For Crying Out Loud...Post Something Already!!

Alright, it has officially been too long to try to explain why we (I) haven't posted anything since Oct. 19th. The burden of job hunting, tending to a sick dog, hiking, running, climbing, and exploring a lot, and generally just forgetting about the importance of connecting with my family and friends...oops, sorry!

Over the past month and a half, Lindsay and I have certainly learned a lot about ourselves. The first thing we learned is that we can't be away from the East Coast for more than 3 or 4 mos. before we start going mad. Thus our decision to come back to our beloved state of VT at the end of this month. Yes, we were planning on skipping out on winter for one year, but the lure of familiarity, the necessity of friends, and my (Chris') wanting to get back to the job and co-workers I love so much facilited a decision to move back sooner than later. This decision, however, is not a direct reflection or measurement of the fun we've had thus far. We've had the opportunity to visit the Oregon Coast, Smith Rock (more times than both of us are willing to share!), farms, hidden lakes, waterfalls, publics markets, concerts, etc, etc.

Our trip back East will, no doubt, be a more expediant one, as we both are trying to get home to start work immediately following the new year. So, barring anything crazy (bigfoot, alien abductions, eruptions of megavolcanoes), we will be leaving on the 25th and arriving back in VT on the 30th. 5 days to drive a lot, visit minimally, and rack up more miles on our car...lovely.


See you back east, and happy travels!

Repudiate, Repudiate, Repudiate!

How many times did that Monkey, McCain use that word in one sentence during his weak debate with Senator Obama the other night...four or five times?

Anyway, it's been a while since either one of of us posted an update...truth is, nothing really monumental has happened. And that's not necessarily a negative thing, though, getting a job would've been reason enough to post. But alas, I am still waiting in the stale wind of Eugene's negative job market turbine. Really folks, how many jobs must a person apply to before he/she elicits even the slightest response...40, 50 job applications?! I've lowered my standards greatly in search of this elusive jackal called "job", and the fact is, I think employers think I'm joking or something when they receive my resume. In all seriousness, I am willing to shovel shit, or pick up trash, and wear a monkey suit for some corporation (e.g. Starbucks, PetSmart) in exchange for a non-liveable wage. Perhaps it is a joke, perhaps I have deep-seeded desires to see how much diginity and pride I will swallow in order make a buck...ha, the almighty buck. Being over-qualified and non-employable is a real impetus, folks...like having a terminal illness.

In other news, we've begun going to Bikram's Yoga. Hot Yoga...105 degrees of hot, sweaty and slick yoga. I think we're hooked, but I also think we're being duped by the almight yogi.

The weather has taken the initial turn toward what is "regular fall weather" here in Eugene--damp, overcast, chilly, rainy. Kinda reminds us of New England, though we don't feel as at home here.

Mabel has eaten another one of her beds, which has left her with nothing to sleep on again. A gentleman we met the other day at Terwilliger Hot Springs mentioned that our little girl might have some anxiety around attachment. YOU THINK?! She cries like a sheep getting slaughtered anytime we leave, and she sticks to us like glue anytime she thinks we're about to go somewhere.

Time for yoga, more later...

Eugene...finally

So we're here in Eugene, and all is well, except I haven't found a job...yet. I won't harp a lot about it, but the jobn market out here isn't so good. Substitute teaching will begin soon, but there is some red tape that needs to be handled before I begin.

The new Sacred Heart Hospital that Lindsay is employed at is pretty freakin' phenomenal. It was just built, and from what we heard, $10 million dollars was spent to make this place far surpass anyone's expectations of what a nice facility should look like. The place looks like a ski resort, no joke.

Anyway, before we arrived in Eugene, we spent a nice long week down on the southern Oregon coast soaking up some sun (and a little rain), relaxing on the beach, making S'mores over a campfire, and sleeping under the stars.

Check out the link below for the pictures from that week.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/OregonCoast#

Veggies of Unusual Size

Had it not been for work, I don't think Lindsay and would have returned today from Oregon. It was that good.

Last Thursday, Lindsay and I piled our usual assortment of gear, clothes, food, and some odds-and-ends into our Subaru and traveled the 5.5 hours down to Bend, Oregon for a few days of climbing with Drew the Cougar Hunter, laughing, R&R, and some good ol' fashion farm work on Jim and Jessi's farm--Big Star Farm.

