Update, 10:30 p.m. on Saturday
It's a bit bittersweet this evening, but things are winding down. I'm in the event nexus lobby soaking in the scene and can hear a myriad of converstations, a parade of contented smiling faces, and many new friends making plans for nexst year.
Exemplifyingd is RenoJohn walking by. He finished a Bun Burner Gold about 16 hour ago and is feeling no pain. I asked him why his whiskey glass (straight by the way) never gets any less full. He says, "Oh it's been empty, but my best friend just filled it. Mind you, Dcarver was just an aquaintance before this......but he's now my best friend."
In the balcony is one of my new friends FJRPig (and I'm too lazy and tired right now to go validate handles) and we ran the zip line together. We're probably riding back in th morning.
Or the ride I took today with about 14 people led by Cdogman culminated in a true group shot of every rider at 9,400 feet above Brighton Ski Resort. With my Gorilla-Pod tripod and timer I was able to get even myself. The Alpin Loops just rocked as a ride....and nobody even thought about crossing the centerline.
Or the contest winner for the evening banquet (I just can't do that subject justice at this point) Ponyfool was also a Zip Line runner.
But more important than the few pictures I happen to have taken is how much the tone has changed over the weekend. It seemed like Thursday the hotel was a sea of kevlar and mesh clad acquaintances bumping into each other politley saying, "Hi.", "How are you?", etc. Friendly and inviting, but not a deep level.
Now it's Saturday night and quieter. But quieter in a deeper way. We've each made at least a dozen new friends and mingle around sharing ourselves far more personally than we would have imagined when we first arrived.
Sappy? Maybe a bit.
But, I think the FJR is more than just a piece of well-done engineering. It's a vehicle for making new friends into close friends.
WFO-6 is done. Now we get to look forward to NAFO and see all our friends again.
This is Iggy signing out.........