Goodbye, 2017

Whew, that crap of a year is over. Goodbye, 2017!

okay, so it wasn't all bad. Highlights in pictures:

I helped organized the St. Louis Women's March. It was an incredible learning experience, and so amazing to see how many people turned out for this, and for marches across the world. It also pushed me into more direct activism in my community, and for that I am thankful! #ResitTrump #ResistRacism #Resist!

I adopted a new cat! Anya is a beautiful and sweet calico. She has yet to realize she is food secure, so no man's plate is safe while she is on the loose, but she is a sweetheart when she's not hunting.

My first trip to the beach. Me and 4 fabulous friends visited Puerto Rico. A trip of many firsts - first real beach vacation, first time paddle boarding, and first trip the a rain forest. It was wonderful.  Sadly, a few months later the catastrophic Hurricane Maria hit.  Half of Puerto Rico is still without power.

Fun times at the farm with the family. Cooper was in heaven :)

Hiking! This fall was unmatched for it's beautiful colors. It was gorgeous.

public art for the win

Knowing I love and all things Sherman Alexie (and therefore fantastic), Bird's partner, Melissa, showed me a piece of public art in Spokane while I was visiting. For this piece, Sherman Alexie wrote the poem, That Place Where Ghosts of Salmon Jump, which is inscribed on the spiral. Upon reading it I  was blown away by the poem itself, the placement of the spiral overlooking the Spokane Falls, and the beauty and power in such a simple design. My picture doesn't begin to do it justice, but here it is:

About the spiral, Alexie has been quoted as saying, "The design forces people to dance. The true power of it is in watching people reading the poem in that way." Which I adore.

weekend of fun (sentimental blog post warning)

Last weekend I was in Portland for my friend Heather's wedding. It was awesome, not only because I was happy for Heather (or because I was in Portland), but because I got to see many friends I had not seen for 4 or more years. That is too long to go between visits, but what I loved was how seamlessly we fell back into conversations. Although catching up was delightful, what was most wonderful was that it didn't fell like any time had passed since our last seeing each other. Now, of course I miss everyone anew. Not to get all sentimental, but I really am blessed to have found the friends I have through the years. I know that not everyone is this lucky. I can only hope we don't go 4 years in between visits again. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Glacier Love

Glacier NP

end of summer

Near Billings, MT

tybee

Although it seems so, I'm not actually obsessed with light houses.

no trespassing

Outside Congaree NP

lighthouse 2

lighthouse

oops! I didn't post yesterday, so this is for Friday. :)

modesty

Well, hello 26 foot tall statue of Marilyn Monroe in downtown Chicago. Psst...I think your drawers are showing! So, for this photo we are back in Chicago. My sister, mom and I stumbled upon this, and it is hilarious and random, but also a little awesome. I don't know that I would want to look at it everyday if this was my view from my cubical, but as a tourist, it was pretty funny, made all the more so when I went around to the back and saw the detail on her panties.

blue chicago

I took this while on the boat tour. I just love the hues of blue in it, and am happy that my flash didn't white everything out or that the lack of flash didn't blur it all. Again, the boat tour was awesome. I recommend it!

distorted

Alright people, I see a few skylines in our future (or many photos of one skyline to be precise). This one is a bit of a cheat because it's not really another picture, but simply a section of an earlier picture (Chicago Raindrop). I just think it's cool that the buildings are distorted. I can't quite get enough of this sculpture. I wasn't sure what the big deal would be, but when I saw it I knew: it's just immensely cool.

the noble duke of chicago

Do you remember that children's song, The Noble Duke of York? This photo get's that song stuck in my head.

The noble duke of York, he had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill and marched them down again.
And when you’re up you’re up.
And when you’re down you’re down.
And when you’re only half way up you’re neither up nor down.
He marched them to the left. He marched them to the right.
He marched them almost upside down, oh what a silly sight.

ominous

The first word that came to my mind when I saw this photo was "ominous," While we had a lovely time at Navy Pier, the evening was not without dangers: we found ourselves on a party boat that played "Sweet Home Alabama" no fewer than 3 times (all to the excited "whoo!'s" of drunk girls), then had dinner wherein we were rained on and my "medium well" hamburger was raw at best (still alive at worst). These obstacles were not about to get out our way of our trip; however, we managed to escape with our good humor in tact. All in all it was wonderful trip; I had a great time with my mom and sister.