Minutes after we arrived on Thursday evening, we helped pick veggies for their CSA members. Friday was spent chasing the shade and climbing some amazing trad routes on the backside of Smith Rock. Saturday, we awoke, climbed at Smith again, then headed back to Jim and Jessi's for the 2nd annual Big Star Farm Harvest Party. Adult beverages were swilled, loud noises were made, Gandalf the Grey made an appearance, veggies of unusual size were raffled off, and a dance party ensued as a pretty heavy East Coast contingent was very present. Sunday--recovery from Saturday's activities, plus a short float down the Deschutes River through Bend. And Monday we drove home, packed up the rest of our home-on-wheels, made dinner, then walked Lindsay to work.

News Flash!! "Only 3 days left in Tacoma, then we're off to Eugene, Oregon for another 3 months!!"

Talk about winter destinations has begun...ideas and rumors are afloat about living in a state that has tried numerous times to secede from the union...hmmm...

Check out the cornucopia of pictures from the long weekend by clicking on the link below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/BigStarFarmHarvestParty2008#

Nurses gone wild!!

Check out what the paparazzi caught on film while two nurses visited Vancouver, BC last weekend!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/VancouverBC#

Tacoma Slideshow

Click the link below for some random pics of some random things I found around Tacoma the other day.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/TacomaWAAndOurApartment#

Good Things to Come

Just sitting here at the One Heart Cafe in Tacoma, enjoying our last week or so, absorbing what remains to be absorbed of thi town of concrete, pulp mills, and eccentricity. We have mixed emotions about our stay here. Mostly, we are glad to be leaving what has become the very anti-thesis of us. Getting anywhere is a hassle, and our Vermonter attitudes have been majorly compromised and masked. However, we've met a group of people in our little apartment complex that have truly helped this otherworldly transition. They and their dogs have been nothing less than warm and friendly, humorous and sincere. Funny that we've found a small slice of the Vermont we love right here in an apartment living atmosphere.
Lindsay is ready for a change of work venue. In the three months at TG, she hasn't really found anyone (save for one person, I think?) that she can totally relate to. I think the consensus is, there are many people who aren't too friendly in the Tacoma healthcare industry.

Realizing we're moving to a much smaller town with a different progressive slant on things, we're hoping for a better experience. One that offers Lindsay a fresher outlook on nursing, and one that enlivens the travel bugs in our shoes.

Pictures will be posted later today...

Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

Because we've been doing a bit of traveling, and good driving music normally accompanies long trips, I decided to compile a list from our iPod of the top 10 songs played while driving (thanks for the inspiration, LG)

"Maybe Sparrow" Neko Case

"Morse" Nightmares on Wax

"Campus" Vampire Weekend

"Absinthe Party and the Fly Honey Warehouse" Minus the Bear"

"No Sunlight" Death Cab For Cutie

"Another Night" Heavens

"Good People" Jack Johnson
"Fever" Bonobo

"Back in your Head" Tegan and Sara (Thanks, Graham, for gettin' us hooked!)

"Trees" Pulp

Anyway, we've been getting pretty stoked for Lindsay's next assignment in Eugene, OR. If asked why, it's probably because it's nothing like Tacoma. I should do a compare contrast of the two locales, but I'll save that for a later post...one where I'll have more time and have pent up a week or so's worth of sarcasm to spice it up a bit. But for now, we'll simply say that it's going to be nice to see green again, and be amongst (or closer to) some like-minded folks.

Last weekend/week was spent in Bend with our transplant crew of once-upon-a-time East Coasters. The Lord and Jedi were as hospitable as ever, inviting the dingy climbing crew back to their eclectic little farm in Alfalfa for some impromptu gardening, grilling, and hot-tubbin' fun. On our first day there, Mabel jumped the fence and waited for us in their driveway until we got home...she knew she was bad.

We cranked for multiple days at Smith Rock, and the temps ranged from scorched-Earth-hot to jacket and hat weather. We climbed hard, played hard, and then slept pretty hard too. Unfortunately, Lindsay's sleep pattern was a bit warped the first evening there, as she had just gotten off a 3-night, 12 hour/day, work week, and was firing on about 4 hours of sleep. A few adult beverages helped soothe teh loopy beast inside, though.

Now that we're back in Aromaland (aka Tacoma), we are focusing our attention on young Mabel. Today, she is spending her time at the Hound Hangout in town. In about an hour I'll be hearing from them to see if she successfully passed the initial "meet and greet" to gain her access to frequent visits. I have a sneaky suspicion she behaved.

To The East and Back Again!

Sorry for the delay, folks, but Lindsay and I haven't been very stationary over the past few weeks.
August 1st we spent some time over in Leavenworth climbing with our friend Emily who was out here for a few days.

