Guest Blogger: Penny Princess

Hey it's me the Pennster.  Mom asked me to write a guest blog post, since I'm not with her right now and she knows that all of you readers must miss seeing pictures of me.  

So here you go - here's a picture of me resting at my Aunt Sarah's house in my chair.  It's a pretty sweet chair.  It's got a tall back set up in a corner so no one can sneak up on me.  The big arms protect me from the sides and the afternoon sun shines right in and keeps me toasty warm.

My new cousin Bart he likes to share my chair.  I try to be good and share, but he'll just sit on me or lay on his back with his paws in the air and be either on top of me or shoves me out of the way.  How Rude!

As you can see below, I beat him into my chair today hee hee.

We get along though too - we play with this new cool toy mom bought me - it's a soccer ball and Aunt Sarah puts treats in it and Bart-mew rolls it around and I try to eat up the treats that fall out of the ball before he sees them.  sneaky sneaky.

Mom told me I should post a picture of Bart too, but I don't want to because really - we know it's all about me. 

:)

Ciao

- Penny

Sand Canyon

On my day off I took a ½ day trip to go to the Canyon of the Ancients/ Sand Canyon to hike.  The trail is in Colorado on the way to Cortez from Shiprock.

The directions are the type where you turn at x stoplight and then drive for approx 15 miles and then there is the trailhead.

Well, I missed the trailhead on my initial drive.  I was too busy enjoying the view on the drive.  The green of Colorado and the blooming wild sunflowers were gorgeous.  I appreciate greenery even more now that I live in the desert.  Both types of landscapes are beautiful in their own right.

Here are some pics from the hike. 

Trailhead, start of the hike - back from the road a little - that's why I missed the giant sign the first time I passed it. :)

Greenery :)

Beautiful layers within the rocks.  If only I were a geologist so I could tell you more about the different layers.

The Sand Canyon

When was the last time you went for a hike?  Where did you go?

Lonely Flower

Growing up, I loved being around people.  I never really understood the need to be alone every once in a while.  Maybe it was because I had plenty of alone time, being an only child.
I distinctly remember the first time I really really really wanted to be by myself.  It was as a camp counselor during the summer after my Freshman year of college.  I guess that is what living with six 10 year old girls will do to a person.  That summer I would wake up early, before the campers in order to be by myself and salvage a little peace and quiet out of the day.

Since that summer, I've learned to enjoy me time.  It's a good lesson to have learned, seeing as I am by myself most days on my rural rotations.  But now I have the benefit to do what I want to do, when I want to do it - only limited by the rural-ness of where I'm living, haha.

Where I'm living now has no internet, no TV.  In a way it's freeing.  And in a way it's completely annoying, haha.  Life runs at a slower pace here.  Want to know what I do in the evenings to keep myself busy?  I listen to an audiobook on my phone and work on a jigsaw puzzle.  Yup - I said jigsaw puzzle, which I'm totally addicted to right now.

It sort of feels like in the winter when there is a rainy day and now there's an excuse to curl up on the couch to read a good book or watch movies all day - that's what it feels like everyday.  It's a nice change of pace from the normal craziness that is residency and my life.

Even though I'm bored at times, it's important to take the time to cherish these moments.
Who knows the next time I'll do a jigsaw puzzle?!

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What would you do for fun if TV and internet were not an option?

4 corners pictures

Photos as promised!

The plaque in the middle, surrounded by the 4 states and their state seals.  I have individual pictures of the state names and seals, but didn't want to bore you too much!

Vintage postcard shot. 

I'm off center because no one was around to take it - so I set up the camera myself for automatic picture taking.

From afar so you can get an idea of the whole area.  Note the stalls to the left hand side and to the back - there are individual sellers there, mainly selling jewelry, t-shirts, shot glasses, cards, mugs, and other wonder

For Fun!

Aztec Ruins

Last night - no babies.  I don't remember if I told you - but i'll be working all nights while in Shiprock, covering labor and delivery.  No babies last night - so I got to sleep.

Today I took a day trip to Aztec, where there is a national monument of the ruins.  I also went into Farmington (town ~30 mins away from SR).  It's a real town with a Wal-Mart, Target, movie theaters, etc.  Apparently it's lacking a good book store.  

Currently I'm at a coffee shop and bookstore, but it appears they are moving as 90% of the books are packed up.  I'm not complaining though, because I've got good food and internet!  woo hoo

Here are some pictures from the Aztec Ruins.

These are ruins left by Aztec, Native Americans.  The National Monument site is one of many in the area.  It is a rather large complex.

This is a reconstructed Kiva - where many ceremonies would have been held.

Much of the tour, I spent walking on the roofs of some of the buildings.  Many of the daily activities took place on the roofs as well as within the plaza.

This North side wall is longer than the length of a foot ball field.  Pretty impressive for something that was built in the early 1100s.

Finally Made It!

Have you ever had that one place you've always wanted to visit?  To see some sight or do a certain activity.  Well....I have.  One of my dreams (haha big word for such a small place) was to visit the 4 corners and say that I stood in 4 states at once!

For whatever reason my Dad refused to take me as a child on vacation to the 4 corners.  I have no idea why?!  It's obviously a destination and a unique one at that.  Where else in the US can you stand in 4 states, that's right I said 4 STATES - at one time!!!  No where - that's where.

I had the opportunity one other time in my life to visit 4 corners, but instead chose the Grand Canyon instead.  Now 4 corners is less than 30 minutes from my current post in Shiprock NM.
So I finally went.

I phone - pic!

Finally there - 4 states at once!

   

I obviously have more pictures, but no internet where I am currently staying.  I'm at McDonalds using their free wii-fi and it's really really really slow at loading so these are the only pics you get for now!

More to come.

And I Thought Willows was Rural...

Disclaimer: I'm writing this post from my phone which means increased number o typos, I don't know what the formatting will look like on the page, & no pics until I buy the fancier version of the app.

Ok back to: And I Thought Willows was Rural...
At least until I went to Tuba City, which where i am now (Shiprock NM) makes where TC appear to be a thriving metropolis.
I drove 8hrs over the last 2 days through northern Az and NM only to realize there really isn't much out here.
Apparently Shiprock is so named for a nearby rock formation that looks like a ship. I saw said rock today and did not realize it was the namesake of these village (is there something smaller than a village). I googled shiprock so I could tell you the population and that's how I learned about the rock. So if you want to see the rock just google shiprock. Let me know if youre impressed.
Anyhoo - so the population is 8,000 - wait so what am I talking about being so rural?! Willows has fewer ppl than that. Well those 8,000 ppl are spread over 5,000+ square miles! Not a very dense population.
I have yet to find actual town! I've found the medical center but no town and I have yet to find this elusive McDonalds with free wifi.

So my first honest impression -not great. The scenery isn't even nice to make up for it. It's just flat open desert.
I hope the job part is good.

The redeeming qualities (or glass half full) side of SP:

1: it's only 30 mins from farmington which is 40,000 people big, has a mall, movie theater, wal mart, target, etc

2: the hospital is a very nice facility.

3: I can't remember the 3rd thing, maybe it's the McDonalds I have yet to find? I'll let you know if I Rene Ed or discover more treasures here.

Hello- culture shock!