A beachy Sunday

Dacia + Ryan = Really awesome wedding

Our good friends, Ryan and Dacia, got married on the 17th at a gorgeous little B&B in wine country southwest of Portland. B shot the wedding and we were lucky enough to get to stay at the inn for the weekend.

What a gorgeous, simple, casual, relaxed, chill, fun, rad, awesome wedding. A simple lakeside ceremony, a delicious dinner, fantastic beers, fun dancing and a chill bonfire with s'mores. These two know how to throw a party.

Congrats Ryan and Dacia! Wishing you years of happiness!

How to grow a garden

Put up deer fence.

Plant seeds.

Water.

Ignore garden for weeks.

Come back and harvest.

This doesn't even come close to showing how much green, leafy lettuce we've been eating this month. Plus, this is only about half of the snap peas and the last of the broccoli. And really, I'm surprised those two strawberries even made it home. Usually, they go straight into my tum-tum.

Mt. Adams? Check.

Mountaineering is an interesting sport. It can be physically demanding, mentally exhausting and awe-inspiring all at once, which is why I always agree to go on a trip when invited. But is it fun? The jury is still out. The top sure is awesome, but getting there? Oh, I've done more enjoyable things in my life. But, for some reason, that moment of glee at the top, makes up for it. We climbed Mt. Adams last week and as I sit and reflect on the experience, I can't remember the climb. But I remember the top. Summit fever--it's what keeps people coming back for more.

B looking south toward Mt. Hood in the distance. Approx. elevation: 7,900 ft.

Me, climbing up through one of the first really big snow fields. All of eastern Oregon at my back. Approx. elevation: 8,600 ft.

Our little campsite on the Lunch Counter at sunrise. Mt. St. Helens is off to the upper right. The long dark triangle is Mt. Adams casting its shadow on southwestern Washington. Elevation: 9,100 ft.

Looking up toward the first false summit from our campsite. False summit elevation: 11,520 ft. The long lines you see running up and down are the glissade trails. It takes about 4 hours to climb from here to the summit and about 30 minutes to get back down.

Me, taking a rest at the stop of the false summit, Piker's Peak. I was in just a t-shirt until this point and then, in usual Gayle fashion, added two more layers and one more hat.

They call it a false summit because you think it's the top. While you're climbing up it, you think, "awesome, the top is right there." Then you get there and see that you have about 700 feet more to go. It's pretty deflating. Once at the false summit, you then have to cross a big snow field saddle over to the real summit.

Looking across the saddle over to the true summit, that little bit of snow sticking up in the upper left. Only 700 more feet up!Celebration on the summit. Elevation: 12,276 ft.Our climbing team included five of my co-workers: (from left) Brandon, age 20; Ron, age 64; Kim, age 40-ish; Caroline, age 40-ish; and our fearless climb leader, Doug, age 50.
B, dropping in off the false summit. It took me 30 minutes to get down. B? About 5 and he loved every minute of it.Descending after our successful summit.Back on dirt. Ron, Caroline, me, Doug, Kim & Brandon.
On the way home, I turned to B in the jeep and said, "I'm done climbing mountains. If someone asks me to do this again, I'll say no." At that point, I remembered how my legs ached and how my shoulders hurt from such a heavy pack. Right now, all I remember is this:

Guess I'll be coming back for more, just like the rest of you.

More photos here: B's Flickr page

The phone's for you. It's crazy calling.

I answered the phone at work on Monday, the conversation went like this:

Guy: Hi, I was wondering if you knew or had any contacts with anyone that does search and rescue for pets.
Me: Did you lose a pet out on a trail or something?
Guy: Well, we live in the woods and we lost our cat. I know that she is probably dead, but we want someone to come out and find the body so we can have some closure.
Me: Um, search and rescue doesn't do that kind of thing. Have you tried calling your local police department? They might be able to put you in touch with animal services.
Guy: Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Search and rescue won't do that?
Me: Nope.
Guy: OK, thanks.

Seriously?

The rest of the story

Of-course, I can't go to Nebraska and not try to see as many people as I possibly can, so after we got back from North Platte on Sunday night, I started the second, more tightly scheduled part of my trip.

