My Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest to the autumnal equinox, which occurs (in the northern hemisphere) on or about September 23rd. In times past the incredible luminosity of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops. They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest Moon.

Each night that we camped on our way down to Texas, the moon gradually became bigger and brighter. You may not have noticed from the safety of your dark rooms, but the moon was so bright, even as a sliver, that not once did I need a flashlight in the middle of the night. The nighttime harvesting I did was minimal, but I definitely feel closer to our farming ancestors and Neil Young after sharing this phenomenon.

Durango, Colorado was our last official road trip excursion. Our fabulous host Kricket, toured us around a very vibrant and scenic town. As a bonus, Mesa Verde National Park is only 45 miles from Durango. I wanted to share with Brig the magical memories from my childhood of climbing ladders and squeezing through narrow rock walls to reach the Anasazi ruins. Lucky for us we hit the park on the one free day of the year and enjoyed a tour of Cliff Palace. If you have never been, go!

Two more days of interstate driving and we arrived in Dallas, Texas. The temps rose to 95 degrees, the traffic became bumper to bumper, the southern hospitality oozed out of every corner, and I felt like I was home. Today will be spent in a bar watching the TEXAS VS. OU game and tomorrow will land us in Austin, my real home. GO LONGHORNS!