I'm about to leave the state of Texas, where I have been sequestered for the last 10 days. The first 5 were spent in Big Bend National Park, which from all accounts is right up there with the great parks of the American West (Arches, Bryce, Grand Canyon, etc.). My good MF (he's also a colleague, flatmate, and my H's boyfriend) flew out for a conference early with me to drive over the the park and hike and camp, and boy, it was perfect. The desert was in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the wildlife frolicking (jackrabbits, roadrunners, etc.). We hiked every day - 4 miles the first to some rock formations with ancient petroglyphs; 13 miles the next through the high desert and up into the mountains for a 7,500-foot-high view over the mountains of Mexico; and a short 2-mile hike to the Rio Grande followed by a 6-mile high-desert hike for some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen. We camped three nights and had a great time.
Monday we drove back to San Antonio, where our conference was getting under way. Professionally, the week has been a goldmine of information and motivation for me. I go to this conference every year, but this year I felt fully inspired, motivated, and, most of all, validated in spades by my peers as well as important authors whom I work with. It has been a wonderful feel-good, productive week for me.
I have also discovered that my brand of appearance works very well here - I had a VERY attractive - no, actually he was HOT - waiter (not even serving my table) stop to tell me how beautiful I am, and then write a poem about my eyes and recite it to me on bended knee; an attractive businessman approach me as I ate alone one afternoon by the river, just to tell me he thought I was a "very attractive woman"; and numerous other passing comments (none lewd or offensive, just very polite and flattering). Of course I recounted them all to S. in a slightly surprised, "Who, me?" sort of way.
I'll update more later - for the moment I need to get packed up and parked by the pool before I get on a plane this afternoon for rainy, cold NYC. Yuck.
