Here is an article written by Seattle journalist Stacey Solie. It is a powerful story, and one that has not been shared enough in the weeks since the mountain came crashing down in Oso.
Please read it, share it, and remember it.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
It wouldn't be spring in the Front Range without insane weather patterns
Friday: sunny and 78 degrees.
Saturday: sunny and 75 degrees.
Sunday: snowing and 22 degrees….
Welcome to spring in the High Plains?
The Husband and I took our new travel trailer for a test run this weekend, and went camping down at Cherry Creek State Park just south of Aurora, Colo. (Or, more accurately, the campground is actually nestled within the city, which was… a new experience for us. Our campground back in Washington was 30 miles north of nowhere!)
It was a lovely, albeit quick, trip, and we made many, many camping and road trip plans for the coming spring and summer months! We did, however, get snowed out on Sunday, so our weekend was cut short. Thank goodness we left when we did, because we hit a perfect break in the weather that made it (at least slightly) less hairy getting back to Cheyenne.
And I have to say, I felt sorry for the poor saps in their tents… been there, done that, it sucks when the weather turns on you and all that is between you and Mother Nature's fury is a thin wall of polyurethane-coated fabric!
My day thus far has consisted of massive loads of laundry; getting the trailer linens and dishes cleaned and squared away; paying bills; and other general housewifery items.
I had planned on making a grocery run as well, but yesterday's stupid snow fall and subsequent deep freeze put a damper on that, on account of the ice rinks we call roads. I'll get to it tomorrow, since it'll be the only nice day this week!
I also need to attend to that whole pesky school thing. Spring quarter starts today.
Blergh.
BUT!!!!! FINAL QUARTER!!!!!
I've thus far managed to avoid any and all school work today. Because what better way to kick off my last quarter than through intense procrastination, amiright?!?
Lucky it's a super light week. (And one of my only light weeks all quarter… le sigh…)
I'll get it done. I always do. I just have to put my house back together first. Because as it turns out, while RV camping is in many ways much easier and more convenient than tent camping, there's one thing they don't tell you. Your house still ends up looking like a bomb went off in it when you get back!
Saturday: sunny and 75 degrees.
Sunday: snowing and 22 degrees….
Welcome to spring in the High Plains?
The Husband and I took our new travel trailer for a test run this weekend, and went camping down at Cherry Creek State Park just south of Aurora, Colo. (Or, more accurately, the campground is actually nestled within the city, which was… a new experience for us. Our campground back in Washington was 30 miles north of nowhere!)
 |
| There's snow in them there clouds... |
It was a lovely, albeit quick, trip, and we made many, many camping and road trip plans for the coming spring and summer months! We did, however, get snowed out on Sunday, so our weekend was cut short. Thank goodness we left when we did, because we hit a perfect break in the weather that made it (at least slightly) less hairy getting back to Cheyenne.
And I have to say, I felt sorry for the poor saps in their tents… been there, done that, it sucks when the weather turns on you and all that is between you and Mother Nature's fury is a thin wall of polyurethane-coated fabric!
My day thus far has consisted of massive loads of laundry; getting the trailer linens and dishes cleaned and squared away; paying bills; and other general housewifery items.
I had planned on making a grocery run as well, but yesterday's stupid snow fall and subsequent deep freeze put a damper on that, on account of the ice rinks we call roads. I'll get to it tomorrow, since it'll be the only nice day this week!
I also need to attend to that whole pesky school thing. Spring quarter starts today.
Blergh.
BUT!!!!! FINAL QUARTER!!!!!
I've thus far managed to avoid any and all school work today. Because what better way to kick off my last quarter than through intense procrastination, amiright?!?
Lucky it's a super light week. (And one of my only light weeks all quarter… le sigh…)
I'll get it done. I always do. I just have to put my house back together first. Because as it turns out, while RV camping is in many ways much easier and more convenient than tent camping, there's one thing they don't tell you. Your house still ends up looking like a bomb went off in it when you get back!
 |
| Is there anything better than a campfire? |
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Spring Break in Wyo: shooting ranges, Governors, and the threat of snow
What up blogosphere?!? I know my posts have been a little light as of late, but things have been insanely busy.
