It was definitely my intention to get back into the daily posting habit. But, alas, that's not going to happen. Lots going on here in Stumptown. First things first: I found a job! Well, at least for the short term. I'm working with the Oregon Bus Project (www.busproject.org). It's a grassroots non-partisan political organization that functions as a "vehicle" for democracy and focuses on young voter mobilization and policy education. I think. (Anyone from the Bus should feel free to correct my description). My job is to coordinate volunteers and other bits and pieces for a function we have coming up in a week called Candidates Gone Wild. It's an irreverent variety show featuring local political candidates. The Bus Project stresses local politics, from canvassing for State reps to beating bad ballot measures. And, yes, they have a bus.
Other fun happenings besides job searching: Went camping at Silver Falls, the largest park in the State of Oregon; went hiking at Coyote Wall, on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge (if you think Ithaca is gorges, you should come to the NW); volunteered with my uncle, Dennis, at the Portland Marathon this past weekend; watched a swift migration; went to a lecture about how geckos stick and why we should care; and became the proud owner of a pair of Obama knee socks. If you are not jealous of at least one of the aforementioned activities/acquisitions, then you might find this blog generally boring from here on out. Maybe you'd be more interested in this blog, started by my good friend and future doctor, Jake Rosenberg. Less reading, more visual stimulus: http://thedesktopexperiment.blogspot.com/
People keep asking me why I love Portland so much. My brother, Chris, seemed to want to get into some kind of competition about why Somerville, MA was better than Portland, OR. Yeah, it's okay...I laughed a little too. Just kidding, Chris. We <3 Somerville. But I <3 Portland more. That's all. It's a city about the size of Rochester, NY in population, but with a much better personality. It's surrounded by evergreens and hiking trails, and an easy day trip to the coast, the mountains, the Gorge, and Washington State. I work in a building that is actually the home to the Tazo Tea factory, which means free Tazo Tea all day! And it's sunny all the time. Okay, I lied about the last one. But who needs sun? It's bad for your skin. I think that's why everyone here looks so young.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
and we're back
Well, we're not both back. Alison is up in Washington, so from here on out, anything written here will mostly reflect what's going on down here in Portland. It's been 2 weeks since I arrived. The job search is a bit slower than I anticipated, but it's okay. Things are moving forward and looking up, so I expect I'll have something in place within the week. But it's boring to talk about work, so fortunately I don't have any work to talk about. I'm just going to use the excuse like John McCain would in this situation: that I don't need to focus on the task at hand (in my case, working and in his case, debating the issues our country faces) because I have to focus solely on ONE thing (in my case, doing nothing and in his case, solving our country's economic crisis). Don't get me wrong, the crisis is an important issue and coming up with a bill to bailout Wall Street that includes good policies and oversight is also really important. But we have 98 other senators that can work on it. Besides, it's not as if Obama's not working on it; He's been on the phone with Henry Paulson every day. As Gov. Rendell said about the issue of delaying the debate, “What, does McCain think the Senate will still be working at 9 p.m. Friday?”
While I tried to keep politics out of the blog as much as possible during the road trip, now that I'm here and unemployed, it's really the only thing I think about and the only thing I seem to get emails about. One I got this morning was a piece written by Anne Lamott. If you're not familiar with her work, get familiar with it. Though, I have to say, I've mostly read her earlier stuff that she wrote before becoming a "reform Christian." But I've heard her recent work, more focused on faith, is really great. The piece I read this morning said that we should be talking ABOUT Obama and not hating on Palin and McCain so much. She's even gone so far as to not only vow to not say Palin's name anymore, but not to even mutter the word "lipstick" until this is all over. I like what she's getting at, but if I follow her suggestion, it's going to put a huge damper on my plans for a Halloween costume.
