Hello Colorado!

Made it! After a long 3 day drive, I made it to Colorado! The drive was very long and we drove about 700 miles per day! It was nice to see so much of the country. Pennsylvania had beautiful mountain highways but from Chicago to Denver it was mostly farms and windmills! It was cool to see so many wind farms throughout Iowa and Nebraska. But, needless to say, I was happy to have finally reached Denver for more than one reason! 

It was nice having my mom drive out to Colorado with me and help me get settled into my new apartment. In between prepping for work and getting settled, I have had some time to explore a little bit.  The first adventure was a trip up the Mount Evans Scenic Byway drive. This is a road that takes you up 14,130 ft. The roads are narrow and winding with absolutely NO guardrails. It is a little nerve-racking to say the least but absolutely worth it! The views from the top are incredible, even on a cloudy day like we had! Once you get to the top, you have the option of climbing up another 100 feet or so to get to the  "true top" (14,264 ft). While driving up, my head began to hurt and continued at the top. Luckily, that was the only issue I had with the altitude. I also experienced some slight shortness of breath with walking to the top. Both of these symptoms disappeared while we were descending. 

The next adventure took me quite further into the Rockies. One of my graduate school clinical supervisors had rented a cabin with her husband for a couple weeks and invited my friends and me out. Their cabin overlooked the two tallest peaks in Colorado, one of them being Mount Elbert. Although it rained a majority of our stay there, the views were incredible and it was great visiting with them! We did have some altitude issues while we were there, nothing major though, just some headaches, shortness of breath, and fatigue. We were able to explore the town of Leadville, at 10,000+ feet. 

While driving out to Leadville, we passed many signs for ski mountains including Breckinridge, Aspen, Vail, and Copper Mountain to name a few! This is getting me very excited for snowboard season! I'm thinking the next adventure will be hiking and exploring Red Rocks, the amphitheater right outside Denver! Any other suggestions?

Here is a collage of pictures of my adventures so far! I made this using Pic Stitch. 

I will be starting my Clinical Fellowship year very soon, so stay tuned for posts about that! To make sure you don't miss a post, enter your email in the "Follow By Email" tab at the top right of this page!

Adventure Awaits! 

Taylor

See Ya Later, Maine!

It's finally here! The car is packed and I'm headed west! These last two weeks have been jam packed with cleaning, organizing, packing, and everything else that comes with moving. I have also spent time with friends and family and soaking up everything I love about Maine. I even took a trip up to "the county" (for all you non-Mainers, that would be northern Maine). I got to see family I haven't seen in about 10 years! There are definitely mixed emotions about a leap this big: excitement, nervousness, and a little fear. But to quote a favorite song of mine: "Sometimes the only way is jumping, I hope your not afraid of heights!" However, I can't move across the country without visiting my favorite spots one last time. Here's a picture I've compiled...if your ever in Portland, I highly recommend these places! 

This adventure will begin with a 3 day car trip (as long as nothing goes wrong!) out to Denver. With this being the FOURTH move in two months (me, then my brother, then my parents, and now me again!), we have had enough of loading and unloading U-Haul trucks or hooking trailers up to the car! Therefore, whatever fits in the Jeep goes and whatever doesn't, stays behind! I will have some time to settle into the new place, buy some essential pieces of furniture (e.g. bed), and hopefully squeeze in an adventure or two before starting work! I am beyond excited to start exploring Colorado! 

AND for all you Teachers Pay Teachers members out there, I am going to set one of my PAID items to FREE for a very limited time. In honor of the beginning of this adventure, you can download my "Pirate Language Pack" for FREE from my store (what else spells adventure better than a little pirate treasure hunt!). This will only be free from the time I set out on the road until I make the first pit-stop. If enough people leave feedback, I may keep it free for a little longer! Just click the link above to download!

So, here it is...everything I'm taking out to Colorado, crammed into that! I am so excited to start this adventure! Here I go....Colorado or Bust!

Stay tuned because.... Adventure Awaits! 

Taylor

It's Official!

Hi! 

Welcome to my first blog post ever! I write this as an official CF-SLP! That's right, I have accepted my first position as a speech-language pathologist and I couldn't be more excited to start my career! I will also be moving to Denver, Colorado in order to start this new adventure! After having grown up mostly in Maine and returning to complete my master's degree, you may be asking, why Colorado? I wanted an adventure after graduate school and somewhere new to explore. Plus, those mountains are hard to resist! What better time than when your young right!? Also, I have a couple of great friends who are also moving out there, so we can explore together! 

You might be asking why I decided to write this blog. I started exploring SLP blogs during my second year of graduate school. These blogs provide great ideas for therapy activities, links for free or inexpensive therapy materials from Teachers Pay Teachers (not to mention the giveaways!), and great insights into the world of speech-language pathology. While I don't yet have a lot of insight to share, I am hoping to share triumphs and struggles of embarking on my Clinical Fellowship year. At the very least, I hope others can learn some things from my experiences. I will also post reviews and new products for my Teachers Pay Teachers store, with links. Click on the "Freebies" tab at the top of the page to check out what I have so far! I may be working with adults but I still love the creative process and will post new materials when I can! And because I believe everyone should have a little adventure in their lives, I will be also be sharing some exciting experiences that Colorado has to offer! 

So, if you don't already know me, here is some little tidbits about me: I was born in New York but grew up mostly in Maine. My favorite sports are soccer and baseball. I LOVE to snowboard and have recently caught the "hiking bug" (thanks to a certain clinical supervisor!). Due to allergies, I eat a gluten free diet and mostly dairy free. I will be working mostly with adults who use alternative and augmentative communication. And...I CANNOT WAIT to explore all that Colorado has to offer! 

So the next step...fill out all of that lovely paperwork that is required to work, put money down on an apartment, pack up all my stuff and head west until I hit those Rockies! 

Adventure Awaits!

Taylor