Wolf Creek, CO

Keep It Real!

There and Back Again

I'm feeling a little like a wandering nomad.

In the past 2 weeks, we've been in Big Sandy, Tx; Albuquerque, NM; Los Alamos, NM; Killeen, TX; Los Alamos, NM; Albuquerque, NM and finally back to our new home in Los Alamos, NM.

The reason for so much traveling was moving, journeying back to TX for Christmas with Leni's family, and then coming home for a day and a half before celebrating a belated Christmas with my side of the family at my brother's house in Albuquerque, where we took this photo at the River of Lights.

Despite the crazy traveling and inability to rest my head in the same place for more than just a few days, it's been fun. The trip to Leni's family's home was packed with day trips and visits with friends and family. The visit with my side of the family was a little lower key although the days still seemed to leave me just as drained since I was more tired when the gig started from the previous travel.

Both Leni and I had brothers with somewhat recently acquired pets. Leni's brother, Landon, trapped this Kestrel back in October which he is currently in the process of training so it will hunt sparrows and starlings. Her name is Kasha. On the day that we arrived at their house, my brother, Nick, and his wife Claire, got their first dog. Meet Dottie! She is a cross between a Basset Hound and

a Dalmatian! She is 6 months old and over the course of our stay, we saw more and more of her personalility unfold everyday. I can't wait to see what she's like next time I visit.

Throughout all the travel and introductions to the many dogs in the households we visited, our own dogs were BEAT! They had become pretty antisocial and stressed out. During our visits, they spent most of each day holed up in some empty corner of the house to just be alone and recuperate. They looked absolutely pathetic at the end of my brother's hallway laying by our bedroom door.

While I am home now, my wandering is far from over. We returned home this afternoon and are currently washing clothes as quickly as possible in an effort to do a mad re-pack job in preparation for our departure tomorrow for South Fork, CO, about 3 and a half hours north of Los Alamos. We'll be joining some friends for a day of skiing at

Wolf Creek Ski Resort (presently the recipient of 78 inches of snow this season!) and the night of laughter and jocularity (look it up) that is sure to follow before heading back the next day. Our friends do this week of skiing each year. Perhaps next year, we'll be able to afford more than just a day :) But we're pleased to be close enough to be able to drive up and back relatively quickly and see some good friends.

A day after returning from CO, I'll jump back in the car and drive the 9 hours to my parents' home in Tucson. From there, my mom and I will catch a plane to the motherland, Wisconsin. There, we'll spend some time visiting friends and family before loading a small moving truck with some inherited furniture in order to drive it to its final resting place in the southwest with us, my brother and sister-in-law, and my parents. Don't worry, I'll be sure to also save room in the truck for my favorite Wisconsin brew as well as some fresh cheese :) Once all the furniture has been delivered and we are back in Tucson, I'll be sticking around for a couple days to help with some projects around my parents' new (to them) house before heading back to Los Alamos, FOR GOOD. WHEW! By the time I'm back in Los Alamos, I will have been on the road for over a month and ready to sit around and do nothing for a while.

That's the word from New Mexico where we're still enjoying the new and beautiful (not to mention WAY different from TX!) scenery.

Keep It Real, Merry Christmas (still a few more days of the 12 day season!) and Happy New Year!

My Christmas Post

Here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Rather than share a bunch of words or recapping how we celebrated Christmas here today, I leave you with my favorite Christmas musical presentation ever posted on YouTube:

Keep It Real and Merry Christmas!

Without Further Ado...

Keep It Real!

The Atomic City

Well here we are in Los Alamos, NM!

I recently visited a delightful free museum in town that focuses on this area and especially the place that put it on the map, Los Alamos National Lab. I could write forever about the extremely interesting things we learned but let me just give you the bare minimum...if I'm capable...probably not....sorry!

The area was settled in 1917 by a gentleman who wanted to run a school for boys with an emphasis on outdoor pursuits and responsibilities. It was called the Los Alamos Ranch School and operated for 25 years.

In the early 1940's, after the Manhattan Project had been in full force, the government needed an isolated place for the people working on the project to come together and really get some secret stuff done (until this point, they had operated from many universities throughout the country but had no one meeting place). The property was quickly appropriated by the government and in just 27 months, the Los Alamos National Lab was constructed and the bomb had been designed, built, and tested. I wish the government moved that quickly these days. I guess it makes a difference when there is the pressure of a huge war. Oh wait......nevermind.