While I tried to keep politics out of the blog as much as possible during the road trip, now that I'm here and unemployed, it's really the only thing I think about and the only thing I seem to get emails about. One I got this morning was a piece written by Anne Lamott. If you're not familiar with her work, get familiar with it. Though, I have to say, I've mostly read her earlier stuff that she wrote before becoming a "reform Christian." But I've heard her recent work, more focused on faith, is really great. The piece I read this morning said that we should be talking ABOUT Obama and not hating on Palin and McCain so much. She's even gone so far as to not only vow to not say Palin's name anymore, but not to even mutter the word "lipstick" until this is all over. I like what she's getting at, but if I follow her suggestion, it's going to put a huge damper on my plans for a Halloween costume.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
all done one day early
Well, I guess we're on schedule since we were due to arrive on the 7th originally. We woke up this morning and decided to put the full 12.5 hours of driving in today to get all the way to Portland rather than stop in Boise for the evening. So here we are! Not much to report as today was just driving driving driving and now I'm very sleepy...
So thanks for checking in on us and reading the blog. Hope you enjoyed it!!
Annie and Alison
So thanks for checking in on us and reading the blog. Hope you enjoyed it!!
Annie and Alison
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Somewhere between heaven and hell on earth
We were unable to update the blog last night; Apparently there's no wireless internet in the 
National Parks! We left our scenic spot at our motel in Wapiti, WY (see photo) early but not too early. We would have left earlier but we ended up chatting with a couple from Florida that had just come from Yellowstone and was heading to Mt. Rushmore. So we traded tips. The drive in towards the east entrance was so beautiful! The whole day was one of those days where you stop to take a picture because, surely, nothing could be more beautiful than what you're seeing at that moment. 
And then the next thing you know, the view is even more breathtaking or the next bison is that much closer to your car (sometimes a bit scary). Within the first hour we saw three bison on the side of the road. Well, one wasn't so much on the side of the road as it was IN the road, but it moved out of the way by the time we approached. Later that day there was a bison in our trail, but it too moved out of our way by the time we got closer.
Our next stop was to the lower falls and Artists Point in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Again, SO beautiful! Most of our day was spent driving in the lower loop of Yellowstone. If you can imagine the roads of the park forming an 8 with a stick at the bottom, we took the road, counterclockwise, that encompassed the lower half of the 8 and stayed in a lodge on the stick, on the way to the southern entrance and to Jackson, WY (where we are now). The highlight of our day was wa
lking around the geyser basins that are on the southwestern side of the park, driving south between Madison and Old Faithful. The Biscuit Basin was our favorite, creating a landscape that could easily be mistaken for another planet (or maybe something between heaven and hell, as Alison put it). It started to rain and it was getting towards dusk, so we skipped the Black Sand Basin to go catch Old Faithful doing her thing at around 6:30. Sure enough, by 6:35, she was spouting high up into the air. The air was relatively cold so there was lots of steam, which obstructed the view, but it was still pretty great to watch. From there we headed south to our lodge, had dinner by Yellowstone Lake, and popped open the bottle of wine we had bought earlier in the day to provide our own entertainment since there are also no TV's in the parks.
This morning we got up and headed directly south into the Grand Teton National Park and towards Jackson. We pulled over on the side of the road because lots of other cars on the side of the road signify wildlife. We managed to glance an ear of a moose hiding in the brush, but that was about it. I wouldn't have known it was a moose or even where to look if it wasn't for the friendly person next to me who gave me her spot on the pullout to get a better look.
Within a half hour we were coming up on the Grand Teton itself (with some serious cloud cover). I haven't been back here since my WEMT course in December 2006. It was great to approach the range from a new angle and to see it all without the snow. Though, I have to admit, I'm partial to the basin in the winter time. We missed the turn-off for Kelly, where I had my training, so we just decided to keep going to Jackson rather than backtrack. We passed the National Elk Refuge w
hich was sans elk. I guess they wait until winter to migrate down to this park of the basin. When I was here two winters ago, you couldn't count the elk because there were so many. Today we couldn't see even one. But the landscape never ceases to be stunning with or without the elk. We pulled into Jackson and right to Alice Roby's house. (Thanks, Alice!!) I have known Alice almost my entire life, though we haven't seen each other in ages. Her mom, Louise McPherson, was at the hospital when I was born. I actually still haven't seen Alice, as she's at a wedding right now, but she graciously opened her home to us (literally...she left the door unlocked) and so Alison and I have been free to come and go. Just a block down from the house is the Elk Refuge and it's off the main drag of town. Great location! We hit up the Whole Grocer to replenish our snacks for the last push into the west. I fondly remember the Whole Grocer from two years ago, and though Jake Stout might tell you I have a bad sense of direction from our time together in Spain, I remembered exactly where the store AND the Snake River Brewery were.
