Chris,
I love these posts! They allow mw to live the life on the road that I wish I could have traveled. Instead, travel it vicariously through these posts (not that I regret what I do - writing - but I wish I could do both or have more lifetimes to do them in). In fact, I've often thought of going back to school just to do what your grad students are currently doing. Unfortunately,my name is not "Sarah." However, Sarah was my mother's back-up choice when she named me - Would make me "Almost Sarah"? You probably haven't had one of those yet - right?
Humor aside, my point is that I check and re-check, waiting for your posts to appear. I enjoy them so much that I would miss them if you stop, so please keep posting!
One more thing: I need to thank you for taking the time to send them and for opening up a part of the world that the rest of us do not see. When I am working on a book, I tend to lock myself away from the world, except for certain things, like checking your posts and the USGS maps, etc. During these times, I communicate with no one, except out of necessity, and often forget to show my gratitude or anything else, except to shout a bit when the refrigerator is empty. I think that many of us are so busy that appreciation gets forgotten, so I'm adding "wake up, acknowledge, and appreciate" to my list of 2009 New Year's resolutions.
Happy travels,
Beth