The weekend of August 8th, we were back in VT for a great wedding. Our friends, Ted and Kristine, got hitched. The stay was all too brief, and the rain was all to present, but we did get to see a lot of friends which is always a treat. A couple of highlights from the trip: Our connecting flight from Philadelphia to Burlington was overbooked, so we offered up our seats in exchange for 2 free roundtrip tickets anywhere in the contigious US. We also stayed with Auntie Nicole, our great neighbor and dear friend in VT. Pizza at "Good Times", and sandwiches from the "Paisley Hippo" punctuated the eating side of things, and a return flight that was delayed for 3 hours in Philadelphia (again!). The wife became quite grumpy as a result...and I don't blame her one bit. We think that city and airport has it out for us.

This past weekend (August 15th-17th), we spent rafting up the Deschutes River in Oregon with our friends, Shea and Annie and some of folks we had met at their wedding, as well as some couples we had never met prior to this trip. (Link to photos from rafting trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/RaftingOnTheDeschutesRiverAugust2008 )

Mabel stayed at the Cascade Pet Camp in Hood River for the few days that we were away, and according to her doggie report card (yes, each dog gets a report card upon their departure from camp!), she didn't like her stay one bit (we think she was a little homesick). Prior to her going to camp, she paid a little visit to her private pedicurist, Annie, where she hasd her nails examined and trimmed...a dogs life is quite rough.

The few days we spent on the river, the temperatures reached well into 100 degrees fahrenheit. I believe Saturday's temps topped out a whopping 110 degrees, with a breeze that was so warm it felt like a hair dryer was pointing at you from above. Needless-to-say, much time was spent hanging off the raft, or floating beside it in the river as we were swept down river by the strong current. Our campsite was pretty sweet, and I think had we floated further up the river, we probably wouldn't have found a site as large and as accomodating (an outhouse was there!). We were freaked out a couple of times while camping. First, Shea's sister-in-law spotted 2 black widow spiders in the outhouse, and then Annie decided to follow a deer path down river without telling anyone she was leaving. We thought was abducted, but she was just being curious.

In other news, there are some updates as to our next assignment, but I won't spoil any surprises until we are sure that we'll be there.

We're off in a few hours for a couple of days of rock climbing along the Tieton River in Eastern Washington...we'll post some pictures of that when we get back.

The countdown has begun...we only have 4 weeks left in Tacoma!

Olympic National Forest Slideshow

Click on the link below for the Olympic National Forest slideshow.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/OlympicNationalForest

"...and sometimes we go hiking."

We don't only busy ourselves with rock climbing; in fact, sometimes we even seek out hiking as our weekend activity.

Over this past weekend (our weekend actually began on Thursday), Lindsay, Mabes and I drove 2 hours out to the Olympic National Forest for a few days of sunny weather, high altitude, hot springs and hiking. Our first foray into the wilderness of the Olympics found us atop Mount Townsend after 4 hours and 10.5 miles of steady uphillin' it. Graced with 360 degree vistas of Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Seattle and the Olympics, but bothered by hunger and heat, we hurriedly raced down the loose switchbacks in half the time in search of food.

That night, we camped out in quiet campground about a 5 miles within the National Forest boundary. Mabel was out like a light, but Lindsay and I seemed to be a little restless due to the gravel surface we were sleeping on, the heat Mabel was generating inside the tent, and the residual energy from the days hike.

The following day, we opted for a much shorter hike (5 miles) out an old logging road to the Olympic Hot springs. Before we knew it, our bodies were soaking in a 126 degree sulfur pool perched at the zenith of an old landslide. We ran into some nice folks that gave us the lowdown on the hot springs, fed us smoked gouda and oranges, as well as sharing the beta on the mother of all hot springs located in Death Valley.

Mabel, unfortunately, had to wait in the car for the few hours we were gone, which we feared would turn into a catastrophe. Nothing was eaten or ruined in the car when we got back, though...whew!

On Saturday, we did go rock climbing at a local spot called Amazonia. Covered by the canopy of the thick, old growth forest on the southern side of Mount Washington, this gently over-hanging crag was the perfect choice for a quiet day in the woods. By mid afternoon, we were getting hungry, so we safely sped back to town, got changed, and hit a local Irish pub for some shepherds pie and cornbeef sandwiches.

Check out the slideshow from the Olympics and check for updates this week! Ciao for now.

