salvage a sort-of mortar & pestle combo that I proudly display in our kitchen, but it was meant to be something else (which I can’t remember now).

I guess what I’m saying is this: glassblowing is incredibly difficult and just because you want things come out a certain way, doesn’t mean they will. Adding color and blowing elongated forms or elaborate shapes is no easy task. The technical precision, along with the tremendous amount of patience required to have complicated designs (or even simple ones) come to fruition, makes me appreciate the work of Dale Chihuly and his Studio even more…

Chihuly at theDenver Botanic Gardens is simply stunning. The glass pops with color and texture and the placement of the forms - largely inspired by nature - are integrated throughout the gardens and the pools.

Try and visit the garden on an overcast day, in the late afternoon. That’s when we went - the temperatures were a bit cooler and the crowds were a little bit less intense. I can’t wait to go back at night and see the sculptures when they’re illuminated.

Chihuly has inspired me…and I think it might be time to try glassblowing again. After all, it’s been 7 years and in that time most of my scars have completely faded…
Enjoy!



great sand dunes national park



“It had nothing to do with gear or footwear or the backpacking fads or philosophies of any particular era or even with getting from point A to point B. 

It had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles with no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental. It seemed to me that it had always felt like this to be a human in the wild, and as long as the wild existed it would always feel this way.” 

- Cheryl Strayed 



 Over the past few months I've found myself craving spontaneity and adventure. My life has (increasingly) becoming too predictable: school drop-off, work, gym, play dates, naps, meal-prep and so on. We have a calendar and we have routine. Not that there's anything wrong with a little order in life (especially when one has young children), but what was happening to my adventurer-self? The girl who would board a plane to Asia or Central America because a good fare popped up? Or the girl who would hop a boat - one filled with with cattle and ranchers- just to catch a glimpse of southern Chile? Or the 20-something-me who would take the trolley to the French Quarter and do cartwheels down the street just because it was a Tuesday night? I think she was starting to vanish…


Now I know that at this stage of my life I have different responsibilities and obligations than I had a decade ago. There's a mortgage, my career, two kids, and college tuition to think of. But still, there's got to be a little room for adventure, some spontaneity, maybe even some silliness in one's life too, no? 

 If you’re wondering how this ties in to Great Sand Dunes National Park, I’ll tell you. 

 We had no plans to drive down. But when one of our intended guests cancelled their trip to Denver due to the flu, we seized the moment and decided to go for it. We had been talking about visiting the dunes for more than 2 years, but we always put it off. We were always making excuses (It's too far/I have too much work/I'm too tired/Maybe next year...) But not this time! We hastily secured a hotel room (there’s only one place to stay), packed a cooler (there aren’t many eating options at this point in the pre-season) and we drove south for about 3 ¾ hours. It felt good to do something  that wasn't planned months in advance. In fact, it felt great! 
So I encourage you to do something spontaneous! You won't regret it.  In the words (I'm paraphrasing here) of Dr. Scott, the paleontologist on PBS's Dinosaur Train, "Get out there! Get into nature. Have an adventure and make your own discoveries." 











Getting there: We took I-25 South going down to Great Sand Dunes. Going back to Denver we drove US Route 285. 
Total time from Denver: 3 hours, 45 minutes.
Fee: $3 per vehicle, but it was National Park Day when we went so there was no entry fee.
Season: May-September. We went in the off-season (April 19th and 20th). Though the weather is usually chilly and windy at this time of year, we had perfect weather. The Medano Creek was flowing. I heard that peak flows are in May and June, but it depends on rainfall throughout the summer. If you're planning a visit keep in mind the sand can reach temperatures that exceed 140 degrees in the summer months- so that may not be the best time to take small children.
Accommodations: There are limited accommodations and camp sites are by reservation. We stayed at The Great Sand Dunes Lodge and the owners, Ratna and Rames, were extremely kind. The rooms were basic and clean. Breakfast was served. Rooms were $85 per night, but they are more expensive in the high season. Oh, and there's a pool. And a grill. This is the only lodging option immediately outside the dunes. The views were spectacular. There are more options in Alamosa, about 30 minutes away. 
For more information visit www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm  

walking wednesday: florissant fossil bed national monument and ina's chipotle & rosemary roasted nuts


We've taken the kids on some pretty spectacular hikes in Colorado, but since my husband and I don’t ski or partake in winter sports (this will change next year when I take up Nordic/Cross Country), we never thought to take the boys on a winter hike in the snow or up in the higher elevations. When we do go on winter hikes, we opt for trails near and around Denver—which means that there isn’t much snow on the ground and temperatures are usually in the 50s and 60s. But this past weekend we wanted to try something new, and since the kids are getting better in the car we decided the 2 hour trip to Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument would work out well. What I didn’t realize, as I left the house dressed in a light cotton flannel, was that this hike is way up in the mountains (over 9500 feet) where it's about 20-30 degrees cooler than it is in Denver. I was obviously underdressed (thankfully the kids had extra layers in the car), so as we climbed up and up, and as we passed town after town without a suitable store to fix my little problem, I started to think this wouldn't work out so well. But we finally came upon what I'll call a larger “city”- and we spotted a Goodwill Store which I knew would have something suitable. I found what I was looking for in under 2 minutes - an “I Heart Colorado” sweatshirt with a hood! And just like that, for the low price of $3.99, I was outfitted for altitude…so we made our way to our final destination. 

Florrisant Fossil Beds National Monument contains the remains of an ancient Redwood forest dating back about 35 million years. Usually whenever I think of the Redwoods my brain immediately goes to the California coastline, but in fact millions of years ago the Colorado climate was actually much more hospitable to these ancient tress. (This would be a good time to tell you that in my pre-kids life I was an environmental lawyer and worked on a campaign to protect the Tillamook Forest in Oregon, so I tend to geek out on all things forest-related, and this trail had me jumping for joy.) Anyway, back when these enormous trees dotted the Colorado landscape, the climate was much warmer and much wetter, which meant that the habitat was perfect for forests and trees here could grow up to 230 feet high. It must have been something. The valley also saw its share of volcanic eruptions, an ever- changing landscape, and it was home to hunter-gatherers (the Paleo-Indians, the Ute and Jicarilla Apache peoples), early Pioneers and scientists. There's a lot of history here- that's what I'm trying to get at...
Unfortunately before the area was protected, much of the petrified wood was taken by tourist as trinkets and collectibles, so not much remains. But there are a few large stumps that you’ll see as you make your way through the 1 mile loop. And you can learn about the ancient fossil beds that contain the remnants of trees that no longer exist in Colorado (but some of which have modern-day relatives in Asia). 

The kids loved walking in the snow and though the temperatures were around 40-something degrees, the sun made us warm and the two little guys were real troopers and did most of the hiking themselves. Wet feet aside, it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon…





And this is what we snacked on...

Ina Garten's Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts
Courtesy of Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?
Serves 8 to 10
These are sweet, salty, and spicy--with lots of brown sugar, maple syrup, chipotle powder, and fresh rosemary. Roasting is the process that brings out the most flavor in nuts, and serving them warm is a particularly nice touch. 
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder* (I used 1 teaspoon)
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder on the sheet pan. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.
Spread the nuts in one layer. Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary.
Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature.
* Chipotle chile powder is different from ordinary chili powder- it's ground dried smoked jalapeños and has a distinctive hot, smoky, sweet flavor.

walking wednesdays: winter hikes in boulder



My dad is one of the kindest, soft-spoken, and gentle souls I’ve ever known. He’s been sick for many years, but in the past 6 months his condition has deteriorated and hospital rooms have become a big part of his life. There’s been rehab too, which provides only a bit of laughter as my brother and I joke that it’s not the kind of rehab Lindsay Lohan goes in-and-out of but the other kind…
My mother bares the brunt of the stress these days, for she is with him day in and day out. She advocates for him, feeds him, challenges doctors when they need to be challenged, and has put her life on hold in order to tend to his needs. My brother and I both left New York so my mother is the go-to-person. And while she has an incredibly tight-knit community and a large circle of friends, I can't stop worrying about them both. This has been the most difficult part of living in Colorado. I'm not there. 

 I don't usually talk about how challenging this time period has been for everyone, or how depressing it can be to have a parent who is very, very ill. That's mostly because there isn't a lot that anyone can say or do to alleviate the pain, the frustration, or the anger.  But I do rely on a small group of friends and I'm thankful to have a loving husband and a wonderful family. I've also discovered a place I can go that gives me peace and a bit of calm…

The mountains, being out in nature. It makes me feel like there is a bigger plan in play and that life is wonderful and beautiful even when there is sadness, stress and heartache. And for that I am grateful. I am hopeful that things will get easier and my father's health will improve. In the meantime I will focus on all the truly important things that matter in life and let the rest fall by the wayside...

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. 
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. 
The winds will blow their own freshness into you, 
and the storms their energy, 
while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.
                                                                                                                          - John Muir