my house

My first house was amazing. I lived in it alone and I had a skylight! I always wanted a skylight. And then, I got my rent statement. $527 a month wasn't worth a skylight.

My house now is perfect. It's an old cabin built by the CCC back in the 30's. It sits on the edge of a canyon and I have a great view (even though it's all burnt).

Yes, you do see a horse in this picture. There's a feral horse that likes my yard. He sometimes lives there too. I like to watch him roll around in the rabbitbrush when he has an itch.

I can see Ute peak over the mesa and the sun sets directly behind it. I am so lucky to live here.

pretty stuff

My job is to lead groups of up to 60 people through these cliff dwellings and to make sure they have a good time, learn or experience something, and that they don't damage the place. It means that ranger guides have to be entertainers, educators, and rule enforcers. Somedays I feel like all I did was entertain for an hour and made sure nobody got hurt. I call that a successful day.

the mesa

As I drove up the mesa I was remembering the last time I visited... In 1996, we came just days after the park reopened after a huge fire. This time as I drove, even more of the park was burnt. They say since 1996, over half the park has burnt in major wildfires. It makes finding a bit of color even more incredible...

christening of The Egg

Drove by a tornado in Kansas and my car was pelted with hail and now bears scars of the long journey west. I'm realizing this is the first picture of The Egg on my blog. Hopefully first of many pics of my travels. I was thankful for the Subaru's lack of aerodynamics on the windshield. There was a Dodge Neon parked near me at this gas station with the windshield shattered from the hail.

leaving Ohio...

In early June, I left Yellow Springs, OH and my little screechie-peas whom I miss terribly.

No internets

Aaahh! I'm so behind in updating it makes me want to give up this whole thing. As you can see, internet (or "internets" as my brothers and W call it) is not the easiest to come by. The only internet access is at work and who wants to come in on their off hours to work? Cell coverage is none too. But my roommate and I got a landline. If anybody wants the number, just call and leave me a message on my cell.

So Mesa Verde country is beautiful. And I find it interesting that all through school I hated history. And here my job revolves around it. But this is prehistory so I guess that makes it ok.

I'm going to try to post some pics...