Exploregon

Dear Friends,

It's been so long that Blogger forgot who I was and demanded a password when I tried to update my own blog. It's been so long that I couldn't remember the password, and spent almost an hour trying to figure out what obscure, secret word I possibly could've chosen. (Sometimes I'm so dumb that I outsmart myself.) But look -- here I am! I won't tell you my password, but can I tell you what I've been doing? It's been so long, but I've still been thinking about you a lot.

June passed, July's here. Since we last spoke, I've been camping three times:

Backpacking at Eagle Creek:

Bike camping on the Nestucca:

Central Oregon, Metolius River & Suttle Lake:

(don't be fooled, I'm dying of heatstroke.)

Then, I celebrated America's birthday...

...by keeping hydrated in the 90 degree heat...

... participating in a water balloon toss...

... and mostly, by jumping in a giant inflatable bouncy castle.

Then there were fireworks on the waterfront!

Oh! And here and there and in-between, I was...

... using glowsticks as mustaches...

... learning to skip stones...

...building hula-hoops...

... and finding new reading spots.

There was a bike scavenger hunt...

... and then I nearly broke my ankle trying to cheat during a 3-legged race.

I rode the bus to friends' houses, birthday parties, dinners, movies. It was late, it was early, it was hot, it rained, I ran after it, I missed it, I made it. I had a carton of raspberries, I wanted thai food, I was going downtown for lunch, I was tired after work, I was spilling ice cream on myself.

There were flowers...

... and flowers...

... and flowers.

And in-between I was walking and thinking, holding hands and holding coffee. To the library and back, to his house, to their houses, to air-conditioned cafes (it's hot!) but mostly to nowhere in particular, which is what I like best.

So there! But how are you? Are you well? I'd like to know. I've resolved to update at least once a week (mainly because it takes too much time to upload a month's worth of photos into one entry). Coming up are two special birthdays (one is mine! 28?!), a bike-building project, and a trip to climb Mt. St. Helens. Summer. Summer!