GRADUATION!!!!

Along with 800 or so fine Aggies,  Bryan celebrated the UC Davis Fall 2014 Commencement.  We were thrilled to watch it all in The Pavilion along with David, Monica, and Michelle.  It was such a great day to be together honoring Bryan's academic performance!!

Like many graduations, the Fall Commencement featured the typical music, speeches, and hand shakes; the flipping of tassels and hundreds of photos!

Bryan was awarded a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Economics and Statistics.  There were 20 students awarded the combined degree.

Here is our honored grad:

He wears a gold sash for the UC Colors; the braided cord was awarded by the Econ Department for his honors thesis; Michelle wove the blue & gold lei; his Phi Beta Kappa ribbon; and the Student Marshal to lead in the Stats Majors.

Some shots from graduation --

The Pavilion easily accommodated all the graduates and their families.
Here they come....last in....Statistics Majors in the College of Letters and Science!

Plenty of tradition and history....but the band played Jingle Bells during the Recession!

It takes a lot of brain power to pass out those diplomas from 4 Colleges:
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science

First one of the Deans and then the Chancellor

Then a Stats Professor

The mortar board decoration -- the symbol M made from cow patterned fabric!

The Wulzens 

Let's go Bowling!!

Little Brother Wins the Match!

My Favorite Aggies!!  Go Bryan!!  Go Michelle!!

Days in Davis

The days creep by in Davis.  

We found a "mobile home park" that takes RVs -- at least after you go through a song and dance and approve that you have sufficient funds for a 2 month stay.  It is a bit long in the tooth -- but very quiet and convenient.  So here we are.

Arrived in town in time to celebrate the Giants victory over the KC Royals.  Sweet.  We started the season in Arizona with spring training -- so it was a complete victory lap for us.  MadBum disease rocks.

Yoga for me; the Davis Bike Club for Alan.  Staying warm--especially when the inside morning temps are in the low 50s.  Yikes -- time to thing of heading south.

No photos???  Well, I have a new camera and am mastering all the options and settings.  And you don't really want to see pictures of the new neighborhood or bikes blurred on the paths or ????

But Thanksgiving is at hand; UC Davis Graduation follows; Christmas and New Years around the corner.  Nice to be going slow and treasure all these events.

Playing Catch UP

From the coast -- up and over the Coast Range on a rainy day -- and into Eugene.   Lucky us it became a marvelous Indian Summer weekend and we did a bit of "duty free" shopping to take advantage of no sales tax in Oregon.  A few new toys & clothes.  A bit of hiking in the nearby hills and it was clear enough to see the Sisters Mountains to the east (they loom above Bend, OR).

Eugene is home to the University of Oregon -- it was homecoming weekend.  The Ducks thrashed the UW Huskies.  Who cares?

Down to Grants Pass and a side trip to Oregon Caves National Monument.  Fun to explore a cave, but really not very remarkable.

Today we arrived in Ashland -- a bit of theater the next couple of nights & a chance to enjoy the healing hot springs.  Then we will continue south.

Oregon Coast

Meandering south along 101.  Miles of rugged shorelines -- cliffs, coves, rock stacks, sandy beaches.  Acres of moss laden trees clinging to cliffs.  Everything green and moist.  Mostly gray and overcast skies but occasionally a snippet of brilliant blue.

We say farewell to Lewis & Clark at Ft Clatsop near Astoria.  Our trail this year overlapped the Corps of Discovery since the Missouri River outside of St. Louis; to Ft Mandan in North Dakota; the Bitterroot Mountains, Lolo Pass, and the Columbia River.   While it was an amazing expedition -- they were successful because of luck, good will from people of color, and a young Indian gal.

And...we somehow manage to have our trip coincide with the ocean lovers dream:   ocean front camping & a full moon (think huge tides) & long period swells from that mega storm in Japan.  What that means is SURF, ROUGH WATER, and SNEAKER WAVES.  We were seeing 8+ tides.

We camped at the beach...but at high tide, oops, no beach.  The Coast Guard and Park Rangers were plucking hapless folks from isolated rock points.  We scrambled further up the dune from those sneaker waves.  We watched a wedding party crowded up under the high cliff & that bride's dress looked a bit sandy at the hem!  Waves crashed over the sea walls in small towns.  It was mesmerizing & loud & stunningly beautiful.  And...just beyond the surf line...there were the gray whales:  blowing, rolling, diving.

Ft Clatsop -- winter on the Oregon Coast for Lewis & Clark

Peaking through the glass floor of an Astoria brew pub -- friendly seals

Hiking out Cape Falcon.  See the surfers?

Cape Lookout view towards the spit -- we are camped behind the spit.  

Geo Guesser...

So where are we?  A few clues follow:

The city icon reflected in a Chihuly globe

The land lord looking good.

Famous film director poses for a photo shot

All things salmon

Every one is the 12th Man.  Every crane is making the neighbor Amazon enclave.

Wow.  We have loved our hometown.

Mt Ranier National Park

Mt Ranier is a mountain wonderland famous for dense forests, dazzling wildflower meadows,  waterfalls, tremendous snowfields, and rugged glaciers.  The mountain makes its own weather -- it is a behemoth sentinel over Seattle and all of western/central Washington.

So dense forests, snowpack, water falls, wildflowers....it all sounds like it takes a bit of water to maintain THAT environment.  Let's go see!

We arrived under gray skies with a forecast for a couple of inches of rain.  Umm.  Would we see the mountain??  The ranger smiled.  No.  Oh well.

We hiked in a drizzle and discovered our raincoats are no longer water proof (or water resistant.)  And we sat inside Bessie warm and dry while it rained.