Granite Playground

Over the past weekend, Lindsay, Mabel and I took trip up to British Columbia to a small town called Squamish with a big chunk of granite lording over it like big brother. The granite wall is named the Stawamus Chief, and it's the 2nd largest granite monolith in the world (the first being Yosemite's El Capitan). This was our first trip to BC with Mabel, so we weren't sure how the border crossing was going to go with a pet in tow. Everything ended up occuring without a hitch, or kink in the plans. As it turned out, last weekend was the Squamish Mountain Festival, so the little town, that is normally turned on end during peak seasons, was especially busy. Fortunately, we arrived Thursday evening, prior to the hippie masses (we'll get to that in a bit!) arrival.

One thing I continually have to remind myself is that a good nights sleep is few and far between when camping--you take what you can get. Our first night was pretty quiet, aside from the cackling crow that awoke us at the godforesaken hour of 5am! I got up, threw a rock at it, then promptly went back to bed.

That day, we got our first taste of Squamish rock. Our climbing started out at a small and sunny crag right off a nice bike trail. It was aptly named Penny Lane. Nice. We climbed a few routes up there, then moved over to another area and sampled some of the finer and harder crack lines. Our day had dwindled past, we had run out of water, and were getting pretty hungry. We bagged climbing for the day after climbing 7 routes, went back to camp and made fajitas. That evening, we saw the only other car with Vermont plates on it. A couple from Brandon, Vermont had been traveling across the country for the past month and took an Alaskan, then Canadian detour. While Lindsay and I finished off our meal with the requisite S'mores, we imbided in some adult beverages and spoke to the other VTers. They were nice enough, and for about 1/2 hour we shared some laughs and stories about New England and Vermont.

The following day our plan was to get up pretty early, hit the Grand Wall Base Area and bang off a couple of the classic routes we knew would be swarming with people later in the morning. We got there, dispensed with Exasperator Crack and Peasants' Route, then left before we saw anyone.

After deciding to head out for dinner to a local brewery, we returned to our campsite that evening (Saturday to witness what was the beginning of the hippie invasion of Squamish. Our campground was swarming with the smell of campfires (nice), cooking food (even nicer), and the sound of...bongos and guitars (not so nice). Showers then to bed by 9pm, only to be awoken at 3:30am by bongos, guitars, and drunken laughter. What the hell?! Lindsay boiled over, got uo, and marched over to the very receptive drunken partyers, to relay a very polite, but curt message to please cease ansd desist. They did, and subsequently, we slept in later than anticipated the following morning.

Driving home on Sunday lasted longer than expected due to a 50 minute delay at the US border crossing. Lindsay and Mabel napped, I festered.

After thinking it through and talking about it for a while, we decided Mabel had a pretty decent weekend despite all of the hooplah and action at the campground (no growling, barking, or snarling; only one lunge at a bunny that seemed to get a little too close, the unwarranted killing of a small mole at the base of the Grand Wall Saturday morning, and the nipping of a sheepdog's rear end that resulted in Mabel having a mouthful of white sheepdog fur).

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Now that we are back in Tacoma, we've come to the conclusion that for Lindsay's next assignment (and probably everyone thereafter), she's going to focus more on the quality of the town she choses, and not so much on the quality of the hospital. Sounds a little backwards, but the point of this trip was to enjoy ourselves in places we want to be. More later...

The Most Stressful City

Good afternoon all. Another glorious day in Washington State. I just got back from a long bike ride, and was thinking about the size of Tacoma. It's a hard place to figure out because it is so spread out, there are so many dang automobiles, and it is so close to Seattle. TO help your mind quantify the size of the city here are some interesting (and not so intersting) facts and comparisons about our current place of residence.

The city of Tacoma, WA isn't as large as you'd think. Spread out over an area roughly 15 miles in diameter, and split nearly down the middle by the South Puget Sound, Tacoma pales in comparison to its neighbor to the north, Seattle. However, what the estimated 196,000 people that live in Tacoma might not know is that their relatively small city is actually the size of at least one Africa country, French Guiana. To further connect Tacoma's population to other things of planetary significance near or at the same number is easy. For example: October of 1918, our nation suffered the deadliest month in its history. Due to the outbreak of Influenza, a record 195,000 people fell victim to the deadly disease. Also, Reno, Nevada, dubbed "The Biggest Little City in America" has a population of 195,000. Another quirky fact about Reno is that during the '20s and '30s, many women escaped to Reno looking for a Reno-vation of their life. Unlike many other states in the nation at during that time, they could get a divorce after the short 6 weeks period it took to gain residency.