The lab still is in full force operation today yet with a different focus. As far as

weapons defense goes, the name of the game is stockpile stewardship. Basically,

the United States stopped making, as well as testing, nuclear weapons

back in 1992 (thank you, President George Bush...never thought I'd say that!). Even though they don't get detonated, they still need to be checked to be sure that they still work properly in the event that they are ever again called upon as a last resort (let's hope not!). Seeing how they can test the small parts to be sure that the larger whole is still in working order was pretty cool.

There is, of course, a lot of controversy surrounding all things nuclear. My favorite part of the museum was a public forum book where people are free to write down their opinions, thoughts, and apparently their political rants. I probably read this book for 25-30 minutes while commenting on other people's writings as I went along, and adding my own characteristic and expected sarcasm when needed. Because let's face it...it's always needed.

All that weaponry stuff is pretty classified and Leni is happy that his job at the lab will have nothing to do with classified information. He'll be working in the solid waste facility dealing with how to properly dispose of the solid nuclear waste that is produced at the lab. When I understand more about what that means, I'll let you know.

The lab employs a few more than 8,000 people. The town of Los Alamos has about 12,000. Let me share with you some interesting comparisons between Los Alamos and our previous place of residence, Big Sandy, TX.

In Big Sandy, 76% of residents over the age of 25 (the age of all the other following statistics as well) were high school graduates. Sadly, only 11% held Bachelor's degrees (or higher). Here in Los Alamos, 96% have high school diplomas and 61% hold Bachelor's degrees if not graduate and doctorate degrees. This 61% is three times that the New Mexico statewide average. They've got some smarties up here. In fact, while I was among the most educated in Big Sandy, I'm willing to bet that I am among the least educated up here. I wish those statistics were broken down more to include the higher degrees but I know that there are tons of people with PhDs around here....many with two!

Geographically, the city of Los Alamos is built on a series of mesas divided by canyons. As a result, there will be several neighborhoods separated by canyons of National Forest land. You can loosely see the basic layout in this city map:

Our property, as a matter of fact, backs right up to one of these canyons! One moment you are in our backyard and the next, you're in a canyon filled with all sorts of hiking trails. I'm excited to explore the area soon!

If you're still reading, I extend many congratulations to you. I know this has been long. Now that you've got the city under your belt, you'll probably be ready to see house pictures which I plan to post tomorrow.

Keep It Real!

Adieu, adieu...to you and you and you!

Tons has gone down since I last posted. No internet in my house just yet and I'm working right now from a quaint coffee shop which has free wi-fi however I'm running on low battery so I'll make this short with promises of a better one later this week.

First, Leni graduated this past Saturday!

It was great having his folks, mine, and his grandparents and aunt to be part of the special day. Leni is pictured above with his good friend, Josh.

After a couple days of packing and loading a 16' moving van (of course dragging a trailer with Leni's 4-Runner), we got up very early on Monday morning and made the long trek to Albuquerque where we would stay with my brother Nick and his wife Claire. Excellent hosts I might add. The drive is usually about 12 hours by car but with a large truck hauling a trailer, it became more like 14 and a half hours. I drove our car behind Leni in the moving van the whole time and this was my view for that entire time:

I think the drive was hardest on our dogs, Lucy and Sierra. Check out how uncomfortable they look:

We were at our final destination, Los Alamos, NM by 11 am on Tuesday morning. The landlord is a great guy and has put a lot of time into the house over the years. The house is perfect for a married couple with a couple dogs like us. It has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a beautifully redone kitchen, a big porch with a HOT TUB, and a work shop out back for Leni.

It snowed in the last week so we've got that to deal with. Leni had to scrape ice off the car this morning!

Watch for house pictures in the next couple days. I want to wait until we have everything unpacked. It isn't a pretty sight right now! To whet your appetite, here's a picture of our dogs in the house; this time much more comfortable!

That's all for now.

Keep It Real!

And the Award Goes To....(part 2)

I know you've been waiting with baited breath. I'll protect you from anymore suspense:

The Poor Customer Service of the Month Award goes to Bank of America!

I'll spare everyone the gory details but essentially, Bank of America is receiving this award due to its poor communication with my parents regarding an investment CD that they had opened. The CD was coming to its maturity and my father had called the bank to arrange details related to how it would be handled. The representative they spoke gave them some gross misinformation which, needless to say, complicated the entire matter. It may seem inconsequential but consider that this misinformation created some ridiculous inconveniences for my parents, quasi elderly folks who have given DECADES of business to this financial institution only to have their precious financial savings treated as if they were unimportant.

Shame on you, Bank of America.

5 days until Leni graduates

Keep It Real!