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

No wonder Dorothy was so surprised to have been transported out of her home state. Even the most wicked tornado could not fling you far enough…

We actually threaded a weather needle that led us in and out of 7 states, but it seemed like all of it was Kansas, which you can envision, but just for fun:

…for 6 straight hours, which when I write this now seems like such a small portion of the total trip, but it felt like an eternity.

Everyone will be glad to know that both our marriage and our lower backs survived the 28-hour drive. We did it in two chunks: 15 hours from Brevard, NC to Topeka, KS on Saturday; 13 hours from Topeka, KS to Ouray, CO on Sunday.

Topeka, Kansas was dead. We barely found an open place to eat dinner on Saturday night, which seemed weird. I haven’t decided if it was sad or just quiet. We did end up at a funny burger bar with a live band and, to our relief, other humans. It did the job.

Zack had a stronger “we will never return”-type of opinion of Topeka, but I think it mostly had to do with the last-minute Hyatt, which had a musty smell that you didn’t want to think too hard about after noticing the water damage on the ceiling in the hallway…we tried 2 rooms, then decided to just sleep a few hours and hit the road again at 4am. I think Zack slept 3 hours, max. The silver lining is that we did not waste any time getting to Ouray!

We tried to capture all of the “Welcome to [insert state]” signs, but we failed, so here are just a few shots of sights along the way:

We listened to MANY Spotify playlists (thanks for the custom playlist, Mo ♥︎) and podcasts, sometimes welcome silence, and 1.5 audiobooks. C.S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet is a curious sci-fi novel that I am not sure I loved, but I might finish the trilogy at some point, giving Clive the benefit of the doubt that I know he deserves. I am still finishing Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, and it is very inspiring. Not-so-much-of-a-spoiler alert: I have already tackled a chunk of miles on my feet out here in CO (which I was dying for after the long drive), and Born to Run is making me feel and think differently about my running goals. It is my first favorite book of the trip. Highly recommend.

Anyways, we survived the trip, the car is parked out back behind an Airbnb that far exceeds expectations, and we are settling into our August home effortlessly. It has only been 2 days, but I feel like I might never want to leave this beautiful, picturesque town…here is the view from the back porch this lovely Wednesday morning:

-Katie

Monday, August 1. Almost exactly a year ago, our first attempt at a trip out West was thwarted mere days before our flight by darling Covid, and we ended up driving to Brevard, NC, instead. What ensued was one of the best weeks of my life – despite a positive Covid test the week before, Zack had no symptoms, so we hiked secluded trails, I did multiple puzzles, we watched almost a whole season of Brooklyn 99, we sat outside at breweries (once the at-home tests were negative, of course), and found the best BBQ we ever tasted (more details below). Turns out what we needed was a quarantine-like vacation to actually rest. So, we love Brevard – because of its natural merit, accessible trails, delicious BBQ & Brews, but also because it is a personal happy place. The perfect place to start our journey, no?

Rewind to when we left FL (July 22)… 1 night’s pitstop in Gainesville, and another in Charlotte gave us the welcome chance to say some of our last farewells. We had a nice visit with William & Jenny in Gainesville – got to see the new Chmely Chicken Coop and catch up with human Chmelys too. Then, off to Charlotte to see Steve and Margo. Their house is SO CUTE, and it was a treat to listen to Margo preach on Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon, we arrived in Brevard. Coincidentally, Mom & Dad Fraga, who were also in Charlotte visiting Steve & Margo, planned a short trip to the Asheville area too. We got to hike the Black Balsam Knob trail and visit the Sierra Nevada brewery with them while they were there – our final farewell.

Brevard gave us the opportunity to get our feet wet before we were too far from home, which turned out to be a great plan. Some things we learned:

• We packed too much. Simplify. Shout out again to Mom & Dad for taking a giant suitcase back to South Florida that we ditched.

• Always stay in Airbnbs with washing machines…when we hike all day our clothes smell ratchet.

• Don’t be the first person out on a trail on a summer morning…. the early bird might get the worm, but the first person on the trail gets all the spider webs.

