The Eve of the First Trip

Tomorrow, I, Cathy, Kricket, Dan-the Llama folk- and 4 visitors from Ohio will venture out for the first guided trip of Highline Trail Llama's for the summer!

It will be just a brief, overnight excursion up into the Wind River Mountains, but I am so incredibly psyched for it! I spent at least 3 hours packing, unpacking, repacking, checking bag weights, aligning packed items for optimal distribution, etc., for some time now, obviously up into the early hours of the morning. That's ok, I'm use to working on little sleep :-)

Ah man... so excited. I was assigned my official HTL Gear today (2 panniers [special bags the llamas carry], a food tub, a tent, a sleeping mat, and my own mug!) and I started geeking out because it was actually happening.

For some time now, I've felt this draw to the outdoors and nature. I've talked about being a wildlife biologist, and loving the wild and all this jazz, but I hadn't really gotten to do much about it. Well, part of the reason I took this internship was becasue I'd get the chance to really get out there and live it. Real camping, hiking, everything... it's gonna be a blast. BE BACK LATE THURSDAY!!!

In what was hopefully a good omen prior to my first outing, I got to watch a moose cow and her young male calf (you can tell because he has a pure black nose) tromping around and grazing in the pond next to my house. I sat for an hour watching the two of them as the sun set- an evening well spent.

The No-Shave Challenge, and New Photographs!

Well folks, you waited patiently, and after a month of not shaving, here are the results:

Those eyes... do they betray anger? Confusion? Relief?
Picture taken on June 3rd.

I know, I know... I still look like a pubescent boy trying to impress his friends. Alas. Not all of us were meant to have great big bushy beards. And in fact, I have been told many a time by more hairy ones that I am lucky in my lack of need of grooming and upkeep, and that taking care of them is actually a great hassle. Still, it would be nice to at least grow a shadow should the need arise for a role or something of that nature. Haha, oh well.
The top of my head, however, it a different story... more on that at a later time...

In case you want to see other, less embarassing, less awkward pictures, and more cute and fun ones, like this:

Or this:

Or this:

Follow this link to see my newest album of photos from Boulder, WY
The Llama Ranch, and Around Town(s)