Niwot's curse on Boulder, Colorado People seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay, and their staying will be the undoing of the beauty. ~Chief Niwot    Niwot's Curse was folklore I learned as a young Boulder Valley student. I find much truth in this curse as I have watched my home town change. My childhood memories rapidly disappearing as million-dollar condos and high-end retail replace quaint coffee shops and quirky small businesses.   But the curse was not something Chief Niwot had wished upon this unique town; it was a premonition. He dreamed of a great flood that swallowed the Arapahoe tribe, letting only white man survive. Fearful for his people, the chief tried to make peace with the white man in hopes of saving his people. But the overflow of gold-seekers continued to swamp the breathtaking valley pushing the peaceful natives out. Later, it is believed, that Chief Niwot died at the hands of the Third Colorado Cavalry in the Sand Creek Massacre. Proving a truth to his premonition. Eventually, the money-hungry miners were replaced with the hopeful peace and love of the 1960's hippy movement. Swarms of liberal, peace-loving, environmental progressive humans filled the little mining town. Quickly became a forward-thinking town floating in the state of cowboys and conservative country folks.  During this time, many local Boulderites worked to protect the open space surrounding the town in hopes of preserving the community as well as the land. Building restrictions where enforced, and Boulder could no longer build up or out. The small-town limits and bleeding liberal population began earning a representation among the state, referred to the town as the People's Republic of Boulder, the Boulder Bubble, or the (liberal) island in the middle of Colorado, which at the time was very much a red state. 
 It is sad to think Boulder will never be the same place it was while I was growing up, but I will always be grateful for the memories of what it once was.
And still, take much joy in the breathtaking scenery.
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Kelley and I bravely walked around the view blocking plant in hopes of seeing more. Being not more than five feet away, the entire body of the six/seven foot gator was completely exposed. Kelley and I stood frozen staring at the intense animal as he glared back at us, with one leg propped on shore, he leaned the slightest bit closer in our direction. With hearts racing, we scurried away from the scene of the crime and I declared to Kelley, “Yeah, I don’t think I want one as a pet after all.”  My life has been so crazy lately that I haven't had many moments to myself. But today gave me a much needed gift, the gift of rain. With clouds rolling in left and right, sailing didn't seem like much fun. Instead, I spent the day baking, editing, writing, and cooking. 
A much needed day of relaxing, gave me inspiration to do one of my favourite pass times, baking. Our oven is very small, which means I can only bake 6 muffins at a time but I I can't complain since they came out so lovely.  I found this wonderful recipe on https://www.errenskitchen.com/ In normal fashion, as well as a still broken refrigerator, I had no milk to work with. So I subsituted with a can of coconut milk. This gave them a nice buttery, sweet favor. I also made a spicy, vegetarian chilli to go with my mini corn breads. Perfect meal for a rainy day. Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 15 minutes Total Time 25 minutes Servings muffins Calories 174 kcal Author Erreb @ Erren's Kitchen Ingredients
US Measurements - Metric MeasurementsInstructions
 Living aboard a sailboat is not always the romanticised notion of cocktails at sunset, cool sea salt breezes, starry night skies, and perfect gentle rolling seas. It is also rough waters, un-marked entrances with broken depth sounders, sleepless nights, rotten food, broken equipment, and rainy days.
I first arrived in Grand Cayman a few short months ago. We had sailed in on a 41 Morgan Classic from Bocas Del Toro, Panama. It had taken us nine days and eight nights to sail the 1000 nautical miles north to this small island chain snuggled between the smokey hills of Cuba and the tropical mountain tops of Jamaica. Living on a solid lean for over a week, had all of us craving hamburgers and ice cold beers when we first arrived full sails, and salty. From afar, Grand Cayman looks like tiny boxes dotting the horizon line, slowly growing into large buildings and a long sandy beaches with every mile we came closer.  After a painless check in and one night on a mooring ball in Georgetown we made our way around the north west corner of the island to Governor’s creek. Where we anchored in front of the Yacht Club. We spent the next couple weeks familiarising ourselves with our new surroundings. Taking the dinghy up every canal, looking for empty docks, grocery stores and places to rinse off our salty skin. Even though, we had provisioned well in Panama, we needed fresh vegetables and meats.
