Raymond Johnson @ downclimb.com

I used to be amazed at the variety of products carried by Wal-Mart; now I'm amazed at the variety of people who you can find there. It can be a very interesting place to people-watch. Today's Wal-Mart visit was highlighted by the following announcement over the public address system: "If you have found a five-dollar bill with 'I own you' written on it, please turn it in at the customer service desk." The mind can only imagine the circumstances surrounding such an announcement.

I took the last couple of weeks of June to travel back to the Midwest to visit family and friends. It's 830 miles from Florence, CO, to Iowa Falls, IA, which would make a sub-1700 mile round trip. By the time my travels were done, I had taken side trips to Cedar Falls, Minneapolis, Duluth, Ames, and Iowa City. Six states in all, and many great hours with friends I haven't seen in far too long. Thanks again to all of you who made time for me, and my door is open for you should you ever come my way. Last Monday my first guests of the summer arrived for several great days seeing sights and getting some outdoor exercise. Tuesday we went to the Great Sand Dunes, complete with a hike to the top of the High Dune. Wednesday we went to Leadville, highlighted by a visit to the National Mining Museum. It may not sound very interesting, and the endless display of interesting mineral specimens does get somewhat tiresome and redundant, but overall it is very much worth the $6 admis...