Moscow shoes

As promised in an earlier post, I am uploading pictures of the impossible shoes spotted by me this summer on the streets of Moscow. This is just a brief sample. Enjoy!

Rainmakers

So our most recent camping trip has finally convinced us that we could in fact hire ourselves out to drought stricken regions. Our continued forays into the wilderness are nothing if not testimony to the the triumph of optimism -- "really, it must be possible for a family willing to drive hours in cramped quarters to be able to then sleep days in cramped quarters and at least not be WET". Last fall we made two such trips. First we went to Green River, Utah for Melon Days (mid-September). The idea was to camp overnight and then do a day raft trip. Rain was so bad that we spent the night at Craig's parents an hour away and then went to the raft company early morning. It was sunny but not warm. There is always a driver and a guide for these operations and, after conferring, they agreed that we could "do the Green". This meant a drive along a treacherous road in a van towing the raft. Well, we couldn't "do the road to the Green". At a certain grade we began to slide sideways towards the 30- foot drop to the river. Our guide retained a semblance of calm although later began reliving the experience in Yoda-ese: adventure, danger, a jedi seeks not these things. He also asked us not to send his boss copies of the pictures of us ankle deep in mud or bracing the side of the van as he eased it backwards so that it retained its inches from the edge margin. A month later we tried again. I had booked us a campsite at Goblin Valley for the Saturday night of UEA weekend (Utah educators gather and students get Thursday and Friday off). The site was booked for Friday so we stayed that night in a motel in, you guessed it, Green River. By the morning, after we had watched a serious amount of cable (we don't get many channels at home), the rain was full on. We drove hopefully onwards to Goblin Valley, where we discovered a sea of red mud. We joined the other unfortunates under a large picnic shelter, ate our sandwiches and watched the torrential flow. Ryan and Sam put on the rain ponchos which we had picked up at a gas station en route and headed out among the goblins. Here is a picture of the place so that you can imagine it:

Others also ventured forth. The rest of us stayed in the shelter and amused ourselves by watching the more hearty attempt to regain the shelter. This required ascending a steep and muddy slope. Some participants in this game were wearing flip flops which added to our entertainment value. Needless to say, there was no way we could pitch a tent in the muck, so we drove home.
I attributed these failures to off season planning. Perhaps mid-September or mid-October were too late. Next time we'll do August - full on summer month. Which brings us to our most recent trip.

Camping

This will merit a full blog on the order of why we have such appalling luck when we try to get back to nature en famille. This weekend's trip ended up beautifully with a gorgeous day on Sunday. We rafted down the Green River for a few hours and here are the pics. Prior to that there was lightening, rain, hail and White Trash in the campsite...

SHOWTIME

So, perhaps you're all wondering what being Chair and actually being in situ is like. First, there are a lot of meetings. I feel a surprising need to acquire a Blackberry or some such device. My brother-in-law who is also at the U and has also taken on an administrative position put it well this morning. We were at a day long (although I skipped out for other meetings after lunch) workshop for new administrators where we sat next to each other around a very large boardroom table in the very serious central administration building. At one point he leaned in and confided that he actually finds the "whole administrative thing remarkably enjoyable". I have to concur. I find myself composing memos in my head. And you know you're pretty much a goner when presentations from the U's internal auditing department about fraud are surprisingly riveting. As far as day to day operations, we are in high gear with classes starting on Monday. There is a kind of frenetic energy level which I love although I cannot see my desk and I have yet to finish unpacking my office.
Just to keep things really exciting we have a family camping trip Friday-Sunday.

pictures

beautiful England pictures

England pics

We have been busy and I haven't had my laptop hooked up with the ability to upload pictures, but I think I can get a few off mum's computer so you can see the fun we have been having.