The Mountains or The Beach, Why Not Both?

People often ask “What do you prefer, the mountains or the beach?” it was a tough one, as a Californian the beach and the mountains are only two hours apart. This is a shot from the Rocky Mountain National Park of a frozen Bear Lake. After a long day of working at the Y in Estes Park Colorado, we rented out some spikes for shoes and decided to hike around bear lake. We were all amazed when the sun started setting and it almost looked like that peak was an erupted volcano. It was a cold November day and it had been a slippery hike but it was completely worth it. I did do some editing to the photo to make the image a little brighter and sharper and had to photoshop a photographer out of the way but it’s still inspiring to look and this view made me forget everyone else.

The orange glow from the clouds almost makes the shot more dramatic even though it’s such a serene view below. But even after this I still couldn’t answer that question and thought why not both. I believe that we have the whole world in our hands with unlimited possibilities and many places to see.

I grew up in Southern California in a Bordertown called Calexico which is the eastern end of California. The closest city is the capital of Baja California named Mexicali. It is a desert town and surrounded by the desert mountains while the town is situated on the flat land below sea level with the summers that can reach up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit and very short winters. I lived there for 23 years and it wasn’t exactly the best county in Southern California. Many people also cross over from the Mexican Bordertown so that their children can have a better and free education but unfortunately there aren’t a lot of opportunities unless you go into nursing and border patrol. Before working in Colorado I had never been further than Yuma, AZ, and only traveled down south to Puerto Vallarta. It was 2016 where I took that big leap to leave my state for a seasonal job and got to live in the mountains where I was basically living in the Rocky Mountain National Park in a beautiful town called Estes Park. I went from below sea level and 110 degrees Fahrenheit to 8,400ft and 40 degrees Fahrenheit in one day.

I got altitude sickness and it was hard to walk for more than five minutes the first week but as soon as I was able to see this view after the first week of work, it was all worth it. It made me realize how much I missed out on nature and it was worth leaving my community college days behind. This view made me feel free and that I too can be like those mountains that are 14,000 ft tall and stretch out like those clouds and just simply be. After the eight months of working in Colorado, I was able to work in ten different states and work near two other national parks like Yosemite and Acadia National Park. I took up more camp jobs as well as they allowed me to be outside the majority of the day just getting paid to be with campers and teach archery and rock climbing. And it was then that I realized that home is where the heart is, and it is unlimited. Southern California will always be my home but there are always chances to have many homes away from home and that shot of Bear Lake will forever remain in my heart because it tells me that the possibilities are endless.