The Myth & The Majesty

Hikes, a birthday, some great food, and American Craft Beer Week. Oh, and an injury. All things considered, May was pretty okay. How about yours? This bridge was built in 1929 and it is absolutely gorgeous. Near the southern terminus of the Centennial Trail. Sylvan Lake. We found a mine!   The creme brulee process. Delicious AND fun! I love family meals.   Buglin' Bull in Custer. I'm missing my Monte Cristo wrap in this picture, but that was tasty, too... Hay Camp in Rapid City. Their barrel-aged beer is to die for. Stout floats at Miner Brewing in Hill City. These are a food group of their very own. Possibly my favorite food group. Oops.

1. I have had a kind of weird May. The main skill I've acquired is an ability to predict (and dodge) the patch of a lost 3-year-old. 2. This xkcd makes me giggle. 3. People have repeatedly commented on my patience in the last two weeks, some of that referring to the job wait and some of it referring to preschoolers. I have to admit -- I'm running low on patience with one of those, and it's not the ones with still-developing motor skills. 4. Unexpected refunds instantly improve a week. 5. Especially when they're from super-frustrating phone companies. 6. Road trip questions! I've done my standard online research but I still like to ask for real human input. If you know anything about shower facilities in the Moab area, let me know. (I'm relatively familiar with the region itself, so I'll happily take names and general locations.) Shorty and I are going to be headed that way for a few days for a sibling hike/bike trip and camping on the cheap, b

So ... this happened. And it makes me rather sad. My social crutch is broken. For that matter, my portable library is now limited to three or four books of a select size. I know. I'm such a whiner. I'm also a little alarmed at how attached I got to an electronic device -- or at least, how attached I got to the convenience of it. And as much as I want to deny it, dangnabbit, I want it back.

[xkcd]

I've been thinking about aging. See, my birthday is Thursday. I'll be 33. It's not a big year -- certainly no 21, 25, 30, 40, or 50 -- but it feels kind of special. Following a Vlogbrothers rule of thumb, "middle-aged" is when you multiply your age by three and can't really believe you'll live to that point. Given my genetics and modern medicine, I'm still a couple years from middle-aged. More importantly, though, I'm finding that I'm at an age that can be either young or old, depending on the context or audience ... and often both in one day. Repeatedly. The ladies I hike with each week consider me young. The kids at camp think I'm ancient. Anyone over 50 might have a son or daughter my age -- and I might be the same age as your parents if you're under 15. The thirties are weird that way. Folks older than me hand me their phones to "fix why the screen keeps doing that." Teenagers roll their eyes and flip a game con

My first order of business once The Unemployment started was to visit my siblings. ... Look, I've been threatening you with this one for awhile. Figured I should get around to posting it. Anyway! At the beginning of March, after a few days in Rapid to recoup and find some of my stuff (seriously, I've misplaced everything at least twice), I packed up my car and hit the road. My goals were simple -- I wanted to hang out with The Hyphenates and sleep. And maybe read some books. Oh, and I wanted to take the scenic route. So I drove through the Badlands... ... and I stopped in Chamberlain to visit Dignity for the first time. Sioux Falls was a pleasant surprise. The weather was fantastic -- I spent the whole time in sandals and Mia Sorella and I hit every park we could. Adding a couple run-ins with Jess and you have a good (quick) trip. While it was spring break for Mia Sorella, grad school doesn't leave much free time -- so after a couple days, I

Battling a bit of cabin fever -- and I realized that a year ago today was when this stuff happened. It's possible it's been too long since I was last really on the road.