Day 21: #MuseumSelfie Day

I took a selfie to prove to myself that I exist! ~ Unknown

Today is #MuseumSelfie Day. It's simply meant to celebrate museums and their collections.

Here's my selfie from my museum today, taken with the help of a timer. This is what the wonderful world of museum collections storage looks like.

If you ever have the chance to do a behind the scenes tour of museum collections, this may not be what you see. Museums offer tours of storage, but you will likely see the cool stuff. At the Museum of Northern Arizona, this would include the cases of  whole ceramic vessels, Hopi jewelry and kachina dolls.

These boxes are filled with ceramic sherds and lithics, grindstone and organic samples. Unless you love plainware or are writing a dissertation on metates, you will likely never see this space. So here's your insider's glimpse into a collections storage facility and the life of an anthropology collections assistant.

Day 20: Lexington

Heaven must be a Kentucky kind of place. ~ Daniel Boone

Nope, I'm not planning a trip to Kentucky this year. I can see how one might think that based on this photo. This is the 2015 visitor's guide, which came in the mail today.

I wanted the visitor's guide so that I could look at the pictures and reminisce about my wonderful trip to Kentucky last summer. And dream about going back to the land of horses.

Day 19: The Grand Canyon

The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration combined must fail. ~ John Wesley Powell

The Grand Canyon is awesome, in the truest sense of the word. Photographs absolutely do not do it justice. Until you stand on the edge and stare down at the thin ribbon that is the 350-mile wide Colorado River, you cannot understand the grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

I stood along a quiet spot on the canyon rim, alone for several minutes. Distant and quiet, the roar of the river rapids almost a mile below was soft and muted. A gentle breeze stirred the air and I rested in the presence of God.

He created a seriously cool Earth.

Day 18: Camera Bag Insert (Fail)

The spool of thread asked, "How ya doin', pal?" Ever the wise guy, the needle replied: "Sew, sew."

I have been looking for a camera bag for my new DSLR and haven't settled on anything yet. Perhaps this is because I want the holy grail of camera bags - a bag with camera dividers and space for other items; not big and clumsy, but with enough space for my lens collection to grow in the future; small enough to count as a personal item on an airplane but big enough to fit a laptop. Also, a backpack that doubles as a cute purse would also be nice...

Perhaps my delay is also because decision-making isn't exactly my strong suit.

As I haven't purchased anything yet, I decided to make my own insert to put in a bag. I'm going on a little road trip tomorrow and would like to safely take my camera.

Unfortunately, I failed on two levels. First of all, my math did not add up. I used a pattern only slightly bigger than what I wanted and my math was shoddy, leading to an imperfect insert. However, my real issue is my lack of a sewing machine and lack of time. There is no way all of that velcro is going to be hand-sewn tonight.

Alas, this is essentially a fail.

Day 17: Seafarers

Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing. ~ Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr.

I am thankful to have coworkers here that I get along with and enjoy spending time with. Even better, we all enjoy getting together and playing board games, which makes for some fun times.

Today we played the seafarers expansion of Settlers of Catan. I'm a fan of the original game, and it was fun to play this new version. As with anything new it takes a little bit of getting used to, but I think we all had a good time. Though it would have been even better if I had won...

Day 16: Going to the Mountains is Going Home

"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life." John Muir

I love the mountains. It's no secret - there is something about majestic peaks that stirs something within me. The San Francisco Peaks are so different from the Colorado Rockies, the ranges in Alaska or the Swiss Alps. At 12,633 feet, Humphreys Peak is the highest point in Arizona. This is almost 2,000 feet lower than Antero, the mountain I summited in Colorado.

And yet, these mountains are still breathtaking. This view of the peaks is from a gas station on 180, just past the museum.

Day 15: Blue Dream of Sky

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes." ~ E.E. Cummings

Today I just snapped a quick photo as I left work. This is the museum's collections center (ECC) with the San Francisco Peaks in the background. I can't get over the beauty of this place. The skies are usually bright blue, and the sun always makes it feel warmer out than it really is.