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Now playing: Sister Hazel - Your Winter
via FoxyTunes
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Scotty the Hamper Monster
My brother Scott has many skills, including being able to turn the average household object into an opportunity to ambush unsuspecting bad guys, as pictured below. That's why we formed the Delta Force Rescue Squad, because we have skill.
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Now playing: Sister Hazel - Your Winter
via FoxyTunes
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Now playing: Sister Hazel - Your Winter
via FoxyTunes
It's A Mystery To Me
So, about 15 minutes ago I opened my fridge up looking for a drink or a snack, and I found this:
It puzzles me because I did some quick grocery shopping the other day and specifically did not buy bagels because I rarely make it through the package, I end up throwing away 2-3 moldy bagels, and that just doesn't make me feel good. But then I went home this weekend and had some mini-bagels, and they were freaking delicious. So I've had bagels on the brain.
Either way, I didn't buy any bagels, but then there's an opened package of bagels and cream cheese in my fridge (reason #1 it's not me being crazy, I have my half-used package of the same cream cheese, I found it). Huh. I figure its no reason to become scared, because whoever broke in my apartment left food, and that's the best kind of burglar there is!
(And yes, I do have eggs floating around my fridge, the container went to Washington with me and disintegrated.)
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Now playing: O.A.R. - Heard the World
via FoxyTunes
It puzzles me because I did some quick grocery shopping the other day and specifically did not buy bagels because I rarely make it through the package, I end up throwing away 2-3 moldy bagels, and that just doesn't make me feel good. But then I went home this weekend and had some mini-bagels, and they were freaking delicious. So I've had bagels on the brain.
Either way, I didn't buy any bagels, but then there's an opened package of bagels and cream cheese in my fridge (reason #1 it's not me being crazy, I have my half-used package of the same cream cheese, I found it). Huh. I figure its no reason to become scared, because whoever broke in my apartment left food, and that's the best kind of burglar there is!
(And yes, I do have eggs floating around my fridge, the container went to Washington with me and disintegrated.)
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Now playing: O.A.R. - Heard the World
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Days 4 & 5: Pop Culture Has Made Me an Uber Geek
Thursday I left the Hoh Rain Forest, utterly pleased with the entire experience. On my way to my next destination I got to drive through Forks, Washington. Its about the cutest town I've ever seen. I kept my eyes peeled for sparkling vampires, but didn't see any. However, I did spend a while next to the side of highway taking my picture next to the "Entering Forks" sign, because I had to.
My next stop was the Elwah Valley. Here I learned that rivers make V-shaped valleys, while glaciers make U-shaped valleys. This is a fun fact I hope to use often. This valley has lots of large trees, all of which are covered in mosses and ferns; however, it is lowland forest, not a rain forest. Whatever they call it, its glorious. As I hiked along the trails here, viewing endless valleys of forest, I kept thinking "It would be so cool if I were a vampire, or had a vampire, and could run through this at super speed." Then I would think about slapping myself, because there's no such things as vampires, and no one can run through the forest at super speed without running into a tree, or at least spraining an ankle.
I spent a good deal of time bush-whacking my way through the forest, and feeling like an Ewok everytime I struggled to climb over a downed log. Then I would wonder why climbing over logs made me feel like a cute, yet fictional furry creature from another planet.
The plan for my last day was to check out the Hurricane Ridge area, then ride a ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. And I completed half of my plan. There were some nay-sayers around before I left on my trip, saying things like "You'll be cold." and "You won't see much, all the roads are going to be closed." To these nay-saying ninnies, I say "Ha Ha!" Once on the peninsula the sun was shining the whole time, and all the roads were open (I know, I know, central Washington was a different story). Hurricane Ridge was full of glorious views. I had intended to do a little snowshoeing there, but I had bigger fish to fry, so I just took in the view (and it was quite the view). (Plus the trails were like 10-30 miles, and I just can't do that with my snowshoes).
My next stop was Port Angeles, Washington, where there is a ferry to Victoria. Unfortunately, the ferry left Port Angeles at 2:00, then returned at 4:00. If I had waited a couple months there would have been more trips, but not during March. I was so bummed. But I decided to take advantage of what I could find in that cute little coastal town. I saw some really cool birds, and had good Indian food. I also saw the biggest black dog I've ever seen, and wondered if it was Sirius Black. Seriously. I'm a little scared for what will happen when I go to New Zealand, I'll probably spend the whole time thinking "If I were a hobbit..." Or "If Gandalf were here..." I've read so many books and watched so many movies (and loved them all so much) that I can't function in natural systems without bringing them into the dialogue.
Then I decided it was definitely time to head home. On my way I got to stop along the Columbia River near Bonneville Dam. Then I got locked into the project area and once I got out I decided it would be a poor choice to stop by all the other Columbia River dams. However, I did get to see them. The drive along the river is so gorgeous, I just couldn't help but think how much cooler it would be without all the those stinking dams turning it all into one long river. Eh.
The rest of my journey home merits some commentary, but its time to go to bed, and I've posted a lot to day, so I'll leave it until tomorrow. The moral of this entire story is that I had a ton of fun exploring the Olympic Peninsula, I want to go back again, immediately, but I'll wait until I'm done with this silly school thing. I recommend everyone visit, I think its good for your health to touch the ocean and the rain forest. Hmm. More dialogue to come soon.
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Now playing: Ben Harper - Burn One Down
via FoxyTunes
My next stop was the Elwah Valley. Here I learned that rivers make V-shaped valleys, while glaciers make U-shaped valleys. This is a fun fact I hope to use often. This valley has lots of large trees, all of which are covered in mosses and ferns; however, it is lowland forest, not a rain forest. Whatever they call it, its glorious. As I hiked along the trails here, viewing endless valleys of forest, I kept thinking "It would be so cool if I were a vampire, or had a vampire, and could run through this at super speed." Then I would think about slapping myself, because there's no such things as vampires, and no one can run through the forest at super speed without running into a tree, or at least spraining an ankle.
I spent a good deal of time bush-whacking my way through the forest, and feeling like an Ewok everytime I struggled to climb over a downed log. Then I would wonder why climbing over logs made me feel like a cute, yet fictional furry creature from another planet.
The plan for my last day was to check out the Hurricane Ridge area, then ride a ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. And I completed half of my plan. There were some nay-sayers around before I left on my trip, saying things like "You'll be cold." and "You won't see much, all the roads are going to be closed." To these nay-saying ninnies, I say "Ha Ha!" Once on the peninsula the sun was shining the whole time, and all the roads were open (I know, I know, central Washington was a different story). Hurricane Ridge was full of glorious views. I had intended to do a little snowshoeing there, but I had bigger fish to fry, so I just took in the view (and it was quite the view). (Plus the trails were like 10-30 miles, and I just can't do that with my snowshoes).
My next stop was Port Angeles, Washington, where there is a ferry to Victoria. Unfortunately, the ferry left Port Angeles at 2:00, then returned at 4:00. If I had waited a couple months there would have been more trips, but not during March. I was so bummed. But I decided to take advantage of what I could find in that cute little coastal town. I saw some really cool birds, and had good Indian food. I also saw the biggest black dog I've ever seen, and wondered if it was Sirius Black. Seriously. I'm a little scared for what will happen when I go to New Zealand, I'll probably spend the whole time thinking "If I were a hobbit..." Or "If Gandalf were here..." I've read so many books and watched so many movies (and loved them all so much) that I can't function in natural systems without bringing them into the dialogue.
Then I decided it was definitely time to head home. On my way I got to stop along the Columbia River near Bonneville Dam. Then I got locked into the project area and once I got out I decided it would be a poor choice to stop by all the other Columbia River dams. However, I did get to see them. The drive along the river is so gorgeous, I just couldn't help but think how much cooler it would be without all the those stinking dams turning it all into one long river. Eh.
The rest of my journey home merits some commentary, but its time to go to bed, and I've posted a lot to day, so I'll leave it until tomorrow. The moral of this entire story is that I had a ton of fun exploring the Olympic Peninsula, I want to go back again, immediately, but I'll wait until I'm done with this silly school thing. I recommend everyone visit, I think its good for your health to touch the ocean and the rain forest. Hmm. More dialogue to come soon. ----------------
Now playing: Ben Harper - Burn One Down
via FoxyTunes
Day 3: Rain Forest Shenanigans
On the 3rd day of my Pacific Northwest Adventure I went to the Hoh Rain forest. I know I said the Quinault Rain forest was everything I dreamed it would be, but the Hoh was more than I could ever dream was possible. I tend to use the word awesome excessively, but not here. Here the term for everything is "Friggin' Magnificent!"
First off, I found a Big Cedar (that's what the sign called it) that I could stand inside. Friggin' Magnificent.
Then I got to hike around the rain forest for like 7 hours. Plus, it was 311 Day. This was also the day I exemplified my super adult-like responsibility and called Mom on a pay phone because I didn't have any cell phone service, and I knew she would worry. Yeah me.
Again, the green here was more than I could handle. I was on sensory overload. There was so much to see and hear and touch and smell. I suppose I could have licked things, just to add to the stimulation,but that seemed dangerous. I learned cool things about the plants there, the epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants) don't damage their host plants here because they can get enough water and nutrients out of the atmosphere. There are club mosses and licorice ferns hanging from all the trees here. Friggin' Magnificent!
There were also giant stumps that were big enough for me to stand in (an hollowed out, so I could literally stand in them).
