Go, Señor Doctor, Go!

While we wait for our visas to be processed so we can leave for Ecuador, we have been taking advantage of the great weather that Bend is known for. Unfortunately, my head has ballooned in size, and taken on the characteristics of my dad's face:
The doctors are at a loss for a cure, and so I am patiently waiting for their research to bear fruit. My mom decided a trip to see our relatives in California would be just the trick to take my (now enormous) mind off of this sad calamity. And it did! I have great relatives, and I only wish I could spend more time with them.
We went to Ikea, and I was impressed by their army of shopping carts. Those Swedes are prepared for anything:
On the drive back to Bend, we saw a blink-of-an-eye town that's claim to fame is possessing the World's Largest Grindstone! They could have chosen a more dignified location for it, though:

Pets on Parade!

This is my tribute to the 4th of July, since we didn't do anything this year because we were in the middle of the woods.

It's always fun to look back on old pictures and laugh at a)the outfits, b) the haircuts, and c) the activites. This picture features all three of those things- I am wearing a red tank top that I had sewn myself (I remember thinking it was so cool...), my sister and I are both sporting less than flattering haircuts, and we are proudly participating in the annual 4th of July Bend Pet Parade. And in the left side of the picture is some lady dressed as a jellyfish... which was a totally normal thing to do in the totally awesome Pet Parade! Kids who didn't have pets pushed toy baby strollers with their stuffed animals riding along, and I remember seeing a lot of red wagons carrying fish bowls with clearly suffering goldfish. And the best part were the free popsicles after.

Magic Magic.

In an effort to lighten things up concerning our driving trip, because it was really fun, here are four silly pictures of memorable events.
We stopped for lunch at a lake in the Yukon, and there were two gray jays that ate bits of our sandwiches out of our hands (Taylor informs me that he has had loads of gray jays eat out of his hands before, but this was all new to me):
That night, we camped at a supposedly closed campground (the signs said closed, but the gates said open) and Taylor was getting a campfire ready to start, when it started all by itself!
One of the best stops on the Alcan is the Liard River Hot Springs, and everyone who is cool stops there for a soak. A blizzard started the next morning, and the air was freezing cold. That's why Taylor looks like a marshmallow- a marshmallow drinking Coors Light:
But I wasn't looking much better. The combination of prescription glasses and beanies is a very unfortunate one indeed:

The Car, With Us, On the Road.

Every time I try to write an intro for this post, I erase it, because what can I really say about the trip down the Alcan. It was over 3,000 miles, and took us about 9 days, but those are just numbers, and numbers can't tell a story.
So, first, here is a list of the animals we saw in herds and flocks: buffalo, caribou, stone sheep, black bears, sandhill cranes, big horn sheep, arctic swans, wild horses, and a lone fox. So great.
We saw a lady die, we saw trees dying, and we saw a wild horse dead with his legs frozen out parallel to the ground, just like a toy. I guess that's what happens when winter is coming.
We almost died, too, trying to cross the Canadian Rockies in a forty year old car without chains and in the middle of a blizzard. I've never been in a position before where I thought, "Well, I guess this is it." And what do you do then? Nothing, because when we die isn't our choice, and it's so terrifying to realize that. But we didn't, and a miracle is all that can explain why not. It's also terrifying to realize that God is everything, and we are these little nothings, and it's God that decides all.
But we ruled the mighty Alcan. We melted it's little face off with our very presence. It's already crying, dreading the day we drive back up to Alaska.

Going South, We Are. Enjoy It, We Will.

Today Taylor, Volvo, and I are heading Outside (to southerners, that means the outdoors, but to the northerners of this fair country, that means anywhere that's not Alaska).
And even though we are both staunch Protestants, today merits a prayer to St. Christopher, the patron saint of (among other things) travelers, cab drivers, lightening, automobile drivers, Havana, fruit dealers, holy death, and toothaches. So a prayer to one of God's most holiest has us covered in most every way. Those Catholics aren't taking any chances, it seems.
North to the Future!
South to the Past!
East to the Present!
West to the...

Maggot Fish!

Spawned out fish! Missing eyeballs! Very smelly! Bears! This was a fun outing, and all I wanted to do was just run around and make grossed-out noises like when I was a little kid.
This fish is completely full of maggots. And was half-buried by a bear. Listen closely and hear them eating and moving:

Yea for nature!

Bee Day!

Taylor is now 26 years old, and looking very chipper indeed considering he is quickly approaching old age.
There were almost too many candles on our mini-cake. I could feel the cake crying under the weight, but then it didn't feel anything, because we ate it.

Luminous Lighted Lodge.

One last view of the lodge we work at. We shut it down a couple of days ago. Nighttime and an old camera that won't focus make everything prettier:

Hair!

I think the best thing about making jam is lining all the jars up when you are done and admiring your work. Actually, I think the best part about doing anything is admiring what you have done after it's all done:
Taylor and I went to Portland last week for our good friends' wedding, which Taylor was in. While Taylor did all the pre-wedding things guys do together, Marie and I reacquainted our Chickenscratch dolls (my Chickenscratch brought his pet whale, Targon McFlubbers, along as company) and we all spent some real quality time together:
Then, at the wedding, Taylor and Brett also reacquainted themselves with each other. Those little gems. By the way, my favorite thing about wedding pictures or party pictures are the poses that dancers are caught in. This picture has several great ones in the background:
During all of this great bonding and special time, my eyes were freaking out. I couldn't stand any light at all, and they hurt all the time. So I went to a doctor and was told I have blisters on my eye! And ingrown blood vessels! And a virus! What the heck?! Now I get to go back to my younger days and wear my extra-thick glasses:
And apparently when I bring out my glasses, my crazy hair comes back too. We didn't have a mirror so I was unaware of my looks until I walked into the lodge and saw my shadow on the door. Pretty scary stuff:
But luckily, throughout everything, our guard polar bear makes sure we're safe: