falling in the water, "climbing" again, Idaho

Well, a great deal has happened since I last posted. I haven't really felt like writing and have been waiting until I made a big decision to write anything.

A few weeks ago a bunch of geomorphologists went rafting down the Salt River. The river was really low and we spent a good deal of time trying to get the boat unstuck from rocks in rapids. It was still really fun. However, I was somehow the only loser that managed to fall out of the boat. I really don't know what happened. We went over a big drop and I was trying to reach out of the boat to paddle. The next thing I knew, I was moving in slow motion and remember thinking "I am going to fall into the river head first" and then I did. I was wearing a helmet and life vest and came right out of the water and grabbed onto the boat and was pulled in. I mostly just felt embarrassed.

The next day I hiked to the top of the one of the Four Peaks (highest mountains near Tempe). Part of the hike was off-trail and involved class 2-4 scrambling/climbing. It was my first time "climbing" since I hurt my arms over two years ago. I was nervous doing the class 4 without ropes but overall it was fun and my arms felt alright. I still don't think that I am ready for real climbing yet though. baby steps, I guess.

Finally, the real BIG news that was just finalized last week. I was offered a tenure-track faculty position at U of Idaho! The offer was really great with a reasonable teaching responsibilities, good start-up, lots of great shared equipment and many, many people that I can collaborate with. Plus, it is in Boise, which is a decent sized town that is close to mountains. I don't know how many people would be excited about moving to Idaho, but I sure am! They wouldn't let me keep my postdoc in Wales, unfortunately.

So that is the last month, I guess. Oh, the flowers are blooming in the desert right now!

I've posted new pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/emyager