White sands

Last Tuesday (yes, I have been a very busy unemployed person) we and the Polkadots took a day trip to White Sands. As I'm sure you're aware, New Mexico is a stunningly beautiful place. However, many of the beautiful places that are here can be topped by neighboring states. For example, we have the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos, and Arizona has the Grand Canyon. We have several mountains over 12000', and Colorado has several over 14000' plus they get more snow. White Sands, on the other hand, cannot be topped.

The weather was perfect: 70 or so degrees, no wind, no clouds.We brought along a sled and snow skates for playing on the dunes. With lots of wax, the sleds get a little speed and moreso for lighter people. The big sled, along with some rope, Jill's cleverness, and lots of brute force, was also useful for getting the whole crew to the top of a dune.

One of the dunes that we sledded down had a middle section that was very rock-like. This was good for speed but bad for crashing on. I crash landed on my elbow and hip while surfing on the snow skate. It hurt a good bit at the time, but I assumed it was fully healed until I awoke Monday night (6 days later) with throbbing pain in my elbow. Today the dr. gave me a shot (ouchy on my rear) and some meds. She also drew a line around the swelling.

Lastly, I have accepted a job offer. I'll be working at the Illinois State Geological Survey researching water treatment methods needed for coal mining and CO2 capture from coal fired power plants. Basically, I'll be saving your lives and improving the planet's health.

The job starts on Apr 20, so we'll be out of NM and back to Urbana, IL in a couple of weeks.