I also learned about the importance of having deep roots. There's so much rain in the Hoh valley (like 150 inches a year (that's more than 12 feet)) that the trees don't need to grow deep roots to gain the water and nutrients they need (this is not true of the trees you'll find in Utah). Unfortunately, as the trees grow to be over 200 feet tall, their root system becomes too inadequate to hold the trees upright during windstorms, thus there are major blow downs during winter storms. This has very clear family-type analogies to me: I can't blow over that easily because I have a freaking wonderful family that keeps me well grounded and provides stability during storms.
The only disappointment here was that I couldn't find any fairies having dance parties on the shelf fungi (its a reference to "Ferngully." If you haven't seen it, go watch it immediately, then you'll understand my preoccupation with rain forests, it started when I was like 6).
There was a little bit of danger to be had during this trip. There were warning signs all over the place about elk charging visitors because they got too close. Well, I didn't need any warning. I'd already been gored once by an elk. I suppose the scariest part of the threat here was that the Olympic Peninsula has its own subspecies of elk- Roosevelt Elk. I kept my eyes peeled for these creatures, sure that they were probably stalking me and trying to figure out how best to gore me. Luckily, I only found signs that they had been there before me, like the foot prints and scat pictured below (that's right, I'm posting pictures of poo on my blog).
It was actually kind of scary to me though. There was some random thumping going on, and the only thing I could make of it was that Thumper was around somewhere (then I remembered that Thumper was a rabbit from "Bambi" and real rabbits probably didn't have the same tick). Sometimes I stopped and just listened, then my stomach would rumble a little bit and I hoped that it wouldn't be interpretted as bugling, because I really didn't want to duel with a bull elk at the end of the rut.
One of the great things about rain forest hiking is that its pretty low elevation. I hiked 12 miles in 5 hours and only gained about 250 feet of elevation. And I was in heaven. The Hoh River is pretty cool. It looks a little desolate because everything is grey, but the grey stuff is cool because its "glacial flour" which I imagine would make about the worst bread ever.
I slept really well that night, right next to the Hoh River (and pretty close the the Hoh Road, which made me giggle, because I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy). Friggin' Magnificent!
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Now playing: Barenaked Ladies - Pinch Me
via FoxyTunes
First off, I found a Big Cedar (that's what the sign called it) that I could stand inside. Friggin' Magnificent.
Then I got to hike around the rain forest for like 7 hours. Plus, it was 311 Day. This was also the day I exemplified my super adult-like responsibility and called Mom on a pay phone because I didn't have any cell phone service, and I knew she would worry. Yeah me.
Again, the green here was more than I could handle. I was on sensory overload. There was so much to see and hear and touch and smell. I suppose I could have licked things, just to add to the stimulation,but that seemed dangerous. I learned cool things about the plants there, the epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants) don't damage their host plants here because they can get enough water and nutrients out of the atmosphere. There are club mosses and licorice ferns hanging from all the trees here. Friggin' Magnificent!
There were also giant stumps that were big enough for me to stand in (an hollowed out, so I could literally stand in them).
I also learned about the importance of having deep roots. There's so much rain in the Hoh valley (like 150 inches a year (that's more than 12 feet)) that the trees don't need to grow deep roots to gain the water and nutrients they need (this is not true of the trees you'll find in Utah). Unfortunately, as the trees grow to be over 200 feet tall, their root system becomes too inadequate to hold the trees upright during windstorms, thus there are major blow downs during winter storms. This has very clear family-type analogies to me: I can't blow over that easily because I have a freaking wonderful family that keeps me well grounded and provides stability during storms.
The only disappointment here was that I couldn't find any fairies having dance parties on the shelf fungi (its a reference to "Ferngully." If you haven't seen it, go watch it immediately, then you'll understand my preoccupation with rain forests, it started when I was like 6).
There was a little bit of danger to be had during this trip. There were warning signs all over the place about elk charging visitors because they got too close. Well, I didn't need any warning. I'd already been gored once by an elk. I suppose the scariest part of the threat here was that the Olympic Peninsula has its own subspecies of elk- Roosevelt Elk. I kept my eyes peeled for these creatures, sure that they were probably stalking me and trying to figure out how best to gore me. Luckily, I only found signs that they had been there before me, like the foot prints and scat pictured below (that's right, I'm posting pictures of poo on my blog). 
It was actually kind of scary to me though. There was some random thumping going on, and the only thing I could make of it was that Thumper was around somewhere (then I remembered that Thumper was a rabbit from "Bambi" and real rabbits probably didn't have the same tick). Sometimes I stopped and just listened, then my stomach would rumble a little bit and I hoped that it wouldn't be interpretted as bugling, because I really didn't want to duel with a bull elk at the end of the rut.
One of the great things about rain forest hiking is that its pretty low elevation. I hiked 12 miles in 5 hours and only gained about 250 feet of elevation. And I was in heaven. The Hoh River is pretty cool. It looks a little desolate because everything is grey, but the grey stuff is cool because its "glacial flour" which I imagine would make about the worst bread ever.
