Meghan and I took a quick trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park last week. When we got there the campground was already full so rather than go outside the park in a commercial campground we opted to try a primitive site in the preserve.

You could only reach the sites via a 4-wheel drive road with deep deep sand and a couple of stream crossings. They were great though and well worth the effort. It was a new experience to us and a lot of fun. We hung out at the site reading, eating, drinking, talking and staring at the fire and the next day took a hike on the dunes.

My parents came out to visit a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure exactly what we would do or if we would find enough interesting things to do.

I shouldn't have worried though. We had a great time. We did a lot of stuff like Garden of the Gods, Air force academy, Olympic training center, Pikes Peak, some easy jeep trails, Denver downtown mall, etc. Plus I got to hang out with them and I got to go motorcycling with my dad. I had never had that chance before.

We rode all around the area and even went up to Monarch Pass. Though the weather was nice for our ride we had just gotten a storm a few days before and in one of the pictures you can barely see the visitors center under the snow.

It was a great visit and I don't think it could have gone any better.

Hello My Dear Dear Friends,

Its been far far too long since we last spoke. What have you been up to? I really want to know, so leave me a comment or send me some email.

As for me, I thought I would write this letter to give you a glimpse of what I've been up to. And No, I'm not late with it. I've simply waited till everyone was done with theirs so you would have time to read mine. Or alternately, I'm really really early for next year.

Anyway, the biggest thing with me is that I moved to Colorado Springs, CO from New York City in September. No, I did not take a job with "Focus on the Family". (That's a good one. I have not heard that before.) I moved in with my girlfriend, Meghan, who is out here in a PHD program in geropsychology (No, I don't get why she likes that; but she does). Things are going really really well in that department and we manage to have a lot of fun. We are going cross country skiing this weekend if there is any snow. Otherwise we'll go hiking and talk a lot about the trips we want to take and the places we want to go wine tasting.

There are a lot of thing I miss about NYC (culture, technology, anything that stays open past 9pm ... ) but I do like the mountains and I figure I may as well get the most out of them. I'm trying to take up cross country skiing but I kind of hate the cold and there is not a lot of snow right here in town so you have to drive a bit to find it. It can be a lot of fun though and we've also been doing a lot of hiking and mountain biking. Actually, the mountain biking ROCKS!!!! That's the best part of living out here. I can't wait till it gets a bit warmer so I can go all the time. Meghan and I are planning on going to Moab, Utah during her spring break. I can't wait. I got a Jeep too so we may go 4-wheeling too.

Unfortunately, I have been too busy with work and life to do much bass playing or photography. I gave it a shot but I think my bass playing comeback is going to have to wait a while. The logistics of it just don't fit in with my life. My photography though, I hope to get back in gear. Especially since I got a motorcycle and plan on taking a trip to Alaska this summer. Want to come?

Lets see, what else happened, early last year I was still working on my film when Mike, Randy, Carl, Meghan and I went sailing in the BVI and that was awesome. Speaking of the film, it is now called "Love You Back". It is almost finished and I'll start submitting it to festivals soon. Check out my primitive website and sign up for the (very infrequent) mailing list to keep up to date on our news.

And in the paying the rent department, after taking a year off to work on the film I started to get back to work in the spring. Somewhere along the way I found the iPhone development kit and fell in love (actually kind love hate but mostly love) with developing for this awesome little computer in my pocket. That has been a lot of fun. I'm doing freelance development and training now so if you need a developer or a class let me know.

I'm not big on resolutions though I do have lists and lists of goals and things I want to do. The big ones for this next year include:

• Find even more ways to be present and really enjoy this amazing world and all the opportunities and adventures I have
• Find more ways to strengthen and enjoy all the great friendships and this amazing relationship I have
• Take my film to a few film festivals, meet a lot of peole and get to work on my next project
• Learn a lot more about the iPhone and become an even better developer and trainer
• Make it to Alaska on my motorcycle
• Develop a software product I can sell so that I can "Make money in my sleep"™

Anyway, thats enough for now. How about you? When are you coming to visit me? Are you enjoying life? What are you goals right now? Why not get in touch and tell me about it?

Peace.

Julio

I recently got back from a trip to the UK. I spent most of the time in Basingstoke outside of London but did manage to go into the city over the weekend to visit the Tate Modern and walk around people watching.

The trip was mostly for work and turned out well but more importantly I got to catch up with an old friend. It had been many years since we had had time to talk and many things had changed and many things were still the same.

It had been many years since I had done any traveling. Mostly because after moving to NY City I spent all my time exploring everything I could find in the Boroughs. My flight back was disrupted by weather and I still don't have my luggage but all in all I'm really glad I went.

I took these photos with my iPhone and I'm not crazy about the quality of the original image so I thought I would play with some post processing. I'm using an application called "Project Polaroid" to give it that pseudo Polaroid look to it. What do you think?

I just had a great weekend. Its been unseasonably warm lately. Tomorrow its supposed to be 72 and it was in the high 60s this past weekend. On Saturday Meghan and I took advantage of it by hiking up along the Barr trail. On Sunday I took my new (to me) motorcycle out for a spin. I spent a few hours getting comfortable on the bike and looking for back roads to explore. I thought I had a good one and then I saw the "Pavement Ends" sign. So I ended up getting in an hour of gravel road practice and took this photo. Then when walking downtown to get a bite and watch a little football we had this sunset.

... and there are things I really like about Colorado. Everything else in my life is going great, so this is just about where I live. I had almost forgotten how much I love to mountain bike. I also love the mountains and being outside. Now that it is cold at night camping with Megs is not really an option but I did get to go for a drive in my jeep in the mountains today and soon I'll be motorcycling too. All in all I can't complain.

... do as the Romans do. And when in Colorado go mountain biking! Meg and I got some mountain bikes and are exploring the trails around town. Its been a lot of fun though challenging at times. We both have injuries to prove it.

Its been a long time since I've been on a bike and I love it. I love the challenge of climbing up a hill (even a small hill feels like a mountain) almost as much as I love flying down the other side as fast as I can. Then there are those heart stopping moments when you have to jam on the brakes to keep from hitting a rock or tree stump or going over a ledge.

The picture is from (Beer) Garden of the Gods on an easy part of the trail taken on my iPhone. If you are in town and want to go out for a ride get in touch.

I love this photo because we are all doing different things. I'm not sure what Mike is trying to explain to me. Randy is pretending to get be in a mug shot. I'm not sure what my face is saying and Meg is just giggling at the absurdity of it all. It reminds me of a great vacation that seems so long ago and so far away.

I'm moving to Colorado and am selling a bunch of stuff. Take a look below and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

You can reach me through the website contact form or by calling me on my cell 917-445-7264.

I look forward to talking to you soon.

Yes, I've loved the 2.5 years I've been in NYC and now I'm headed for the mountains for a while. Meghan and I are renting a small house in Colorado Springs. There are a lot of things I'll miss about the East Village and New York but I'm looking forward to biking, hiking and lots of other outdoor activities in the fresh air. She finishes her phd. course work in 3 years and then who knows where life will take us.

I leave at the end of August but I'll be traveling back to NYC frequently for work. My email and cell phone are the same so send me a note and tell me whats up with you.

And if you are ever in Colorado Springs look me up.