Updates!

So I have some catching up to do for all of you on the blog; much has happened since the 4th of July!

First, I took a trip out to Athens, Georgia to meet with some other researchers and work on a paper. It was gorgeous out there (it's such a cool town) and we were productive. However, the other cool thing is I got to see my cousin, Andy, for the first time in like 15 years! He showed me around Atlanta and I got to hang out with his amazing girls.

A week later Scott Johnson and I took our annual fishing trip. This year we did the San Juan River in New Mexico. It's one of my favorite fisheries, and I wanted to fish it one more time before moving from the southwest. Dave Rhine put us up kindly, and we had a good time hanging out with him and his wife Pam. The fishing was decent, though not gang-busters like it has been in the past for me. But Thoreau once said a person spends his whole life fishing without realizing it's not the fish that he's after. Luckily Scott and I embrace that saying, and the fishing is always secondary to having a good time together, away from responsibilities (which have been remarkably minimal for me this summer, thank God!).

I also took the time to hang out with friends before my big move. The one big trip I fit in was a up to the White Mountains with my old teaching buddies (aka the Vegas crew), Tom, Dave, and Paul. We stayed at Paul's dad's cabin and I introduced them to the wonders of fly-fishing. It was a very enjoyable last horrah with the boys, and it was so great that we were able to fit it in!

Margaret was unfortunately busy during this whole time studying for her big board exam. It was a relief once she got done, and we decided to have a celebratory trip. After she finishe the exam we took the time to go visit my Grandma in Ohio. It was the farm I spent my summers on (and where I learned to fish), and it will always be very special for me. We had a great time hanging out with Grandma Dorothy playing cards and just talking. We even had a chance to go back to my uncle and aunt's place on the farm and have a fantastic meal (they grow all their own vegetables and eat the fish they catch in the summer- all fresh!), followed by some good ol' gelato. An amazingly relaxing trip.

Of course, this trip also was the last one before my big move. The night we got back into Phoenix my little brother Pete met us at the airport. He came down to drive up with me, so we decided to take a leisurely pace and enjoy five days on the road! We hit the links the day before we left, and made some really great stops along the way. In Mexican Hat, Utah we "discovered" this amazing gem of a steakhouse just outside of Monument Valley. It was a really perfect break towards the end of the first day.

The next days were spent in Colorado where we fished the Roaring Fork river before heading to Fort Collins for a day and a half. We hit up the New Belgium brewery (that makes Fat Tire, among others) and I have to say it was the best brewery tour I've ever been on. It is an impressively green operation too- they even give all their employees bikes to take into work! The town was a lot of fun (I guess it was the template Disneyland used to create its classic Americana downtown) that night and the next day we fished the local trout stream for some wild browns.

The last couple of days were mostly driving (what else do you do in Nebraska and Iowa?), so it was really nice to arrive in Menomonie. I had forgotten how beautiful Wisconsin is in the summer, and the town is even better than I remembered (maybe partially because it's August and not December :)). Pete and I then went up to see my parents where he picked up a vehicle to take to Detroit Lakes. On my way back to Menomonie I stopped to see my brother Doug and Cindy and the kids, which was really nice. They're going to come out to Menomonie for part of Labor Day weekend, which will be fun.

Once I got back to Menomonie I arranged my office and apartment. I am renting the bottom level of this nice old house that was just renovated with new appliances, etc., and all my rent money goes to this amazing old Victorian theater in town. I can't wait to go see a performance there!

Last Wednesday my buddy Augie came up to visit me from AZ. We spent a few days golfing, biking, bowing, going to the MN State Fair, and just generally having one last fun go-around before my school year starts. It's a bummer that I won't have him around anymore, but it was really great of him to come up!

As I was getting settled in up in Wisconsin Margaret had a really nice treat down in AZ. Her sisters (Lenor and Rosanna) and nieces (Briana and Alyssa) paid her a visit! They had fun sitting by the pool and going out to some nice restaurants, and they gave her a surprise baby shower! It was really cool of them, and Margaret was touched to tears. :) I think it was a good little transition for her as well.

Anyway, that gets you all caught up to today! Now I am just getting to know my co-workers and the town. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful, and I feel like I made a good decision by taking the job at UW-Stout. Margaret is keeping busy with the chief resident position and is looking forward to visiting some friends out in North Carolina over labor day weekend!