Hard at work as a model amongst the shrubery, in the... HS Taking measurements, collecting data. Generally about... HS The PTHS crew with the newlyweds. AW Related Stories: - Summer Recap - Mission: Snowmass - What A Trip Get your own free travel journal triptosomewhere

16th July, 2006 // USA
Meeker

Hello friends, family, and strangers on the internet. I write this from Meeker, Colorado; where I have been living and working for the past six weeks. Actually, that's not really true. I live 30 miles away from Meeker, and most of my work is done in the Roan Plateau area 50 miles from Meeker. My home is a research station in the middle of the Piceance Basin. There I am virtually off the grid. No cell phone, no internet, no TV. It's not too bad, just somewhat inconvenient, but it's free, so I'll take it. If I was truly choosing to live off the grid though, I'd rather be in a tent in the Alaskan wilderness.

My work is an inventory of vegetation in the Piceance Basin. By the way, it's pronounced PEE-ANTS, I don't know why, and I don't ask, because the locals scare me. Not really, they're very nice people, just a little different. Mostly a ranching community, the biggest event of the summer is the upcoming Sheepdog Trials, where the finest sheep dogs in the country gather to see which can herd sheep into a uniform pack in the most efficient manner. As you can imagine, the local fashion consists mostly of flannel shirts and Wrangler Jeans. Although I have noticed that the youth of the community wear a strange blend of traditional cowboy and modern skater punk. It's not uncommon to see a teenager wearing skateboarding shoes and a cowboy hat, or a Volcom T-shirt tucked behind a large, shiny belt buckle.

Another thing I've noticed is that there are old people here. I also noticed this about Pontiac, where I have been twice in the past two months. Having not left Snowmass for nearly a year, I hadn't realized just how youthful my community there is. It isn't so much the presence of the older crowd, but that they were working. There are plenty of seniors in Aspen, but they are all rich and retired, not waiting on me at the local restaurant as happens in Meeker and Pontiac. Or maybe the high alpine lifestyle keeps the elder generation looking younger, and I just don't notice them as much. Anyhow, this is just a casual observation, and I hope nobody takes offense.

My first trip back to Pontiac was for my brother and sister's graduation party. Nicki enters the real world this fall, as a teacher. Best of luck to her, lets hope she sticks with the real world longer than her older brother did. Jordan begins his college career at the University of Illinois soon, which is strange, because I swear I was just studying there last week. He has no idea what he's in for, and if he's like me, he won't know what it's all about until he has already graduated.

My second trip was actually to Chicago, for my friend Nick's wedding. He is not the first of my friends to get married, but he is the first guy, and the first that I feel I really "grew up" with, going all the way back to grade school. The whole weekend forced me to consider life from a different perspective, and generally have thoughts that make a twenty-something ski bum a little uncomfortable. But in the end I think I'm more at peace with growing up than I had realized. Anyways, I had a great time, and it was nice to have the whole high school gang in one place again. And on the whole, even amongst my friends back in Illinois, nobody is on the fast track to full on family life. I interpret this as an excuse to continue ski-bumming for another few years.

There's not much more to say, life in Meeker is pretty sleepy. I'm on my work computer right now, so maybe I'll try to post some pictures of me at work. I'm planning to take a backpacking trip or two in the next month, so I'll try to turn it into an adventure worth writing about. Until then, Peace and Love.

Rob