Back to Vernal

Well, I'm back in Vernal, UT, for yet another round of the NOLS deal. This time around we have the final section of a semester course, which means the students have already spent over 50 days together. We met them all today and they seem like a great crew.
So, for those who don't live at 511 currently, yet still read the blog on a regular basis, and I know that you all are out there, I was back in Bozeangeles this past week. It was a heckuva time, really. I spent quite a bit of time on the river, guiding 11 boats and teaching a kayak lesson in a 5 day span. Good for the pocketbook, but not so good for the social networking. I am happy to report that I made it to a kickball game, and as expected, and perhaps even required, I wound up a bit drunk and covered in beer. That game also marked Danny and Patrick's first kickball game. They really gave it the old college try and I think everyone was pretty impressed with their skills in general. I was pretty happy when we all managed to get on the same team. For those of you reading this with the power to change things, I would like to see more of an effort to get the costumes going for future games. Well, I really need to go to bed, but I wanted to write a few bits down here and say hello before heading out for the next 16 or so days. Until then, be well, and do some crazy things.
Max

Hot Days and Hotter Nights in Bozeman

(sweet beer sign, eh)

Well, I guess it is official. It is summertime in Bozeman and that means trying to get in as many outdoor activities as possible in the few short months we have. For me, I have really taken a liking to mountain biking, hiking and yes keeping up the promise to run at least two days a week. Although with this 90+ degree heat we have been having lately that last one has proven to be harder and harder.

Dusk may be one of my favorite times of day. Not only does it mean that I am no longer at work(which lately has been quite the struggle to go sit in a garage office for 8 hours a day) but it means that the cool nightime air is coming. I am sure that you all know that Patrick has what we call a bit of a sweating problem. Hot, cold, dry, rain, snow, sleet whatever the weather it just happens. As this has been the topic of many discussions at 511, I have decided to just let it be. The medicines and whatever else they do for things like that do not seem like a really natural solution for your body. So I am going to ride this out and put on deoderant like twice a day.

With that out of the way, I should probably mention that this has been my first full week back at 511 for like a month now. My journeys took me to far off distant places like Milwaukee, WI (biggest little town in America) and Boston, MA (most cramped and dirty town in the US). These trips were for many reasons but the Milwaukee trips were for weddings of two close friends. That's right wedding season is here and it is nothing like the movie Wedding Crashers. It did involve a lot of drinking though which I will discuss later. The other trip to Boston was supposed to be for another wedding but it turns out that my college roomate for four years was dating a nutcase and it really did not work out. I got to hang out with some colllege friends I had not seen in a while, swim in the ocean, and come to the realization that I am so glad that I am no longer on the east coast. It really kind of freaked me out to consider what kind of life I would have if I would have stayed out there. I think I am still kind of dealing with that right now.

Anyways, back to the drinking story. Danny will attest to the fact that I love beer. Lots and lots of beer. So much so that I will load up my car to drive back here to Bozeman with beer that can only be found in the midwest. Well, at one of these weddings in Milwaukee I realized the day after the ceremony and reception that over the course of the 12 or 13 hours we were all together that I had consumed somewhere between 18 and 24 beers (exact number a bit hazy). Patrick's brain says that is way to much and that I was not as drunk as I could have been. This has spawned my experimentation with hard alcohol. I will always have a spot in my heart for beer but I think that expanding my horizons can never hurt. I will let you all know how it is going in the next couple of weeks.

Wow, what a blog. From hot weather, to sweating, to my far off distant journeys, to my new experiment with booze. Well that is about all for now. Keep on blogging 511 and lock it up.

P.S. BBQ at 511 saturday for the arrival of Tucker and Justin fresh off the plane from Asia.