Via California - May/June 2020 - 34

kate siber
lives in
Durango, Colo.,
and contributes
to Outside,
Preservation,
and National
Parks.
It's 10:30 a.m. on a Friday and I have already fixed myself an omelet, talked
with friends on Zoom, baked an apple pie, eaten much of that pie, and
finally sat down to write-all while wearing a pink wig, because why not?
This is my life during the time of Covid-19-
a mixture of the monotonous and the absurd.
Normally in spring I would be road-tripping from
my home in Durango, Colo., all over the Southwest
and beyond-hiking, skiing, backpacking, photographing,
and writing. But because of Colorado's
stay-at-home order, I am barely leaving my house,
let alone the county.
At first, I felt a sense of residual busyness as the
lumbering machinery of my life came to a halt. But
soon, with less work, volunteering, socializing, and
traveling, great expanses of time opened up. That
bounty of hours has allowed for visits from some
interesting old friends.
Anxiety, for one. I'm blessed to have a stable
home and plenty of food, but I'm heartbroken for
my community and the world-the people who are
ill, out of work, or one paycheck away from ruin.
It's hard to know the best way to help.
In the abundance of time, my creativity, which
is so often channeled into travel, has been resurfacing
in new ways. I have started to write essays
just for myself. I took a watercolor class online. I'm
making collages and donning more creative-one
might say eccentric-outfits. (Cue the pink wig.)
Even my daydreams have changed. I think of all
the amazing dishes I'm going to make for neighborhood
dinner parties when the pandemic is over.
I fantasize more extravagantly than ever about
travel-maybe a months-long road trip up the
Rocky Mountains into Canada, hitting every great
hike and swimming hole along the way, or a grand
wine-soaked European tour with my husband that
includes a minimum of one gelato or pastry a day.
It seems my neighbors are getting inventive
too (or maybe just plain loopy). I spotted an older
gentleman joyriding his vintage John Deere tractor
at breakneck speed around town, and a pod of boys
playing some hybrid of lacrosse and polo on baby
tricycles-maintaining proper distance, of course.
These long hours have also offered the opportunity
to turn inward. I find myself listening more
deeply to the rhythms of my own being, which are
usually drowned out by the demands of a busy life.
These days, when I feel tired, I actually lie down
instead of powering through another project.
When I feel restless, I take myself on a walk like
a beloved dog.
That finer attunement to my inner landscape
has in turn heightened my awareness and enjoyment
of the world around me-of such simple
things as the birds flitting between trees in my
backyard, the deer ambling by, the sounds of the
river rising with spring snowmelt. I don't know if I
will take this enhanced capacity to listen with me
into the postpandemic future, but I'm in no hurry
to leave that part behind-whether I wind up going
on that amazing Rocky Mountain road trip or not.
-kate siber
34 VIA | MAY+JUNE 2020
KATE SIBER; OPPOSITE: KYLA JENKINSON
Via California - May/June 2020

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