I climbed a mountain

Not just any mountain, the highest peak in New Mexico. Wheeler Peak is 13, 161 feet high. We drove up to the Taos Ski Basin and hiked in 5 miles to the La Cal Basin and set up camp. The hike was a steep uphill climb. The next morning we woke up and climbed up through the thin air to the summit. Unfortunately our moment of great joy at the top of New Mexico was a bit dampened by some pretty scary thunder clouds over head, so we snapped a couple of quick pictures and made a speedy descent, well as speedy as you can on two foot wide trail 13,161 feet in the air. On the third day we hiked back out. We had a great time, and little Scarlett is still sleeping it off, still unaware of her own accomplishment, she mostly enjoyed the running around in the woods, rolling in cow crap, frolicking in mountain streams, and sleeping in the big, portable, communal kennel (i.e. the tent). Enjoy the photos:
Above: Matthew at the summit. Below: the view from the top of NM.Above: Threatening cloud, Below: Nonthreatening marmot. Above: Scarlett warms up by the fire on her daddy's lap. It was really cold and damp, and she had thought it was a good idea to romp in the freezing water just before the sunset. Silly puppy. Below: A picture of me at the sign marking the boundry of the Wheeler Peak Wilderness Area, with Wheeler peeking in the background. Note: All photos of the hike in and out are on the way out, as the hike in was enough to manage without photography.Above: me hiking out. Below: The sign that proves that the hike was wicked hard .
And of course, the cutest camper in the world:

Yard Sale

About a week ago we put a bunch of our junk in the front yard and sold it to people who thought it wasn't junk. We were quite pleased with our little profit, but even happier to not have to pack up all of that junk. It was really a win win situation. Friends Frank and Jen came by to keep us company and sold a canoe, while friend Kristin made a tidy profit herself. By the end of the day we were giving it all away for free and drinking the afternoon (and evening) away. Below Matthew and I model some of the items we could not even give away. This is perhaps why one should not drink at a yard sale.
One sale of note was to a woman who came rather late. I had listed "yarn" as one of the items in the sale on my craigslist posting, and had already sold a bag of neglected stash yarn, when this woman comes up and eyes some kntipick's sock yarn that I just didn't really like. I tell her "it's one hundred percent pure merino sock yarn." She sniffs, I had listed it at $2. She get's out the money, and I'm just making small talk, so I say "Yeah, when we were packing up for the move, my box of yarn was so big (see the pic below), I felt I had to sell some." And her response was "I have an entire barn full of yarn, so unless you have a building full of yarn you won't impress me." In retrospect I am so angry that I didn't throw her two dollars at her and demand my yarn back. I was just trying to be friendly and she had to be all uppity. That's Santa Fe for you.
But really, we did meet some really nice folks who came by our sale and it was a really good time. Not everyone in Santa Fe is an uppity yarn barn owner.

where the heck is she?

Apologies. I've been busy, busy, crazy, crazy, busy. I've been perfecting a syllabus, preparing a class, writing a draft of a chapter for my dissertation, preparing a paper to be submitted to a journal (which will definitely be rejected but one should always dream), looking like a pretentious ass in every coffee shop in Santa Fe reading a book titled "Existentialism" - I think I need a sign that says "This is for work, I swear, really, for work," packing up all of my worldly possessions, of which I have way too many, planning a yard sale, trying to do everything I haven't done in the previous year in Santa Fe before I leave, and designing/knitting/ripping a shrug to wear for my cousin's wedding (that I'm submitting as a design - so no pictures or clues), and to top it all off, I have been indulging in this:

Bandelier National Monument

The view of the lower village from up above.


Below: Matthew at the entrance to the Alcove House Kiva.
Below: No puppies allowed, but plenty of wildlife.

Since we are soon to leave the New Mexico, we're trying to do a bunch of stuff in a little bit of time. Sunday we headed to Bandelier National Monument about an hour from Santa Fe. Bandelier is home to some wicked old ruins that you get to climb around in. We had lots of fun, but all that ladder climbing in 95 degree heat left me way tired and a bit sore. Enjoy the pictures.