The Myth & The Majesty

Ten months down, two to go. Next month, maybe I need to find a new angle. Once again, a fabulous view. After yesterday's cold and fog, this was wonderful. Next month, maybe I can try not waiting till the second to last day, though...

Apparently Mount Everest is the place to go ? ... Hm. [But instead of hitting the ocean, you should land in an overheating hot tub on a sinking cruise ship, sending it crashing through the floor into the burning engine room as the ship goes under.]

I'm not sure what to blame my mindset on. Perhaps it's my own lack of focus. Maybe it's the weather. (High of 72. Not very Octobery.) Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the sun disappears from my valley around 3PM and it's getting dark ridiculously early. Why would that affect my focus? ... I don't know. But as this attention span issue happens every year about now, I suspect it's related. Or maybe it's this week's to-do list, which includes things like catching up with a visiting sibling, cleaning a house, replacing a phone that's rapidly deteriorating and making an appearance at my first political rally. Yep. That's actually happening, largely out of curiosity. Gary Johnson will be here tonight and -- as one of the many disaffected voters that is unwilling to choose between two of our most unlikable candidates in history -- I'm going to go check it out. And maybe after that I can manage to find some focus and get som

It's that time once again. I've started phone shopping. As it happens, it's been almost two years since our magical Black Friday find at Best Buy . A couple weeks ago, I got my notice from Verizon that I was in the clear to upgrade and it was a strange relief. My phone has been fantastic ... until about two months ago, when it decided to start closing apps at random, refused to charge properly, and began occasionally holding text messages ransom for ... reasons. These things come with expiration dates, don't they? Over the course of fifteen years, I've had some varying adventures (and success) with phones, from my early days destroying flip phones to the time I threw the phone away . While I'd love to say those days are behind me, I have to admit that my current one has only survived thanks to its case [I could be a Lifeproof spokeswoman at this point. It's been wonderful] and I fully intend to go that route again. In fact, I'm already pretty

I'm just gonna leave this here.

1. The weather. We had a smattering of snow on Wednesday morning and it was chilly in a very October sort of way. Right this moment, though? I'm sitting on my deck to write this. In the dark, since it is October. And I'm perfectly okay with that. 2. The Fall Guy . I finally caved to the ads I keep seeing (targeted advertising works!) and joined the Book of the Month Club . This is my first pick, and so far it's been a fun and somewhat eerie ride. (I only started it yesterday, though, so not too far along. Which is a bummer, since apparently I'm getting a sneak peek) 3. Our current guests. Today I got to hang out at Mount Rushmore with a group of people from across the country. I don't think I've visited The Heads since Jay's first week in the US. 4. "Warehouse 13." I abused this one a bit when it was on Amazon Prime Video, but recently I decided to acquire the first season on DVD ... and then the second and third and fourth. Doe

Mmhmm.

I have lived in the Midwest my entire life. Autumn is, hands down, my favorite part of the year. It's downright magnificent. There's more to it. My chosen latitude means that I am one of those privileged folks that gets to experience four distinct seasons each year, give or take a season. Each one of those has its highs and lows ... and often those highs become the lows by the end. 85 degrees feels fantastic in May and less so in September. The first snowfall is magical; the last is exhausting. Rain in the spring turns to muddy laundry. Leaves in the fall clog the gutters. But oh, for those first weeks? It's wonderful. Each year, I look forward most to our transitional seasons. Spring is a chance to return to my favorite hobbies -- the trails clear, the ice melts, and I can hike and kayak again. Autumn is a relief after the heat and chaos of summer, and with any luck, a chance to wring a few more miles out of the trails and more laps around a lake. And per

Today, on the 3rd anniversary of The Big Snow , I'd rather talk about this last weekend. Sunday was the most perfect day for a hike. I am a creature of habit, and as such I aimed for Sylvan Lake. Instead of Black Elk, though, I had my sights set on Sunday Gulch. The story goes that the wives of miners in the area a hundred and twenty years ago would venture down the gulch for their Sunday walks. As such, this is one of the older known trails in the area. It's also one of my favorites. The trail takes you alongside enormous granite walls... ... and right down a creek bed that doubles as the trail. The handrail is fun, too. The three-mile loop has a fair bit of elevation change (initial drop is around 400-450 feet); combined with the creek bed and the climb back up, it's one of the relatively few Black Hills trails with a "strenuous" rating. As such, it also attracts less foot traffic than the neighboring trails in the Black Elk

Another repost today, largely because this is how my morning has passed since I read the comic and I need to share the madness. Seriously, Mr. Munroe. You may have just turned a bunch of healthy humans into crazy people .