A mid-round move from Colordao to Missouri was weird, most other teams were traveling only a few hours, not 900 miles, but I seem to never be in line with what everyone else is doing, so it's cool.  The team and I packed our bags on a Sunday afternoon, ready for Monday departure with a one night stop at campus scheduled.  We were meant to return to pick up some materials before hitting the road Tuesday morning, but mother nature had different plans in store for us.  After being warned about them, and then reading as the main character runs her car off the road in a Kansas ice storm in "While I'm Falling" I decided to check the forecast.  "A winter mess" was predicted for Tuesday, stretching from Colorado to Missouri, in essence our entire drive.  I contacted our unit leader and it was agreed, for safety concerns, and my mental, the team was allowed to stay on campus an extra day.  I appreciated having a day 'off', time to sort my life out before packing it up again to move cross country, and as much as a few other denied it, I think they appreciated it as well, plus getting to see "Mother Earth" was an added bonus. 

While I was enjoying my second round team, the staff of Habitat for Humanity Saint Vrain, the city of Longmont, and being in Colorado, I was also ready for a change.  I'm not sure what's wrong with me and routine, but they don't last.  I knew half my team would have loved to stay in Longmont working on these homes until completion, that's not how the program works, we had other places to be.  While I was mostly tired of the construction work, waking up and putting on my boots, I wasn't really ready to leave the new friends we had made at each site, both staff and other volunteers.  

My first few weeks in Colorado, back during the long hours of training, I wasn't quite sold on the attraction of Colorado. Sure, the mountains in the distance were pretty to look at, but I had also been surrounded by that for my four years in South Korea. Longmont though had a little more appeal, a quaint downtown, free buses, multiple breweries, good restaurants and a few parks, I was cool with living there for a few weeks.  The town, the project, the staff, it was all going pretty swell, so I guess it makes sense that our departure came before some were ready.  Me being me though, I was ready to go , six weeks and I was growing stir crazy, ready for a new city, new routine and new friends.  I often wonder how I'll ever settle down somewhere, but that's not really necessary, is it? ​

You hike.  Well either that or drink beer, but being part of an Americorps NCCC team hiking is usually the more acceptable option of the two.  In fact, the first day we arrived in Longmont and met our project sponsor with Habitat for Humanity, we were informed of various nearby trails.  I have a few avid outdoorsy people on my team, notably Jack, who would probably go live in the woods if he could, so I knew we would be taking advantage of this free entertainment.  The first weekend, we started easy with a trip to McIntosh Lake, a short hike/walk suitable for all abilities, but yet offered spectacular views.  It's been awhile since I've been surrounded my Mountains, oh Korea how I miss you so, and thus I was happy to be back to this norm.