One Year Away from 1/4th of a Century

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

I've been working in Lightroom for the past few days. I'm far from an expert, but this is what I've come up with. I worked on a couple of photos to see if I could "bring back the color" and make it a little more vibrant. This is probably rookie stuff for all of you photo editors out there, but hey, I do what I can.

Other than working on the photos as of late, I've been doing a bit more running in the Grant area, which is nice with the roads and stuff. I did a little trespassing work and went down a service road that is only for the National Park Service, but it was a nice little incline and added some good time and distance onto the run. I'm hoping this running at 7,700 feet will pay off at some point!

I drove down to Old Faithful tonight to retrieve my birthday gifts that were so graciously sent by my family members. Thank you all. It is much appreciated. Mom and Dad, I've already began looking for an appointment to install the stereo so I can ride out from Yellowstone in style. This leads me to my next topic -- many of you have asked where I will be riding out to. That, I do not know. I would imagine I'll land back in Kansas for at least a few days/weeks. I would enjoy relocating to Bozeman for a little while as well. I think it would be great to experience the spring and summer up here. Anyway, I still have about a week and a half to figure that out. That's plenty of time, ain't it?

Back to the birthday goods. Grandma Linda, thanks for the book. It's mighty slow down here at Grant Village, so I will have some literature to keep me occupied. Bill Bryson is actually quite popular up here amongst my co-workers, which is kind of cool. I believe when I arrived in Canyon there were a few of us all reading a Bryson book. Susan, the lens filters are magical. This may make my pictures stop sucking. I'll work on getting some posted to see what kind of magic can be worked. Grandma, the cookies must have a little Kansas dust in them because I've already eaten half of the box you sent. Did I mention I also gained 8.3 pounds tonight? Oops.

What else? Paula, I'm still waiting. Don't you rush one bit. Also, tell Joe I'm sorry I didn't make the trek down south to Salt Lake City while he is there. The vibe needs to rest up for a journey to Billings, Montana tomorrow. I'm headed to a Tech N9ne concert as soon as I'm off work. It should be great to have a little bit of KC flavor in Big Sky country.

Jake, I've received a copy of NCAA Football 11. Don't practice too much, or else playing online won't be fun at all when I return to the world of high speed internet and flat screen, high-definition televisions. I appreciate your sportsmanship.

Oh yes, Sarah, I enjoyed the novel. I'm glad mom will cook any meal I desire upon my return. I will think of a glorious concoction that I can treat myself, as well as my siblings to. Noah, I have to be honest, I have no clue what I'm going to do with a zip lock bag full of coloring supplies. When I figure something out, you'll be the first to know! I am glad you were thinking of me and my artistic talents!

Alright, I really must head back to Grant so I am able to awaken from my deep slumber that now takes over my body at the ripe old age of 24. I will also then need to get my sweet Air Jordan's properly prepped in order to represent Kansas the right way when there is an insane amount of rap music taking over Billings, Montana tomorrow evening.

Until next time...