We eventually ventured out and did a long hike under gray, maybe clearing skies.  Then suddenly -- BLUE SKY and WHITE MOUNTAIN!!  We raced up the road to Paradise at about 5,500 feet to stare at the 14,410 foot peak.   We were in awe.  And about 90 minutes later the clouds encompassed the peak.  By the time we were back to the campground....rain.  Rain for another day.  But we were moving on thrilled to have had a peak at Tahoma, the dormant but ever present volcano!

Treated to a special peak at Tahoma!  We were thrilled!

Green, lush, and dripping vegetation

Sort of the "bob for apples" version in a mushroom.  DEADLY -- don't even touch!

Mount St Helens

Vancouver! Vancouver!

The call went out in May 1980 from a USGS volcano watcher as Mt St Helens erupted -- after a few months of ominous signs.  The once symmetrical, snow topped mountain became a living picture of VOLCAN -- the god of volcanoes!

The largest landslide in history, a huge lateral blast, and hours of flow, cloud, ash, and tremors.  Mountain lost, trees blown down for miles, a river smothered, new lakes made, lives lost.  Then quiet and a new landscape to contemplate.  Monochromatic; lifeless; arid.  But in the ensuing years bits of life have sprung up and brush and small trees appear.  Salamanders are thriving.  Small water pockets beckon ducks.  And every now and then the mountain rumbles and magma oozes up in the caldera.  The glacier grows.

A bit of steam can be seen -- mostly it is drab, dusty, and sobering.
The glacier is almost BLACK because it is so full of rocks and dust.

Coldwater Lake formed by a debris pile.  Some shrub beginning to grow back.

One area in the "hummocks" has become a wetlands as small pools of water collect and creeks meander.
The area is full of salamanders & birds.  

Looking back from the Toutle River -- the north facing side was completely blown away.
The missing mountain now is the hummocks and piles of debris.  

The Toutle River today -- about 150 feet HIGHER than the old river bed.  That is a lot of debris!

Hot Springs Heaven

We scooted out of Cody with new tags for Bessie -- street legal again!

Then on to Bozeman for a taste of a college town; fun place.  Through Missoula with lunch stops at Big Dip Ice Cream and Bernice's Bakery.

But we were searching for hot springs and that took us up to Lolo Pass and down into Idaho.  We tryed out the Jerry Johnson Hot Springs:  ok; busy; a mile from the road.  A wee bit cold at night so on down the Lochsa River Valley we drove to Wilderness Gateway campground.  Gateway to the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness.  And the Stanley Hot Springs.

Darn cold night.  Left on the 5 mile hike in long underwear; fleece; hats and gloves.  Slowly up the hill we hiked -- shedding layers and getting warm, even before the hot springs.  We crossed boulder creek (on the boulders) and then up along Huckleberry Creek.  WOW!

Along the hillside in a series of pools was a lovely wilderness hot springs.  Surrounded by tall conifers, blue skies, and pools of varying coolness.  A great afternoon.

Until the 5 mile hike back.  And darn cold temps at night.

WEST!

Cody, Wyoming

We scooted from the Grand Tetons to Cody -- looking at the "wintery mix" and "snow patches".  Um, could it be winter already?

But our goal was Cody--and a long overdue visit with my sister Alisa & her husband Joe.  A week of adventure and hanging out and talking and hiking and exploring.

Fun every day.

Alan has the best trees.  Alisa has the best fire.  Joe has the best moon.  I have the best tent.
We all the best time together!

Sip n Paint -- what fun!

Grand Tetons National Park

Time to drive west.  Look towards the setting sun.  Try and sneak in a last bit of summer (though the morning temps in the high 30s are chilling our resolve!!)

So...off to one of our favorite spots -- Grand Tetons National Park.  The Park has a bit of everything we enjoy:  alpine lakes, hikes, birds, wildflowers, bike paths, scenery.  All in a compact geographic area.  This year we are camping at Signal Mountain -- happy to splurge on the electric connection to run that space heater in the morning.

PLUS...the weather seems to have cleared up for a few days.  It has been a cool and wet August here so we are glad for the sunshine.

I will let the pictures tell our story.

Our first moose this season...along the Gros Ventre River as we rode our bikes!
Calf was in field behind the River

Wind Cave National Park

The forecast was for rain:  what a great time to go caving!!  At Wind Cave National Park, one of the oldest National Parks (1903) and first to protect underground resources.  The Park features both above ground prairie lands (where tall grass prairie meets the Black Hills) and below miles of below ground features, formations, and tangled web of passages (142 miles in 1 square mile.)  Imagine a bowl of spaghetti for the passages above, below, around...where does that passage way go!

Wind Cave is unique among the world's caves:  it have less active water flow thus fewer dripstones --stalactites and stalagmites.  And not so much color.  What does it have???  It contains 95% of the known boxwork worldwide; and boxwork is formed BEFORE a cave so it dates to 320+ million years ago.

We signed up for a tour -- and like all our National Park experiences this summer -- incredible.  The guide was articulate, knowledgeable, and had a great sense of humor.  The tour lasted about an hour and half; up and down paths (paved by those CCC boys in the 1930s); looking at boxwork, popcorn, frostwork, and other cave formations.  The rooms were smaller but every view was amazing.

The name given Wind Cave is from the one small opening that "blows a wind" based on barometric pressure (inside vs outside).  Standing by the opening the grasses were blowing and the cave was "singing."  The Lakota consider the Cave actually the spot of their creation story and the spot where they were led to the light.

Mica is common throughout the Black Hills.  Sparkles and twinkles...

Finally, a tall grass prairie walk at Wind Cave

Boxwork

Popcorn and frostwork

The one known opening to Wind Cave.  

Leaving South Dakota...Happy Trails!