Ever wanted to be a part of something bigger than yourself?

Today I was. I'm in La Junta working on this feature I'm doing for a magazine. It's on the opposition to the Army's seizure of land for a maneuver site in Pinon Canyon. I am looking at the historical value of the land and talking to local archaeologists and historians in the area. The reasons for the opposition coalition are too numerous to name. The most basic being that this land has been in these people's families for hundreds of years. Their family cemeteries are on this land. Their livelihood and their past, present and future's are on this land. I am overwhelmed by the passion these people have for this cause. And this is no typical "We hate the government, the army and everything about America" kind of approach to the issue. In fact a lot of these ranchers are war veterans and are the most dedicated patriots you will find in this part of the country. One story that really got to me is that one family has their son, who was killed in Iraq, buried in their family cemetery, on land that could very soon be destroyed and overran by the very army that this young man served in.

As if the reasons above are not enough to stop the Army, I am learning about the cultural and historical richness of this area. They have surveyed a large portion of the area that the Army wants and have concluded that there are over 1,000 sites. This area is as rich, if not more rich than the Mesa Verde region. It makes me nauseous to think about the implications and consequences of the Army's occupation of this land. It just cannot be allowed.

I have a couple more days of interviews, along with hikes and a bit of road-tripping to do. Tomorrow I am going to meet with a rancher and hiking out to some ruins and petroglyphs. I am so excited for sunday. I get to sit down with two brothers in their late 80's who are both archaeologists and ranchers. It's going to be incredible. They know everything about the area and experienced the "treasure hunting" days of archaeology. They are the foundations of south west archaeology.

I talked to this table of 6 old folks, who were all in there 80's, after dinner at this Mexican Restaurant. They were amazing and were so excited to talk to me. My favorite part of the conversation was when they told me the that they didn't really like the 79 year old guy at the table and only kept him around because he could see at night. As they drank margaritas and ate taquitos they explained that he was their coined "designated driver."

Who would of thought La Junta could be such a good time? 

I am SO out of my league.