December 2008
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
New Home in Boulder
Buddy, Tiberius, and I moved to Bear's condo in May 2008. Bear is the man I've been dating for the past 3+ years—that's him in the background of this photo (maybe someday he'll let me use a closeup!). The condo is in a beautiful neighborhood (picture at top) right off of a bike path that follows Bear Creek (yes, what a coincidence...). If you don't have my new address & phone number, please e-mail me and let me know!
Snake River, Idaho.
Aunt Lucia and me.
The barn in Council that
Mel and Gene helped build.
Salmon River Valley.
Road Trip!
Visiting Aunt Lucia in Boise
This summer, Bear and I drove up to Boise to visit Aunt Lucia, stopping in Idaho Falls to take pictures like the one to the left.
As soon as we arrived in Boise, Bear had to turn back because his dog, Sequoia, was sick and the kennel couldn't keep him (he's fine now), but I got to stay for several days. Lucia and I made some great road trips and stopped in at her favorite Chinese food restaurant in Mountain Home for our traditional "bird's nest" lunch.
Our first drive was up to Council and Hornet Creek. We followed Hornet Creek up to the town of Bear and had a very nice picnic, filled with lots of old memories and stories.
After a day of rest, we took an all-day drive via Emmett, Horseshoe Bend, Garden Valley, Stanley, and Ketchum, Idaho, to see as much as we could see of Lucia's favorite river, the Salmon. We passed the famous "River of No Return" point, the spot where the great Salmon River begins as just a trickle in the woods. Lucia was thrilled to see it all again.
Alberta Falls.
Trail Ridge Road.
Visitors
Dad and Betty
My father and his wife, Betty, drove up from New Mexico this September, and the three of us had a great time visiting Rocky Mountain National Park.
After a nice drive from Boulder, we stopped first at Bear Lake. From there, we hiked to one of my favorite spots, Alberta Falls (see picture at left), and then found a quiet spot for a picnic.
Next, we decided to head up to Trail Ridge Road (U.S. Hwy 34). I forgot how different the light is so high above sea level (12,183 ft.). On the way out of the park, we were fortunate enough to see a wild turkey and three poults cross the road in front of us and a bull elk wallowing happily in a shallow pool.
Three generations:
Ingrid, me, and Lindsay.
Lindsay at work in Iraq.
Lindsay
Last December, my niece, Lindsay (Lynn), stopped by for a visit while enroute from Port Hueneme, California, to Wisconsin for the holidays.
Lindsay had just recently returned from her tour of duty in Iraq with the Navy Seabees. I really enjoyed her company and hearing her stories about laying a concrete air-strip and building and insulating barracks, all while working mostly at night to avoid the 130 °F desert heat.
Lindsay and her brother and sister, Erick and Natalie, are now working and/or in college — what a busy group! It's hard for me to remember these three grown-up people used to be my little nieces and nephew! I bet parents Scott and Dora wonder where the time went.
One of our most-read
issues, the Feb. 2008
GSA Today asks:
"Are we now living in the Anthropocene?"
(Cover: Shanghai, China.)
Work
Changes at Work = New Skills!
This year, GSA Today, the Geological Society of America's member news and science magazine, was transferred from the Publications department to the Communications & Marketing department, and Margo (the graphic designer) and I went with it.
Now, in addition to serving as the managing editor of GSA Today, I am managing editor of GSA Connection, our e-news magazine. That means I had to learn to write html — thus, besides the fact that it saves paper, you have this e-letter!
I also write all publications-related press releases as well as press releases related to science presented at our annual meeting. A few of those releases were picked up by other news organizations (see press releases on topsoil, modern pterodactyls, Civil War geology, and mobile desalinization plants) — it's funny to see my writing on someone else's Web site!
This January, I've published a 10-year retrospective of science articles, which I wrote. Link to the PDF if you'd like to learn more.
Signing Off for Now...
That's "all the news that's fit to print" for this year. Thanks for reading this; I hope you enjoyed it. If you'd like to see more pictures, I'll have some up on my Web site within the next few weeks — or just e-mail me! I wish you all the best in the coming year.