I slept really well that night, right next to the Hoh River (and pretty close the the Hoh Road, which made me giggle, because I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy). Friggin' Magnificent!
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Now playing: Barenaked Ladies - Pinch Me
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Becka Makes It to the Pacific Ocean
Day 2 of my Pacific Northwest Journey was definitely a success. I woke up refreshed and headed west a few hours to my final destination. The drive there was almost interesting, I passed an area where you could view Mount St. Helen's, here's what's left of it (it lost about 1,000 vertical feet when it exploded).
Things really started to get entertaining when I finally made it to the Olympic National Forest. Ohmyfreakingheck! It was absolutely gorgeous! My first stop was the Quinault Rain forest. This portion of the peninsula is part Indian Reservation, part National Forest, all awesome!
Here I am, in the first of a set of pictures I'll call "Becka Poses With Big Trees." This is a Douglas Fir, it's like 400 years old, and epically tall.
The further I hiked through the rain forest, the better it got. There's something green growing on everything! The picture below shows exactly how nurse logs promote forest growth. Awesome, right?
There was moss hanging from everything, the trees were huge...I was in heaven. There were also cute signs like this.
I also found the largest Sitka Spruce (it has 922 AFA points, and is 191 feet tall, quite the tree).
After the dazzling day in the rain forest, I set off to spend the night in a real camp ground, and found the most amazing camp site ever! It was in Kalaloch on a bluff overlooking the ocean, and it was everything I dreamed it would be. I spent a couple hours just wandering along the beach, trying to find sand dollars (I found two), and putting my feet in the ocean (apparently I don't understand exactly how waves work, because I ended up wet up to my knees, and freezing cold).
As I gazed at the powerful surf there I had absolutely no desire to try and kayak there, it was freaking intense. There was really cool drift logs on the beach (entire trees, the same trees I had been oogling in the forest had been floated down the rivers, into the ocean, and back up on the beach), and a river. I went to bed with the best view ever.
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Now playing: Matchbox 20 - 3 A.M.
via FoxyTunes
Things really started to get entertaining when I finally made it to the Olympic National Forest. Ohmyfreakingheck! It was absolutely gorgeous! My first stop was the Quinault Rain forest. This portion of the peninsula is part Indian Reservation, part National Forest, all awesome!
Here I am, in the first of a set of pictures I'll call "Becka Poses With Big Trees." This is a Douglas Fir, it's like 400 years old, and epically tall.
The further I hiked through the rain forest, the better it got. There's something green growing on everything! The picture below shows exactly how nurse logs promote forest growth. Awesome, right?
There was moss hanging from everything, the trees were huge...I was in heaven. There were also cute signs like this.
I also found the largest Sitka Spruce (it has 922 AFA points, and is 191 feet tall, quite the tree).
After the dazzling day in the rain forest, I set off to spend the night in a real camp ground, and found the most amazing camp site ever! It was in Kalaloch on a bluff overlooking the ocean, and it was everything I dreamed it would be. I spent a couple hours just wandering along the beach, trying to find sand dollars (I found two), and putting my feet in the ocean (apparently I don't understand exactly how waves work, because I ended up wet up to my knees, and freezing cold).
As I gazed at the powerful surf there I had absolutely no desire to try and kayak there, it was freaking intense. There was really cool drift logs on the beach (entire trees, the same trees I had been oogling in the forest had been floated down the rivers, into the ocean, and back up on the beach), and a river. I went to bed with the best view ever.
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Now playing: Matchbox 20 - 3 A.M.
via FoxyTunes
Becka's Epic Northwest Adventure: Day 1
So, it was really difficult getting to Washington last Monday. I ran into 3 snow storms...in one day! Snowstorm 1 was happening when I left Logan. Before I could pack everything into my truck I had to shovel about 8 inches of snow out of the back. That sucked.
I hit snowstorm 2 around 5 o'clock in Oregon. This one didn't dump a ton of snow, but what it did dump froze to the freeway immediately. At one point I was pretty sure it was OK to pass the overly-cautious car in front of me, but just as the thought went through my brain I started sliding. It went a little like this:
In the end, my truck stopped perpendicular to the freeway, but still enough on the freeway that I didn't need a tow-truck to continue my journey. Incidentally, this happened near "Dead man's Pass." A horrible name for such a scary portion of the freeway. After that I fell in line behind the Oncoming Semi until we came to fair weather.
It might seem a little dumb, but I thought I'd take a picture of what the roads looked like. Can you see how shiny the road is? That's because it's pretty much sheer ice!
A few hours later I made it to the Hanford Reach area. It was pretty sparsely populated. I found some entrances, but they were closed (in the scariest way, there were flood lights and signs warning that they could search any cars they wanted to, and there were rumble strips in the middle the the road that made it sound like your tires were shot out when you ran over them). Feeling very dejected, I decided to press on to Mt. Rainer. Looking back at it, there really wasn't any other choice. There was nowhere to stay in that area (except a private camp ground that looked like it was managed by murderers, seriously), and according to Google Maps, Mt. Rainier was only about 1 1/2 hours away.
