Summer in Oregon! (and other happenings)

 Happy summer everyone!

I hope that you have been enjoying it, I sure have!  I'm updating the old blog with my late spring/summer adventures.  Beginning with...  Berkeley Bowl!  Many of you may know of my obsession with my favorite grocery store with the best produce section ever.  This isn't the first time I have taken photos in the produce section there, I am strange.  While staying at my old place in Berkeley I enjoyed being in walking distance to the bowl, a place I dream about when I am away.

an ocean of organic kale!

 I also spent a fair bit of time in San Francisco, visiting & making it to a couple of art museums to fulfill my cultural interests.  :)

bussing around

the excellent view of the golden gate from Land's end

 I visited the Legion of Honor with my pal Barbie.  I was delighted to find amazing art there including this bust of my old pal Michelangelo.  They have a whole room full of bronze Rodin sculpture, amazing!

love this painting

another Italian fave, Modigliani

Barb is channeling Rodin

I found out that my Oregon job would be starting nearly a month later than expected.  This was a bit frustrating but I found some things to do, like take some road trips!  My friend Lisa & I ventured to Zion National Park, one of the most magical places on the planet!  We did some beautiful hikes including one that has been on my life goal list for years, the Virgin narrows canyon!  You hike into the slot canyon in the water, so unique!  The goal had been to do an overnight bpack, hiking down the river through the park.  Since it was late spring, the water was still pretty high & cold so the overnight trip wasn't really recommended unless you had a wetsuit & some technical canyoneering gear to do some swims & scrambles.  So, we opted to hike in about 5 miles from the bottom end as a day hike.  I was concerned about being freezing in the water all day so I rented some waders, boots & a walking log.  I was happy I did but, Lisa was fine without that gear & most of the folks didn't wear anything special.

hiking West Rim trail

view of Zion canyon from Angel's Landing

had to get a classic yoga shot in ;)

here I am in the river with my wadies on

Lisa at left, she did the hike hardcore style in sandals.  

it was really breathtaking!

here some people were doing a canyoneering mission

drove back through Death Valley NP where a huge sandstorm was occuring

back in Berkeley I made some limoncello with meyer lemons from Lisa's tree.  feeling very Italian :)  It turned out yummy!

went down to Big Sur & Santa Cruz for a weekend to get some ocean time

watching surfers in Santa Cruz where I visited my buddies Jane & Sage

got these sweet toe socks to wear with flip flops, so practical.

 I set out on a backpacking mission in Yosemite through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne with Elysia & Lisa, it was sweet!  The Tuolumne was raging with all the early season snowmelt, it was a spectacular sight!  It was also really hot so we enjoyed doing some freezing river dips to keep the core temps down.  Great trip!

the lovely Hetch Hetchy!

Lisa & I did some rock climbing & camped out in this sweet meadow zone on the eastside.  

utilizing the bear box well.

we decided on doing an epic hike while in Yosemite, from Tuolumne meadows, over Cloud's Rest and on down into the Valley via the mist trail.  It was 18?? miles & an awesome day!  We hitched on back up to the meadows to the car & met some nice PCT hikers. 

atop Cloud's Rest overlooking Yosemite Valley, Half Dome in the background.

had to do a foot soak at Nevada Falls, my dogs were barking after all that downhill hiking.

back in Berkeley I treated myself to my favorite, vegan calzone & brews @ the Lanesplitter!  Like heaven.

 In mid-June, I cruised on up to Ashland, Oregon to start my new job.  It has been going well, doing plant surveys first at Oregon Caves National Monument & now at Crater Lake National Park.  We camp out for 8 day stretches & this can become exhausting in many ways but overall, I love the job.  Getting paid to hike & hang out in the woods isn't too shabby.

hiked up Mt. McLoughlin

pretty flowers and pitcher plants 

visiting Penny & Mark in Corvallis, doing some henna to prep for the Oregon Country Fair!

the Oregon Country fair is the biggest hippie fest ever!

something mystical was going on here.  this druid is giving a shaman consultation!  Pickachu is also there.

nudity, body paint & sunshine at the fair.

 I also went up to Seattle to visit old pals and THIS happened!  I saw Macklemore filming a video out on Broadway on Capitol Hill, my old stomping grounds.  I am mildly obsessed with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.  Some friends & I stood for hours in a huge mob of hipsters awaiting the video shoot.  It was worth it.  I loved it.

here they are pimping up & down broadway in a big caddie

and here they are raging it on top of Dick's

It was absolutely wonderful to hang out with my friend Traci, just like old times.  We went blueberry picking.  Love you, girl!!

 And then I'm back out in the wilds of Crater Lake.  Hiking, looking at plants and camping out.

these sedges are a huge headache to identify (as in botany wise for my job) they all look nearly the same.

the great Annie Creek!

the Crater!  There have been a load of huge fires in Southern OR this summer leading to a big haze of smoke many days.  It is a bummer & air quality can tend to be poor.  We are happy when we can see the lake & the blue sky!

getting all Ansel Adams

the Rogue River Gorge!

saw this pretty lake on my drive up to visit friends @ Breitenbush (rustic hot springs retreat center)

Kim & I went hiking at the foot of Mt. Jefferson & saw some killer wildflowers.  Kim went swimming even though it was chilly.  

yay!  great to see Kim!  on our way down we got caught in a mega thunderstorm.  exciting!

One day last week we took a break from working to hike down to the lake!  It was superb & excellent!  There is a great rock that I was able to dive off into that cold, cold lake.  Very refreshing on the hot & dusty day.  Diving off of rocks is one of my top ten favorite activities ever!  So, after making that happen I feel complete with my Crater Lake experience.  Also realized a goal last week of hiking back a mile into the forest to retrieve a nice, technical shirt that I had left hanging on a tree over a month earlier at one of our plots.  (It's a great shirt :)  Simple pleasures.  

Seems like I'll be going out backpacking for work for a few days my next time out.  That should be fun!  In other news, Ashland OR continues to please.  My friend miss Penny is coming down this weekend to go to a Shakespeare play in the outdoor Elizabethan theatre.  Ashland has this whole "Shakespeare Festival" thing going on so I am excited to check that out.  We are seeing Cymbeline.  Who has heard of that one??

Take care, sending a virtual hug :)

xo

Yahoo!

my lovely coworkers :) they are the best!