Still struggling to blog. I've been working a lot on my fiction as of late, and reading a ton, but my non-fiction, i.e. blogging, is going down the toilet. I think it's because the real world is getting more and more depressing as we slip farther into Trump's presidency. Earth day is coming, though, and there is a new march brewing for our Mother Earth! As Trump poses a total joke of donating his salary as president to the Interior Department ($78,333) but plans to cut $1.5 billion from the Interior Department (the department that oversee National Parks/Monuments/Forests/Grasslands/etc), I hope to stand with friends and march for our many historical sites, national monuments, national parks, and all the great pieces of land on this country. I won't even touch on the fact that New Yorkers are paying $500,000/day for Trump's family to stay in New York either.

Last year I made a goal of traveling to one national park/year not as a hope to see as many things as I can before Trump pollutes our nation (literally and figuratively) and not because I think they'll all burn down--please see Smokey the Bear below--but because the great outdoors is the greatest place in all the land. Seriously. I know many who voted for Trump are too busy looking toward the next life to care about how much damage will be done to the here and now, but for real, I don't think I've lived yet, as I haven't been to Yellowstone, or the Grand Canyon, or Redwood Forest. Not to make this all about me, Yadi, and all the billions of creatures that live in the wild also love parks and I know lots of humans do too. If nothing else, I'm sure people like clean drinking water, so go out on Earth Day and stand for your water and air quality.

Yadi and I recently took a road trip south to run in different parts of the country. I hit up a 50k in Stillwater, Oklahoma, we hiked in Oklahoma City, we ran and hike about 25 miles in Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, and then camped and ran in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. All of those jobs of the people who sustain life in these parks and refuges, all of the people who enjoy nature, all of the plant and animal life who depend on these spaces, suffering. Our Mother Earth has given us everything and yet we continue to destroy her. If you believe in the soul of our earth, the validity of science, and if the great, great world makes your heart happy, call your representatives, march, pick up trash in your park, donate your money, become a member of our parks and don't let Trump rape our Mother. 

                                        

Yadi and I took an epic road trip in March, not to do any soul searching, but to see some of our most loved and missed people, run some miles, see some cool shit, and hang out just the two of us. Yadi was a perfect road trip buddy--he didn't complain, he didn't change the music, and he picked out good snacks. We headed south to Stillwater, OK to run a very, very muddy 50K with our friends Molly and Cade, watch FRIENDS (our favorite show), eat good food, and take a Google Earth Tour of Cade's hometown and Google Earth a 14er trip. 

Then we went even farther south to Texas to hang with our cousin (Yadi's scuzzin) and old roommate Darby. We ran trail, ate birthday cake, went to Darby's museum, ate more good food, hiked, ate more good food, got up to watch the sunrise at Palo Duro Canyon, and hiked more. 

 
Then we went to Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge and trail ran, watched the sun set on top of Scott Mountain, and camped. Then we ran, almost were killed by long-horns, ran, and came home.

I needed a break from work. I needed to see my people who live far away. I needed to be outside. I knew all of these things. What I didn't know is how much my dog needed them. Since our week of traveling and sleeping in different beds, living in different houses, and doing both in my Jeep, Yadi has lost so much anxiety. He's still an attention whore and still hates new people, but, after 3 years, I can finally leave and, instead of destroying everything in the house, he chills, apparently knowing I'll come back. Camping with my dog and having him look out for me when we were on our own (and almost being killed by longhorns) made me love him even more than I thought I could. Of course I learned things about myself taking a solo-road trip, but the best part about it was that I got to do it with Yadi. Love and Nature fix everything--even my stress ball best friend.