I spent last weekend in Park City, Utah, with one of my best friends, Greg. We traveled together last year in Europe, and I hadn't seen him since leaving him at an airport outside Frankfurt, Germany last September. So when Greg invited me to visit him and his family in Utah for some spring skiing, I was pretty excited.
Last week, I worked Monday instead of Friday. That meant I only needed to take two hours off on Thursday afternoon to catch my plane, instead of those two hours and Friday. So I drove to the airport, parked in the Mt Elbert lot, and flew out of Denver Thursday evening. Although Greg was sick with the flu while I was visiting, we still had a great time. He was in a NyQuil induced haze for a good part of Friday morning, but he recovered in time to hit the hot tub and watch some of the NCAA tourney. On Saturday we skied at Robert Redford's resort, Sundance. Redford and a group of investors purchased the approximately 5000 acres in the late 1960s, but have only allowed about 450 to be developed, preserving the remainder. The three-lift resort is steeper than anticipated, cheaper than it's competitors, and powered by wind. Oh, and it's only 15 miles from Utah's "front range," which makes it an easy commute if you live anywhere near Provo.
Greg and I were scheduled to flight out of Salt Lake City early on Sunday (different flights), so his dad dropped us off at 6:50, one hour before my flight. We sailed through security and were standing at my gate when the airline representative announced that the flight was overbooked and they needed volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for a later flight and a free ticket on United anywhere in the contiguous United States. United uses Denver as a hub, and I couldn't get to the counter quickly enough. I cashed in and walked with Greg to his gate. After saying goodbye (again at an airport), I went back to my new gate, sat down and started reading. A beautiful German woman sat down next to me, we started talking, and my flight was again overbooked.
I collected my second free ticket of the day, got bumped to a flight 2 hours later, and said goodbye to the beautiful German woman as she boarded the flight to Denver. Almost jokingly, I said we should have lunch in Denver later if we ran into one another at the airport. I tried to get bumped again, but my third flight of the day wasn't overbooked. I landed in Denver and thought that because my bags had been sitting outside of carousel 15 since 9am, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. As I was walking through the airport, I saw two flights going to Frankfurt, and stopped to look for the German woman with whom I'd been talking in Salt Lake City. No sign. I turned around and almost ran into a representative from United, and I asked her if any other flights were going to Frankfurt that day. She told me the gate, and again, unrestrained by time, I walked that way. Yeah, you know where this is going...
I wasn't even to the gate when I saw Simone walking off an escalator in front of me. She'd been sleeping upstairs in the airport, and if she hadn't come down at exactly that time, I never would have seen her. We had lunch and talked all afternoon before I walked her to her gate she flew home. It was incredible.
It's unique when you're on the same wavelength as someone else, but you know it can't last. You're forced to live the moment without thinking about the past or future, and the result is beautifully simple. In a few hours, you can learn so much about someone that you're shocked, and you miss them when they leave. Maybe it's the power of honesty. Maybe it's the connection you make when you realize that someone from another part of the world understands a situation that you thought was unique to your own life. But you've got to be willing to give it a shot.
Here's to life.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
What Customer Service Should Look Like
I visited my dentist today. I've been a customer for over two years. But my most recent problem started a couple of weeks ago when I noticed a loose tooth (it's a fake, by the way). I called on Saturday to let them know I needed to come in and get it re-glued soon. This morning I bit into a bagel, and my tooth came out in the tasty breakfast treat. I had a problem that needed to be fixed quickly.
My dentist had called already that morning, but I missed it - I was in a meeting. When I called back - tooth in hand - they listened and made an appointment for 1pm this afternoon.
When I arrived, we discussed my options: implant vs. new fake tooth vs. re-glue old fake tooth. I chose the last (and cheapest) option, and we took care of business. But while I was waiting for my tooth to be cleaned, I was trying to pick some pieces of cactus out of my hand (I'd fallen on one late last week, most of it's out, some of it's not) and my dentist offered to help me. It was obvious I was at a disadvantage trying to work on my own hand with a dull pair of tweezers, so he prepared sterile instruments and went to work, removing the nasty bit of cactus starting to fester in my thumb. Not pretty, and not an advertised service.
