kistha

Some fun news bits over the past couple of days:

Environmentalists, Industry and Natives work together to save Rainforest and Spirit Bears

Intact Tomb in Valley of Kings (Don't get too excited though)

And,

Giant Rabbits!!!

The Cowgirl Trip:

I saw an add in a vacation magazine we get for a dude ranch that wasn't based on riding nose to tail for a couple of hours - instead it was based on you learning how to function at a real ranch. Like with cows. My Mom grew up in Idaho on a huge cattle ranch, and still misses that godforsakenly hot unbearable place and riding horses and herding cattle. My friend Dr J grew up and until about 10 years ago had a small cattle farm. They are both cowgirls, and both haven't gotten to do it or anything resembling "real" cattle work in quite sometime.

So, I thought, what about if for my birthday, we go and do this cattle thing? I've always wanted an opportunity to really, really ride. Not just in a field or along a short trail, and especially not on some annoying nose to tail nag that you have to kick all the way to the end of the trail, and then rein in with both hands all the way back so you don't fly back at a dead run. So I took care of it, and we're going. The plans started in summer and now, suddenly here it is.

Admittedly I'm a wee-bit scared, and starting to get nervous about the flight. I'm perfectly willing to make an ass of myself learning something new, but secretly I'm afraid I just plain won't be able to keep up. They have a good schedule, they start fairly slow, but we'll be spending most of the day on horseback, everyday. By the end of the week, we'll be participating in a full roundup. (Not to mention roping and barrel racing whoo-hoo!) While Friday is a "day for you" I'm sure we'll be out trail riding. There are numerous prehistoric native ruins, and I'd love to see a Kiva (go here to see a CGI reconstruction of one) so I'm hoping to take our trail ride out that-a-way. Wherever that may be...I want my Mom and Dr. J to have a good time.

The real present for me will be to watch my Mom getting out, having fun, and proving to herself she still can. I plan to drag her out on a fairly regular basis from now on. Having Dr. J there guarantees there will be someone who can keep up with her - if I can't. And that's what I'm really afraid of. I had planned on getting into better shape than this by far, I think I've gotten heavier, not thinner. With the house and this annoying sinus thing and the wandering plague, I just haven't managed. Now I'm afraid I'll pay for that, and ruin the whole thing.

Seriously though, it should be a ton of fun, and I'm packing Advil, my Hot/Cold flax herbal packs, Bengay and hoping that I make it. Mostly I'm hoping that if I can't keep up, they leave me behind.

So, I'll be leaving Sunday morning at an unholy hour of the morning to fly to Phoenix AZ, and then drive (or more accurately fight over who will actually drive, and for how long) to Gila NM. I won't return until the following Saturday night late and will be out of cell and computer range. There will be a phone for emergencies, but basically for a week I'll be totally incommunicado. I'm taking the laptop and will attempt to write entries on a daily basis but we'll see...I'm likely to be exhausted at the end of the day.

Here's to hoping it's as good as I want it to be....

See you all on the other side.