Delinquent (time-wise, not jail-wise)

It's been a little while since I've written... At first it was due to lack of motivation, then a lack of internet. But now I'm connected again, however briefly, and will try to sum up the past week or two (eep, has it been that long??).

So apparently the Olympics are in full swing. I had completely forgotten about it, but suddenly I turned on a TV and there were lots of men in tights and skimpy suits. If it ain't ballet, it's gotta be world-class macho sports.

After almost a week of fun in Gothic with my aunt Mel, Adam came to hang out for a few days, so we did some really beautiful hikes and hung out at the arts festival in town, eating food on sticks and getting poured on at one point. The people-watching is top notch at a festival in a small hippie/yuppie town. Before hitting the road again, I stayed in Crested Butte with a family friend for a few nights (thanks so much Lucille!). Then it was time to move on.
Out walking Lucille's dogs

Wandering CB

Old (but still young) friends

Gorgeous! Rustlers Gulch hike

Next up: hot springs! No pictures because it was a, ahem, clothing optional place, and you just gotta respect that. But after that, sand dunes!! Wow. Who knew Colorado had so much sand all in one place? They're fairly understated from far away, but once you get up close, you realize just how large and vast they are. More than 30 square miles (I'm told), and the highest dunes reaching about 650 and 750 feet high, they are an awesome sight. It was raining the day I arrived, which I thought would be a big bummer, especially since my tent has decided this is the summer to fall apart and leak, but the rain helped immeasurably the next day, since hiking on compacted, damp sand is about a thousand times easier than hiking on dry, loose sand. As the ridges dried, they got harder and harder to climb up, reducing me to crawling on hands and knees to reach the last few feet, only to slide right back down again.
Creepiest fence ever, on the road to the hot springs.

Approaching the dunes from the campsite.

Words can't suffice.

I met a few young dudes who had thought ahead to bring plastic sleds. They let a few of us atop the second-highest dune try them out, to varied success. Apparently sand doesn't move that fast (unless you are a tiny child, or on a ridiculously steep slope), but it was fun nonetheless. A bitch to get back up to where you just were a few seconds before, though!
I met a fellow female traveller, Tori, on top of the dunes, and we headed to Zapata Falls a few miles away as well... freezing cold water to wade through, but worth the numb feet!
Tori climbin' them falls.

Finally, this past weekend I learned how to fly fish! Didn't catch anything (it's catch and release anyway), but it was fun, relaxing, and the scenery can't be beat. Here's the proof that I did it:
Now I'm in Salt Lake City, to move on into Idaho and Wyoming (Yellowstone) in the coming days. I should be in Berkeley in a week, though!