It's quiet here, a little toooo quiet....

Gone gone gone.

I lose my words. I do so in a very literal sense. A journal, nearly full, has decided to leave my side. Disappeared somewhere between the relative safety of my truck seat and the chaotic rest of my life. It was a simple thing of paper and ink, but the ink formed a picture of the man in the mirror. The man is still there, but I wonder now; how he came to exist from the man he was before. How will I look back and learn from those experiences which I will inevitably forget?

 

Not all was lost. About half of it had been transcribed and stored for safekeeping in the cloud of the internet. I check the date on the last entry I typed, and see words of the changing year and snowfall. Six months of recorded thoughts and tumultuous emotion, which I won’t be able to read through in the years to come. It is not a big deal, I tell myself. They were just words, and there will be plenty more of them in the future.

Pic of the day – BIRTHDAY!

I had a birthday, there was a party. My twin sister showed up (among others). It was a good time:

Pic of the day

Big mouth:

Pic of the day

Layers upon layers. They build up, they disappear.

Pic of the day

_Yote in Granite Creek

Pic of the day

I went to the rodeo, but they wouldn’t let me take my camera in (NO DSLRs allowed?!) so this picture of a flower will have to do:

Pic of the day

Flowers along Granite Creek:

A weekend of mixed results

A saturday spent truck shopping in Phoenix. A day of chasing my own tail in the heat as it ended up. Still no new truck in my driveway; the search continues. On the plus side though I went down with my best friend, and got to have lunch with two other good friends while we were in the Valley of the Sun. So even though I failed to achieve my goal, I did still have a great time.

 

Sunday I helped the girlfriend move into a new house, went to the blue grass festival downtown, and had dinner with a great group of friends.

 

Overall it was a great weekend. And tonight we go to the first day of the RODEO! Totally looking forward to this!

Pic of the day

The ever-faithful hiking partner:

Pic of the day

I went for a quick hike on Saturday. Along the way was this spottled agave:

I’m guessing this is not a good sign.

Introspector

Something a little different:


more engine earz

Pic of the day

Courtney, at the canyon:

Another weekend gone by

I went to the valley in search of a truck on Saturday, but ended up coming home empty handed. The search continues.

I did get a chance to go canoeing on Sunday at Watson lake, which was an absolute blast. I've never been out in a canoe before, so it was a real treat to toot around with Courtney and the dog for an hour.

Beyond all that it was dog sitting for mom, hanging out downtown with my room-mates for a few drinks, getting an ice cream with my sister and her beau, some working out followed by jogging, and an afternoon of napping. No pictures taken, no food cooked, nothing of merit accomplished. And that is just fine by me. :)

Hope everybody out there in cyberspace had a fine weekend as well.

Pic of the day

Another cactus, blooming in Arizona:

Time to do irresponsible things.

I put my notice in to work, as of August 1st I will no longer be employed.

What am I going to be doing with myself after that day? Hopefully driving, to nowhere in particular. I’ve reached that stage which we young people get to, where suddenly we are curious what awaits us out there in the big bad world. A time when we throw caution to the wind and do irresponsible things in order to ask ourselves the question ‘Who am I?’

 

This idea has been in my head for a while, but I have chosen to finally make it a reality. I am leaving with only half-formed ideas of places to go. I’ll be sleeping in the back of a pickup truck which I have yet to purchase. I’ll be scrounging cash and working odd jobs along the way. I’ll be trying to meet up with people I know, and get to know people I meet. I don’t know how long it will take. Maybe I’ll get scared and return after a month, maybe I’ll be driving for years. I’d like to think I’ll come back to Prescott, but if another place calls to my heart I may not be making my way back to my birthplace. Only time will tell.

 

As with all changes in lifestyle, I am expecting this to be difficult and scary. That is part of the appeal.

 

This blog will see some changes along the way as well I am sure. Travel updates will certainly arrive here. Inquiries for recommendations on everything from restaurants to destinations. Calls for help when my knowledge or capabilities fail me. Searches for a couch to stay on, or a line on a job in some far-away city when I get lonely or run out of money.  It should be interesting.

 

For now I wait, and prepare. I look at maps, and look up old friends. I make lists of things I need to do, things I need to buy. At this moment I am looking for a truck to purchase which will carry me on these travels.

 

So stay tuned for the travels of a naive network administrator. :)

Pic of the day

Pic of the day

Another shot of the arch:

Pic of the day

I took a trip to Missouri. I didn’t feel very touristy, but went to see the arch anyway. Some things simply must be done:

Pic of the day

Lee's Ferry: