Lately

Lately, I have not had internet.

Currently, I am in a coffee shop in Farmington, NM,

so that I can post something.

Because I've missed blogging.

And have done so many great things the last couple of months!

Had some Vermont fall time...many, many apple pies.

 

The beau took me hunting for the first time!

[bird flies up through the trees]

Me:  Was that a partridge?

Beau: Yep.

Me: Was that my shot?

Beau: Yep.

Maybe I'll be better next time...

 Went home to Georgia for a couple of weeks!

Hit up the Cumming County Fair with the family.

Complete with Deep Fried Kool-Aid.

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 Paper-mached for the first time in about 10 years.  Making a pinata for little sister Jenna's 23rd birthday!

Watched her last games a college soccer player.  Was a very proud big sister.

18 years of dedication and passion is pretty inspiring.

Drove down to Charleston, SC to see my forever best friend,

walk on the beach, bike around her neighborhood, eat delicious food with her great friends,

and have rooftop drinks.

Also during all of this month I was reading a book a day for a 

"Medical Leadership" month,

which was amazingly inspiring.

 

 I also got to visit her 2nd grade classroom 

(for her 1st year of teaching!)

and teach the kiddos some organ systems.

Back in North Georgia,

we partook in some rare October surfing behind the boat.

Check out that model form!

 Did some Georgia fall hiking with the little mama!

 Got to see some friends from high school I haven't seen in too long.

And meet some new additions!

(p.s. for those who know these people, that's not Ryan's baby.  It's Stewart's. You didn't miss something.)

Scooched back to Vermont right quick to see these boys.

Then loaded up the car to drive out to New Mexico for a rotation 

on the Navajo Reservation through the Indian Health Services!

 Annie and I hauled it across the country in 3 days. 

We ate at truck stops...

And had stomach aches for 3 days...

 We passed through Middle America.

There was nothing there.

(This was the only picture I took!)

But we did get to see some awesome people...

my friend Austin doing his ortho residency in Indianapolis

and 

Annie's friend from the Peace Corps, somewhere in Missouri!

We did on recommendation though,

stop at The Big Texan in Amarillo.

 They had a food challenge of eating everything on that tray that waitress is holding in that picture,

and it was free.

4 1/2 pounds of steak.

Our stomachs were still a little timid after all the truck stops

(although we did eat all that food in the other picture!).

Maybe next time!

Finally we crossed into the land of enchantment

and scooped up the 3rd member of our party, Taylor, in Albuquerque.

Fall in Albuquerque was gorgeous! 

After a delicious farm-to-table brunch,

purchasing on-sale Day of the Dead goods,

and getting some good local information from an old man in a bookstore in Old Town,

we headed up to the Rez.

This is Shiprock.

The Navajo name for it means 'winged rock'

because the myth is that is was a bird monster that was killed and crashed into the ground.

Either way,

it's beautiful and is on the edge of Shiprock, the town.

We've had some good adventures out here already.

I drove out to Shiprock one day

and hiked up the volcanic shale to the true base.

And tested out my Dad's car on the dirt roads to get to and from the rock.

(Don't worry Dad, handled it like a champ!) 

Went to a Navajo rug auction at an elementary school in Crownpoint.

Pretty epic.

Hit up the Flea Market in Shiprock on a Saturday.

We bought a couple albums from this guy.

Including one of his old band singing some Country Western hits.

Also epic.

Ate some mutton stew and fry bread (Navajo food)

at the Flea Market.

(It was not epic.)

Have seen some pretty spectacular ancient cliff dwellings and canyons, 

on this hike and at Mesa Verde.

 Oh yes, 

and I've been doing a rotation in the ER

and learning a lot.

 More adventures to come with 

Thanksgiving with the beau in Taos,

10 days to make our way to Billings, MT at the end of the rotation,

and then a mad dash back across the country to Vermont!

Sometimes I think maybe I should just settle down a bit and stop bouncing around so much,

but then I think,

nah, better not.

-------------------------------------------------

We travel,

some of us forever,

to seek other states, other lives, other souls.

-Anais Nin