30

Date: March 26, 2010

Time: Around 8:00 am

Place: Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

I'm 30 now. It's a number people really pay attention to. Arbitrary as it may be, it's a milestone. So why not mark such a milestone with a special occasion? That was the whole point of my birthday trip to Moab. I don't recall any bad birthdays in the past 30 years. But I also don't recall any particularly memorable ones...until now. My 30th birthday was the best birthday I've ever had.

I camped along the Colorado River with 8 friends. Beth and Aaron drove down from Bozeman. Ron and Jessie, also known as Sipner, drove over from Beaver Creek, Colorado. Brandon and Tim drove over from Boulder. Siri drove down from Park City. Last, but certainly not least, Dave (who has no blog, no Facebook page, and no Twitter account...therefore I can't link to him) drove 1,000 miles from Glacier National Park.

I woke everyone up at 5:00 am on my birthday. We were on the road by 6:00, headed into Arches. We had Delicate Arch all to ourselves, with the exception of one other hiker (who happened to take the group photo at the top of this post). We hiked down and drove into Moab for a delicious breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe. By the time we were done it was raining pretty hard. So we headed back to camp and everyone napped for a few hours. The rain stopped in the afternoon and we headed back into the park for a hike through Devil's Garden. This is Partition Arch.

Then it was back into town for dinner at the Moab Brewery. Good friends Good beer. A good mushroom swiss burger. A good brownie sundae. Then it was back to camp for a brief evening campfire...then off to bed. It was perfect. Brandon put together this video. Thanks buddy.

I'm not particularly torn up about turning 30. I've been doing some serious soul-searching over the past several months but that's more a matter of timing than turning 30. I still feel young. God knows I act immature. Besides the gray hairs showing up on my temples, most people say I look like I'm in my 20s. There's nothing very significant in my mind about turning 30. It just....is. I'm fine with it. Any reservations I have are purely psychological. I've explained in recent posts how I'm toying with the idea of embarking on new adventures and exploring some uncharted territory. While I know I'm capable of tackling anything, the idea of doing so at age 30 is a little terrifying. But I suppose that's a fear I can face.

Lastly, thanks to the people who celebrated with me. You guys are awesome. Although the attempt at spelling my name with your bodies was dismal at best. Does anyone really see the "Lincoln!" in this picture?