That's why I go to Bennett Dental, and that's why I'll continue to return. That's the power of customer service that goes beyond expectations. Do something you don't have to do for someone else, but something they will appreciate (and perhaps can't do as well as you on their own). If they're your friend, they'll never forget about it. And if they're a customer, they'll stay one (and tell their friends about you). Maybe they'll become both...
Also, a huge congratulations to Marcus and Lynn. I'm thrilled for you both, all my love.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Spelunking
A view from the inside of Horned Bear Cave looking back down into Golden.
I'm fortunate to have a job that allows me to be outside almost 80% of the time I'm working. Most of my days begin and end walking back into the office after hiking around greater Jefferson County, seeing and doing things most people must wait 'till the weekend to see and do. And I don't complain.
But some days work compels us to do things that we'd really like to do on our own free time, like find caves. Yesterday was one of those days, and as we set forth in the cool morning air, I had to remind myself that yes, I was still getting paid. We were in search of a cave near highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon. Our sources told us it was nearly 50' deep, dark as night and doubled as a wintering home for rattlesnakes (still dormant from the cold nights). We spotted the cave on our way up the gulch and slowly approached from below, wary of cats of bears that may be using the cave for shelter. When we got to the mouth, we were disappointed (much as I am with my NCAA bracket). The "cave" was about 8' tall x 18' wide x 12' deep. It was more of a whole in the rock. We took pictures, recorded the location and hiked back to the truck.
Pools of water are home to green moss thriving in direct sunlight in Indian Gultch.
After lunch, we went in search of Quandary Cave, also along the Clear Creek Canyon. Following a written description and photos adapted from Google Earth, we quickly found the "cave" while listening to the riveting Drake - Western Kentucky basketball game. What the second hole-in-the-wall "cave" lacked, the basketball game more than made up for with a thrilling three-point shot to end overtime and give the #12 seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers the victory.
A bit let down by our caving experiences, we decided to end the day with a proven winner (no, not North Carolina's pounding of Mount Saint Mary's). There are little known geologic features along the fault running through Clear Creek Canyon - a series of caves created by the moving earth - fault caves. Most of these are smaller and pretty tight. Some of them (and most of them are unknown) combine with geothermal factors to produce larger chambers with active caves features, such as heated pools, "curtains," "fountains," "stalactites," "stalagmites," "flowstone," "cave popcorn," "frostwork," and other "speleothem." Clear Creek Canyon's Crystal Cave has all of these. The cave itself is nearly 150' long/deep, descending from the mouth to a low point and then ascending steeply again toward the back of the cave. At it's widest, I'd guess it to be 30' wide, with a ceiling at times more than 35' tall.
Looking toward the entrance - this is much steeper than it appears. The lower ladder is - in reality - nearly vertical.
The cave was discovered as a developer was cutting a road with his bulldozer to reach his quarry. The results of the bulldozer striking the edge of the cave caused a massive cave in (sorry), covering the floor of the cave with rubble nearly 6' deep and coating much of the inside with dust. Before JeffCo purchased the property, it was frequently vandalized and many of the formations were either touched (which can stop cave feature growth) or simply broken off and stolen. This is disappointing. But since JeffCo's acquisition and closure of the cave, the natural humidity has been restored and many of the features have begun regrowing.
Calcite curtains inside of Crystal Cave.
Unfortunately, I don't have a key for this cave. But if anyone is interested in going to see some other fault caves up Clear Creek Canyon, we can do that. It'd be a good way to get everyone together in April and get outside for a morning (and afternoon?). Remember to bring your headlamps and leave your claustrophobia at home.
Happy Easter.
Ice formed around the branches of this bush overnight at the base of a small waterfall.
I'm fortunate to have a job that allows me to be outside almost 80% of the time I'm working. Most of my days begin and end walking back into the office after hiking around greater Jefferson County, seeing and doing things most people must wait 'till the weekend to see and do. And I don't complain.
