It's Better in Wyoming.

it's odd, how much time has passed, and how easily the years become intertwined, like waves of memory lapping one after another.  was that four years ago, or five?  were you with me on that trip, or was it some other friend? it bothers me to lose track.  i look forward to becoming someone new, different, better, and i appreciate that the past doesn't entirely determine the path ahead of me.  i appreciate the blessing of forgetting and becoming forgotten. but i also want to remember how i've gotten here, to be able to look back and still see the tracks that brought me to this moment.

The autumn equinox is almost here, which means another summer's gotten away from me.  Seems like the stop-and-go work of the Census and the garage project took up a lot of time, and suddenly here it is, four weeks into a new semester already.  Until this week, I hadn't had my bike out to Happy Jack, nor had I been up the Medicine Bow Peak trail. Happily, I was able to do both this week.  On Thursday, George and I went out and did a quick route from Tie City, about 40 minutes of riding.  Then, this morning, George and Melissa and I hiked to the peak, just under 4 and a half hours, round trip.  Then, green chili pizza at Bear Tree on the way back, and then a quick afternoon nap.  I have a feeling the fall is gonna pass as quickly as the summer has. A photo of our day::

My friend Mike suggested that I might listen to Mumford & Sons.  He's not the first to mention them to me, but he's got as broad a knowledge of the music landscape as anyone i know, and I trust his judgment.  He says: " They remind me of a British Avetts. On one hand, it sounds so ridiculous to hear that style of music emanating forth from a British mouth, as it seems so distinctly American. On the other, some of it is pretty good." He's right.  I can't quite reconcile the idea of a "British Avetts," but--holy shit!--they've got some good stuff.  (Beyond the accent, I can't figure out why I wouldn't categorize them with the Avetts, but I wouldn't.  From a quick look at lyrics, I think there's something about subject matter that might be different.  I suspect I'll be listening to a lot more of them, though, so maybe I'll have a better answer in a while.)  Anyway, a sample of lyrics (from "Winter Winds" :

i'm between grading and more grading, taking a short break to check emails and such, and pandora just queued up the western states motel on my avetts station.  i like it! the LA times says their music " conjures up images of wide-open spaces, empty highways and yawning horizons--old Route 66 at burnt-orange sunset."  no wonder i like it.  sounds like music for wyoming.

Here's what the garage looked like by the end of Saturday last weekend.  Since then it's gotten the walk-in door, windows, and a good start on siding.  I think I may be able to finish siding by the end of next weekend, if schoolwork isn't too crazy. In unrelated news, the Armstrong Hotel in Old Town Ft. Collins gets a seal of approval.