Only two more days! We should be in Portland by early evening on Monday. Tomorrow night we'll be in Boise (where, I've learned, you say the S softly and not like a Z).
P.S. Our mileage has been above 55 mpg for two days now!
National Parks! We left our scenic spot at our motel in Wapiti, WY (see photo) early but not too early. We would have left earlier but we ended up chatting with a couple from Florida that had just come from Yellowstone and was heading to Mt. Rushmore. So we traded tips. The drive in towards the east entrance was so beautiful! The whole day was one of those days where you stop to take a picture because, surely, nothing could be more beautiful than what you're seeing at that moment. 
And then the next thing you know, the view is even more breathtaking or the next bison is that much closer to your car (sometimes a bit scary). Within the first hour we saw three bison on the side of the road. Well, one wasn't so much on the side of the road as it was IN the road, but it moved out of the way by the time we approached. Later that day there was a bison in our trail, but it too moved out of our way by the time we got closer.
Our next stop was to the lower falls and Artists Point in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Again, SO beautiful! Most of our day was spent driving in the lower loop of Yellowstone. If you can imagine the roads of the park forming an 8 with a stick at the bottom, we took the road, counterclockwise, that encompassed the lower half of the 8 and stayed in a lodge on the stick, on the way to the southern entrance and to Jackson, WY (where we are now). The highlight of our day was wa
lking around the geyser basins that are on the southwestern side of the park, driving south between Madison and Old Faithful. The Biscuit Basin was our favorite, creating a landscape that could easily be mistaken for another planet (or maybe something between heaven and hell, as Alison put it). It started to rain and it was getting towards dusk, so we skipped the Black Sand Basin to go catch Old Faithful doing her thing at around 6:30. Sure enough, by 6:35, she was spouting high up into the air. The air was relatively cold so there was lots of steam, which obstructed the view, but it was still pretty great to watch. From there we headed south to our lodge, had dinner by Yellowstone Lake, and popped open the bottle of wine we had bought earlier in the day to provide our own entertainment since there are also no TV's in the parks.This morning we got up and headed directly south into the Grand Teton National Park and towards Jackson. We pulled over on the side of the road because lots of other cars on the side of the road signify wildlife. We managed to glance an ear of a moose hiding in the brush, but that was about it. I wouldn't have known it was a moose or even where to look if it wasn't for the friendly person next to me who gave me her spot on the pullout to get a better look.
Within a half hour we were coming up on the Grand Teton itself (with some serious cloud cover). I haven't been back here since my WEMT course in December 2006. It was great to approach the range from a new angle and to see it all without the snow. Though, I have to admit, I'm partial to the basin in the winter time. We missed the turn-off for Kelly, where I had my training, so we just decided to keep going to Jackson rather than backtrack. We passed the National Elk Refuge w
hich was sans elk. I guess they wait until winter to migrate down to this park of the basin. When I was here two winters ago, you couldn't count the elk because there were so many. Today we couldn't see even one. But the landscape never ceases to be stunning with or without the elk. We pulled into Jackson and right to Alice Roby's house. (Thanks, Alice!!) I have known Alice almost my entire life, though we haven't seen each other in ages. Her mom, Louise McPherson, was at the hospital when I was born. I actually still haven't seen Alice, as she's at a wedding right now, but she graciously opened her home to us (literally...she left the door unlocked) and so Alison and I have been free to come and go. Just a block down from the house is the Elk Refuge and it's off the main drag of town. Great location! We hit up the Whole Grocer to replenish our snacks for the last push into the west. I fondly remember the Whole Grocer from two years ago, and though Jake Stout might tell you I have a bad sense of direction from our time together in Spain, I remembered exactly where the store AND the Snake River Brewery were.Only two more days! We should be in Portland by early evening on Monday. Tomorrow night we'll be in Boise (where, I've learned, you say the S softly and not like a Z).
