Relaxing while the Food Guy Finishes Some Editing

Hey, y'all. It's been a pretty quiet week around here. The Food Guy is just about finished with his dissertation. He finished putting all the chapters together in one document the other day, and he does seem pretty happy with himself for getting this thing written. You should have seen the smile on his face when he printed the full draft of that thing out. I'm pretty happy too. Now that he's done we can spend more time outside. He's been sitting at this desk pretty much non-stop for a while. Well, I say non-stop, but we've been getting up early and running every morning and he still takes me for 3 or 4 walks during the day. But, we haven't had any real adventures to speak of this week. Mostly I've just been laying around watching him work and playing with my toys.

We have some good adventures coming up though. The Food Guy has to send the full draft of his dissertation to Bob at the end of the week, and then he will have a whole week before he gets it back from him. Since we don't have anything we have to do here in Athens, we are going back up to Boone to look at some more houses. We found a really sweet looking place about 30 minutes from campus that has four acres right near the Watauga River. It looks pretty good on-line. Hopefully it'll look good when we go check it out. I'd love to have some real woods right outside. I'm pretty tired of having to walk around all the cars and trifling city dogs here in Athens. I'll let y'all know if it looks like a good place for a dog to live. As long as it has room for my bed and a comfy couch, you know I'm going to like it. I'm pretty easy to please. Well, y'all have a good rest of the week. I'm gonna get back to napping. I'm a little tired from my run this morning, and I gotta rest up for tomorrow.

A hike in the snow

Hey everybody. I've got an epic weekend to tell y'all about. The Food Guy and I had enough of working this week, so we loaded up the mobile dog house and headed to NC for the Food Guy's annual winter hike (sufferfest) with Nate and Brian. This year the Food Guy talked his buddy Steven into coming along. It was an epic trip for sure. We rolled up to The Ridge (Aubin's Taj ma Garage) late Friday night, packed our backpacks-yes I have one too see:

and we stepped out onto the trail Saturday Morning. We started walking through some snow heading South on the AT. It was pretty cold out, but that's what you have to expect in february. Food Guy packed some extra food for me, and I needed every bite to keep warm. It was sunny for a couple of hours, but then the snow started back up. I didn't mind because I like snow. My feet were a little cold. I hate to say it, but the Food Guy better buy me some boots before our next backpacking trip in the snow. Check this trail out:

We walked along the amazingly pretty trail in the snow for most of the day. The ridgeline provided some great views:

After we'd walked all we wanted to, we set up camp at a pretty sweet spot. Once we made camp-- Ok, I ate while FG made camp-- the boys built a giant fire to warm up while they cooked their dinner and had a few cocktails.

It was a cold, cold night. I slept in the bag with Food Guy and we even had to put his down coat over us. We still shivered most of the night. That's what you have to expect at 5100 feet in February, though. Check out the little tent where we slept:

The snow was so deep that Food Guy couldn't use stakes to anchor the tent. He had to put sticks in the loops of the tie downs and bury them in the snow. It took him an hour to dig them out in the morning. He was FREEZING by the time he got done. I was chillin out, running around, and playing while he did all the work. It's good to be a dog! Then, we shouldered our packs and started walking back to the truck. There were a couple of cars at the trailhead where people were out for a day hike. They don't know what they were missing. They should have spent the night out on the trail. I can't wait till next year.

Dog House Hunting

The Food Guy and I decided to take a little break from dissertation writing (him) and sleeping under the desk (me) to head up to Boone this weekend to look for my new doghouse. We found a couple of cool places that might work out, but we're in so rush since we don't have to actually find a place to live until summer. So, we made sure we found some time to go enjoy some of the cool hikes up near Boone. We've never been to Linville Gorge, so we figured that should be the first place on our list. It snowed and snowed the whole way up there, but I was nice and cozy on the drive in my mobile doghouse. It was pretty cold once we got to the trailhead and started hiking around. The scenery there was pretty sweet. Check it out:

It was pretty fun day, and we definitely need to go back up there to explore the Gorge some more. We pretty much just hiked around one area of the rim this time. It was late in the day by the time we got up there, so we didn't get to go as far as we wanted to go. But, that's OK, we will have lots of time to explore the area since we'll be living there soon!

Well, Food Guy has to get back to writing. Chapter 5 is almost drafted, and he wants to finish it this week so he can start revising the whole dissertation thing. And, I'm a little tired out from our run this morning. Check back soon for more updates on our adventures.

Unlimited Dog Bone Supply

I've got some big news for y'all. The food guy found got a job! Exciting stuff, don't ya think?! I do. Starting in August the food guy will be teaching in the department of Curriculum & Instruction at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. You know what that means? I'll tell ya: unlimited dog bones for me. Ah, the joys of having a food guy with a real job. Good stuff, indeed. He ended up having to choose between working at Western Carolina or ASU. I think it was a tough choice for him because he has some good friends that teach at Western, but in the end he decided that he liked ASU better. On his trip up there, there was an ice storm. Check out the ice hanging off the boat on top of my mobile dog house.

