The
last time I updated this blog, it was April. In the 8 months that have passed
since then, it's something of an understatement to say that a lot has happened.
Nevertheless…a
LOT has happened.
With
that in mind, I'm going to break this down into somewhat chronological order.
There will be some criss-crossing back and forth across timelines, but it
shouldn't get too confusing.
April-May: ranch
preparation
I
had applied to work at Wind River Ranch again for the entire summer as a
wrangler. Since getting the job, and deciding that I would drive there myself
instead of flying/taking a train, I spent most of the time beforehand working
and getting my car ready for such a journey. At this point I was still working
at the gym 6 afternoons a week and cleaning houses in the AM. (I finished up a
6-month weight-lifting regimen and a Couch-to-5K program around the end of
April as well—something I really miss is true weightlifting. But oh well.)
On
May 3rd, my little brother got married. It was a very, very small
occasion—originally only the parents were invited, but I managed to finagle my
way in under the pretense that they needed a photographer. (The finagling was
only just.)
 |
| Look at the happy couple! |
After the wedding—the day of, if one wants to be particular
about it—I drove to my aunt and uncle's house in northern Arkansas. The plan
was to stay at her house for about a week, then drive down to Texas to see some
friends that I hadn't seen for 4 years, and then drive from Texas to Colorado.
I had been on road trips before, but never by myself. I remember being pretty
excited at the prospect—unfortunately it seems to have awoken a strange desire
to see the United States in its entirety by car. We'll see what happens with
that.
While in Arkansas, my aunt and I went to Crystal Bridges
(this fantastic museum comprising just of American art), the Bluebird Factory,
I shadowed her to work a couple of days…the week ended up stretching to almost
10 days just because we were having so much fun. During this time I was offered
a job (jokingly, I thought) by my aunt's boss. It turns out he wasn't
joking…but I didn't realize this until some time later.
Then I drove to northern Texas to see Christa and Ashlee!
I've known these two for quite a long time—back in 2010 we
had 'The Great Illinois-Texas Transfer' where they flew up to stay with me for
a week, and then I flew to Texas to stay with them for the following week. I
was only able to stay for a couple of days this time, but it was wonderful.
 |
| Also, here's a picture of me on a longhorn bull. (Or maybe it was a steer.) |
I got up very early on a Tuesday (or maybe a Wednesday? The
days blurred together) and made the 15-hour drive from Christa and Ashlee's to
a town outside of Denver, Colorado. My Google maps sent me up through Amarillo,
across the panhandle of Oklahoma, and through the southern deserty-bits of
Colorado. It was one of those things that, at the time, seemed terribly
exciting (except for the bits across the desert—that got a little boring) but
in retrospect was kind of crazy.
I think that doing something like that on my own, with no one
else to rely on in the moment (sure, I could call people if I needed something,
but I was the one who had to do the actual driving and keep myself awake
through the long hours of flat desert) had an interesting effect on me. It
increased my confidence in myself as a navigator (much of the trip I had to use
a map because my phone didn't have service) and made me realize that I could
actually do these things by myself. I mean, I knew in my mind that I could do
it. But until I had actually done it, there was nothing to confirm that mental
knowledge.
So it was, one very long day later, that I ended up at Kas'
house outside of Denver. From her house to the ranch is about 1 ½ hours, and
having a place to recoup before going to said ranch was indescribable. I also
knew that she wouldn't be going back that summer except for visits, and it was
really nice to be able to catch up before plunging into the ranch activity.
(Part 2 will be loaded with pictures, fret not!)
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