Fragabond

Week 1 in Ouray was unhurried, but full. Zack was able to figure out a good set-up for work at our Airbnb kitchen table, fully equipped with 3 screens, strong WIFI, and a snack-filled kitchen that would rival most office break rooms (maybe even Blue Origin’s? Guess we will have to visit when we get to WA and find out…). He is impressively focused, and I am thoroughly enjoying listening to his calls ☺︎. I try and fail every day not to interrupt his concentration…

I still find turbine engineering language completely foreign, but I have learned more about the work he is doing (at least around the edges) in the last 3 weeks than over the last 3 years. That is one of the lessons I am learning on this journey…I got laser-focused on my own goals/responsibilities/work. Over the last few years, when I was busy at work (which was all the time because even during slow times I was focusing on what was next or overanalyzing the last project), I told myself that I just didn’t have the bandwidth to learn more about Zack’s job. Selfish. I realize now what a huge lost opportunity that was. I have already been able to connect with Zack more by talking about and connecting with his work. I think, no matter what we do in our next chapters, I want to reprioritize taking time to focus, listen, and learn about what he is doing. He is so good at that with me – it is definitely one of his strengths.

Anyway, the sure-fire way to avoid being a massive distraction during the daytime is to leave the house. That, coupled with my rapid consumption of the Born to Run audiobook, means I have been spending a LOT of time on the trails. It is a little obsessive, and I probably need to tone it down a bit. BUT, I also officially signed up for a race at the end of November, so while I will try to keep the run talk to a minimum on this website, you have been warned…

On that note, Ouray has a 7-mile Perimeter Trail that fully encircles the valley-town below, crossing multiple waterfalls and offering some truly beautiful views of both Ouray and the mountains. The best part is that the trailhead is only about a 5- to 10-minute walk from our doorstep, so we were able to hike it a few times during the workweek last week.

We also took a day trip to Telluride on Saturday. It is about a 1-hour drive from here. We rode the free gondola twice, drank a lot of coffee, walked around and looked at the cute shops, and hiked Bridal Veil Falls. Zack jumped into the icy water at the waterfall base, but I was not so brave (read: crazy).

Turns out the food in Ouray is both mediocre and expensive, so Zack has been cooking a lot and our bank account thanks him. We did have some pizza in Telluride that was pretty good though!

Our dear friends, Mo and Blake, happen to also be passing through Ouray this week. They arrived Saturday, and we have already enjoyed some beers and burgers with them. Zack, Mo, and Blake also did a big hike to Columbine Lake on Sunday morning. Since I overdid the milage during the week, I missed out, but Zack brought back wild mountain flowers, which made me melt ♥︎.

More of the same this week probably (darn…☺︎). School starts in less that 2 weeks, and now that we have done a fair amount of exploring, I am looking forward to having some classes on my plate. The reduced pace has been really nice though.

-Katie