New York City is comprised of five burroughs: The Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. According to a 2001 census, the south section of the the Bronx alone has 195,000 people. (Now if that doesn't make Tacoma feel small?!) And finally, because of Tacoma's not so big-not so small population, it suffers from middle child syndrome. Yes. Recently (2004), Tacoma was ranked our nation's most stressful city to live in. Why? Apparently, Tacoma has an extremely high number of suicides, unemployed residents, homeless people, and gloomy days. To boot, John Muhammad, the Washington, D.C. sniper from a few years back (remember him?!) was from here.

And that's all I have to offer your brain today.

"Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!!"

Those were the last words spoken by David Johnston right before Mt. St. Helens erupted in May of 1980. The eruption's reverberation was felt as far away as Portland, OR, and the ash, smoke, and soot released from St. Helens darkened the spring sky for the remainder of the day. Thousands of acres of wilderness and miles of rivers were wiped out and smoothed over by mudslides that buried 3-story houses.

This past weekend, Lindsay and I, along with Jim and Jessi from Bend, met in Portland, OR for a weekend of music, hiking, good food, and adult beverages.

Friday saw us witnessing one of the best concerts ever-- The Police. We traveled down to see them play at the Clark County Ampitheater in Ridgefield, WA. Their set was amazing, playing everythingyou'd expect, as well as some more obscure tunes from Ghost in the Machine and Zenyatta Mondatta. We were seated in the general admission section; however, that did not disuade Lindsay from hoppin' the fence and making a bee-line for the rows of seats 100 yards away. For roughly 10 minutes, I was certain that she had been caught and escorted out of the venue, leaving myself, Jim and Jessi wondering about her whereabouts. Luckily, she made, as did the rest of us...yes, the rest of us. If it weren't for the complete stranger standing next to us, egging us on, I think we all would've chickened out. And I'm not going to lie and say a liquid courage didn't help...because it did. (A slideshow of concert pictures is in the making.)

Saturday morning we awoke early and groggy. We camped out about 30 miles from Mt. St. Helens in an RV campground. Surrounded by Winebagos and other large campers, we felt like sardines. Nevertheless, we got a good, albeit short, night of sleep. That morning we ate a greasy breakfast then drove to the National Monument where we did the touron thing for a few hours. We were all pretty tired from the previous night of debauchery, so we kept it pretty low key.

Just a couple of other random updates: Lindsay and I have been rock climbing a lot at this amazing collection of cliffs called Index. Beautiful granite walls with some of the best crack lines we've ever climbed. Mabel's adjustment to big city living has been pretty seemless thanks to the help of the dozen or so dogs that have quickly befriended her, and helped with her doggie socialization. She still suffers from some serious separation anxiety, though. Just last Thursday she showed us just how much she missed us by chewing one of our backseat seatbelts in half! Yes, thanks Mabel for that. (This is a picture of Mabes in the headrest stockade!)

Sammy Hagar...in Leavenworth?

For 2 days, Lindsay, our good buddy, Drew, and I spent climbing on the outlying hills of Leavenworth, Washington.

We arrived in Leavenworth Saturday morning around 10am. This town sets itself apart fromother Pacific Northwest towns because of its Bavarian theme. Leiderhosen, A Maypole and more Bavarian architecture and home decor than you can shake a stick at. For further effect, many people (I have my suspicions that its the tourists!!) feel the need to dress in traditional Bavarian attire. Strange and embarrassing at the same time. We did see an older woman walk into the Leavenworth Waffle Haus with a long dress, stockings, and what seemed to be a corset on beneath her low-cut blouse. Flattering, I think not.

After getting lost trying to find the Special Spot/Retardant Rock, we eventually found the right pullout along Rt. 2. The approach to the cliffs can be likened to scaling a NJ beach pitched at a 30 degree angle for 35 minutes. Very dusty and hot, treacherous at times, and taxing on the body, mind and soul.

We eventually arrived at a small, but exquisite little cliff with some bolted climbs--our warm-ups for the day. Drew and I led and Lindsay followed a great route called "Gun Rack" , and then Lindsay led a testy 5.8 trad route of which the name is still a mystery, and at which I am still shaking my head because of the loose nature of it. That girl is an animal.

Our main objective for the day, however, was a route called "The Javelin". The route is splashed on the cover of the most recent guidebook for Leavenworth, and when I saw the picture I knew I had to climb it. A strikingly thin flake that requires the climber to layback and undercling up the entire left side of the finger-shaped feature while delicately smearing your feet on the adjecent granite wall. Tricky, pumpy, and mixed bag of gear and bolts, to boot. I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy this line. As sure as a Mabel barking at another dog, we all loved this route. At 70 feet, it was long enough to give us a good pump, but short enough for all of us to be done within a hour of our arrival.

