listening after dark

Crazy adventures

This week my family brought to my attention some people who are undertaking pretty cool adventures:

• Dan, Alison, Sonia and Gus at Shut Up and Pedal! are biking across the U.S. as a family. The kids aren't even that old, so it's pretty impressive.

• Zac Sunderland just began a round-the-world solo boat trip. He's 16. If he finishes it in the next year, he'll set a world record for the youngest person to sail alone around the world.

Also, my friend Lisa is currently in Ghana, and a former Santa Fe co-worker has been traveling around South America for several months.

All this just makes me want to go somewhere. So it's a good thing I depart for Montreal in just 11 days. It's not a sea cruise or a bike expedition, but it will include family, so it will definitely be good enough for now.

Getting out of town, mmmmeat pie, hi house

There's been lots of communicating going on lately: phone calls, hanging out with some new friends, planning a trip to Colorado for a weekend with some college friends (leaving tomorrow morning! yay!). I haven't spent much time on my computer at home...I've been getting plenty of that at work.

When I am on the computer, it seems like I'm always looking up something relating to vehicles. I did some test drives last weekend and learned a few good things:
• The Honda Fit is not for me.
• The Toyota Matrix is a little better.
• I really just love my Subaru.

So when Elmer starts to sound worse, I'll probably look for a used Impreza or Legacy wagon. Why not stick with what works, eh? (Except for my sickening engine...which most sources say is unusual for my not-quite-150k miles.)

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Last night I made a meat pie. I had no idea it was so easy. And I must forever from now on use butter in my pastry crusts. Whyever was I using Crisco when butter makes it so much flakier and tastier?

After having leftover meat pie for lunch (which maybe tasted even better after a night in the fridge), I probably shouldn't have had that huge burger and beer for dinner...even though I only finished about half of each. These days I'm not able to eat as much as I used to. I can definitely tell my metabolism is slowing down. I also think having a desk job these past four years has really put a kink in my preferred routines. When I'm busy doing things at home or elsewhere, I don't really think about food until I'm hungry. But when I'm sitting at a desk all day, it's much easier to snack or think of snacking. If I didn't walk to work and get that hour of exercise every weekday, I would be having an even harder time.

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My mom sent me this cool photo of their house from above (click for a larger pop-up). It's the orangey one in the middle with the white trim, just to the right of the steeple. I forget how lush Walla Walla can be in the spring and summer. We moved there directly from Olympia, so it seemed like a desert. But now, after living in New Mexico and Wyoming, even eastern Washington seems verdant.

Sun and sand, anyone?

I've never thought of myself as an island girl, but this seems like a good time to learn. My job has just offered the opportunity to work for six months in the Virgin Islands as a research assistant. It's part of a grant that we're in the process of, most likely, finalizing. I still don't know most of the details, but wow! Who would have thought I could go from Washington to New Mexico to Wyoming to...the Virgin Islands? It's too much to process right now. More to come...

Off to lands of corn

Nebraska and Iowa, here I come! (Sadly, Shelly, I'll still be 400 miles from Minneapolis. This country is too dang big!)

See y'all next week.

Io-way

At the risk of jinxing my plans, I'll be heading to Iowa next weekend to hang out in a friend's hometown. I was planning a long weekend to South Dakota, but things fell through with my friends. (No hard feelings, in case you're reading this! We'll do it next spring.)

So now it's Io-way for me! Via Nebraska...very wide Nebraska. However, I have been meaning to remedy the way I ignored middle America on my grand road trip. It's about time I suffered through visited Nebraska. And Iowa. It's definitely time for a visit to Carhenge. I mean, I've already seen Fridgehenge, so what comes after these? Are there any more henges?

And this weekend I'll be house/dog/cat/fish-sitting for a family from my church. Last-minute, but it sounds like fun. Plus they have huge TVs, tons of DVDs and a garden I can pilfer at will. Hello, rhubarb pie!

Swiftly comes autumn

Saturday, warm sun and wind.

Now, rain and cold nights.

I burrow under my down comforter and find it hard to wake in near-darkness.

Time for baking, long evenings, hours of reading, all my favorite music.

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This time last year, New Mexico:

Two years ago, North Dakota:

Three years ago, Washington:

A taste of adventure

Back from 10 days of driving, friends, family and fun. Highlights: watching Chelsea and Bill get married, dancing and laughing with friends, meeting new friends, Seattle rain, hanging with the fam in Walla Walla, long driving days with my brother, Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana, Manito Park in Spokane, fog in Idaho, hang gliding in Wyoming (!!), lots more rain. Oh, and good food: wedding weekend dinners, dim sum in Seattle's Chinatown, IceBurg milkshakes, steak and fancy s'mores at the campsite.

Below is just a sample of the fun. I'll be putting many more photos into a new album (which is, shockingly, pink in honor of Chelsea's wedding).

Now I shall away...

I'm taking off this morning for a wedding in Seattle, via Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington. Going to camp, visit friends, arrange flowers, see my parents, traverse from there back to here with my brother, camp some more, go hang gliding over the Tetons (!!) and more. Meanwhile, I'm sending my laptop to get the DVD reader fixed. We'll be back in a couple of weeks.

Wyoming fun facts

Wyoming is the least populated state in the nation, with even less people than Alaska (and the District of Columbia). (By comparison, New Mexico is 36th out of 50, and Washington is 14th.)

State residents are called Wyomingites. Ahhh, now I know.

Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote, in 1869, partly so it could get enough votes to be officially considered a state. It also had the first female governor, in 1924.

Wal-Mart is the sixth largest employer in Casper.

Casper's sunshine average is 275 days per year. (In Santa Fe, it's something like 300.)

On the Oregon Trail route between Missouri and Boise, Idaho (more than 1,500 miles), Casper is the largest city.

Dick Cheney was raised in Casper.

The state dinosaur is the triceratops.

India: More photos!

I added many more India photos over the past few days. With captions. This is probably all I'll put up, unless I discover I missed some crucial scenes or places. Enjoy!