My New Nylon Home

After a super successful 8 year run at my old home, I've finally moved into a new place. I'm not talking about some shabby apartment here in Boulder. The home that means the most to me is made of nylon and is held aloft by graphite poles. A destroyed zipper on the door has forced me to call the movers. Actually, given that a professional moving company isn't really necessary to clear out roughly 45 square feet, I brought the subject up with my mom. She recently asked me what I wanted as a birthday gift, and though I hemmed and hawed about not really needing anything, the bugs in my den argued otherwise.

It's a bittersweet move. On one hand, I'm really psyched to try out the new tent. I'm hoping to leave behind the "nice Wal-Mart tent" barbs that are so carelessly thrown my way with no regard to my feelings. Wal-Mart? Certainly I appear successful enough to be counted as a Target man, no? I'll have a new shelter free of structural duct tape, leaks, and UV damage. But on the flip side, that old home will be missed.

I'd love to recount all the amorous nights spent in my REI Harem 4, but doing so would be mildly disingenuous. The typical night out in the now defunct tent was spent out in Rifle or The Creek, begging for sleep, not sex, after a long day cragging. I'd do my best to avoid using the rain fly, preferring to gaze at the stars if possible. With the typically arid West, most of the time I'd get away with it. Why even sleep in a tent at all, you might ask. I hate bugs, I might answer. And that old tent was perfectly capable of keeping them out of my hair. At least, that is, until it finally fell apart.

REI has a guarantee that's impossibly generous. A lifetime warranty is offered on their merchandise, but honestly, I didn't want to push the folks at customer service for store credit or a replacement on something that had been so well used. That fact, combined with my mom's suggestion that she'd be happy to pick up a replacement, allowed me to do what comes so rarely for me: just get something new. I kept the old one, thinking I'd one day find a professional repair shop and have them install a new zipper, but maybe my mom will do everyone a favor and just pitch it in the trash before I get the chance.

Now that I've got the new one, and it looks like I might have the chance to check the waterproof-ness. I'm getting really psyched to get back to Rifle, keep working on the projects and sleep in the new nylon home. Anyone who won't be there this weekend, you'll be missed. For those of you that are making the labor day trip, look for me in the shiny new Hoodoo 3.