Crazy, huh?! He didn't end up paddling on the way home from the interview at ASU- only partly because of the ice. The real reason was that he needed to high-tail it back to Athens to get some help from his advisor about which job to take. I'm glad we're heading to Boone. It's cold up there in the winter, so it'll snow a lot. I love playing in the snow. There's also a lot of good hikes and runs that we can go on, so I'm excited about that. I've even started carrying my own food and water when we head out into the woods to hike. Check out my pack:

Pretty sweet. It hasn't been all working and job searching for us. We've gone on some good hikes lately. Check out this picture from Horse Trough Falls. Pretty sweet spot:

That's about the end of the playing in the woods for the next month or so. Since food guy actually has a job, he needs to get his dissertation wrapped up. He got some good feedback on the first 3 chapters from his advisor this week, and he has a good start on chapter 4. This next 6 weeks we will be in lockdown mode getting this thing wrapped up. He has to have all 5 chapters to his advisor on March 15th, and the final defense is April 13th. So wish him luck. I'll have to settle for morning runs and a couple of walks during the day for a while. I'm not worried though- we will have lots of new adventures soon.

Food Guy Guest Spot 3- Old friends & a run

Saturday started off with breakfast with some old friends from back in the Gorge. I think it's been at least 3 years since I've seen Chris and Leslie. They were headed over to Bozeman from Missoula to ski at Big Sky today, so they stopped by and picked me up for some breakfast. It was great to see them, catch up, and get the inside scoop on living in Montana.

After Chris and Les took off, I went on a real estate tour with some local agents and checked out the housing scene. Things look pretty good here. When that was finished, I strolled around downtown for a couple of hours to get a better feel for the place. Gotta say, I love it here. Next, took off for a run at Peete's Hill. It's a sweet park where lots of kids were sledding and fellow weirdos were out running- most with their dogs. On my way I passed this dog, who told me to tell Yellow Dog, "This is how we roll in Montana!"
The run was pretty sweet. The views of the mountains were not so clear because it's been snowing since last night, but it was still a sight to see.
I ran for just about an hour. I didn't really pack enough clothes to go for a long run here. I really needed an outer shell and something to cover my face when the wind is going strong. Not that I'm fast enough to make it windy. I stopped here and there to take some photos, check the view, and pet a dog here and there. Yellow Dog would love it out here!

I need to catch up on some work email, then I 'm going to head back downtown to check out the Christmas stroll. Did I mention that I like it here?

Food Guy Travel Guest Spot 2

It's been a fantastic trip to Bozeman so far. The weather here isn't quite what I expected. The temperatures are much, much colder than I thought I'd see this early in the winter. The good residents of Bozeman have assured me that it's been a little colder than normal. The good news is that -4 doesn't really feel as bad as it sounds. You know how people are always talking about dry heat? Well, I experienced that this summer, and it's true. It's kind of shocking that it also applies to the cold. Dry cold isn't nearly as bad as the type of cold we have in the Southeast. I went for a run this morning even though the temperature was 7. I know what you're thinking: What kind of idiot goes running when it's 7?! Well, those of you who know me know the answer to that question. It wasn't bad at all though. It was cold, but not bone-chilling cold. I took some pictures on my run. I had to stop by the bench with the statue of Walt Whitman that sits outside of the English department here at Montana State. Couldn't resist the urge to play literary tourist (yes, I'm nerd).

The views here are surreal. The mountains in the background look like something out of Hang 'em High or The Outlaw Josey Wales.

I kept waiting for someone on a horse with a cigar stub hanging out of his mouth to show up and tell me that there are better ways to get around than running. But, it didn't happen. I even passed a few fellow addicts who were out getting their morning fix.

It's amazing how many people were out at 7:30 in the morning running through the snow in 7 degree weather. It appears, I think, that Bozeman is my kind of place. I haven't even gotten to paddle any of the creeks or find any of the good trails to run or ride, and I'm already convinced that you could spend a lifetime here without doing all the things you could do without driving more than 2 hours. What a concept!

I finished up the formal part of the job interview process for the trip today. I'm pretty happy with how things went. It was a mad scramble to put together my teaching demonstration and research presentation, but I think that both of them went well. The faculty in the English department here are a really interesting group. Everyone is very nice, incredibly smart, and easy to talk to. Most have outdoor interests and are generally happy, fun people. I had dinner tonight with a prof who's been teaching here since 1966. Yes, 1966. This guy had a student several years ago who was the grandson of a former student of his. I was amazed at how well read he was. We talked about books the entire time and I was in awe of his ability to discuss any book. Amazing really.

I'm excited to see some of my friends from back in the Gorge tomorrow. Chris and Leslie moved out to Missoula a couple of years ago, and they are coming over to Bozeman to ski tomorrow. I am doing a real-estate tour and then hanging out with a couple of profs in the evening, so no skiing for me. But, it'll be great to catch up with Chris and Leslie in the am, then go for a run in the afternoon. I think it's going to be snowing. I'll try to take some pics to put up here. It feels strange to be on a trip without Yellow Dog, and I miss home and my friends. Hopefully, I'll be able convince people to move out here if I get this job. I know YD will love it out here. I sure do. The town is really cool, and this job- well, I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect job.

Food Guy Travel Guest Spot 1

The Yellow One asked me to write a couple of guest spots while I'm on my trip to Bozeman this week. He's happily chillin' in the ATL while I'm off trying to find a job so I can buy him lots of dog bones and dog food.

Right now I'm sitting the airport in Salt Lake because Delta once again failed to get me to a connecting city on time.

On my last trip, I got to spend a night in Houston while I was trying to get to Salt Lake. It's only fitting that I spend some extra time here in SLC this time. It's no worries, though. SLC has free wifi and I have lots of work to do anyway. I'll catch my new flight to Bozeman at 8:30 and be there in time to grab some sleep before my interview with the good folks at Montana State begins in the morning. Hopefully, I'll have some good news to report and get to go on a little adventure before I catch my flight home Sunday morning. I'll let y'all know what's happening here in the wild west.