I like to ride my bicycle...

My best friends in Colorado, Ciara and Travis after we jumped seven consecutive waterfalls 

in Cascade Creek, right outside Durango, Colorado

Welcome back everyone. We are rolling right along on another whirlwind adventure that is the school year at Luther. The returning students are back in a familiar place, whereas the new students are going through the grand adjustment period. I hope all is well for everyone out there, and rest assured that things are going smoothly here on campus.

 

There is much to be discussed, since I haven't written in about three months, however, I will spare you some of the details, because I do not want to harm your eyeballs.

 

First off, my summer was fantastic. As I mentioned in my previous blogs, I spent the summer months in Durango, Colorado, working as a whitewater rafting guide on the Animas River. I worked for a great company called 4 Corners Whitewater (if you are ever in the area, look us up!). I spent every day in the sun, either floating down a beautiful river in the southwestern US (work?!?), or passing the time with activities such as rock climbing, hiking, biking, kayaking, or most anything else that Colorado has to offer. It was time well spent; I got to meet fantastic people, have a job I loved, and work outside all day. So if you are ever aching to take an adrenaline-pumping trip down some whitewater, look me up!

But now I am back at home, meaning both Decorah and Luther. I moved in early because of some training we had at the rock climbing wall. On the note of moving in, my experience was a little different this year. You all know me pretty well now, after a year of blogging, so you can understand why I decided to move to campus in the manner that I did. You see, I believe that our society tends to rely on cars and gasoline a little too much in our day-to-day lives. I think that most of the time, cars are not a necessity, but rather a convenience. I understand that cars are helpful at times, whether it be because time constraints or the need to carry multiple people or possessions. But because I live so close to campus, I decided to move in by bicycle. 

 

To do this, I first built a trailer out of 1/2" electrical conduit (metal tubes that protect electrical wires). It cost me a total of about $25 because I had a lot of the necessary parts at home. I spent several hours trying different designs and ended up with a pretty solid one. It evolved as I worked on it, and turned out really well. So when Friday rolled around, I loaded up all of my things onto my bike and pedaled down to campus. It took me three trips, but all of my possessions were carried without a drop of gasoline. I got a few strange looks on campus, but it felt good to relieve myself of the stresses related to parking, paying for gas, and concern for environmental impact. Moving by bike is not for everyone, it can be a pain, but it was definitely worth it for me.

Another adventure I have undertaken is the responsibility as one of the leaders of Backyard Wilderness Pursuits (BWP). It is a student-run group on campus that is involved in any and every form of outdoor recreation. We do everything from biking to hiking, canoeing to camping, skiing to snowshoeing. The Student Activities Council had their annual activities fair, and we had a table promoting our organization. It seemed like there was quite a bit of interest, so hopefully that interest continues, even as classes take up an increasing amount of people's time.

 

Speaking of classes, they just started today, so it is a little early to tell how the year will progress in the academic sphere, but I am entirely optimistic, and you will be hearing about it all as it happens. My schedule will be manageable, and hopefully a bit entertaining. 

 

Keep on doing what you do, and may good health and happiness come your way.

 

Peace,

Collin