YOU KNOW...JUST STUFF

Had the cutest little foster pup a couple of weeks ago. Matilda the blue.


I have a huge soft spot for cattle dogs, so she was twice as adorable. Not tempted at all. We only had her for a week cause we went floating down the San Juan River for 4 days.


It was all a bit pleasant and fun. It was from Bluff to Mexican Hat, Utah, about an 4 hour drive from home. Only 27 river miles so we had plently of time to kick back. It also had one of the easiest shuttles ever. Only 20 minutes each way so nobody had to drive for hours back and forth to leave cars at put in and pull out spots. 6 adults and 4 kids drifted along. The water was running about 800cfs, which meant it was very shallow and I don't think there was anywhere that was above waist deep. We didn't have to drag boats though so that was good. In July it was running at 8000cfs, which would be a whole different beast to run. There are 3 rapids class 2-3, I hooned through in a kayak only ping ponging off rocks a couple of times. I was nervous at first then wanted more once I was through and realised how much fun it was.



The are some awesome petroglyphs, pictoglyphs sherds and pueblo buildings dotted along the banks. We visited River House which was beautiful. It was built and inhabited around 900-1200 and you can still see the paintings on the walls.



It was a year ago we did the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, this was a tiny taste of that. I could totally be a river rat, there is something very serene and joyful about floating along and living on the banks. Water fights and rapids definitely add to the fun.



I'm doing two classes at Coconino College. Ceramics 1 and Intro to Cultural Anthropology, so far good fun. Ceramics is great. We are making pinch pots which we will play around with glazes, and eventually progress to the wheel. Our first project was to make two pots then join them together and make something else which was alive (now dead). I was going to a capsicum or something, but on the river trip I found a complete fossil of a mollusc, a perfect little bivalve. It was alive right, just a few million years ago. So I have pottered a shell....It's kinda cute so far.


Rob is in CA, near Sacramento for his cousin's wedding today and to see his Grandma, then driving down with his Dad to visit his other Grandparents in Santa Barbra. They just celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary. (She is 105, he is 95).
He was going to drive back tomorrow night, but then I found out that The National is playing at the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow night. I'm a bit of a new fan, Kate got me into them on our NZ roadtrip. So tomorrow I'm driving to LA, about 7 hours, meeting Rob, going to the concert with him, Alyssa and Jesec and driving back Monday. It will be good to see A & J and they have a bed we can crash on. A slightly silly but otherwise perfect plan.