Sunday, September 17, 2017
Mid-life Crisis Road Trip 2017, Days 1 through 8.
On August 11, I got in the trusty Ford Focus and drove east into New Mexico. Heading towards Santa Fe, but ominous clouds developed. I was going to the Pecos Conference near Pecos, but by the time I got to Albuquerque, it was raining hard.
Rainy New Mexico.
I ended up spending the night in Albuquerque. I went to Target and bought a hoodie, because it was cold. That ended up being a smart move. A night spent at the Super 8.
The next morning I drove north to Pecos, set up my tent, and then received an award. I made the audience laugh by telling them that after 31 years I was still excited to be an archaeologist.
Fancy clouds.
That night at the dance a young gay couple two-stepped together. I introduced myself. It was really fun to meet other gay archaeologists and realize that no one cares anymore.
The next day, August 13, I got in my car and headed north to Denver. Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado are gorgeous.
Water lilies.
The next day Craig and I went to a big park and walked around. That night I made Spanish rice for supper. Had a momentary freak out because I could not find my keys, they turned out to be in Craig's SUV. Those same damn shorts.
On Thursday, August 17, Chris was off work so we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. Very lovely, very high up. Surprised to see snow still on many of the mountains. At places we were up in the tundra. It was lovely.
Craig and Chris.
Cute chipmunks visited us while we ate lunch.
Mountains.
We ended up going down a trail and I got ahead of the guys and when I turned around they had disappeared. I ran back and discovered that Craig's chair had fallen off the edge of the trail and dumped both of them in a pond. Everyone survived, although Craig's phone died. It was an adventure.
On August 11, I got in the trusty Ford Focus and drove east into New Mexico. Heading towards Santa Fe, but ominous clouds developed. I was going to the Pecos Conference near Pecos, but by the time I got to Albuquerque, it was raining hard.
I ended up spending the night in Albuquerque. I went to Target and bought a hoodie, because it was cold. That ended up being a smart move. A night spent at the Super 8.
The next morning I drove north to Pecos, set up my tent, and then received an award. I made the audience laugh by telling them that after 31 years I was still excited to be an archaeologist.
Sunflowers.
Afterward as I was walking away a young guy named Michael came up to me and told me that as a teenager he had searched "gay archaeologist" on the internet and found my blog and that it made him realize that one could in fact be a gay archaeologist. That was an awesome moment.
That night at the dance a young gay couple two-stepped together. I introduced myself. It was really fun to meet other gay archaeologists and realize that no one cares anymore.
The next day, August 13, I got in my car and headed north to Denver. Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado are gorgeous.
Hello Colorado.
I had lunch at a Subway in Pueblo and managed to lose my wallet. First time ever. $450 cash and my cards. Discovered this in Denver. Sad face. Cancelled my cards, ordered new ones, felt like a dork, wished I had taken some of that cash out and hid it in my car like I had planned. Oh well, lesson learned. Whoever found it, I hope they had fun or paid some bills.
Arrived at Craig and Chris's place with about four dollars to my name.
Craig hadn't started working so we got to hang out for the next few days. On Tuesday, August 15, we went to the Denver Botanical Garden. It was beautiful and obviously there are a lot of rich folks in Denver. Maybe Alexis or Blake gave them a pile of money.
Craig.
We wandered around looking at the flowers. I liked the tropical exhibit. My favorite was the water lilies.
The next day Craig and I went to a big park and walked around. That night I made Spanish rice for supper. Had a momentary freak out because I could not find my keys, they turned out to be in Craig's SUV. Those same damn shorts.
On Thursday, August 17, Chris was off work so we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. Very lovely, very high up. Surprised to see snow still on many of the mountains. At places we were up in the tundra. It was lovely.
Cute chipmunks visited us while we ate lunch.
Chipmunk.
So many amazing mountains, which is why I guess they call them the Rocky Mountains.
We ended up going down a trail and I got ahead of the guys and when I turned around they had disappeared. I ran back and discovered that Craig's chair had fallen off the edge of the trail and dumped both of them in a pond. Everyone survived, although Craig's phone died. It was an adventure.
Moist.
I got my cards and Doug sent my passport, so I was able to continue my journey.
On Friday morning, August 18 (day 8), I got in the car and drove to Wyoming. There was a nice visitor center at the border, where I met my next boyfriend.
Yogi
I stopped at the Denny's at Cheyene and had the best onion rings. I then drove west through the rolling plains to attend Wyoming Rendevous, an LGBT camping event. I was supposed to meet up with Jason, but he couldn't go, so I was there by myself. I wish I wasn't so shy.
Tent.
The event was held in the Medicine Bow National Forest, although there isn't a lot of forest in this area.
Scenery.
I met a few guys that afternoon, so I didn't feel like a complete dork. That night a comedienne performed and then there was a bonfire and I drank a lot of Fireball and had fun.
