**** I set off from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in July 2011...and ended up in Aspen, Colorado, in February 2012. Along the way, I visited 28 states, three countries, dozens of national parks, hundreds of cities and towns, and countless friends and strangers. Why? Why not? In fact, I lost my job of seven years when Berkshire Living, the regional magazine I helped launch, folded. Then my apartment building burned down while I was in Miami for the weekend. A breakup and a stolen bicycle figured in shortly thereafter. Wouldn't you hit the road, too? Enjoy my virtual scrapbook of anecdotes and eye candy from a freewheeling, cross-country, cross-cultural odyssey--past, present, and future.Amanda Rae Busch
amandaraewashere@gmail.com
It was so face-crispingly windy today—55 mph gusts!—atop Aspen Mountain (Ajax) today that the Silver Queen Gondola shut down.
The scene on the mountain—accessible via double chairs lacking safety bars!—was similar to that of a violent Saharan sandstorm (above)…but with powdery snow and temps of 19 degrees. At one point, my ski buddy from Miami and I turned our tips downhill, and we stopped dead in our tracks. It was that fierce.
By 2 p.m., the sun had slipped beneath dull clouds that cast dark shadows over the solid, slick terrain. And at that point we agreed: we didn’t come all the way out to Colorado for Ice Coast conditions! Time for hot cocoa.
