Currently: August

Currently living/working in: We roadtripped most of August, and are now settled back at Fenton Ranch in New Mexico, where we will again teach kids environmental education through October! 

Current mood: Content to be back to work at Fenton. We both really love our roles at Fenton, working with our boss, Jamie, and living in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. 

The property looks so different than it did in the spring! Amazing to witness the seasonal changes.

Currently excited about: The possibility of dedicated book-writing time for me this winter … still TBD, but pretty likely! 

Currently not excited about: Slow and limited Internet at Fenton Ranch. It would be the only thumbs down about being here. 

Currently worried about: We are now on our third trip to a mechanic for our 1995 Chevy Roadtrek ... every mechanic agrees it's a great vehicle, but it is not problem-free.

Currently thankful for: One of the things we miss the most while being nomadic is having a cat. We cat sit a lot and many family members own cats, so we definitely get our fix. But upon returning to Fenton Ranch this fall, we found a feral cat that roams the property and we pretty much adopted it. Well, feral might be too strong of a word. Do feral cats snuggle like this? 

Currently proud of: Guess who was the August JustAnOutdoorGal feature on a very popular blog??? 

Currently regretting: Not getting to watch a single minute of the Olympics! This is the one time we would have actually watched TV, but we were on the road during the Olympics and almost completely out of touch. 

Currently amazed by: The amount of gear we need to test for Backpacker Magazine this summer/fall. We always test various pieces of gear for them, but given the fact we were at Outdoor Retailer and in on the action, we have an extremely eclectic mound of gear to get out into the field!  But we love it!!!!!

Current confession: We spend the majority of our time outside and probably don’t wear enough sunblock. We are trying to be a little more cognizant about applying sunscreen daily and often. Thank you Sawyer for protecting us!

Current guilty pleasure: Grocery bills paid for by our environmental educator job at Fenton Ranch! It's a huge perk of the job. We eat with the kids most days, and even though this includes chicken nuggets, there is always the biggest salad bar ever and we eat the healthiest we do anywhere! 

Currently reading: I finally finished “No Shortcuts to the Top” by Ed Viesturs (with David Roberts). I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately and really liked this book, but it took me 3 months to read, which is really long for me. I’ve moved onto “Thru Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Carrot Quinn. This book gets rave reviews, so I thought I’d love it. I’m only 12% in (according to Kindle), and so far, I like it, but don’t love it. 

Currently watching on Netflix: We signed up for the old-fashioned DVD plan while we are in a no-streaming zone!