day 2- natural science museum- DENVER

A good day. We went to Denver to the aforementioned museum- an interesting ride there with Rodiek in the lead- a few wrong turns, but we made it just fine.

The museum was pretty cool- I was a bit skeptical at first (why are we going to this place when there are such great architectural works in Denver, no doubt some amazing outdoor spaces… oh well) but came around to see the value in it- and after all, we’re with Dr. Rodiek, not Beth Meyers, and we’re experiencing CO via his values. I’m ok with that. I trust him, and really like the guy- anyways, here are a few pictures of the dioramas they had at the museum- well done, I think.

And some wolves for you, Joy!

And I did some sketching as well-

Dila swore she wouldn’t let me take any more pictures of her asleep, but- I got her on the way home! We’ll see what tomorrow brings…

On the way home I had Allen drop me off at Starbucks for a little rejuvenation- YES!!!! Sara joined me and we had a pleasant walk and talk back to the dorm while we got refueled. I really like Sara- she’s so easygoing and a happy girl, fun to be around.

We came back to the dorm and had to complete our sketches as well as dimension a built site on campus, and I remembered the fountain we had come across the other day, so I went there- it’s a memorial to the people who helped out when CO State’s campus had a bad flood in 1997. It’s really well designed and fun to play in- there were a bunch of kids inside the middle of the fountain! Good to see it being used well.

After our little evening session reviewing the day with Jon, we all headed to a little hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant called Toy Thai or something like that- SO delicious. I had the green curry with tofu. We walked there and back and talked about various and sundry things- books, (Namrata’s read God of Small Things!) how to say things in other languages, etc. and some people got a little wet in the sprinklers…. But really, just a little. It’s so perfect outside- no bugs, 65 degrees, dry- delightful. Its been great to be with everyone in a different context- I think we’re all really enjoying each other- seeing little quirks and mannerisms, getting a chance to talk more- good. I’m thankful for all of them.

Day 1- Arrival

The journey to Colorado State University was safe and enjoyable- we were all to Easterwood Airport in plenty of time, but sad to find out when we got there that Namrata had the flu. She was (and is) feeling awful, but here anyway… And our flight to Houston was uneventful, save for the stewardess forgetting her safety instructions speech and starting over 5 or 6 times.


I really enjoyed the flight to Denver- nice big plane, window seat, crop circles below. Being in a plane gives me so much perspective to daily affairs- the things humans build and decisions they make about the land, the miniscule concrete ‘foundations’ we set for our homes and businesses, the fragility and vulnerability of our infrastructure… gives me pause to consider what we’re doing with our planet, the motivations behind all of this. I read half of the latest issue of Dwell, some great stuff in there- as always. A stimulating publication- food for the mind and for the eyes.




The architecture at the Denver Airport is really impressive- fabric architecture- glowing, voluminous. A short car ride and a little nap later, we’re in Fort Collins. I rode shotgun to be Ricardo’s navigator. That was good. I hope he and I get to be closer on this trip.

Dila slept everywhere, as usual- so funny. I’m starting an album just of pics of her sleeping and see what I come up with by the end of the trip. I’m sharing a decent dorm room with Che-Chia, window open to let the cool night air come in.

After a brief tour of the arboretum on campus,


we went to the local Safeway, walked around a bit and familiarized ourselves with Fort Collins, at least one of the areas near campus.

Found some good restaurants we might return to through the week. On our walk we (Matt, Sara, Ricardo, Che-Chia, Dila, and Xun) practiced our Chinese and our Spanish greetings. Fun stuff. Stopped in a bike shop (they are bike crazy here) and looked around, walked a loop through a neighborhood, found some grass in the sun on campus to lay in for a while.



We then went to the student center and I split off and explored the library some by myself. Here are some pics for you, mom!

Found a great little lagoon on the walk back to the dorm

and took a short nap immediately upon arriving in my room. Thinking about doing a little sketchwork tonight, to warm up for our big day in Denver tomorrow.


bye!