Oregon pics for non-facebook

Here's the link for pictures in Oregon and Crater Lake - gorgeous.
http://uga.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2246660&l=f04da&id=4903466

One of my best friends, Daniela, has told me about an easier way to share photos with you non-facebook friends/family. I will post a link of the photos to facebook that is public, so you can view them there. I only have to post it once and you get to read and see the many more cool things I can do because I'm not stuck in front of a computer typing and waiting for the things to load. Cool. http://uga.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2244778&l=bff2c&id=4903466

Blogger pics suck

So I'm going to post my pics through photobucket and provide the link when I do. Sorry for the crappy quality for the first set.

Photobucket Album

Marmot

Evil snow that swallowed by leg
Deb and I on the summit

Me on my hike of the year

SNOW!

Beginning the hike - Stanley and I

Aunt Deb and breakfast
My sleeping area
Uncle Fred cleaning


Snow blocking the path

Medicine Bow - July 13 2007

Deb and I got up to go climb Medicine Bow Peak in Southern Wyoming. It’s a little over 12,000 ft, so not too bad. We tried to drive the faster way, but snow banks blocked the road. Half an hour later we started with Stanley, the dog and my stylish pants/shorts zip offs. Every year wound June or July I seem to trick myself that I like hiking. Last year I trekked Toubkal with Giardia and this year its Medicine Bow. Oh well, as long as the once a year hike has the amazing landscapes and geography I seem to be accustomed to, I’ll trick myself next year. As we hiked, there were purple Columbine flowers, pine trees, boulders, lakes, and snowdrifts lining the path. The impressive mountain arcs on our left side sill had snow covering their ranges. A little over halfway up, Stanley and I decided to go sledding down a perfect slope/ drop-off. Now for the steep climb – we made it to a boulder field/icy now field. We decided to jump boulders, but on the last leg went for the ice. First step out and my right leg plummeted past my knee in an ice hole. Cranking myself out and acquiring some nice claw marks from the rock underneath, I stepped with my left hole into another hole. Sticking to the boulders, we made it to the summit! Gorgeous panorama complete with hawks and storm clouds. Making our way back to the cabin, a bald eagle moved among the trees, keeping pace with the car. After passing out with the help of Vitamin I, I watched my Uncle grill hand-rolled sausages in the mountain rain. Finishing p the day with wine, sausages, potato salad, buttery toast, and way under done Ghirardelli brownies made sleep under the five-pounds of blankets heavenly.

Denver/ Wyoming July 12 2007

After finishing up errands, Uncle Fred and I made our way to the Natural History and Science Museum to see the recovered artifacts of the Titanic. The show was devised to where you receive a ticket with a passengers name on it and you pass through first class cabins, third class cabins, dining areas, steam room, and the iceberg/sea. The stories were awful – there had been a coal strike, so other ships transferred their coal and passengers to the Titanic. One woman refused to leave her husband, saying, “We will die as we lived, together.” I happened to live since I was a woman in first class – a writer who instructed women how to survive without a man. Perfect. Dinner in Laramie, Wy was highlighted by the microbrewery inside the restaurant with citrus ale that tasted like fresh oranges. An afternoon of mid-50 degree weather was almost refreshing in summer. Almost.

Airport and Denver

I got up at 5:30 am after falling asleep at around 2am. At the airport, the TSA graciously decided I needed “special screening,” so I thus got to be patted down and my entire belongings bomb screened. I made it to the gate in plenty of time, but the flight was overbooked, so I went to try the next flight. I learned from one family and another young man that they had been waiting 2 days for standby to Denver… crap. I planned for the worst and decided I’d have to spend 330 instead of 100 on a one way to Denver. However, I went and talked to the dark haired young man at the ticket counter for about five minutes about my plans and… I got put ahead of the other people and on the flight! Yes I feel guilty and yes I will probably have bad karma, but I’m in Denver! Uncle Fred picked me up in a dry 68-degree temperature (what have I been doing in the south?) and shuttled me to their midtown home. We arrived at their house in time to make a simple, but delicious lunch. Grilled unikaas parrano cheese sandwich with soprasata sausage, homemade mashed potato salad (the balance of soft mashed potatoes and slivers of boiled eggs to the kick of mayo/ pepper and the crunch of green onions was perfect), and miniature homemade tasting pickles. To top it off, iced herbal tea with a quarter lime. And yes, all of my food will be described here throughout my travels, because what really, is more important? To break up the eating, I had a siesta and I am now promptly locked out in their backyard garden and not complaining.
After doing a set of yoga in the rain I went with my Aunt Debby to their community garden to pick our veggies for dinner. Dinner consisted of grilled flank steak on a bed of the freshly picked lettuce drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil with a grind of black pepper. On the side was the grilled eggplant and peppers from the garden and the mashed potato salad. The crusty loaf of bread gave a nice contrast to the smooth textures of the main meal. Cocktails were deluxe margaritas (triple sec, grand Marnier, fresh lime juice, and tequila) finished with a bottle of Australian sparkling wine. A quick foray into Thai tektites (solar glass) with my uncle rapped up my very long day.