La Vita è Bella

Good morning, friends. There is beauty in the world.

I cannot help but smile when I hear this song. :)

Have a wonderful, blessed, beautiful day.

Just Like James Michener, I Love Chem Trails

Earlier this summer I toured the watershed from which my water is delivered to my house/tap/washing machine/dish washer/shower. It was basically the nerdiest fun thing I did all summer. I realize this is actually quite a feat, since all I do is nerdy things.

I got to take a tour bus all the way up to Cameron Pass - it was an all-day extravaganza of water education. Hooray!

All but 5 of us on the tour were senior citizens.

I am officially that person. 

When we arrived at the pass, I was pretty sure I couldn't believe I lived close to a place that was so beautiful. Perhaps it was just the lovely weather, but I was smitten with happiness and an appreciation for just how lovely it was.

We visited Michigan Ditch. If you didn't know, James Michener visited this place when he was doing research for his book, Centennial. And he was guided by a friend of mine from the archives, Dr. Everett Richardson. And also, I've never read a book by James Michener, but I sometimes pretend I care about such things. And also, I would like to know how this ditch got its name. Every time I come across it at work, I wonder about why it shares a name with a state. I know; my mind naturally goes to important, deep concerns.

My tour included some crazy hippies, water buffaloes (that means they really care about water and devote their life to its development and legal issues), fluoride conspiracy theorists, right-wing nut jobs, and left-wing nut jobs. The longer I was on the tour, the more sane I felt. I was a strange and pleasant feeling; it is not a particularly common personal experience. Half of the people wanted to know why nothing was being done to mitigate changes to the watershed environment caused by the High Park fire. (We're all going to die because something changed; we must seek shelter from the big, bad, deadly environment!) The other half was completely incensed that anything was being done to mitigate changes to the watershed environment caused by the High Park fire. (Human health doesn't matter; let nature take its course!) As you can well imagine, the city utilities employees were overjoyed to explain repeatedly to both camps that the issue was being studied, and neither camp had it completely correct.

Speaking of crazy people, the lady in the photo below sitting underneath the roof overhang of this lovely gaging shed is the "Chem Trail Lady." She believes that some airplanes spew (on purpose) extra-potent chemical trails that are NOT contrails. These are called "chem trails." These chem trails are the sole agent weakening pine trees and making them susceptible to pine beetles, which kill trees and create kindling for forest fires. And so, forest fires are caused by "chem trails." And all other factors are completely beside the point/not real causes. And FoCo has a higher concentration of chem trails because of DIA's heavy traffic volume. And anybody with a degree in forestry or an ounce of common sense is completely wrong to bring up any other explanation. Obviously. And she will interrupt his/her presentation to point this out. Because he/she is disseminating misinformation. The end.

When we all disagreed with her (and not rudely), she stomped off in a huff and refused to talk to any of us for the rest of the day. I was relieved, for once, to be getting the silent treatment. Maybe I should have warned her I'm always excited to hear a new conspiracy theory but not at all likely to give credence to such ideas before she opened her mouth. But really. How could I possibly have anticipated that theory?!

Family Outing

My mom and dad came to visit over the long weekend. Hooray! We took a trip to Medicine Bow National Forest.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Not the prettiest, but definitely a "normal" look for both of us. Ha!

Mr. Wonderful attained the island!

Hanging out with Marie Bellamy - because which girl who values her right to
vote wouldn't want to do this?

Dad and Mom - I love them.

Be Inspired!

My parents are coming for the long weekend, but before I dash off to clean something else in this messy house of mine before they arrive, I thought I'd leave you with a little "inspiration".

Tee hee. :)

Obamarama

Today President Obama visited my place of work.

Did I say "visited" and "place of work"?

I meant "descended upon" and "a major portion of my fair town."

Truthfully, it was a bit exciting. I'm not an East Coast, big city girl. I'm not rich, prominent in any political organizations or think tanks, and I've never worked for a campaign. This was my first experience being anywhere near a sitting president. It was sort of strange and fun to hear his voice wafting over campus as I left work. It was amusing to see security personnel crawling over the rooftops of buildings in which on any other day, students learn about history, foreign language, agricultural sciences, etc.

But mostly, I was annoyed, and it had nothing to do with political convictions.

