I’d been planning on a camping trip to Utah’s Canyon Country after the wedding in the hopes of getting out into red-rock country. There is something I find fascinating about this beautiful but desolate area and I was looking forward to the warmth, photo opportunities, and no responsibilities. However, in the end we opted out of the long drive and decided to try something a little closer to home. A little research on the Internet turned up a similar area in the Santa Fe National Forest. Located in north central New Mexico, the Rio Chama Canyon became our destination for an extended Memorial Day weekend.
The forecast was a bit dubious but we headed out and worked our way south through high winds and rain arriving at the Coyote Ranger station a few minutes before they closed. We snagged a map of the area and located a nice lookout point on the map at the end of a 4WD forest road that promised extraordinary views of the canyon and river. It took another hour to get there but the view did not disappoint. The only problem was the stinking weather! The winds were still kicking up and it was hinting that it might snow. We decided that setting up camp on the exposed lookout was not the best idea and retreated back into the forest where we pitched the tent among a bunch a small trees.
Misadventure #1: I forgot to pack the sleeping mats. Doh! Rhonda came to the rescue and created a comfortable bed out of the materials we had on hand.
The wind died down and I made a nice campfire but after supper the big old fat snowflakes started coming down. It was pretty but we didn’t linger too long after such a long travel day. We crawled into the tent and quickly realized we should have brought our winter bags. The down blanket and vests we always bring saved the day, er…night, and we managed to stay warm. At least for awhile. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering why the dog was sleeping on my legs. It wasn’t the dog. Continue reading
We wrote earlier about Josh getting engaged to the lovely and intelligent Selenda Hill. As of May 9th, 2008, it is official! Josh and Selenda ‘tied the knot’ and began another Grimes family! The wedding took place as planned and considering the amazing amount of details surrounding an event like this, I would say it was an outstanding success. Josh and Selenda had chosen a beautifully restored historic building in Pueblo, Colorado to have the ceremony and reception. The 
Finally! A business trip that went somewhere a bit exotic. I had an opportunity pop up out of the blue to make a two-week jaunt to Kauai. My old boss needed some help with an Information Assurance tasking out at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) and he asked me if I could break away and lend a hand. It turned out that the timing was good as we were in a slight lull time waiting for a new series of testing to begin so I was able to clear it with my current boss. The only thing that would put this over the top is finagling a way to get Rhonda out there with me. 
I am working a new program these days. The program I was assigned to has finished up. It happened a little earlier than we expected but it is good to finally have it finished. The company has been real good about finding positions for everyone. Most of the people joined an expanding program over at one of our other buildings where they are getting ready to work on modernizing some of our ballistic missile early warning systems. Most of those systems were built back in the 70’s and are in serious need of updating. I was looking at joining them but was offered a position with the RAIDRS program in the same building I am currently working in. 
