I recently read author Philip Connor‘s latest published essay, “Smoke”, and as usual, it’s a great read.  Connors is currently in his 11th season as a fire lookout, stationed in a Civilian Conservation Corps-era fire tower in the Black Range of the Gila National Forest near Kingston, New Mexico.  Suffice it to say, he has a lifestyle and job I’ve always dreamed of; getting paid to be far and away and observe the surrounding country in a very remote area.  If ever a job demanded one intimately know the surrounding land, then that of a fire lookout certainly requires such close familiarity.  And he gets to write, too. Continue reading →