chicago raindrop

Millennium Park is awesome and gorgeous. While we were there, we stumbled upon a group of about 200 people doing zumba (not pictured). It was amazingly awesome - and free! Chicago is cool. Crowded, but cool.

missoula path, 2010

This photo makes me happy, so you all get a bonus picture! Missoula Path, 2010

I was looking through old photos that I like to figure out what it was that liked about them, so as to capitalize on that, but I realize it may just be the subject material and not actually that there is anything special about them beyond that. Anyway, this photo is from a path that I spent a lot of time on when I lived (or now visit) Missoula. I would ride my bike on this path to reach tennis courts, or take it to reach the Mountain in the background so I could hike up to the M. So, I'm going to list some of the things I like about it, and I welcome you to tell me what you like about it and/or give me suggestions 0n how it could have been better.

What I like about it:
I tend to like paths, roads, train-tracks, etc, and they are prominent in many of my photos; this may stem from my love of travel, or I just like the lines, or both. Anyway, I like the path, and the idea of where it might lead. I also like the colors; the sky is a beautiful blue, and I love that the shades of green add dimension without being "showy." The benches, streetlamp, and the people on the path gives this place a sense of community and makes it feel alive. So Of course, I feel this way -in part- because of the memories affiliated with this photo; in other words, I'm biased.

This stuff's made in New York City??!....get a rope

Last weekend I visited Panda in San Antonio. We mostly just hung out and watched movies, but we also left the house so I could see the sights. I saw the Alamo, walked the River Walk, and ate a breakfast taco or two; I think I took in all that San Antonio had to offer. The churches and missions are really pretty.


As you look at the River Walk, it is hard to imagine the darkness that hovers over you: in every tree top there is a creature waiting for the opportune moment to attack! Birds. This city is filled with hundreds and hundreds of birds, ready to swoop down on you - to eat your chips and salsa, to poo in your hair, to kill you!!! While Panda and I were eating outside on the River Walk, pigeons kept landing on our table and trying to eat our food! It was crazy. Then, at night I walked outside to hear swarms of birds. It was eerie; listen:

Lastly, Panda and I also went to the movies and saw Juno. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend you go do so. It is funny and heartwarming without being sappy. It was one of those movies that just made me happy.

true story

I finally got my hands on this picture. When Brandi, Kelly and I went on our hike up to to Holland Falls, this is the sign that greeted us:

i'd like to get my picture took

and put it in my memory book.*

Today I started making a scrapbook/photo album from my Portland/Missoula Holiday. I find the task fun, but somewhat stressful. What if I mess up? What if I RUIN it? So far I've done all my Portland pages and the first Missoula page. I'm really excited about how it is turning out! Here is the front cover I made!

*BigRiver, "Arkansas"

fun in glacier

Last week, Bird and I went camping in Glacier for a few days. Upon arrival, we set up camp and headed out for a hike. The hike was in Griz Country, so I was on alert. Fortunately, we did not come across any bears on the trail, although there was a tree stump that put a good scare in us. When we got back to camp, we noticed a bunch of people crowded around our campsite. They couldn't all be gathered for a deer, could they? No. Oh no. They were crowded around for a bear. Yep, that's right. A bear was milling around my tent and the tents of the people in the next site over. By the time Bird and I got to our site, the bear had moved off into the woods, away from all the people and commotion. I caught a glimpse of him, and he appeared big. Of course, any bear near your tent will appear big.

The Forest Ranger came and shoo-ed him off. Apparently, the bear was a sub-adult black bear. He comes around this camp ground often, but has never gotten into people food/trash or bothered anyone. Surprisingly, I was not freaked out, and felt confident I would sleep through the night.

As I was cleaning up dinner, I told Bird that the ranger said to wash our dishes at our site, but to use the dump-sink for our drippings. I told her this as I was heating water in our chili bowl so I could better clean it. The bowl sat atop my trusty pocket-rocket stove, and as I'm saying "we just have to be sure not to spill any of our drippings," what do I do? Why I knock over the bowl of chili water all over the table and ground. Seriously. Now, for those of you who have witnessed my klutziness, this may come as no surprise. It did not seem to faze Bird. I, however, was freaking out that there was now chili all over the ground of our campsite. A campsite visited by a bear not 2 hours earlier! I thought about moving camp, but instead just removed any dirt that was anywhere near the spillage, and called it good. Needless to say, the bear did not come back to eat the chili or me.

The next day we saw another bear (on the side of the road on our way to a hike). Bears are awesome, but I'd rather they not be near my tent.