P.S. Our mileage has been above 55 mpg for two days now!
Friday, September 5, 2008
a note on mileage
A friend pointed out to me that his parents get 49 mpg on their Prius and my photo was showing we're getting below 41. I just want to comment that when you're in a state with 75 mph as the speed limit and then head into the mountains, mileage drops. We'd been averaging about 44 or 45 until then (the older Priuses like mine get lower mileage than the newer ones).
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The last state in the alphabet
Alison and I have been on the road together for over a week. I've learned to turn down the music and that I need to remind her to hydrate and she's learned "that the only thing that 
makes [me] angry is the Republican Party because [I have] control over everything else in my life." We said goodbye to South Dakota and entered the wildly changing landscape of Wyoming. We took a detour off I-90 to encounter Devil's Tower, America's first National Monument. Having determined we weren't yet hungry for lunch, we just said we'd wait for the next rest area to pull over to have our picnic. I don't know how much time any of you have spent in western Wyoming, but there's not much going on. It was an hour and a half until we found a rest area (though, to be fair, there were gas stations and fast food places on the road between). Our summer picnic was not so summery since it had started to rain and the temperature was in the low 60's.
At Buffalo, WY we said goodbye to I-90 and headed west on route 16 and up into the Bighorn Mountains. This was Alison's first time at the wheel of the Prius on such demanding terrain. She insisted that the car was protesting (I likened the sounds my car makes
going up mountains to those of a pug breathing: you think she's struggling but really she's fine). Up in the Powder River Pass and down into the Ten Sleep Canyon, we faced our first snowflakes and temperatures below 40. However, there was so much downhill coasting that I'm pretty sure we used close to no gas for about 25 minutes. (see photo)
Every turn of our drive left us more awed than the last. Sprawling plains, river carved canyons, mountains covered with conifers, and finally the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. After a quick Mexican dinner in Cody, WY, we crossed the Shoshone River and into the front range of what I think are the Carter Mountains (my map is a bit ambiguous). We've stopped for the night at a beautiful spot in Wapiti, WY, about 30 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone. Hopefully the weather will clear up for our day in the park tomorrow and I also hope that this cold weather has driven away the mosquitoes.
makes [me] angry is the Republican Party because [I have] control over everything else in my life." We said goodbye to South Dakota and entered the wildly changing landscape of Wyoming. We took a detour off I-90 to encounter Devil's Tower, America's first National Monument. Having determined we weren't yet hungry for lunch, we just said we'd wait for the next rest area to pull over to have our picnic. I don't know how much time any of you have spent in western Wyoming, but there's not much going on. It was an hour and a half until we found a rest area (though, to be fair, there were gas stations and fast food places on the road between). Our summer picnic was not so summery since it had started to rain and the temperature was in the low 60's.
At Buffalo, WY we said goodbye to I-90 and headed west on route 16 and up into the Bighorn Mountains. This was Alison's first time at the wheel of the Prius on such demanding terrain. She insisted that the car was protesting (I likened the sounds my car makes
going up mountains to those of a pug breathing: you think she's struggling but really she's fine). Up in the Powder River Pass and down into the Ten Sleep Canyon, we faced our first snowflakes and temperatures below 40. However, there was so much downhill coasting that I'm pretty sure we used close to no gas for about 25 minutes. (see photo)Every turn of our drive left us more awed than the last. Sprawling plains, river carved canyons, mountains covered with conifers, and finally the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. After a quick Mexican dinner in Cody, WY, we crossed the Shoshone River and into the front range of what I think are the Carter Mountains (my map is a bit ambiguous). We've stopped for the night at a beautiful spot in Wapiti, WY, about 30 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone. Hopefully the weather will clear up for our day in the park tomorrow and I also hope that this cold weather has driven away the mosquitoes.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A long way from Bryn Mawr (and luckily from St. Paul, too)
I know I said I would keep politics out of this, but having just caught a re-airing of Palin's speech, I just want to say that it brings me great sadness that the Republican party continues to try to build a movement on fear, hate, and negativity and peppers their plain and folksy rhetoric with blatant lies and bullshit. Normally watching something like the RNC would make me want to crack jokes and say how ridiculous it is that they think that they will win. But in this moment it just makes me want to cry. This actually produces an interesting segue to our day's adventures: At the close of Palin's speech, she was backed by a patriotic image of Mt. Rushmore. Seeing that behind her after hearing her words almost managed to ruin the very moving experience I had today with Alison at that very same monument.