That night we camped off a nameless forest service road near the Snoqualmie River. The water added a nice touch to the otherwise sleepless night we had due to Mabel being a little too pre-occupied with all the outside noises.

I think Lindsay was awake first, but I took over Mabel duty as soon as I realized Mabel had gnawed threw her tether and was running freely around our campsite collecting sticks and hiding them in the woods. I tackled Mabel, brought her under control, then she and I strolled down to the river, stuck our faces in to wake up, then meandered back up to camp. In the matter of a split second after returning to camp, Mabel was off like a flash into the woods chasing a deer. Knowing I was going to have a bear-of-a-time finding her, I let the chase run its course, knowing full-well that Mabel would eventually come back. When she arrived back to camp with her head hung low, she knew she shouldn't have done what she just did.

We planned to leave early on Sunday afternoon, as Lindsay had to work that night. We had a much easier and enjoyable hike up to our destination on Sunday--Clamshell Cave Rock. An assortment of moderate slab/crack lines littered this sunny little crag that sits high atop a hillside overlooking a fork of the river we had just camped along. On our way out, Drew and I ran into a fellow who looked like Sammy Hagar. Bizarre.

Next weekend we're spending with Jim and Jessi (aka Jedi), our farmer friends from Bend, Oregon. We're seeing The Police in concert on Friday night and hiking around Mount Saint Helens on Saturday. Should be a hoot.

Job update: I think Lindsay is liking her job more now, and I am still unemployed (as approved by the wife), but will be substitute teaching beginning the start of the school year.

We have our suspicions...

...that Mabel is having a good time.

She hasn't stopped smiling since she's been here. A typical day in the life of this pooch is as follows:

Wake up at 6:30 or 7am, stretch, weasel her way into either, or both, of her parents armpits to wake them up. Shamelessly give wet willies. Scratch at door until one, or both, owners can't stand it any more and bring her out. Tug on leash. Sniff yard...a lot. Bark at other dogs (if present), provoking them to play chase. Nip butts of other dogs to provoke a chase, a bark, a retaliation nip, or any response that may make Mabel want to play more. Go in after 30 minutes of playtime, eat, drink, flop over and fall asleep for an hour. Get up and repeat process until it is time for her humans to go to bed.

Marmots on the Mountain

June 30th. My neice, Christina's, 16th birthday. Happy birthday, crazy lady.

We set out at 12:30 in the afternoon for Mount Rainier. From the windows in our 5th floor apartment, the mountain looked clear and calm.

Our intended route to the national park entrance was the 705 to highway 7 south, a fairly direct path to the southern corridor leading straight to the Nisqually entrance to Washington's largest peak. We arrived at the park entrance after about 1 hour of driving at a modest clip along what seemed to be endless miles of car dealerships and taco huts.

The trip was punctuated by Mabel getting car sick, marmots whistling to the other nearby marmots signaling danger was afoot, and spotting some of the prettiest and surreal vistas of Mount Rainier.

Take a look at the slide show for the rest of the pictures.

1:2

Lindsay and I are learning that traffic around these parts is enough to make a New Englander go mad. Today, for example, Lindsay and I decided we'd pull a fast one on rush hour traffic, and leave the cliff by 3pm. Surely we'd cruise home in no time flat. Think again, young granola cruncher. We steadily zipped down the Snoqualmie Highway thinking we were in the clear. Whew! We did it! Then BLAM-O!! Everyone and their mother decided it would be a good time to commute. Interstate 5 seemed to be awash with the entire Pacific Northwest commuting populous. I've heard before that the ratio of cars to people around the Seattle metropolitan area is roughly 1 car for every 2 people--Ridiculous!!Having sat in traffic the past few days, I can believe it. Although the traffic was tight and the fumes heavy, we did get some funny sightseeing. A sheepdog wearing Oakley sunglasses sitting in the front seat of a canary yellow H3 Hummer cruised by us, and a road enraged father driving a minivan and waving his hands wildly flew by us at mach 3.

We are certainly enjoying this area, but the traffic feels a bit like NJ...more later (sorry NJ friends and relatives.)

Road Trip--Part Deux

Jackson, Wyoming--Bend, Oregon (12 hours)
At this point, the battery in our digital camera died. We had no back-up cell, so the pictures we took we all mental...sorry folks.

When we started out of Jackson, the weather was clear and crisp. It was 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and snow still filled many of the hillsides abutting the mountain pass. It was slow going, but we managed to get to Idaho well before lunch. Geographically, we weren't in the nicest part of Idaho, but at least the roads were flat, open and fast. I think we averaged 75mph while making our way through the spud state.

