This = More Like It

Ahhhh... much better.

Since last I posted, I've spent two days in Las Vegas, which, while fun, were not exactly what I think of when I take trips like this one. It was a bit too hectic, too much noise. Not quite... Spartan... enough for my taste. When I get away, I enjoy some hustle and bustle as much as the next guy, but my current locale is much more my speed.

I'm sitting in one of my favorite places in the world. The Higher Grounds Coffee Shop in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Common Grounds in Waco is a nice place and all, but whenever I'm in there I get the distinct feeling that I'm not the right kind of cool, or not cool enough, to be in there. First off, I can't grow a full beard and I rarely wear my emo glasses. Second, I don't own any Tom's shoes. Thirdly, I don't listen to any Indy music that didn't spawn from Five Iron Frenzy. Since Pagosa Springs isn't a college town, the coffee shop maintains the relaxed atmosphere I really enjoy without giving me the impression that I'm being out-pretentioused by the dude on the couch with all the stickers on his MacBook. Not that there's anything wrong with those guys, or Common Grounds, for that matter, I just tend to feel out of place there is all. I'm a small town guy by birth, so places like Pagosa make me feel like I'm really on vacation; Vegas and Waco don't. So, sitting here in this small town, surrounded by snow and beautiful, still mountain air, I'm relaxed and calm and not concerned with much of anything other than how early I want to go to sleep tonight so that I can start snowboarding tomorrow morning.

I spent last night in a sleeping bag in my car, parked in the parking lot that's about thirty feet from the rim of the Grand Canyon. It was pretty uncomfortable, but only because I still have a tire in the back of my car leftover from the events of last Saturday. When I woke up, I was a little saddened to see that it was foggy as all-get-out and that I couldn't in fact see anything past the rim. I'm actually not sure if I was seeing the rim, I just couldn't see anything past the rail. I got some pictures, which I'll upload when I'm back in Waco, to show you just how thick the fog was. If you've ever flown a plane through a rainstorm, you'll have an idea what it was like.

So I left the canyon a few minutes after sunrise (which is when I awoke, hoping to get a glance of the sun coming up over the canyon... doh) and headed for Pagosa Springs. I spent the day driving, relaxing, and listening to audiobooks, and now here I am. I snowboard tomorrow, then when I get off the mountain I'll depart directly for Waco. I don't imagine I'll make it the whole way without stopping to rest, since snowboarding is probably the only thing I tend to have the motivation to do until I collapse (since I only get to do it a very few times per year). I imagine I'll pull into Waco around noon on Friday, at which point I'll pack up my computer and head to Oklahoma. Or maybe I'll chill for a day or two in deserted Waco, I'm not sure. The beauty of all of this is that I'm making it up as I go. I've had a vague plan in my head from the start but none of what I have planned has actually been what happened.



This is the most effortless smile I've made in weeks. In fact, I didn't even realize I was smiling until I saw the picture. This trip has been a very good thing indeed.