Dec. 1

Well, New Mexico was an interesting endeavor. We ended up wrapping up the project I went down there for in about three weeks. I have been back to Crested Butte, made a quick decision to visit the east coast for a week, and now I am back in CB. Katie has cross-country skied up to the Cement Creek ranch to work, Kai is at school, and Gus is snoozing. I am awaiting fresh marching orders from the people at Teocalli Navigation - the company I work for. I was supposed to leave today, but it appears to be SNAFU and I am in a holding pattern hoping that the funds last and the new project goes live very soon.

When I went down to Roswell, I was a mess. So afraid of all the things that felt wrong about leaving my family to do this work. I don't exactly fit in with the crew I work with, so I was extra lonely and sad. The work was easy to pick up, it was just hard to hammer out all the miles of hiking and not get warn down. My accommodations were in a seedy motel in Roswell - a strip mall town built too fast around a downtown that looks like it had been raked over the coals.

Turns out I was just over reacting. The dudes I went down to Roswell with, the Johns, are both really nice, smart, motivated, and fun guys to be around. They are ten-plus years my juniors, but still invited me to be a part of their evening meals and conversation. We listen to similar music, laugh at the same stuff, and get along well. I also found common ground with everyone else on the crew - it just took a bit of time to settle into a new routine.

I ended up liking my room, too. It was little funky, but it had room for my bike and enough space after that for me to sprawl on the floor for many wonderful stretching sessions. Good for the body and mind. There was a wireless router right outside my room, so I had good internet, too.

Katie and the boys came down and met me in Santa Fe for a couple days as well. That was a welcome event. They got to our hotel just before me and when I opened the door and saw all three of them smiling up at me it was like being shot with a love-tipped arrow. So profound and beautiful. We walked around town, did a little shopping, and played in the small parks. Turned out I got an additional day off - paid - so we drove north to Ojo Caliente hot springs for the last night. Kai rode his bike in the parking lot and we did a little hiking and a limited amount of soaking because of the boys and some silly rules to limit their access to the pools to protect the energy of the new age bastards soaking in their selfishness.

Technology came to the rescue as well when I got back to Roswell. I bought a camera for the home computer and Katie and I were able to video conference through Skype. Seeing the faces of my lovely family was a real morale booster.

The field work is pretty basic. Hike through the bush marking points every 220 feet while flagging in between them so the next group of people we are making these grids for can see their way from point to point. It is not rocket science, but working with the GPS takes some focus and patience. Hiking all day is pretty nice, really. The climate is mild, cold mornings and nice afternoons, lots of sun.

The biggest issue with the job was definitely rattle snakes. I saw three of them the first week. It was still hot in the afternoons, so they were out trying to get some sun to warm up their cold blood. One of the dudes I work with about stepped on one while waiting for my partner and I to finish a line. He leaped laterally about ten feet and then inched his way back to get a better look. I had a close call with another rattler a couple days later while I was running down the line (long story) to catch up to my partner. I bounded over a bush and was a couple steps passed it when I realized the sounds I heard was a rattler striking - a hissing-spitting-type sound. When I turned and saw it, I realized how close I must have been and how lucky I was to have a good head of steam carrying me past it. From that point on the flagging I had attached to me for marking lines and the paint cans I carried to mark the point flags constantly had my heart pounding because they sounded like rattlers when they would flutter in the wind or shake against my movements.



I learned to pace myself and move more efficiently rather than trying to race along to keep up with a partner or stay ahead of him, depending on what I was doing. Turns out the first week I was down there we were trying to hammer out a ton of points, so we were doing ten miles a day. When we hit the second week we slowed down to just over five and it was much easier to stay on point.

When I got back to CB there was still no snow in town and the bike riding in Gunnison was really good. I have a bike I am testing for Crank Collective that made the riding extra fun. We didn't have much time to get back into the swing of things because we decided to head to CT for Thanksgiving. In a nutshell, it was a lot of family time. We celebrated the holiday in Medfield, MA with my father, cousins Sarah, Betsy, and Billy, niece Caroline and Auntie Ruthie. Then we returned to SECT and celebrated some more with my mother, Chuck Stevens, my brother and sister, and niece and nephew. I ate too much. felt like I had a food hangover for two days.

The trip east was a nice reminder of how great it is to be around family. We spent a lot of time with my mom and dad. Charlie was with us every day. Katie was able to get some runs in and Charlie and I got a few days of mountain biking as well.We also drove up to Colchester to see Jacey and her horse, Goldie. We got to spend some quality time with Matt, CC, and Lily C. as well as some quick visits with Pop Pop and Gam Gam C and Tim, Jen and Millie D. It is a trip seeing my kids playing with the children of people I grew up with. I must be getting old.

Anyhow, the day is growing old and I have been neglecting some of my work, so it is time to wrap this up. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and really took the time to appreciate what it is all about. I know that Katie and I are really grateful for all the generosity everyone has shown us and the time and flexibilty everyone made to be together.