First stop: Scribner, to see Grandpa and Grandma
We had a great lunch, I taught them all about how "to google", we drove out to see the flood damage from a couple of weeks ago and then we came back to town where they showed me some projects they were working on-- Grandpa is cleaning and re-wiring the oldest electrical cord I have ever seen and Grandma is sorting through old fabric. Then, we discovered the coolest thing. In a bag of fabric she was giving to my mom, Grandma pulls out a piece of white silk. It's a parachute that my Grandpa brought back from England where he was stationed during WWII. They had used part of it to make a baptismal dress for my mom and Grandma thought there was just enough fabric left to make another dress, that is, if there might be a baby anytime soon... hint, hint, wink, wink.Second stop: Wayne
Mom and I survived a deluge thunderstorm on our way from Scriber to Wayne to make it home in time for supper with my dad. We spent the evening on the new 3-season porch and talked until the wee hours of the morning. I've seen them four times in the last eight months, I'm really getting spoiled.

Third stop: Concord
Tuesday morning, I headed to Concord to visit with Aunt Ave and hang with my cousin Mark and Tiff's kids. It was non-stop action with all the "Gayle, guess what?" and "Gayle, watch this!" going on. How she keeps up with them, I will never know. Grandmas really are fountains of never-ending energy.
Fourth stop: Omaha
Tuesday afternoon, it was back to Omaha with Mindy and then off to the historic Joslyn castle for a networking event. Lisa came along too and since we really didn't have anyone to network with, we decided to become better acquainted with the food and drink. Delish. Then we were off to Brix, a wine bar in West O, where we met Carla and proceeded to drink the night away. So much fun.Wednesday was another day in Omaha so the girls all had lunch together again and then Mindy, Jason, Hudson, Skyler and I hit the mall to get out of the super yuck humidity. 95 degrees, dewpoint at 79, heat index of 117. Major suck.I tried to fly out Wednesday night, but for the first time in my life, my flight was "delayed indefinitely" because of a nasty thunderstorm. So, surprise! One more night in Omaha with the Hortons.
A truly fantastic trip to one of my favorite places-- home.

Husker Summer #5

Well, it's July again and that means it's time for another reunion of the Husker friends. This time, instead of packing up all six of the little kids and jet-setting to San Francisco, we all descended upon Jody's parent's house in western Nebraska.

I flew into Omaha on Friday and then drove out west with Tom, Liz and Abbie. Karen and Tony drove down from Norfolk with Aubrie and Natalie and Jody, Travis, Jonah and Barrett flew in from San Fran. Gwen and Matt were missing this year as they are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Keller Baby Boy #2. (Gwen isn't spilling on the name, but I've heard if you talk to Gavin, you won't even have to bribe him.)

We had a great weekend! Like usual, lots of chatting, eating, drinking and playing with the kids, but we also managed to shoot guns, hit the waterslides, go hot-tubbing and let Tony cook us a feast. Two days sure went by quickly, but here is the photographic evidence of a good time.

Natalie and Abbie, besties already.Jonah and Aubrie on the lookout for SNAKES!Me, shooting a gun...
A pink swimsuit, a cupcake and a red slushie. What more could a girl need?Jonah, diving into a cupcake at the waterpark to celebrate his 3rd birthday.Baby Barrett enjoying the waterslide too."Hey, let's take a photo of all the kids!"Good photo? Not so much. Getting Jonah to think girls are crazy? Success.

Moms and kids and me.The girls. Jody, me, Karen and Liz.

More photos from our fun weekend here: Husker Summers.

Home Sweet Nebraska Home

Honestly, there really is no place like Nebraska. I'm not kidding. Oregon is absolutely stunning and summer here is just to die for. But there really is no place like Nebraska in July. It's hot, it's windy and you almost have to chew the air and then breathe it, but it's gorgeous. Thunderstorms that roll across the horizon, lightning bugs in the backyard at dusk, row after row of tall green corn rolling in the wind. I've said before that Oregon is now home to me, but sometimes I go back to the Midwest and it makes Oregon feel like where I live and that Nebraska really is home.

Dear Focus

Dear 2002 Ford Focus,

You're such a good little car. Oh, the places we gone together! Across the country to Oregon, to the Wallowas, to Smith Rock about a dozen times, to Utah, to the coast another dozen times, to Seattle, to Pullman and beyond.

Such adventures lay ahead of us. So many places for us to see! I promise to take good care of you as long as you give me another 100,000 miles. OK? Good.

Love,

Me

I'll believe it when I see it.

from NOAA.gov

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. North northwest wind between 3 and 7 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Northeast wind between 5 and 11 mph.
Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 60. Northeast wind between 8 and 11 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 92. East northeast wind around 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 63. East northeast wind around 8 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 94.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 93.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 90.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 87.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 86.