Well, we did a little better today. At least we were out of town by the time the sun came up.

'Course, as you can tell by the picture below, we still hadn't yet crossed the Divide...

Otherwise, a good morning. Grouse on two of the three leks we checked, and hens on each as well. (An important observation to complicated to go into here and now.)

The day was colder than predicted, with wonderful frost on the vegetation. But no rime pictures, because after the last lek, we ran into a federal guy out in the desert, doing the same as I.

So we visited an hour or so or more on the sandy road, in the cold breeze. By the time we were done, the frozen mud I drove in on was no longer frozen, and any deeper excursion into the desert put into doubt.

It was just before coming across his rig that I decided some coffee would be nice, and reached for my mug.

No mug.

And I immediately remembered setting it on the toolbox whilst I loaded heelers (specifically the one who can't see the seat).

Sure enough, one empty coffee mug in the bed of the truck, all my delicious, hot mocha splattered across the spare tire.

But other than lost coffee, and a new gas well where there wasn't one last year, and a drilling rig still running where there aughtn't be one, and a newly abandoned, vandalized car on the road to said rig, and meeting nine or ten vehicles where I would normally maybe meet one...

Despite all that, it was a good morning.

Listening to: Quiet. I need to get to bed now...