Well, in between Hanford Reach and Mt. Rainier I ran into Snowstorm 3. And it was a doozy. As I drove through Yakima, Washington I scoped out campsites, but the state park there was closed, and the R.V. Park looked lame, so I kept on keeping on. White Pass lies between Yakima and Middle Of Nowhere Washington, and it was quite snowy. As scary as it was driving along Highway 12 peering over the edge of the cliff at Rimrock Lake, it was also kind of wonderful. Through this 2-3 hour portion of my journey I only passed two other vehicles, going the other direction. It was really the definition of solitude. Just me, the snow, and the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It was great. Then I reached the road that would take me to Mt. Rainier and it was closed! I was disappointed, again, and tired (I'd been driving for 13 hours by this point), so I decided to sleep in the first place I found.
I got a lot of crap for that one time I took Gus on a snow-mobiling trail, so I thought I'd include a picture of a clearly closed road (as pictured above). That pile of snow, in addition to the road barriers, tell me that I cannot take my truck any further down that road.
There wasn't really a town nearby, and as I tried to press on the wind started blowing and making it hard for my tired eyes to discern the correct lane on the road, so I opted to sleep at a rest area. Now, before anyone starts to worry, I'm still alive. As I weighed my options there, at 2:00 in the morning, I knew that statistically my odds of getting in a drowsy-driving accident were high (it's just as bad as drunk driving), while my odds of being murdered at a rest stop (particularly on a rest stop along a state road) were limited mostly to urban legends, so I stopped and fell asleep. As I was falling asleep I went through the scenarios that would result in my rest-stop-death, I figured if there was someone around this rest area, in an unincorporated portion of Washington adjacent the the Tatoosh Wilderness Area, in the middle of a snowstorm, they would be absolutely crazy and would inevitably kill me. So I pulled the pepper spray out of my glove box and fell asleep.
I woke up 6 hours later feeling so much better. I wasn't killed by a scary Pacific-Northwest-Brand Serial Killer (Dad's biggest fear), my stuff was all wrapped up in a tarp, and I was feeling pretty good. The snow had stopped, the plows had come through, and I had survived the night...warm too. Here's how Gus looked in my lonely rest area.
Having gotten most of a night's sleep, I was ready to press on to the Olympic Peninsula.
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Now playing: O.A.R. - Delicate Few
via FoxyTunes
I hit snowstorm 2 around 5 o'clock in Oregon. This one didn't dump a ton of snow, but what it did dump froze to the freeway immediately. At one point I was pretty sure it was OK to pass the overly-cautious car in front of me, but just as the thought went through my brain I started sliding. It went a little like this:
In the end, my truck stopped perpendicular to the freeway, but still enough on the freeway that I didn't need a tow-truck to continue my journey. Incidentally, this happened near "Dead man's Pass." A horrible name for such a scary portion of the freeway. After that I fell in line behind the Oncoming Semi until we came to fair weather.
It might seem a little dumb, but I thought I'd take a picture of what the roads looked like. Can you see how shiny the road is? That's because it's pretty much sheer ice!A few hours later I made it to the Hanford Reach area. It was pretty sparsely populated. I found some entrances, but they were closed (in the scariest way, there were flood lights and signs warning that they could search any cars they wanted to, and there were rumble strips in the middle the the road that made it sound like your tires were shot out when you ran over them). Feeling very dejected, I decided to press on to Mt. Rainer. Looking back at it, there really wasn't any other choice. There was nowhere to stay in that area (except a private camp ground that looked like it was managed by murderers, seriously), and according to Google Maps, Mt. Rainier was only about 1 1/2 hours away.
Well, in between Hanford Reach and Mt. Rainier I ran into Snowstorm 3. And it was a doozy. As I drove through Yakima, Washington I scoped out campsites, but the state park there was closed, and the R.V. Park looked lame, so I kept on keeping on. White Pass lies between Yakima and Middle Of Nowhere Washington, and it was quite snowy. As scary as it was driving along Highway 12 peering over the edge of the cliff at Rimrock Lake, it was also kind of wonderful. Through this 2-3 hour portion of my journey I only passed two other vehicles, going the other direction. It was really the definition of solitude. Just me, the snow, and the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It was great. Then I reached the road that would take me to Mt. Rainier and it was closed! I was disappointed, again, and tired (I'd been driving for 13 hours by this point), so I decided to sleep in the first place I found.
