A rather busy week or so catching up with friends, giving presentations, getting the Scamp ready, and gearing up for the next phase.
I’ve decided that the original plans of traveling to the East will be modified. There are too many excellent places yet to see, especially this time of the year, in the Southwest! I would love to get back to Big Bend, see more wilderness areas in New Mexico and Utah, and I feel I have barely tapped the potential of Arizona and Nevada both.
I’ll make it back East…just a matter of when. 🙂 Being serious, probably in May once it warms up in the Southwest. I want to see the southern Appalachians when the wildflowers are out, and Spring is in full flourish.
The presentations went well. The Utah talk at Montbell was standing room only! Utah is indeed a place that stirs the imagination.
PCO Montbell America
And while in town, Justin Knowles (Technologyhiker) flew in for a business meeting. We were able to get a hike in nearby before his meeting. What better way to catch up?
I did the usual socializing with my friends, attended birthdays, did another couple of local hikes, and a friend hosted a group dinner at her house in the foothills. Our friend and I both share southern Italian heritage and grew up in a very similar manner. She made a traditional multi-course (and multi-hour!) dinner she generously shared with her friends. For the people who did not grow up this way, quite the surprise that the first course was not the dinner, but just one of many dishes to come! I may or may not have a touch of Sambuca that night.
The meal concluded four hours later! 🙂
I’ll be guiding again this summer as well. More info to come. And I will be co-hosting for a certain podcast.
In the meantime, the open road beckons. Onward!