On the Road & RAGBRAI

I’ve spent two nights at my house in Denver since July 13th. That’s two nights in as many weeks. Here’s where I’ve been laying my head:

15 consecutive nights in 11 different towns.

July 13th, Monday. Slept at home in Denver.
July 14th, Tuesday. Slept in a bed in Santa Fe while my boss slept on the floor next to me.
July 15th, Wednesday. Same.
July 16th, Thursday. Slept in 1970s travel camper in an alley behind a different house in Santa Fe.
July 17th, Friday. Slept in Denver!
July 18th, Saturday. Slept on my sister’s basement floor in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Jill slept on the couch next to me.
July 19th, Sunday [RAGBRAI]. Slept in a tent–on a flattish air mattress–in an empty field in Red Oak, Iowa.
July 20th, Monday [RAGBRAI]. Slept in a tent, under a tree, in someone’s yard in Greenfield, Iowa. Everyone was soaking wet cuz-o tha rayne.
July 21st, Tuesday [RAGBRAI]. Slept on an air mattress in the basement of Tank’s sister Katie’s home in Indianola, Iowa. Everyone got to shower. It was really, really awesome.
July 22nd, Wednesday [RAGBRAI]. Slept in a tent in a city park in Chariton, Iowa. It rained a lot. Everything got wetter. Some asshole stole our team’s cooler.
July 23rd, Thursday [RAGBRAI]. Slept in a tent in a yard in Ottumwa, Iowa. Nice folks. They let us shower.
July 24th, Friday [RAGBRAI]. Slept on a child’s bedroom floor at a stranger’s house in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. It was raining outside, supposedly.
July 25th, Saturday. Slept in my own childhood bedroom in Harlan, Iowa.
July 26th, Sunday. Slept in Denver. For just over four hours.
July 27th, Monday. Slept in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in a house with an amazing mountain view.

Dome Builder

I’ve found a way in Colorado.

I lucked out like a lemon and got a chance to build a geodesic greenhouse in Steamboat Springs, Colorado a couple of weeks ago. Since then I’ve built another one in Evergreen, Colorado and in a couple of days I’m on my way to Santa Fe, New Mexico to build another two.

I’ve developed a great association with Allan, a supervisor building growing domes at Growing Spaces, and continue to develop a working relationship through our paired travels, work projects, and shared interests.

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In the haste of finding employment in a shaky economy (even though Colorado’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average), I temporarily stopped writing. Lately, I’ve been contributing to All Voices, a news website open to public opinion. The idea is that you develop yourself as a credible, captivating source. I comply, not because I agree with the method, but because it appears to be the future of writing. If nothing else, it keeps me writing. That’s good.

I’m happy with where I’m at. I have an ethically solid job, a lovely live-in (-sin) girlfriend, and a friendly city in Denver. Now, all I need is a dog of my own. Perhaps one that looks to have come out of a dumpster.