But some days work compels us to do things that we'd really like to do on our own free time, like find caves. Yesterday was one of those days, and as we set forth in the cool morning air, I had to remind myself that yes, I was still getting paid. We were in search of a cave near highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon. Our sources told us it was nearly 50' deep, dark as night and doubled as a wintering home for rattlesnakes (still dormant from the cold nights). We spotted the cave on our way up the gulch and slowly approached from below, wary of cats of bears that may be using the cave for shelter. When we got to the mouth, we were disappointed (much as I am with my NCAA bracket). The "cave" was about 8' tall x 18' wide x 12' deep. It was more of a whole in the rock. We took pictures, recorded the location and hiked back to the truck.
Pools of water are home to green moss thriving in direct sunlight in Indian Gultch.
After lunch, we went in search of Quandary Cave, also along the Clear Creek Canyon. Following a written description and photos adapted from Google Earth, we quickly found the "cave" while listening to the riveting Drake - Western Kentucky basketball game. What the second hole-in-the-wall "cave" lacked, the basketball game more than made up for with a thrilling three-point shot to end overtime and give the #12 seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers the victory.
A bit let down by our caving experiences, we decided to end the day with a proven winner (no, not North Carolina's pounding of Mount Saint Mary's). There are little known geologic features along the fault running through Clear Creek Canyon - a series of caves created by the moving earth - fault caves. Most of these are smaller and pretty tight. Some of them (and most of them are unknown) combine with geothermal factors to produce larger chambers with active caves features, such as heated pools, "curtains," "fountains," "stalactites," "stalagmites," "flowstone," "cave popcorn," "frostwork," and other "speleothem." Clear Creek Canyon's Crystal Cave has all of these. The cave itself is nearly 150' long/deep, descending from the mouth to a low point and then ascending steeply again toward the back of the cave. At it's widest, I'd guess it to be 30' wide, with a ceiling at times more than 35' tall.
Looking toward the entrance - this is much steeper than it appears. The lower ladder is - in reality - nearly vertical.
The cave was discovered as a developer was cutting a road with his bulldozer to reach his quarry. The results of the bulldozer striking the edge of the cave caused a massive cave in (sorry), covering the floor of the cave with rubble nearly 6' deep and coating much of the inside with dust. Before JeffCo purchased the property, it was frequently vandalized and many of the formations were either touched (which can stop cave feature growth) or simply broken off and stolen. This is disappointing. But since JeffCo's acquisition and closure of the cave, the natural humidity has been restored and many of the features have begun regrowing.
Calcite curtains inside of Crystal Cave.
Unfortunately, I don't have a key for this cave. But if anyone is interested in going to see some other fault caves up Clear Creek Canyon, we can do that. It'd be a good way to get everyone together in April and get outside for a morning (and afternoon?). Remember to bring your headlamps and leave your claustrophobia at home.
Happy Easter.
Ice formed around the branches of this bush overnight at the base of a small waterfall.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Casting a shadow
Over the last week or so I've been at a trailbuilding conference in Reno, Nevada. But before the conference, my co-worker Dave and I traveled to San Francisco to visit Julia and Greg, friends of mine from Nebraska. Our time in San Francisco was too short, but we were able to bar-be-que on the beach below the Golden Gate Bridge on a perfect Saturday afternoon and see the city the following day under cloudless skies.
Long's Peak and RMNP from the south.
We walked through Chinatown on our way north toward Fisherman's Wharf, stopping at the City Lights Bookstore, made famous by Jack Kerouac and numerous other Beat writers from the 60s.
Outside of the City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco.
We walked along the bay for a while toward the Presidio enjoying the sun and cool breeze while children chased kites in the park.
The National Trailbuilders Conference went well. Dave and I learned a lot about building trails in difficult terrain as well as the new challenges facing trailbuilders. We demoed new equipment, attended a number of seminars, and, oh yeah, gambled a bit.
Long's Peak and RMNP from the south.
We walked through Chinatown on our way north toward Fisherman's Wharf, stopping at the City Lights Bookstore, made famous by Jack Kerouac and numerous other Beat writers from the 60s.
Outside of the City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco.
We walked along the bay for a while toward the Presidio enjoying the sun and cool breeze while children chased kites in the park.
The National Trailbuilders Conference went well. Dave and I learned a lot about building trails in difficult terrain as well as the new challenges facing trailbuilders. We demoed new equipment, attended a number of seminars, and, oh yeah, gambled a bit.
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