Out of Idaho and into eastern Oregon. The road had been lonely for a long while, so when we saw the first bright orange sign that read "Wreck Ahead", we were a little bewildered. All came clear when a little further, we saw a blue SUV that looked like an accordian, then a hundred yards ahead of that, a tractor trailor flipped over on its side, hanging over the guardrail. The metal from the guardrail had been toorn away like the top of a tin can and was now stretched out across two lanes of traffic. We could do nothing but stare and hope that all passengers were safely removed from their vehicles.

Oregon became really boring. In fact, for roughly 200 miles we drove straight through what seemed like a good candidate for the most desolate part of the country. The high mountain plains of Oregon are characterized by dusty prairies, short pines, and long, flat horizons. Occasionally, you'd get a glimpse of the Sisters way off in the distance, but as soon as you'd see them, they'd disappear behind a distant hillside.

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We arrived in Alfalfa to out friends' home. Alfalfa is this beautiful little pocket of farmland attached to Bend, Oregon. No town center, no zipcode. Maybe 300 people. We loved it.

Mabel was greated by their dogs, Jackson and Lulu. She was instantly put in her place, and then the playful fighting began. Jim and Jessie gave us a tour of their quaint little farm named "Big Star Farm". We were totally impressed and inspired by what all of their hard work had yielded. We met their farm animals, and Lindsay was taken to rather quickly by a young horse, and Mabel also received a reminder of what it was like to be chased by horses.

Our stop there was much needed, and Jim and Jessie were more than hospitable with their accomodations: They always are, that's why we love 'em so much. We had some dinner, a few adult beverages, then we sacked out after trying to watch the moon rise (to no avail, as it was behind the clouds). The next morning we were to drive our final leg into Washington.

Bend, Oregon--Tacoma, Washington (5.5 hours)
The following morning, we awoke, had some eggs, bacon, and toast, said our "good-byes" and were on our way. Out of Bend on highway 99, up to Mount Hood, over the mountain pass, then down into the sprawl of Portland. We eventually found our way out to I-5 North, the final road of our journey. From there, we were in Washington within 2 hours, then on into Tacoma by rush hour.

We quickly learned that city planning in Tacoma was fractured. The streets begin and end with no apparent, thought out schema, leaving us utterly confused. After multiple trips up and down numerous streets named for local volcanoes, we eventually arrived at Bayside Gardens, our new home away from home for the next 3 months. Now, what we didn't realize was that this place is a dog-owners paradise. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a band of no less than 10 dogs. They must've smelled Mabel and probably were curious as to who this new doggie was. She was mortified, and instantly jumped back into the car all the while barking uncontrollably. It didn't take her long, though, to figure out the pecking order of things. Kona and Diesel were the officials of the pack, Lula was the playful one who likes to steal toys, the two French Bulldogs are the two-dog wrecking crew that liked to double-team the larger dogs, and Hanity, our neighbor's black lab, she's a quiet, so Mabel likes to bark into her ear loudly.

Now, only a week into our stay we've met some great folks. I've dubbed this place Melrose Place...drama, a lot of 30 somethings, sunshine, and various characters. The apartment managers are a funny little elderly duo who regularly offer us Cilantro and rhubarb from their miniature window box garden.

Traveling Across the Country--Part 1

Biddeford, ME--Erie, PA (16 hours)

If driving across the country wasn't enough of a prospect, how about driving east from Vermont to Maine, then turning right around and heading west?! Right-O...that is exactly how Lindsay and I began our journey west.

There isn't much to report about this leg of the journey. Oh, maybe the rain, the dreariness of central New York, and the depressing flatness of Erie, could evoke a few minor explitives and/or disgruntled shrugs, but there really wasn't much. When we reached Erie, we did stay in our one and only hotel for the trips duration--a dog-friendly Best Western that was so overpriced, we swore we were staying in a luxury suite overlooking Central Park. What was kind of funny though was the dog show that was scheduled for the following day in downtown Erie. We woke up to perfectly primped poodles, terriers, and what-have-yous prancing around the side door of the hotel. Mabel's feathers were ruffled.

Erie, PA--Chicago, IL (9.5 hours)
Off we go again. By now, I think we had just about had enough of the mid-Atlantic. We quickly got PA behind us, and in under an hour we were enjoying I-90 through Ohio (rain, and a lot of it!). Lindsay slept most of the way through this and the following state (Indiana--go Hoosiers!!), but woke up in Illinois to a tractor trailor blowing out one of its rear tires. Boring, I'm telling you. Once we hit Chicago, we paid our final astronomically-high toll, and slipped rapidly over the bridge into the city.