Living on the hook is not glamours to say the least, between lack of water and power combined with the rocking wakes of tours boats. We decided to trade dinghy rides and rolling seas for a sturdy dock and an unlimited power source. We moved into the Yacht Club to start a dock life. 
 As you may or may not know I took a position with Jonathan Davis doing real estate photography back in January. It's been an interested six months learning everything there is to know about this business. Jonathan is an extremely talented photographer who knows his client like the back of his hand. 
 Let me know what you think and any questions you may have in regards to this home or my new job below in the comment section. Visit PhotoKona.com to take a look at Jonathan's work. Also follow Photokona on Instagram.
 "I just wanna let you know that I'm horrible at having my picture taken," Kirsten tells me as she pulls off the highway next to a poplar tourist attraction, a large lava tube. "Do you know how often I hear that?" I reply to this common statement. "No seriously!" Kirsten exclaims, "I'm horrible. I make this weird fake smile. Just wait, you'll see." I roll my eyes and giggle a bit because there is no way someone as beautiful as Kirsten could take a bad photo. "Don't worry Kirsten, it's me. I can get a good shot." I reassure her as I jump out of the lifted jeep. Nether of us had ever stopped at the lava tube before so I wasn't completely sure what to expect. You could still see the top of Hualalai in the early morning light, the lava field soaking in the warmth of the sun. We started by walking down into the tube, the floor scattered in broken lava. Light glowing through the end of the tunnel revealing a beautiful sky light where the roof had craved in. As we climbed around the tube we decided to take this adventure outside to use the morning light to our advantage. I followed Kirsten as she throw off her shoes and carefully tip toed about the cracks in the field. "Should I climb down?" She asked me as we both starred down into the collapse lava tube. "Only if you feel comfortable doing so." she nodded. Picking up her dress and slide down the side of the tube standing on a pile of large boulders I captured her in her pink dress as she told me about her love life and her decision to move off island.   As the morning sun got brighter and the tourist started to arrive we decided to venture to a new spot. Just across the street is a long bumpy road that leads through a lava field to a beautiful beach called Mahaiula's. With both my hands on the built in handle bar of the jeep, we rambled down the long road. It was still early in the day so not many people were at the beach yet. We started with a shady spot under a tree where I captured a moment with Kirsten. She told me stories and I gave advice. I was prefect. "I brought this sequin dress and I really wanna put you in the water wearing it!" "Lets do it!" Kirsten said as her eyes grew bigger and sparkled in the sunlight. We found an area in with no people, she slipped into the dress and eased herself into the water. I joked that she should swim up to a group of guys that had dragged a large float down the beach. "I think they would really like the sequins!" I joked as the sequins sparkled in the sunlight. "I'll tell them I'm really a mermaid." We laughed as Kirsten drove under the water. "I'm really glad we did this," Kirsten tells me as beads of water roll down her forehead, "it's been really fun." I show Kirsten a preview of one of her photos. "See I told you wouldn't make a funny face." 
   
    
 
 
Happy Hour is not to be missed at Day Light Mind. Chef Ash has brought in his famous Avocado fries and has added many fresh fish options. Prefect fusion of fresh farm to table with a wonderful Hawaiian twist. The poisson crus with in house made coconut milk is one of my favorites but I have yet to find something I don't like.
  
 I had so much fun with these two. It was such a pleasure to photograph the pure love they have for each other. They giggled like school children and held hands as if it was the first date. Carol told me that they met when she was only 15 and I was the lucky stranger to get to see how in love they still are forty years later.
Congrats you two! |
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