Today at work we started 4×10 shifts (4 days x 10hrs/day), and added Saturdays. The change is really good for me personally.
10 hour days
10hr days mean I will be in a climate controlled environment two morehours each work day. Not a big deal in the winter, but in the summer two hours indoors is a big win. It will also decrease my water consumption a bit.
4 day workweek
A couple benefits here:
An average of 3 days off in a row each week. It’s usually 3 days off in a row, rarely 4 days off in a row, and rarely 2 days off in a row with a stray day off in that week.
Days off during the week as the shifts rotate. Weekdays off can be very productive as everything is open. Weekdays are also a good time to visit national parks, caverns, etc.
First three-day weekend
Temps hover around 100F in ELP now, so I escaped to the Lincoln national forest again. I camped on the Cloudcroft side rather than the Ruidoso side. A bit lower than last time, ~8650′. And two bars of Verizon, yay!
This large forest is the closest high elevation camping near me. Temp is 77F as I type, and will peak at 81-82F this afternoon.
I don’t usually make campfires, preferring to cook on pressure stoves and illuminate with a cold-blast kero lantern if I want area illumination. I made an exception this time because there was so much downed wood.
The area is also approved for firewood harvesting, up to 13 cords (!) per year. I am glad it’s available, because folks who live up here likely go through unreal amounts of wood heating their houses in the fall, winter, and spring.
I cooked up 1.5c of dry pinto beans for dinner. Browned some onions in olive oil with deadly little dried whole chiles, salt and pepper. Added garlic at the last moment to keep them from scorching (ugh!). 10lb of pressure in the cooker for 31 minutes did the trick nicely.
Ate with a bit of ketchup and sriracha. 🙂 There was enough left over for breakfast. I served the leftover pintos over torn chunks of toasted pita bread. Simple and satisfying.
a boondocking retirement 
No way! There’s woods like that down in the hinterland where you are? Did you drive a thousand miles from ELP?? For the weekend!? Actually I already knew from my geography/botany studies that Douglas Fir extend into mountains of Mexico. From Canada to Mexico. But I don’t believe it until I see it. I guess it’s elevation and temperature dependent.
Are you on a cloud island?? That’s my dream; to live at the base of a cloud island and go up the mountain in a Summer like the Indians. That’s what I love about the West. There’s endless mountain ranges from border to border. Have a good weekend.
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🙂 The Lincoln national forest is about 2.5hrs north of ELP. The distance isn’t so great (92 miles or so) but the 4000′ climb at the end is all switchbacks.
I didn’t know what kind of trees those were; thanks for ID’ing them. I think the formula for altitude-related temperature is -3F for every 1000ft.
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