Jah Give The Rainbow

The rest of the trip was relaxing. Drove back through the desert artist colony of Jerome, AZ., a definite must-stop if you're in the neighborhood, and really why wouldn't you be? Excellent brew pub amidst the shanties perched on the side of Mingus Mtn. Spent two more days in Laughlin with a side trip to the old mining town of Oatman, AZ. before flying home to (oh sweet joy) the humidity of the midwest. As much as the desert has its' beauty, to see hardwoods, greenery, and feel the sweat on your skin is an amazingly underrated feeling.

My soul brother Jake and his wife Tupa arrived last week from London. We took Jake out fishing last weekend at our old haunt on the mighty Mackinaw R. This summer's drought has left the river at a perilously low level. Despite the lack of accessible pools, we were able to catch a few nice smallies in the riffles on just a worm weighted with a couple slip shot. To my son's delight we also reeled in a few suckers and the exotically colorful, if not sizable, pumpkinseed.

Got back into training last weekend with a 2:26 run at Forest Park. Felt good to get back on the hills. I was humbled by just how much strength I lost from my legs during my time off for injury and how blessed it is to be allowed to get back out there. The journey continues. I felt some swelling in the right tibia area but aggressive post-run icing has so-far staved off anything serious. Yesterday I took Jake and Tupa out for their first trip to McNaughton Park. We did one loop of the Potawatomi in 2:10 or so, nice slow pace. I kept up a good rythm on the hills, the trail is in good shape, other than some overgrowth on the narrow single track in the creek bottom area. Great view of giant barn owl.

Books. Hmm, been reading a bit. Slogged through Jared Diamond's new one, "Collapse." Not as engrossing as "Guns, Germs and Steel" but still worth the investment. The highlight is where he details the societal collapses of civilizations such as Easter Island, Pitcairn and Henderson Islands, the Anasazi, the Maya, Greenland colonies, etc. If you have any interest in any of these from a historical, environmental, or archaelogical perspective, then the first 300 pages or so is well worth it. I think he bogs down a bit for my tastes when he gets into contemporary policy and modern societal analysis, but overall Diamond lays out a very structured and well-thought out thesis and argument. Worth the time despite the density.

I've also been reading "Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits" about a westerner's journey to the Chingnan Mountains to find Taoist and Buddhist monks still living the ancient hermit lifestyle. Awesome book.

Soundtrack: "King Django Meets the Scrutialists." Reggae, Dancehall, Dub, original.