Growing up in the Midwest, I’ve experienced my fair share of weather patterns. Heat waves, tornados, hail, blizzards, floods, and more. It was 84\u00c2\u00b0 Fahrenheit at one point today in Washington. Back home in Kansas City it was 98\u00c2\u00b0 and felt like 107\u00c2\u00b0. I’m glad I missed it.<\/p>\n
As we returned to our home away from home for the night, the sun set and the temperature dropped rapidly (as it is wont to do in the desert). As the temperature dropped, the wind picked up. Back home, wind like this usually meant a storm was inbound\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor at the very least, lots of clouds and a fair chance of rain. Here, it just means that it’s nighttime.<\/p>\n
I love the sound the tree branches make as they drag across the corrugated awning over the farmhouse’s back patio, and the way the leaves rustle together, shivering as the chilly night air caresses them with its icy touch.<\/p>\n
This town is a living contradiction: a melding of the untamed wilderness and humanity’s fight to live anywhere they damned well please. While driving the highways at the edge of town you can look out your left window and see nature in all it’s raw power and majesty. But a quick glance to the right fills your view with ordered houses with neatly trimmed lawns and stubbornly grown vegetation sprinkler-fed and dragged into life come hell or high water (the latter being extremely unlikely).<\/p>\n
With the wind tearing across the landscape just outside and the glow of the city in the distance, I can’t help but feel the inexorable draw this place always has on me. If everything fell into place tomorrow and I had a job offer and a home in which to stay, I don’t think I could stop myself from settling down here.<\/p>\n
I wish that it would rain, just a little bit, so that I could see what that particular experience is like out here. Rare, I’m sure.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, we’re going to hike a short, but steep trail to a scenic overlook of the area. If we had more time, we’d probably hit up 20 different parks and trails within a 2-hour radius. But time draws short and we must retire home in five short days.<\/p>\n
I haven’t even left yet and already I miss this place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Growing up in the Midwest, I’ve experienced my fair share of weather patterns. Heat waves, tornados, hail, blizzards, floods, and more. It was 84\u00c2\u00b0 Fahrenheit at one point today in Washington. Back home in Kansas City it was 98\u00c2\u00b0 and felt like 107\u00c2\u00b0. I’m glad I missed it. As we returned to our home away […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[134],"tags":[261,263],"class_list":["post-2667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","tag-travel","tag-weather","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1756,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/briskness-in-the-air-descends-upon-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":0},"title":"Briskness In the Air Descends Upon Us","author":"Jared Cash","date":"September 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I stepped outside this morning, at my parents' house. 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The clouds parted as we approached Troy and the sun came out.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Day in the Life"","block_context":{"text":"A Day in the Life","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1285,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/11th-hour\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":1},"title":"11th Hour (August 19, 2009)","author":"Jared Cash","date":"August 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I love the sound of the wind through the leaves As a summer storm rolls in at the 11th hour The windows are open and I can feel the breeze pass over my sore shoulders and tired face I breathe deep, the cool Midwest breeze; Westerly is its name I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/writing\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2927,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/escape\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":2},"title":"Escape","author":"Jared Cash","date":"May 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"He awoke in a small, dank cell. Aren't they all? He smirked at the thought of being locked up in the lush penthouse, something he knew all too well as a child, when he had been a prisoner in his own home. That had been ages ago. Just before he'd\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anemoi"","block_context":{"text":"Anemoi","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/writing\/anemoi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":872,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/snowflake-scarves-open-for-business\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":3},"title":"Snowflake Scarves open for business!","author":"Jared Cash","date":"January 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I missed the grand opening, but the site is ready for orders. There's still plenty of cold weather to enjoy the scarves and while the holidays are behind us, it's never too late to donate to charity and get something from it. 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It would appear, however, that she is feeling under the weather this season.\" Fall clasped his cloak and donned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Day in the Life"","block_context":{"text":"A Day in the Life","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"20120213-091055.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/20120213-091055.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/20120213-091055.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/20120213-091055.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/20120213-091055.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/20120213-091055.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/20120213-091055.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4696,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/guess-its-time-to-reroll-all-my-characters\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":5},"title":"Guess it’s time to reroll all my characters","author":"Jared Cash","date":"January 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I didn't want to cancel my D&D Beyond Subscription, but I really feel like I have no other choice but to vote with my wallet. 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