Palomino Dream : Adios April

First Quarter Moon

Just like that, 2020 is one third finished. This shelter-in-place, social distancing thing has been pretty good for me. It has encouraged self-discipline and fostered self-improvement and, digitally at least, brought me closer to family and friends. The 2020 in 2020 Challenge (walk 2,020 miles this year) has been key to staying focused. As of today, I have logged 674 miles with no days off, just by staying consistent and, so far anyway, injury free - knock on log.

I am 350-odd (very odd, some would say) pages into my next (as yet untitled) book. I am attempting to combine an edited version of my Pacific Crest Trail journals with highlights of my research on trade routes, customs, legends, and myths of the tribes who once lived in the areas crossed by the trail from Mexico to Canada. It's a ton of work, but I think I will be finished with the first draft by June. Maybe it will be complete by Fall.

To me, the hardest thing about writing books, even silly ones like mine, is knowing when you're done. Did you make your point? In grad school, you write a thesis proposal, it gets analyzed by your advisor, you make corrections, more red ink gets spilled, over and over until it gets approved. I jokingly bought Jan Gillespie, my thesis advisor, a box of red Bic pens when I first handed in my proposal, not knowing she would actually use them all.

Then you write the first draft of the actual thesis and your work gets ~~crucified~~, I mean, baptized with more red ink. That happens a few more agonizing times until finally it gets accepted long months later. I don't know how many times Jan wrote "You have to SAY it!!!!" in the margin when the point I was trying to make was not clear enough. It really is hard to see the forest for the trees sometimes, especially when you are working full time, taking classes at night, doing field work on weekends and holidays, and writing whenever you can squeeze it in. At the end, it is kind of hilarious when you get pronounced "Master of Science" after being (rightfully) humbled for a few years. In truth, though, it was the best of times. Pressure makes diamonds.

So this summer, I will put on my Gillespie hat and try to do that kind of gritty analysis for myself. I want this thing to be good. We'll see how it goes.

Late yesterday evening I got a little antsy so I jumped in Spugly and drove most of the way up into San Juan Canyon near my camp. I was following my instincts that told me it was going to be a good sunset. Up near the top of the canyon almost to Fremont Peak State Park, I pulled over and walked up a little dirt hill where I could get a good view in all four directions. And thank goodness I did - it was just what the doctor ordered.