• We are nostalgic creatures of habit, which is less something learned and more something I feel the need to confess…we frequented our favorite two dinner/drinks places repeatedly last week…
  • Monday – Smoke On BBQ take out, eaten outside at Oscar Blues Brewery
  • Tuesday – Sierra Nevada dinner and drinks with Mom & Dad
  • Wednesday – See Monday
  • Thursday – See Tuesday, sans Mom & Dad
  • Friday – See Monday (we almost went to downtown Asheville…but didn’t)

Maybe we will try to branch out a little more at some of our other destinations…

We also met some nice folks in Brevard. As a deeply introverted person, it is a side-goal of mine to stop during these Fragabond days and take opportunities to chat with people along the way. A couple notable conversations:

• Norman was reading the news on Wednesday morning in Cup & Saucer coffee shop in downtown Brevard. He saved us all by asking the shop to reboot the wifi router, and he also told us about the 20 years he spent teaching English in Germany. He owns a little rental unit in Brevard and was in town from Greenville, SC just checking-in.
• Gary was a member of a “Mountain Music Group” that plays some delightful tunes on Monday nights at Oscar Blues. He told us about a long trip he and his wife took out west in a motorcycle and sidecar. Way more hard-core than us, but he gave us some great tales of his favorite views. Seems like the Olympic Peninsula may need to be added to our list.

We hiked a lot (Black Balsam Knob, Twin Falls, Brevard Greenway, Looking Glass Rock, Slick Rock Falls).

Looking Glass Rock, despite the spider webs this time, is my favorite Brevard hike. It is moderately challenging; it is a steady climb up almost 1,700 feet in the Pisgah National Forest through fairly dense trees. You are tired when you get to the top, but when you do, you emerge from the trees and suddenly you are standing at the edge of a cliff. It is a little eerie because you feel like one wrong step and you will tumble right off the top of the massive, curved rock, but as far as you can see are insanely beautiful, lush Carolina mountains. The work and webs are so worth it.

I think Looking Glass Rock was the perfect hike to start with on this trip – I like it a lot and feel from a practical sense that it is a good warm-up for Colorado, but I also like the symbolism in working hard even when you can’t enjoy the pay off until the very end (and trusting it will be there). Also, as I am writing this post now on our first day in Ouray, CO, I feel a little like we tumbled down a rabbit hole of sorts (if Alice’s tumble looked a little more like a 30-hour drive through the never-ending Kansas flatlands). Brevard we knew pretty well, but now I feel like we are stepping through into the real adventure! So far, it’s awe-inspiring views, the cutest chipmunks ever, and quiet mountain deer, but I will let you know if we see a jabberwock…

-Katie

Today is Thursday July 28, 2022. We hit the road and said goodbye to sunny South Florida 6 days ago, and I am still putting together my thoughts about this crazy season. If you have the link to this blog page, it is because you know we decided to pack up our things and leave home behind for a little while. We plan to see beautiful places and spend extended time as just “Zack and Katie,” which sounds restful and exciting. But I keep returning to the thought…I can’t believe we are doing this – it must be set aside for something. Every chapter of our story so far feels logical, practical, methodical. Get the degrees, learn how to invest, take only moderate risks, always have a safety net, and take care of your people. So, we did that. I am proud of most of the ways we did, too. But this new chapter feels like it is supposed to be different. It doesn’t make good sense in the worldly, practical view, but God didn’t just gently nudge me into it. I feel humbled and grateful because I know that God shoved me into it. It is so outside of my nature to make choices like this, but for some reason He flipped a switch inside my head like never before. The idea came up and we sailed through the decisions in one March weekend – quit Katie’s job, apply to Grad school, leave in July, drive west, 6-month time frame. We dove in headfirst, executed in a whirlwind, said goodbyes, and suddenly here we are in North Carolina.

The past month has been full to the brim…we said dozens of farewells, had so many special meals with friends and family (Beef Wellington, Coolinary Café, and Park Avenue BBQ to name a few), packed things, unpacked things, attended a baby shower, a bachelorette party, AND a wedding, finally fixed the leaky toilet and organized the garage, ♥︎ welcomed Stella Rose ♥︎, had more happy-hour/lunch goodbyes with coworkers-become-friends than I ever expected, soaked in as much of the Jupiter beach as possible, and stopped by our favorite local places one more time…

One of those places is Tequesta Brewing Company (“TBC”). When we moved back to Palm Beach County in 2017 with a new-found love of craft beer (thanks, Madison, WI), we found and immediately loved TBC’s constant rotation of new brews. But more than good beer (of which the TBC well never runneth dry ☺︎), we found a place where Zack and I really talked – away from the distractions of life and chores and family and friends and responsibilities and work. On countless occasions, we sat in that dark bar under its blue, fluorescent lights, chatting about God, life, plans, pains, aspirations. I am still not sure why, but some of our most personal and important connections were established under those blue lights.

I can’t believe we are doing this, but I feel a constant tugging thought that there are things in this season that we are supposed to learn, do, and see.

So, here is to the many more “blue light” moments I know we will have on this journey together.

-Katie