Colorado is Ablaze!

Above is a map (made by Theoretican on Reddit and posted to /r/Colorado) of the newly-developed Waldo Canyon Fire near Colorado Springs. I'm not in Colorado Springs right now, but I grew up there, and I've seen pictures, and it looks like it's pretty visible from pretty much everywhere in the city. It looks like mandatory evacuations were put into place for Manitou Springs, which is about a half hour drive from where I grew up.

Most everybody I know lives in either the north or the east of the city, though, so I have no worries there. Though I do hope that this fire doesn't spread too much. Though it has been pretty hot, and coupled with the fact that we had a pretty mild and dry winter, things aren't boding well for these fires in general.

Meanwhile, closer to where I live, the second largest fire in Colorado history is burning near Fort Collins. I was actually in Fort Collins last Friday, and it's pretty hazy down there (and also much warmer - I think it got to about 100 yesterday). This one has affected us more, though again, we're not in any danger. Below is a photo of the fire I took on June 4th - obviously, it's gotten a bit worse since then.


For those interested, here are a few relevant articles to check out:

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_20929068/waldo-canyon-fire-forces-evacuation-manitou-springs

http://www.9news.com/news/article/273899/339/High-Park-Fire-grows-to-75537-acres

"You Must Be KT." (Or, the story of how I was almost recognized at ~13,000 Feet.)

Tonight, I had to go back and scour my Twitter (and by that, I mean scroll down a little bit) for a tweet about summitting a mountain.

You see, I was hiking up a mountain yesterday, and on the way down, this lady looks at me and says, "You must be KT."

I immediately went into a small panic, because I was suddenly thinking that I had an insanely thorough stalker. Or at least, a stalker who scoured my Reddit account for information on me. Which, if you're really thorough, could probably get you quite a lot of information.

Of course, not wanting to immediately give away my super secret author identity, I laughed it off with a half-hearted, "What are you talking about?" kind of answer.

(At this point, I'm aware that this story is likely to sound completely made up. Seriously, though, this is 100% true...which is why it's so god damn weird.)

"Somebody wrote, 'I heart KT' in the snow back there."

(DISCLAIMER: I did not write my own "initials" in the snow. That's a silly and ineffective form of advertising.)

"Oh, okay," I said.

The lady and her male counterpart hiked in the opposite direction, while boyfriend and I continued to walk down the mountain for a ways, until I looked at him. He knew what I was thinking, and he teased me on the origin of the initials of my pseudonym. Of course, my thoughts at the time were along the lines of, "What in the world did I post on Twitter?"

The two of us continued to walk, heading down the mountain, when suddenly, we came upon it. We came upon the (now infamous) "I heart KT."

Again, I would like to point out that I did not write this, and according to my boyfriend, neither did he.

However, whoever was on Barr Trail near Colorado Springs and wrote this for whatever reason, I think you ought to know that you damn near gave me a heart attack.

Bad Photography (We All Make Mistakes).

Sure, it's cool to show off all of our good writing, and our good artwork. But, let's face it - it's not 100% realistic. Because we all take terrible pictures. And we all write terrible first drafts. And, pretty much everything we do on the first try is terrible. So, let's at least have some fun. (But, for the sake of "having fun", I'm going to title them like I think they're freaking works of art, because fun.)

Breathtaking Photo of a Monkey Hanging Out in a Tree

Amazing, One-of-a-Kind Photo of Nature's Most Beautiful and Dangerous Wonders - The Almighty Flame

A Majestic Sunset Over Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

A Breathtaking View of Colorado Springs, CO

Beautiful Photograph of a Coloradan Forest in the Summertime

A Roadside View of Some Lovely Green Trees

A Reminder that All Life is Fragile - Stunning Photograph of a Dying Tree

Feeling Uncreative Tonight, Though I Still Feel Obligated to Post.

Actually, though, today's been a good day. This is despite Santorum winning in Colorado. WTF, Colorado? (I blame Colorado Springs.)


Also, I would by lying if I said I was really following the republican primaries too closely. I just find it very strange that anybody would vote for Santorum. Honestly, though, I'm not sure why anybody would vote for any of the republican candidates. I really don't care for many of Ron Paul's views, though I still feel as though he's the lesser of all evils in this case.

Also, I find Santorum's name bothersome. I just hear "Sanatorium".

That said, I didn't come here tonight to start any flame wars. Like I had started to say, today has been a pretty damn good day, all things considered. Not only did I sell a few copies of Family History: Part 1 and The Dowry, but it turns out that there might be a "job" in my future. I'm going to go with a 25% here, even though I think the chance is a bit higher than that, just so that I don't get my hopes up.

Shit...I already have.


Anyways, I'll post some actual "content" now. How about a piece or two of old photography?

Just a sunflower - nothing really spectacular here. Though
if you care - taken in San Isabel National Forest, CO.

Actually my desktop background. Also taken in Wyoming.

This is all I hear when I see this picture. I promise - I really did take this one.
A Windmill; Thunder Basin, WY. (P.S. Never go there. You'll probably never
need to.)

Cool. A Postcard from My Hometown on Postsecret.