one state away from home

geographically and otherwise.









on the road out of ouray, colorado.














on the road into new mexico

i am in a motel in new mexico this evening. yesterday, last night and this morning i was in ouray, colorado. that is a post in and of itself, if not several. the drive out of ouray wasn't as harrowing as the drive in but let's just say that it is not for the faint of heart or weak-kneed. of all the fears i managed to overcome on this trip, that one was not expected. and i'm also not sure i can cross it off the list of "fears overcome" - more like a "got through it" situation. at the same time, it was one of the most magnificent drives/ vistas you could ever imagine. i'm not sure yet, however, if i'm glad i couldn't see it all for having to keep my eyes 100% on the road or if i wish i'd been the passenger so i could have seen more. who am i kidding? if i was the passenger i would have still been driving so best i was alone. hanes refused to look out the window.

i was really disappointed not to be able to camp this evening but a massive rainstorm preceded me into my first stop in new mexico. the folks in this neck of the woods are glad for the rain but i was really hoping to camp - it is SO beautiful here. the good side of the rain is that i'm hoping it will cause the national forest service to open some of the areas that are now closed due to the drought conditions. as of this evening, even though most of the fires are contained or out, the land and vegetation are still so parched that it wouldn't take much to start another and so the stage III fire closures are still in effect. i've got my fingers crossed for the morning. the hike i want to do is along the continental divide. part of the hike is in the rio grande forest and part in carson national forest. i think my chances are better in the rio grande section but that would involve backtracking 30-40 minutes but what's 30-40 minutes after almost 2 months on the road? that will mean i got to hike 2 hours of the pacific crest trail (only 3 1/2 miles at castle crag was part of the pct) and (knock wood) 2 or 4 hours on the continental divide. and maybe someday i'll get to do part of the appalachian trail.

before i hit the road this morning i did a load of laundry in ouray. while there, 4 other people were also doing laundry. 3 of the 4 were from texas. yesterday evening when i checked into the motel, the manager said, "austin huh . . . we've got two other people here from austin." not just texas but austin.

while at mesa verde, i went on a hike that was limited to a small group of people and a ranger. there were 8 of us on that hike. 4 others were not just from texas but from austin and the way we found out was by one of the men looking at me and saying, "i know you from somewhere. do you live in austin?" we finally figured out the connection.

while at the grand canyon, i had lunch at the cafe in the park on the 2nd day. a man and a woman came up to my table and said they'd seen me finish my hike earlier (they'd been at the trailhead/ vista point) and asked how far i'd hiked, etc. then the man asked me where i was from and, you guessed it, he was originally from austin. he now lives in ohio but this is getting to be one of many threads that are part of this trip. roses, rocks, road construction will begin [insert date i am on that section of road - happened again today], lone pines, blue lizards (that is not a drink) . . .

i had a few friends call me today - actually i listened to their voice mails when i went into an area with service - and, among other things, they asked why i wasn't updating the blog. to be honest, it's been nice not to be connected and i would like to do a better job of not being connected so much. the blog is something i rather enjoy (and would enjoy more if i knew how to do it properly, inserting photos at the right spot, etc.) but i've been trying to wean myself from the facebook, finger-in-the-plug connection speed vehicles that are out there. for me it can be an addiction. i do think there's a cool side of it in that it allows us to keep up with friends and interests that we might not otherwise be able to do so often but, if there's a trade off, i think i'd rather go for the old-fashioned phone call from time to time. i am still sending out postcards and i even had a bet with a friend in california who didn't believe the usps still made postcard stamps (i even had that conversation with a friend in austin this year). but this trip has reminded me how important it is to slow down, to focus on what we have and are in the present moment, and to live our lives with more intention and less reaction. we'll always have curve balls thrown at us - that's part of it - what we do with those curve balls.

anyway, the other problem with updating the blog is knowing where to begin. the times i've had connection are few and far between (and for very limited amounts of time) and there is so much that happens in a day i can't do it justice. not that i'd be able to do it true justice even if i had the time but i could at least make an attempt. so my plan at the present is to just start at the beginning of the trip once i get home. thankfully, i've written down from where i started each day (and the mileage) and tried to download my photos by location so i'm hoping i can sync the two enough to remember what may be of interest. of course, what's of interest to me might not be of interest to you but it will be there for anyone who is interested. (let me see if i can use the word "interest" one more time.)

shortly after i get home, kelleen and brian are coming to visit for a long weekend and their visit coincides with my cousin catherine, and her husband keith, visiting family in texas. so we'll have a few hours on saturday after next to all spend time together. cat and keith live in barcelona and also have a wonderful "cottage" in southern france. i've been to both places and there are many times where, if scotty really could beam me somewhere, that's where it would be. cat and keith were lifesavers to me in 2008 (as was george) and i love getting to spend time with them - the opportunities are too few and far between. my cousin david and his family are also coming to visit family in texas and, while his and cat's visits will overlap, the portion that overlaps will probably not be after i'm back in texas. i'm glad that i got to visit david and his family in montana toward the beginning of my trip.

the rain and lightning have picked up again here so i better sign off. i guess it's a really good thing i wasn't able to get a campsite after all. the room they gave me here at the motel (one of those 6 or 7 room motels that are simple, basic and relatively inexpensive - my favorite kind) is like a honeymoon suite. beautiful 4 poster bed, soft "cloud like" pillows (but not as perfect as laurie's), down comforter, a jacuzzi tub . . . it's right next to the office so i'm wondering if it is more like a guest quarters when they have family. whatever, it's an unexpected but welcome treat. and there is a vase of roses on the dresser by the door.

seriously.