LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF KARNA KNAPP. “KARNA IN HAVANA, 2015.”[/caption]

Karna Knapp hasn’t always lived in the mountains. She grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, home of the Oregon State Beavers. It was a happy place; she rode her bike to school, hunted for frogs, and went trick-or-treating without her parents.

Young Karna was all over the place, jumping on furniture, tumbling, and spending much of her time upside down. Her mom took her to ballet class, then gymnastics. Dad was a music professor, her sister became a grade school music teacher, and her brother danced professionally with the Rockettes. “He was the dancer in the family, the one that made it. Dance was his job.”

The music, the dance, and the gymnastics all fit together for Karna. She was awarded a gymnastics scholarship to the University of Washington. “College was good, I competed on the university’s gymnastics teams. You had to work hard, keep in shape, learn new tricks and perfect your skills. I had fun.” Karna completed her time in Seattle in 1982, with an undergraduate degree in dance.

One of Karna’s teammates took a job in a fitness center in, of all places, Singapore. She called Karna and offered her a job as a dance, gymnastics, and aerobics instructor. “Yes please!” Karna took the job, moved to Singapore, and worked there for two years. “This was the Jane Fonda aerobics era, I wore neon leotards and leg warmers in 98% humidity. It was a wonderful time.”

They speak British English there. Karna – or Kahna-lah, as the Singaporeans say it - immersed herself in all things Singapore. “People took you out all the time, to their houses, to the festivals. I had to learn all the cultural things and not offend anyone. For instance, the color white is a ghost color. People don’t get married in white dresses, they wear red dresses. And, when you go to someone’s house, you don’t bring flowers because those are for graves.”

She helped with a high school musical. She took ballet. She went to the symphony and cricket matches. “It was hard because it was a whole different culture, but it was good. I love to see what people do and how they live.”

Karna even went to China. She saw women with bound feet, temples, the Wall, and men doing tai chi in perfect synchronicity. She rode old wooden trains that had tables and tea. “I was the comparatively big, white, blonde girl. The Chinese people would gather around me, and touch my hair.”

The work in Singapore ended, Karna’s wanderlust did not. She traveled to Indonesia, up through Malaysia and Thailand, then Burma (now Myanmar), India, and Sri Lanka. “I had the same travel books as everyone else, I’d run into the same people, I don’t think I was ever by myself. Back then it wasn’t scary, you had your backpack, you’d buy your ticket, you’d get on the train.”

There was also a month-long trek in Nepal. Kathmandu was at almost 5,000 feet, “that’s where a bus dumps you off at a trail and you start walking. I stayed with locals in little huts with thatched roofs, filled with smoke from the kitchens.”

At 12,000 feet trekkers had to stop for three days, to get acclimated. “It was really cold, some people got very sick, the water wasn’t clean so I had to add iodine to drink it.” There were yaks, prayer wheels, and prayer flags.

Karna made it to 17,500 feet. “I couldn’t breathe well. Some people wore oxygen, but not me.”

After her return, Karna made her way to CU Boulder, where she earned her Masters in Fine Arts. “Then I met Lester.”

That’s Lester Karplus, farmer, businessman, yoga instructor, manabout Ned. Karna was a tango instructor, he was her student, they became friends. “And here I am. We’ve been together 16 years.” Most of those years were in Nederland.

Karna knew Ned before meeting Lester. She used to come up from Boulder to hike, or to get a treat from the donut shop next to the Sinclair station, where the barbecue place is now. Or to get a cup of coffee from Casey at Happy Trails, where Kind Castle is now. She rented movies from the art gallery / video rental shop, where Crosscut is now. And eventually, she and Lester bought their home on Sherwood Road, off of Ridge Road.

Where someone else lives now.

That’s because Karna and Lester are ready for their next adventure. He sold his business, she retires next month. They sold their house two months ago, now they’re in a rental nearby. What’s the plan?

“We’re not sure. We’ve been looking at property and homes, but we haven’t found the right place yet. One of our ideas is to get an RV and tour around the country. I haven’t seen a lot of the National Parks. I like to garden, so I hope to end up where I can grow things. I want to dance again.”

Karna and Lester have some big decisions to make. I hope they stay.

[BELLA LORENA: Grazie per essere stato così buono con mio figlio.]