Alison and I left Chamberlain this morning after she sent off some applications. We drove west for about 200 miles until we reached the beginning of the Badlands National Park scenic loop (Route 240, exit 131). Just so you know, there are no student discounts at national parks. We drove the loop and stopped off at most of the lookouts. According to my American Park Networks guide (picked up at AAA), the Badlands, a 244,000 acre landscape, was formed starting 65 million years ago from various sediment, including what is known as the Pierre Shale, volcanic ash, 
and decomposed forests. Erosion has caused, and continues to cause, the formation of channels, gulleys, cliffs, and spires. We stopped for lunch at the visitors' center and were surprised by how cold it was. We exited the scenic loop at Wall, SD which can only mean one thing... WALL DRUG! Have you dug Wall Drug? We did. I got a homemade donut, 5 cent coffee, and some postcards. As many of you probably know, they have free ice water, too. Though it's nothing to write home about. It tastes funny.
Back on I-90 for about another hour, we exited at Rapid City and headed south for about 30 miles until we came upon the aforementioned monument. Whether you're a fan of Alfred
Hitchcock, Team America World Police, or just the United States of America, Mt. Rushmore is the place for you. It's hard for me to put my finger on what was so stunning about it, but I think it's the confluence of scale, history, and the adjacent landscape. And we saw a mountain goat! After dinner we found the local movie theater and saw Hamlet 2, the highlight of which was the tune, "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." Before you're offended, let me tell you that the movie explains that the song is about if Jesus came to the earth in modern times, he'd have to market himself like a sexy celebrity. All in all we give the movie 2 thumbs up.
We're spending the night here in Rapid City before driving through Rocky Raccoon country tomorrow (that would be the Black Hills of Dakota) and into Wyoming. Despite Sarah Palin ruining my night, today has been one of the best days yet. So here's to another night in a Best Western, though this one seems to be a Better Western (we have a fridge). See you in Wyoming!
A&A
Alison and I left Chamberlain this morning after she sent off some applications. We drove west for about 200 miles until we reached the beginning of the Badlands National Park scenic loop (Route 240, exit 131). Just so you know, there are no student discounts at national parks. We drove the loop and stopped off at most of the lookouts. According to my American Park Networks guide (picked up at AAA), the Badlands, a 244,000 acre landscape, was formed starting 65 million years ago from various sediment, including what is known as the Pierre Shale, volcanic ash, 
and decomposed forests. Erosion has caused, and continues to cause, the formation of channels, gulleys, cliffs, and spires. We stopped for lunch at the visitors' center and were surprised by how cold it was. We exited the scenic loop at Wall, SD which can only mean one thing... WALL DRUG! Have you dug Wall Drug? We did. I got a homemade donut, 5 cent coffee, and some postcards. As many of you probably know, they have free ice water, too. Though it's nothing to write home about. It tastes funny.Back on I-90 for about another hour, we exited at Rapid City and headed south for about 30 miles until we came upon the aforementioned monument. Whether you're a fan of Alfred
Hitchcock, Team America World Police, or just the United States of America, Mt. Rushmore is the place for you. It's hard for me to put my finger on what was so stunning about it, but I think it's the confluence of scale, history, and the adjacent landscape. And we saw a mountain goat! After dinner we found the local movie theater and saw Hamlet 2, the highlight of which was the tune, "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." Before you're offended, let me tell you that the movie explains that the song is about if Jesus came to the earth in modern times, he'd have to market himself like a sexy celebrity. All in all we give the movie 2 thumbs up.We're spending the night here in Rapid City before driving through Rocky Raccoon country tomorrow (that would be the Black Hills of Dakota) and into Wyoming. Despite Sarah Palin ruining my night, today has been one of the best days yet. So here's to another night in a Best Western, though this one seems to be a Better Western (we have a fridge). See you in Wyoming!
A&A
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