Once there, we were warned by our friend of a street fair going on throughout the neighborhood he lived in. To add our already bug-eyed shock of big city gawk, we now had to navigate pedestrians and blocked streets. It ended up not being all that traumatic, in fact, we found our buddy's apartment building in no time and herded Mabel right inside and into the safety of his apartment.

What we thought was going to a tricky little endeavor turned out to be pretty fun. Apparently, downtown Chicago is pretty pet-friendly, so we were able to find a Mexican restaurant with outside seating that also accomodated the young ruffian, Mabel. While there, she nearly ate a miniature poodle, but in all her performance was that of a solid "B" student. Not bad for being thrown to the fire after being in the car for over 20 hours.

Chicago also has beaches. It is on one of the great lakes, but it is still so strange and somewhat surreal like a scene from a Ray Bradbury novel. Prior to this trip our only experience with beaches has been at beach towns where the tallest building abutting the ocean beach was a 3 story motel, NOT a 15 story highrise. Mabel ate sand and water, but we are happy to report there were no sand castles.

Chicago, IL--Sioux Falls, SD (11 hours)
Back on the road. Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, all of these states offer mile after mile of straight and bleak roadways spanning endless asphalt along the I-90 corridor through the northern Midwest. Farm land, vast horizons, large trucks, minivans with children strapped to passenger seats playing video games and watching movies on televisions built into seats. This is middle America, and we wanted to forget about it as soon as we passed through it. I think this is where Lindsay and I started to act a little weird too, and Mabel began to notice something was strange with her parents.

One thing of interest was Castle Rock in Wisconsin. Out of the shrub-covered plains of milk country sprouted these strange pinnacles of soft sandstone. Lindsay and I both thought, "Hell, let's climb these!" But we soon found out that it was nothing more than choss (climber lingo for loss, dangerous, and otherwise unappetizing rock) that appeared to be solid.

It was also around this time that Lindsay began to wear her pajamas...all day long.

We arrived that evening to Sioux Falls, SD to a rally car race across the street from our campground and a barking dog with styrofoam-using, car camping owners to our left. We ate and quickly went to sleep.

The following morning was the first morning that it was truly cold out. Where the hell were our hats and gloves? Didn't know, didn't care, just eager to get motoring. By this time is was June 16th, and we were on schedule. Next stop, Eastern Wyoming...

Sioux Falls, SD--somewhere in Eastern Wyoming (15 hours)
With the windy city behind us, a great portion of the monotonous driving to our east and mountains somewhere to our west, Lindsay and I were revitalized and jazzed to get back on I-90 and push the speedometer back up to 80 mph again. She took the first leg of the driving, getting us to the 1880 Town--a put together old west town using original buildings and original artifacts from that time period. I thought it was going to be a tourist trap, but it wasn't. Replete with the "Dances with Wolves Museum" (a good portion of the movie was filmed on the plains surrounding this town), and original photographs of General Custer, Doc Holiday, and Theodore Roosevelt, I was in educator's heaven.

The walk through the town was quick, but you can see the remainder of our pictures on the slide show at the end.

We then headed for the Badlands, then Custer State Park (the Needles climbing area!!), and Mount Rushmore (overrated, but scenic nonetheless). Both Lindsay and I were shocked that the National Park Service allowed Tourons to hike all over the petrified mud towers in the Badlands. Granted, many of them are very low angle, but quite a few rise to dizzying heights with a fair bit of vertical ground to the summit.

After a quick drive thru of the Badlands, we set our sights on the Needles--a section of Custer State Park that is home to bowling pin-shaped spires of exfoliating granite. We were approached by a young, newly-married couple, asking if we'd seen a Brit named Richard. We thought they were talking about the famed British climber, Richard Heap, but they weren't. Nevertheless, they showed a great 3-pitch route up Aquarium Rock. It was climbed in the 50s at a traditional grade of 5.3--now I think it clocks in closer to 5.6. (The route was not very well protected at all...I think we used a total of 6 or 7 pieces of gear for the route, 2 of which were slung chickenheads. However, I think that was about par for any route in the Needles.)

Eastern Wyoming--Jackson, Wy (15 hours)
I'm not going to speak much about this beautiful part of the country. Instead, I'm going to say a few words, then let the slideshow take you on the leg of this journey.

Bison galore, mating burros, geysers, large predatory beasts, small foraging animals and bumper to bumper traffic. This is what Yellowstone was--Grand and glorious, humbling and humorous, the dichotomy of the natural world and American commercialism.

End of part 1...