GregHowley.com

Colorado

January 9, 2005 - -

My blog's been turning into a journal recently, but there's so much going on in my life right now that it's hard to have it any other way.

I just added a bunch of pictures to the photo gallery, including the shots of Kansas, the world's biggest state. (I swear) We were dodging tumbleweeds on I-80 in Kansas for at least 5 weeks that day. Luckily, I didn't take pictures of the world's scariest port-o-potty, which is at a horror-movie-worthy reststop in Indiana. *shudder*

Canon City (and probably most of this part of the country) is very different from New England in many ways. For example...

  1. The Dryness. When we visited over the summer to help shear al pacas, I noticed at one point that I had a bunch of tiny cuts all over both hands. It was a while before I realized that it was the dryness cracking my skin. Now, I've never been much for moisturizer, but I've found myself forced into it by my environment. Also, I find my mouth and eyes getting dry a lot, and I drink a lot more water. Even the inside of my nose dries out. Yeugh. I've got the monster humidifier I bought for the 1200 sq.ft. Colt Building room running 24 hours a day. But the air is allergen-free, and Linda loves that.
  2. The Altitude. It's not immediately obvious, but there have been a couple times I've felt inexplicably dizzy or light-headed, and I can only credit the 5000+ foot altitude here. Linda and I have at least once found ourselves breathing a bit fast laying on the couch. They say you get used to it - I'm already getting better after about a week here.
  3. People People in the midwest like to chat with total strangers. Weird. Not bad - just foreign to me - It takes some getting used to for a New-Englander like myself. Even four-way stopsigns are completely different. In Connecticut, I'd learned the four-way stopsign pattern: I pull up, three other people go, then I go. No eye contact, just watch the vehicles move. Here, people rely heavily on eye contact and gestures at a four-way stopsign, and the order in which you arrived at the intersection seems far less important. Weird. Also, people in such a small town as Canon City seem to be very focused on the town. In Connecticut, I rarely even bought groceries in the same town I lived in. Here, everything you need is within a quarter-mile. Weird.
  4. Miscellany There are no Dunkin Donuts here - where do I get coffee? There are however, many good radio stations - I could barely find one in the Hartford area. The tap water has a strong taste, although the locals say it isn't toxic.
Comments on Colorado
 
Comment Sun, January 9 - 6:00 AM by Paul
We can take care of the DD with a care package. No DD that might explain why the people are so friendly. I want to hear about the trees! It' all about the trees!
 
Comment Wed, January 12 - 3:06 PM by Glenn
Hmmm...hand signals and gestures you say? That whole 4-way stopsign deal sounds very irritating. I wonder if there's ever some really nice person that gets stuck at an intersection waving people by for an hour? I would probably keep a ski mask or a few spooky halloween masks handy for when you want people to take note of your arrival order at the intersection.(They won't dare make eye contact let alone gesture) But seriously, that's gotta be annoying.