my life imitating an rei catalog

Sometimes, in life, you turn a page, like when you watch a movie or read a book or make a new friend that creates a spark.

Other times, you begin a new chapter. A child is born. You get a new job. A marriage.

Sometimes, however, a change is so dramatic that it's as if you were closing one book and opening up the next one in the series. These aren't necessarily the "big" moments or the traditional rites of passage. But they are the ones that shift your perspective and create a whole new way of being in the world........


For the first time in Spengler family history, we loaded FOUR mountain bikes onto the Blazer! For those of you who think that's just a page, think again. This is monumental. A whole new world. A new book. Let it be known that my boys, on their very first true mountain biking experience, went up and down shit I had to stop for. Oh my.....





Yeah, we were simply one of many. One of the loaded down SUV's headed out to the desert for Spring Break. Yeah, we burned a whole lotta oil to get there. And yeah, we feel insanely guilty about it. And yeah, we had a really great time.

Nightmare necklaces made by the Navajo:

Newspaper Rock:

North Window:

You know, you can't really capture the essence of Canyonlands NP or Arches NP in a photo. At least I can't. But the first time you walk under one of those arches, something begs you to lie down on your back and look up. Only from the most vulnerable position can you truly get a glimpse of the greatness.

Arches is a place full of sexual imagery like no other I have ever seen. Or maybe it was just me. There were penises and breasts and pregnant women and vaginas and all manner of earthly delights. I desperately want to go backpacking and lose myself in this wildness for a few days......



In a moment of insanity, I thought I could ride up something that truly was not within my realm of ability:

Bennett and I conspired to tell Grant that a mountain lion had attacked me, and that Bennett had scared it off and saved my life. The look of panic on Grant's face for all of three seconds before he realized it was a joke was priceless.

I guess this photo pretty much sums it up:


Yeah, it's like that. In the desert. In springtime.