...and now things get really interesting

So much for the best laid plans...things can change in just a moment that make all planning obsolete. Isn't there a joke, something along the lines of "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans for the future?"

Yesterday was a beautiful day, so I decided to head out to the Jemez mountains to search for a hot spring that I'd read about. The drive over was lovely, the skies sunny and clear on the first really sunny day yet. The spring is kept somewhat private to prevent the raucous behaviour that has shut down some other popular springs. After getting off of the trail (several diverged in the wood, and I took the one less travelled, but that's not made all the difference) and ascending far too quickly at a high elevation (lots of huffing and puffing and fearing my heart would beat out of my chest) I found the spring. It was really well maintained, with a beautiful view of the mountains and Battleship Rock. The water was at a perfect temperature for soaking, and it felt great! I paid special attention to the people that left, since they appeared to be going down the correct path. It was definitely easier going down the proper way.

But, alas, even the best maintained trail cannot prevent a mis-step. My foot slipped, and down I went, quite quickly, and directly on my tailbone. I thought I could walk it off, but there was no such luck. I stopped at the drugstore in Los Alamos to buy some anti-inflamatories, and the walking just made things worse. So I drove over to the Emergency Room at the Los Alamos hospital and let them check me out. The verdict was, indeed, a fractured coccyx. (For a laugh, click the link to see the etymology of "coccyx," a word which I always misspell). In fact, the doctor said that it was the worst fracture he'd ever seen. (Granted, he was probably only 35, so that may not say much).

The bad news was, there's nothing they could do. He sent me back with a nice prescription of Vicodin and orders to stay off of it for a while.

So, all of my previous plans are now on hiatus. Unfortunately, due to some poor planning on my part, I have to change hotels on Thursday. I give my paper on Saturday morning, and I think I should be able to go ahead with it. Going down to Truth or Consequences, though, is questionable. Soaking in the the hot springs down there would probably make me feel better, but it would come after a three hour drive. Then, to get home, I'd have to drive three hours BACK to Albuquerque/Santa Fe and the 4-5 hours it takes to get back to Denver.

The blogging won't be very exciting for the next few days, unless I give updates from what's on Food Network. (Paula Deen had a housewarming party for her new place, and Rachel Ray is cooking steaks, but I digress). Luckily I made a grocery run a few days back so that I'd have things for lunch and dinner to help save some money. I'm well stocked.

Ugh.