A visit from a presidential candidate brought my university grinding to a near halt. Why? Here are some highlights. Obama spoke in the MIDDLE of campus. The university cancelled classes in FIVE big buildings for a day to comply with security demands. They denied faculty and staff access to their offices for the same reason. They blocked off a major highway and roads in and out of campus and turned my tiny little 10 minute commute into a harrowing thirty minute ordeal. (I was amused by the giant construction dumpster that blocked a wide and heavily-traversed sidewalk near the building where I work. National security achieved through waste management! Huzzah!) I think that the majority of  the City of FoCo's and all of Baa Ram U's security resources were diverted to cover said visit. I have never seen so many police vehicles in one tiny area. I got a bunch of emails from uni administrators beginning last week explaining how we would just have to make the best of all of the craziness and such. Both of my work places scheduled major events for the same day months ago. One had to be rescheduled. One had to be carried out in spite of the mess. All university higher-ups scheduled to attend and speak at these events bailed for a chance to shake hands with Washington higher-ups. And best of all, no one had any real idea when the man himself was going to show. He had to visit Virginia and Iowa first today. So there were crowds and inconveniences and issues for the better portion of the last two days (if I don't count event rescheduling headaches for the last week). FOR THE LOVE!

A side note: I saw a lot of families with small children streaming into the rally area. Perhaps someone out there can explain to me why someone would voluntarily take his/her 2-6-year-old(s) to a crowded, hot, afternoon/evening event to wait around for an indefinite amount of time smack dab in the midst of nap and dinner time during which said child(ren) would need to be occupied? And don't say childcare. There were a LOT of kids, and FoCo people are generally well-off with lots of childcare options.

Despite all of this, I thought about getting myself a ticket to the event. The historian (and campaign/election analysis junkie) in me really wanted to go. I admit to being curious. But then I thought about how I didn't want to be stuck in the afternoon sun pressed up against a bunch of other hot sweaty people for an indefinite period of time waiting for a campaign stump speech. And I also thought about how if I did my job I'd get paid, and if I went to the rally, I would not. I voted for no people and more money.

I consoled myself the loss of a personal political first with the thought that I can give myself future opportunities to see presidents and presidential candidates by strategically remaining a resident of a university town/city in a swing state for the rest of my life. Yep, that will certainly guarantee me another shot.

But for now, my interest in being anywhere near another such circus is slim to none, no matter who shows up. And, while I am ALL about balance, please God, don't give the Romney campaign the same idea!

Road Trip!

Hello all, I'm back! It feels nice to be home after 11 days away, even if those days did include beautiful scenery, good music, new cities, and even a family reunion. My Grand Tour of the Colorado Plateau reminded me that traveling for work has its perks. Still, I'm glad to be out of the car and home with Mr. Wonderful. Below are some of the sights I documented - mostly of water (because I am borderline obsessed and because it seems so special while driving through the desert).

Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This picture does not do the place justice.

I hiked the Angels Landing trail  one evening with a former classmate while in ZION. This is not a hike for the feint of heart, but it was beautiful. Also, some teenage Jewish boys in yarmulkes and tzitzis admonished us that the sun would set soon and to be careful. I guess we looked like stupid old people to them.

Glen Canyon Bridge over the Colorado behind me. I once said I would never cross it because I am afraid of heights. Then, I crossed it.

Glen Canyon Dam holding back Lake Powell. The Bureau of Reclamation visitors center was very celebratory of this place. Very. Celebratory. I was less celebratory; I missed a tour of the dam's insides by minutes.

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River, right before sunset.

My hotel room at the Monte Vista Hotel, Flagstaff. Bing Crosby 's suite was right behind me. I want to know why movie stars were in Flagstaff in the 1940s or 1950s.

One of the quirky features of this Monte Vista  Hotel room.

I saw my very first lava flow ever at Sunset Crater.

Wupatki National Monument is an interesting place. Did I mention 1930s archaeologists dug  up the remains of about 100 people here? Did I mention digging people up was encouraged back then? Did Wupatki's brochures mention this? No. They did include pictures of a white lady who lived there as a caretaker in a rebuilt room at the top of this place during the 1950s, though.

I said "hello" to a lot of rivers on this trip. I made special effort to see the Green, Virgin, Animas, San Juan, Rio Grande, Arkansas, and North and South Platte rivers. They are part of my life at work, after all. This is the San Juan at Pagosa Springs.

North Fork South Platte River near Bailey, CO

Reunion. Almost.

I've been enjoying another weekend with Mr. Wonderful. This summer, I have cherished every last one of them because he lives in a different town during the week for work. Ick to living in different towns. I am so happy that this will be over in a week when he resumes his job at school and comes home to live with me every day. Of course, my house will be messier, but it won't be such a ridiculous novelty to see my very own husband. Hooray!