Beginning of Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice 2010 from Highland Park, New Jersey
Today is the winter solstice, which means it’s now been two years since I started this blog. In the past year my readership has increased quite a bit, which has been quite gratifying. This has always been something of a niche blog, so I don’t expect it to ever get huge numbers of readers, but it’s been quite nice to see how it’s developed. When I started it one of my main purposes was to find a place to permanently put versions of my well-rehearsed answers to the questions I would frequently get as a tour guide at Chaco, and I’ve mostly accomplished that goal at this point and moved on to other things. Right now, since I’m in school and have access to a major university library system and a lot of scholarly databases, one of my main purposes is to present and explain important and interesting pieces of scholarship that the general public does not generally have easy access to. That may change in the future as my personal circumstances and intellectual interests change, but I don’t see this blog going away any time soon. Thanks to all my readers for making this a fantastic two years so far.
Oh, and the eclipse last night was quite impressive. Here in New Jersey the sky was clear and we could see it very well. I hear it was overcast in much of the Southwest so a lot of people couldn’t see it, which is unfortunate. I took some pictures.
Total Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice 2010 from Highland Park, New Jersey
Gambler's House 
Congratulations, teofilo. Gambler’s House has become a regular stop on my too-long litany of blogs. If I were a trapper (I’m definitely not), I’d call that list a trapline, as I make the rounds through them most days. And whenever I stop here, it seems, there’s usually something valuable waiting for me to examine and take away.
I don’t know what the academic/scientific/archaeological community thinks, says or cares about your blog. I only know that as somebody who is fascinated by the Chacoan culture and its desert mysteries — and as someone who is most definitely NOT an archaeologist or scientist — I learn something new every time I come to Gambler’s House.
Thanks, and I look forward to more good things in 2011.
pat in denver
Let me add my congratulations… and thanks for many an interesting read. My trapline is pretty short, but I doubt there are many who provide a more thoughtful and thought out column.