I got a lot of crap for that one time I took Gus on a snow-mobiling trail, so I thought I'd include a picture of a clearly closed road (as pictured above). That pile of snow, in addition to the road barriers, tell me that I cannot take my truck any further down that road. There wasn't really a town nearby, and as I tried to press on the wind started blowing and making it hard for my tired eyes to discern the correct lane on the road, so I opted to sleep at a rest area. Now, before anyone starts to worry, I'm still alive. As I weighed my options there, at 2:00 in the morning, I knew that statistically my odds of getting in a drowsy-driving accident were high (it's just as bad as drunk driving), while my odds of being murdered at a rest stop (particularly on a rest stop along a state road) were limited mostly to urban legends, so I stopped and fell asleep. As I was falling asleep I went through the scenarios that would result in my rest-stop-death, I figured if there was someone around this rest area, in an unincorporated portion of Washington adjacent the the Tatoosh Wilderness Area, in the middle of a snowstorm, they would be absolutely crazy and would inevitably kill me. So I pulled the pepper spray out of my glove box and fell asleep.
I woke up 6 hours later feeling so much better. I wasn't killed by a scary Pacific-Northwest-Brand Serial Killer (Dad's biggest fear), my stuff was all wrapped up in a tarp, and I was feeling pretty good. The snow had stopped, the plows had come through, and I had survived the night...warm too. Here's how Gus looked in my lonely rest area.
Having gotten most of a night's sleep, I was ready to press on to the Olympic Peninsula. ----------------
Now playing: O.A.R. - Delicate Few
via FoxyTunes
Commentary on the Great Northwest Adventure
Well, I'm going to start downloading the silly things I had to say now, they'll be ready to post in a few days. Anyways, I saw amazing things on my trip to Washington. It was rather harrowing to get there, but once I hit the coast the weather was amazing, the trees were huge, and I was in geek heaven!!!
Here are some of my geeky thoughts while on the beach.
And here are some rain forest musings. I'm trying to stifle my excitement enough to communicate a coherent thought, but it was difficult.
This last one is in the lowland forest of the Elwah Valley.
I don't have as many fun factoids as my last trip, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The scenery was unbelievable, the weather was gorgeous, and there was just way too much to do. I'm going back ASAP.
Here are some of my geeky thoughts while on the beach.
And here are some rain forest musings. I'm trying to stifle my excitement enough to communicate a coherent thought, but it was difficult.
This last one is in the lowland forest of the Elwah Valley.
I don't have as many fun factoids as my last trip, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The scenery was unbelievable, the weather was gorgeous, and there was just way too much to do. I'm going back ASAP.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Becka's Epic Northwest Adventure
Monday I leave for my next big adventure: Washington. I've got a half-cocked scheme that I'm working on cementing in place, but I can already tell I'm going to need some wiggle room. I don't know what the weather will be like. I imagine it will be rainy, but I'm hoping not too cold. Either way, there is way too much for me to see, so I'm currently just planning on 4 or 5 stops (not counting interpretive highway pull-outs (its another compulsion, I must pull over and read what they have to say). So here's the overall route to get there:
View Larger Map
(google maps is so cool you can move the map around within my blog (boo ya!). Point A is my home, I'll start from there around 9:00, if everything goes according to plan. Point B is Hanford Reach National Monument. They manufactured plutonium here, which isn't so rad, but it is an important part of our country's history I plan on exploring a bit. Point C is Mount Rainier National Park. At 14,410 feet, Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascades. I don't plan on climbing it, but I will explore the park a bit. I will likely end up spending my first night here, or somewhere between Points C and D ("somewhere" being a designated camp site). Point D is the ultimate destination: Olympic National Park. It's a rain forest, in the United States! How freaking rad is that?!?!?! There's so much to see here, I just don't even know where to start. I'm going to see the Hoh Rain forest, maybe Hurricane Ridge. I'm going to try and spot some wildlife along the coast. Then I think I'll take the ferry to Victoria, Canada (yeah me, using my passport). I may come home Friday afternoon, or maybe Saturday. Whatever happens, I'll will definitely be home by Sunday.
I'm so freaking excited I can barely make myself go to work tomorrow. Hooray! My trip will be amazing. And there is very little chance I will get stranded anywhere, so that's a plus.
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Now playing: Dropkick Murphys - Which Side Are You On
via FoxyTunes
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(google maps is so cool you can move the map around within my blog (boo ya!). Point A is my home, I'll start from there around 9:00, if everything goes according to plan. Point B is Hanford Reach National Monument. They manufactured plutonium here, which isn't so rad, but it is an important part of our country's history I plan on exploring a bit. Point C is Mount Rainier National Park. At 14,410 feet, Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascades. I don't plan on climbing it, but I will explore the park a bit. I will likely end up spending my first night here, or somewhere between Points C and D ("somewhere" being a designated camp site). Point D is the ultimate destination: Olympic National Park. It's a rain forest, in the United States! How freaking rad is that?!?!?! There's so much to see here, I just don't even know where to start. I'm going to see the Hoh Rain forest, maybe Hurricane Ridge. I'm going to try and spot some wildlife along the coast. Then I think I'll take the ferry to Victoria, Canada (yeah me, using my passport). I may come home Friday afternoon, or maybe Saturday. Whatever happens, I'll will definitely be home by Sunday.
