Bears don't hibernate, they torpor.

Location, Colorado.

Time of year, Winter.

Hiking/Traveling status, minimum.

I'm living in Denver. It's Winter time and it's cold. Though we've been blessed (and cursed) with such a warm Colorado Winter, it's no secret that my traveling and hiking status has almost been nonexistent these last few months, at least while I've been in Colorado that is. Here's the thing, I don't like being cold. Some cold I can handle, like how I went to Texas two weekends ago to try out my new tent because it was 60's during the day and only 30's at night. I needed a break from the Colorado chill and I truly did want to try out my new tent, so to Amarillo I went. Though traveling 8 hours (one way) on my three days off always seems well worth it to me, anything passed that and I would at least like a solid 4-5 days to have at my destination. Trust me when I say that I'm constantly checking on what the weather is in other areas of the country at all times, but lets be face it, it's Winter all across the board, south of Colorado is desert (mainly) and the desert doesn't retain heat at night making for a very chilly Mads. So unless I'm flying out to a different state, I've been in hibernation here in the good ole Rado.

So, what do I do when I'm not out traveling? Well, I work obviously and I spend a lot of time doing free/inexpensive things to save up for Spring/Summer/Fall when I'd rather take off work to be out on the road camping, hiking and backpacking. I'm in the restaurant industry, 12 years and running and it's probably the industry I'll die in if I'm being honest. I'm more life driven than career driven and of course I need money, but I certainly don't need a lot of it to live the life I'd like to, so the short work weeks and flexible hours really match up with my on-the-go lifestyle. Aside from working I'm always doing something fun and random. Living in Denver has a ton of perks and living right next to one of the best parks in town is my favorite. The best thing about Colorado for me is that we get more than 300 days of full sunlight a year on average and so many people are constantly outside, so bringing toys to the park is a must, even if it's just me and Renni. Luckily enough I've met some really cool people out here who are just as active as I am, and meeting up to go play soccer, frisbee, volleyball, whatever at the park and having friends join is never too hard. Plus, when you bring fun things to do in the park in CO, you're bound to make a few new friends. I also have a ton of other new hobbies that I've taken up this year to keep me and my mind busy because frankly, there's no time for nothing over here.

Apart from planning new places to travel to this year, I've been teaching myself to juggle, learn the ukulele, and learn Spanish (finally). I also got myself a new pair of roller-skates to learn some new cool tricks on those, but they came just in time for our snow to finally show up, so that's looking to be more of my Spring thing for this year instead. Alright, now some of you may be thinking.. juggle, ukulele, Spanish? That's a lot of random things Mads, what's up.. I'll tell you. I don't want to stop getting cooler and tell me, how cool someone is who randomly is juggling while singing a song in Spanish and playing the ukulele? No but seriously, I was tired of the same old New Years resolutions. 'Be better' has been mine for the last couple of years now, and of course I'm still practicing being a better person everyday. I think we all should. Hold the door for someone, practice our patience when it's running thin on a coworker or a guest, practice hugging because that's what Buddhists do and it releases endorphins after hugging someone for 30 seconds (try it I promise, whoever you hug will be laughing by the end of it). So now I've decided that from here on out that my resolutions are going to include a new hobby or definitely something fun and realistic rather than the same ole same. *highly recommend* Even something as simple as juggling. I practiced for 5-10 minutes a day for about two weeks and nailed it. My best friend and I are always telling each other 'how do we get better at something? we do it". So get out there fam, give something new 5 minutes of your day and show off your new trick to surprise your friends some day. They'll think you're cooler for it and honestly, you will be.

Aside from all of the new hobbies, I mentioned going out and doing inexpensive things around the city to keep me busy also. I know what you're thinking.. cities are so expensive, how is there anything I can do for free around a city!? Well, happy to tell you that there's actually so many free and inexpensive things to do around a city, especially Denver! From bike trails, to all the parks, you can really never be bored on a Colorado day. For my nightlife friends who want to have anything to do on any given night during the week/weekend, click the link

Things To Do Sometimes Here!

for my blog on Things To Do Sometimes - Denver Addition, for a complete list of things going on around Denver that are free/inexpensive.

Moral of the story here is that sometimes I'm not traveling. Sometimes I'm just straight up hanging out at home being a normal person who goes to work and takes my dog to the park. I think that a lot of the time when someone has their social media niched to a certain thing, that outsiders looking in are assuming that we're always out here doing something every single day, and well, we're not. I definitely get down on myself sometimes thinking that I have to constantly be out doing something. Getting that new hiking picture or video or story for instagram and am constantly reminding myself that I don't have to stress out or overthink it and I've been getting way better at just hanging out and enjoying the moment.

With all that being said, SPRING AND SUMMER ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!!!! So don't worry fam, Renni and I will be back out there (hopefully with you guys as well) soon enough.

With love always,

Mads