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User:Srwalden

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Basic Stuff

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I am a freelance writer and proud fifth-generation Colorado native. My areas of self-directed study are railroads and Colorado history, and especially where these two interests meet. Broader interests are transportation, communications, meteorology, astronomy, American history and American space exploration. To know who I am, look no further than my relationships with my Savior Jesus Christ, my wife of 31 years, and my grown children, upon whom I dote unabashedly.

Life

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Medical Diagnoses

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At present, I live with the effects of disability, which even with today's technology retains a powerful influence on me day-to-day. I deal primarily a hereditary condition under a group of related syndromes called Ehlers Danlos Syndromes, a very diverse set that affects the body's connective tissues. This is complicated by a viral infection I experienced in 2002, which caused me to descend into the symptoms of ME-CFS, a soul-crushing, frustrating and unrelenting disease that severely limits a person's functionality. I also deal with a related condition called Chiari Malformation Type I. Chiari-1 affects the most basic functions of the brain because it can put pressure on the brain stem, which any med student can tell you is no bueno.

Impact

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All of these conditions have worked together to produce a maelstrom of symptoms that has taken me decades to unravel! At present, I am affected in my ability to sleep and regulate my body. So, I have no regular sleep cycle, which affects my professional and social spheres completely. Most importantly, I struggle daily with a profoundly low energy level that limits my activity to sitting or reclining. I rely on a wheelchair to extend my range for important appointments like doctor visits. Lengthy meetings are not possible for me, as my conscious mind begins to falter and I struggle eventually to put words together and even battle to keep my eyes open. I have had to reassure the presenter that I was still listening while I leaned back with my eyes closed. Recently, however, I do everything I can to avoid these situations with careful planning at least a week ahead, forethought about everything needed, and management of expectations for those I spend time with.

These impacts to my health make for a severe limit to my day. A typical person's normal daily activities elude my abilities. I cannot go shopping, clean a whole room, or walk the dog without serious damage to the rest of my week. I can manage a single "big" appointment of an hour with a doctor with minimal impact beyond the next week. I have to rest before and after a big appointment and usually have little activity or action the day of the appointment. Therefore, I depend daily on the help of others to keep myself on track. Travel requires at least two days of recuperation before I do anything outside of the location we are in. Anything less than that and I will have to spend a lot more time recovering from the travel when I'm home. These are hard lessons I've learned from years of living with this disability.

Contrast this to my life prior to losing most of my abilities. I used to enjoy an active life, I loved Jeeping, hiking, skiing, soaking, and fishing for trout in Colorado. Today, I still look in on these sports from time to time as my energy and technology allows. I get in a couple hours of fishing a year, but my body has to forego Jeeping over Black Bear Road anymore. I also use Google Earth as well as some games on the PC to explore these sports, but it's really not the same because of the contemplative patience and exposure brought about by engaging in these activities. Unfortunately, my body no longer benefits from exercise and play at altitude. Years of disuse has taken a toll on me, but my spirit has still thrived thanks to my faith and the love of my family.

Present Activity

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At present, I am the editor of a blog called Colorado Railroads. Before my chronic illness, I was very active in Colorado and got to experience a great deal of Colorado's rich railroad history. While I spend nearly all of my time indoors outside of rare trips, I still use technology to get out and explore this wonderful state. My favorite heritage railroads are:

  1. Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Durango
  2. Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad in Antonito
  3. Georgetown Loop Railroad in Georgetown
  4. Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden
  5. Leadville Colorado and Southern in Leadville
  6. Royal Gorge Route in Cañon City

My favorite historic railroads are

  1. Rio Grande
  2. Rio Grande Southern especially their Galloping Gooses
  3. Colorado & Southern successor to the Denver, South Park and Pacific
  4. Argentine Central
  5. Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe
  6. Burlington Northern
  7. Union Pacific

Aside from these basic things, I'm still pretty much a stereo-typical Coloradoan. I like a Coors Light once in a great while. I love Celestial Seasonings tea and I have a cup of peppermint nightly because it helps alleviate my pain. I would slap the Colorado flag on everything I own if I could, but taste and conformity prohibit it. Were I not limited by time and space, a perfect weekend would involve skiing at Vail or even Loveland, a huge Beau Jo's Mountain Pie in Idaho Springs followed by a long soak in Glenwood Springs (which is an incredible amount of driving on I-70!). Speaking of driving, I love taking Colorado Highway 5 to the end, especially at sunset.


Thank you very much for reading this far! If you did, please drop me a line on my talk page. I do answer the edits! -- Srwalden (talk) 15:25, 10 August 2024 (UTC)

Open Plans, Projects and Ideas

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  • Create pages for smaller Colorado railroads.
  • Create pages for specific pieces of railroading history in Colorado, such as locomotives D&RGW Consolidations 315 and 346 as well as D&RGW 268 and 278.
  • General proofing and fact checking for what I read.

This has taken me a very long time to accomplish, so others have probably beaten me to the punch.

I'm also starting this article in preparation for updating it on WP: User:Srwalden/Rail transport in Colorado.

Personal Sandbox

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Colorado Memories

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I have many, many vivid memories of Colorado places, especially in the mountains! Because it's my user page, I'm going to share a few. My Dad, bless him, wrote a lot about his experiences from a pre-Internet 1990s experience. Here's a bit of what he wrote in his son's heart and what I managed to add before I lost my abilities. Maybe this will serve as inspiration or warning.

Colorado's 14ers

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Colorado has been blessed as the custodian of most of the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. Everything from just south and west of Cheyenne to just north and east of the Four Corners has a 14er within earshot or eye-sight or jackalope hop. What's a 14er? It's a mountain peak, a summit that sits more than 14,000 feet above an imaginary line we call sea level. Most Californians live at sea level and don't think twice about it. In Colorado, altitude is important.

In Colorado, what altitude you live at determines a lot of things. Do you want to plant flowers in your yard? Great, what altitude do you live at? If you live at 11,000 feet, you plant a whole lot later than you do at 5,000 feet. Why is Grandma turning unnatural colors? Could be she's a mite low on O2 at your house. If you live in the Mile High City, and then you go visit your friends in the Two Mile High City, and you want to climb Mount Massive, visible from their front porch, you should probably acclimate yourself at your friends' place a day or two before you try to climb the 2nd tallest mountain in the state, which also happens to be a 14er!

Does everyone in Colorado think about altitude? Heck no. Most everyone doesn't. That's fine, because it usually doesn't affect them. Most garden centers don't ask what altitude you live at either. But they do know their market and they only sell what will grow nearby. Most emergency medical technicians probably don't think about altitude either, but they do know that where they serve has more respiratory issues than others do. None of them think about altitude per se, but they are affected by it every day of their life. More exposure to the sun's UV rays, less oxygen available than at lower elevations, altitude sickness signs and symptoms, and even a Welcome kit with advice to drink lots of water your first few days here all point to the effect of altitude on the human body. It's also why 14ers are so challenging and so fun!

If you're a mountaineer, you think about altitude all the time. I am not one, but I was at one time aspiring to become one. It is a title of honor and respect to me and I will never call someone that measured title who has not earned it. I had a lot of it down, except for the "high angle" aspects, mostly. Nonetheless, I love hiking and climbing and topography and maps all the more with the technology that is getting more and more accurate each year.

Text above (c) Srwalden (talk) 10:02, 11 August 2024 (UTC)

Quicklist on Edits

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Use dead link template {{Dead link|date=May 2016}} to mark dead links.

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