I'm so freaking excited I can barely make myself go to work tomorrow. Hooray! My trip will be amazing. And there is very little chance I will get stranded anywhere, so that's a plus.
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Now playing: Dropkick Murphys - Which Side Are You On
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I Just Can't Help Myself
So I found this advertisement in an article I was copying for my professor, and it made me giggle.
Man, I live such a boring life, no conferences on urinary continence for me. Bummer.
Also, I gave up Facebook and MySpace for Lent and its killing me. The first part of the week wasn't so bad, nothing was happening. Now I have a whole bunch of new friend requests of Facebook and I want to answer them. But I'm not going to. I only have like 35 days left anyways. It won't be so bad.
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Now playing: Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
via FoxyTunes
Man, I live such a boring life, no conferences on urinary continence for me. Bummer. Also, I gave up Facebook and MySpace for Lent and its killing me. The first part of the week wasn't so bad, nothing was happening. Now I have a whole bunch of new friend requests of Facebook and I want to answer them. But I'm not going to. I only have like 35 days left anyways. It won't be so bad.
----------------
Now playing: Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
via FoxyTunes
Monday, March 2, 2009
Becka's Cell Phone Adventures Pt 2
Not a lot of adventuring for me lately. However, I do have quite the collection of cell phone picture odds and ends, so I thought I'd share them. The alternate title for this blog was going to be "Hi, my name is Becka and I'm a weirdo." I sometimes think my geekiness is going too far, that I get too excited by too many geeky little things (so excited I must take a picture to document and share the awesomeness). But then I remember that being easily entertained is much better than being bored all the time. Then I also remember that I'm awesome and everything is ok again. Anyways, I've tried to break up said awesomess into categories, so enjoy this quick collection of this I've found interesting in the last few months.
Zoo Adventures:
First up, I was recently gored in the face by an elk. The bull elk at the zoo doesn't like me. According to my boss there are some people who the elk dislikes more than others, and I would be one of them. I was feeding the elk a few weeks ago, bent over shoveling oats and alfalfa pellets through the fence when the bull's antlers came through the fence and got me the face. It hurt a little, but mostly it was just shocking. Here's what an elk looks like when its trying to gore you in the face.
On a cuter note, this is a juvenile painted turtle. It's a little bigger now, but not by much (my finger is there for a scale). Cute, right?
I Read Too Much
I read the stuff around me. Signs, papers, titles of books I'm not going to read. Then I take pictures, because I love to laugh. Look at this gem. It took me quite some time to decipher, but it says "wallaby vaccinate." What a jewel.
I've spent a lot of time in the library lately. One of the books I checked out was co-authored by someone with the best name ever, check out the second author here, I think I will name a pet Waneen.
I found this sign on one of my walks. I don't really know why they have it there. I stopped and took a picture and didn't receive a citation. Some people.
Another day while toodling through the library I found the best book title ever: "The Toothpaste of Immortality." It was so wonderful I had to take a picture of it and send it to others. I have no idea what its about, but its in with the books about self and identity.
Errant Adventuring:
Its been many months now, but I found this chunk of something in my mixed vegetables. People keep telling me it was probably part of a corn cob, but I don't believe it. Corn cobs are made out of cellulose, like the rest of the corn stock. This was made out of something harder and more insidious. Its been quite some time now, and I haven't died, so I suppose its not that bad.
In January I went to one of the best concerts ever: O.A.R. The picture isn't that great, but you all should know that it changed my life. Oh, O.A.R., they are truly wonderful. That show ranks up there with 311 and Unwritten Law and one of the best shows you will ever see. I got home feeling like my life was complete.
Traffic Type Adventuring:
On a lame adventure note, I got stuck in traffic in July, and seeing this picture still brings back a little bit of stress. I was stuck on the freeway for 3 hours without air conditioning because this tank fell off a truck and blocked 3 lanes of traffic (in my mind its a mini-van's fault). Then they brought the cranes in to remove it so there was only one lane left. I did make friends with a guy in a Tacoma that drove without shoes on and made faces every time we passed each other. It was moderately entertaining.
On a more positive traffic note, a few months ago, just as gas prices were going down, I got really excited that gas was down to $3.11. If only my trip to Colorado had occurred a few weeks after that I could have been really excited for gas below $2. But still, $3.11 for gas is a sort of awesome price, but only because 311 is really awesome.
Bug Adventures:
The next few pictures made me realize I'm kind of a weirdo. I stumble upon bugs from time to time, and apparently I am compelled to document them more often than I realize. Here is the biggest spider I have ever seen. I was sweeping a room at the zoo when I thought I saw something blow across the floor. It was odd because there wasn't a breeze, so I investigated and saw this guy. I was able to measure it with the measuring tape because it just wouldn't move (and it was 2 inches! Holy cow!). Then I forgot about it, and it ran away.
This spider I found in my bathtub. It was also pretty big, but I knew that no one would know unless I had a standard to measure it against. Yes, there was a spider in my bathtub that was longer than the head of my toothbrush (but was subsequently smashed). Also, check out it's huge eyes!
One last spider. Again, I found it in my bathtub, but it was kind of small and darling, about as big as a nickel. Gosh, I should stop this, but I can't help it. I've decided to rename all my oddities compulsions (and I blame that one you, Mom), its not that I choose to be this weird, I'm compelled to be this way.
I spent a lot of time over the summer walking around my part of Logan because I didn't want to pay to go to the gym, and its pretty nice at night. One night I got back to my apartment and found this slug stuck to my shoe. It was way cute, but then it dried up, and I was sad.
So there's a sampling of the everyday things I find entertaining. Hope y'all felt the same way.
----------------
Now playing: Matchbox Twenty - How Far We've Come
via FoxyTunes
Zoo Adventures:
First up, I was recently gored in the face by an elk. The bull elk at the zoo doesn't like me. According to my boss there are some people who the elk dislikes more than others, and I would be one of them. I was feeding the elk a few weeks ago, bent over shoveling oats and alfalfa pellets through the fence when the bull's antlers came through the fence and got me the face. It hurt a little, but mostly it was just shocking. Here's what an elk looks like when its trying to gore you in the face.
On a cuter note, this is a juvenile painted turtle. It's a little bigger now, but not by much (my finger is there for a scale). Cute, right?
I Read Too Much
I read the stuff around me. Signs, papers, titles of books I'm not going to read. Then I take pictures, because I love to laugh. Look at this gem. It took me quite some time to decipher, but it says "wallaby vaccinate." What a jewel.
I've spent a lot of time in the library lately. One of the books I checked out was co-authored by someone with the best name ever, check out the second author here, I think I will name a pet Waneen.
I found this sign on one of my walks. I don't really know why they have it there. I stopped and took a picture and didn't receive a citation. Some people.
Another day while toodling through the library I found the best book title ever: "The Toothpaste of Immortality." It was so wonderful I had to take a picture of it and send it to others. I have no idea what its about, but its in with the books about self and identity.
Errant Adventuring:
Its been many months now, but I found this chunk of something in my mixed vegetables. People keep telling me it was probably part of a corn cob, but I don't believe it. Corn cobs are made out of cellulose, like the rest of the corn stock. This was made out of something harder and more insidious. Its been quite some time now, and I haven't died, so I suppose its not that bad.
In January I went to one of the best concerts ever: O.A.R. The picture isn't that great, but you all should know that it changed my life. Oh, O.A.R., they are truly wonderful. That show ranks up there with 311 and Unwritten Law and one of the best shows you will ever see. I got home feeling like my life was complete.
Traffic Type Adventuring:
On a lame adventure note, I got stuck in traffic in July, and seeing this picture still brings back a little bit of stress. I was stuck on the freeway for 3 hours without air conditioning because this tank fell off a truck and blocked 3 lanes of traffic (in my mind its a mini-van's fault). Then they brought the cranes in to remove it so there was only one lane left. I did make friends with a guy in a Tacoma that drove without shoes on and made faces every time we passed each other. It was moderately entertaining.
On a more positive traffic note, a few months ago, just as gas prices were going down, I got really excited that gas was down to $3.11. If only my trip to Colorado had occurred a few weeks after that I could have been really excited for gas below $2. But still, $3.11 for gas is a sort of awesome price, but only because 311 is really awesome.
Bug Adventures:
The next few pictures made me realize I'm kind of a weirdo. I stumble upon bugs from time to time, and apparently I am compelled to document them more often than I realize. Here is the biggest spider I have ever seen. I was sweeping a room at the zoo when I thought I saw something blow across the floor. It was odd because there wasn't a breeze, so I investigated and saw this guy. I was able to measure it with the measuring tape because it just wouldn't move (and it was 2 inches! Holy cow!). Then I forgot about it, and it ran away.
This spider I found in my bathtub. It was also pretty big, but I knew that no one would know unless I had a standard to measure it against. Yes, there was a spider in my bathtub that was longer than the head of my toothbrush (but was subsequently smashed). Also, check out it's huge eyes!
One last spider. Again, I found it in my bathtub, but it was kind of small and darling, about as big as a nickel. Gosh, I should stop this, but I can't help it. I've decided to rename all my oddities compulsions (and I blame that one you, Mom), its not that I choose to be this weird, I'm compelled to be this way.
I spent a lot of time over the summer walking around my part of Logan because I didn't want to pay to go to the gym, and its pretty nice at night. One night I got back to my apartment and found this slug stuck to my shoe. It was way cute, but then it dried up, and I was sad.
So there's a sampling of the everyday things I find entertaining. Hope y'all felt the same way.
----------------
Now playing: Matchbox Twenty - How Far We've Come
via FoxyTunes
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