The last couple of weeks have been an utter whirlwind! Mostly in a good way, mind you. But still very whirly and windy.
First, I finished Winter Quarter. I don't feel like I finished as strong as I should have… but that's probably because I totally didn't finish as strong as I should have. My brain was done. I had all but completely checked out. I did what needed to be done, but in all honesty, not much more than that! I walked away with a 4.0 in psychology (I'm still trying to figure out how that happened), a 4.0 in sociology, and a measly 3.7 in Econ (and that's mostly because I totally crapped out on the last assignment, and I own that) (seriously, why make us do graphs for the first time in the final assignment?!?).
Next quarter I'm taking Intro to Communications (my final elective; I hope that's kinda like underwater basket weaving, minus the risk of drowning) and Management Strategy (the fancy name for my capstone, otherwise known has proving the culmination of your educational worth so they give you the degree). I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous about that one. But only because there's like 18 different 10-page case study assignments to complete in a 10 week period… and I'm only mildly exaggerating. But I survived an over-full-time course load, I can handle a capstone right?…. Right?… RIGHT?!?!?
Sigh.
Anyway, while I was trying somewhat earnestly to finish my classes, I also complicated things for myself by flying back to Seattle to surprise my mom. My sister and I had been plotting for a few months to have me fly up for the Northwest Women's Show, which is something my mom and I (and occasionally my sister, when it didn't coincide with Comic Con) have attended every year for, oh, 13 years or so?
Suffice it to say, my mom was totally shocked and pleased with our diabolical little scheme, and we had a blast at the women's show!
The next day I had been planning on surprising my grandparents with a quick visit before jetting back out of town, but I decided to be responsible and finish my final Econ assignment instead. Call it kismet or luck or what have you, but had I decided to go up to Darrington, I would have been on Highway 530 the morning of the mudslide… that realization made me a bit queasy.
(For the latest on the mudslide, click here and here)
(And to donate to the Snohomish County Red Cross, click here)
Aside from my cancelled visit to my beloved grandpeople, I also had made lunch plans with my Soul Sista Kym. Unfortunately, her youngest daughter (otherwise known as BabyBaby) came down ill, so we had to cancel our lunch date.
So I didn't end up seeing anyone else besides my immediate family before I had to fly back, but it was still a great trip. And The Husband and I have a family road trip up there planned for this summer, so we'll get to see everyone then.
When I flew back to Wyo, I was joined by my sister (!!!) who took a week off of work to come down, visit for a bit, and see where the hell we left Western Washington for.
And I don't think she was… impressed with Cheyenne!
She's a bit of a hipster, so the non-ironic cowboy vibe of Southeastern Wyoming wasn't really her thing. But it was fun to have her here for a bit; we all miss her terribly!
One fun and random thing that happened while Katie was here was that my youngest wanted to take her to the Capitol Building. He's mildly obsessed with it; he thinks it is the single coolest building he's ever seen, and as such, he asks to go to it nearly every day. Having his Auntie Tatie here gave him a valid excuse for us to go!
As soon as we entered the main doorway, he took her hand and brought her to the President Lincoln memorial statue in the East Wing of the building. As we passed the main staircase and entered the East hallway, we walked past a very large man in a dark suit, and I noticed he had one of those coiled ear-pieces you see in the movies. I put two and two together, and I whispered to my sister that the Governor was probably in the building, since I'd never seen secret service-type dudes there before.
(And for the record, those dudes are pretty intimidating!)
Anyway, we got down to the Lincoln statue, and Monkey is telling his Auntie about how it's really cool because it's a big head, and it's gold, so it must be a superhero (natural assumption), when we hear a voice behind us say hello…
And then this happened…
We met Governor Mead!!!
Now, granted, I disagree with probably a good 80% of the man's politics… but it was still pretty awesome to meet him. I am able to separate different opinions on policy with a respect for the office itself; plus I'm a politics geek in general, so it made my day.
My older kids were super jealous that they missed out on account of that whole being-in-school thing, so I managed to arrange with (or possibly annoy!) Gov. Mead's staff for the kids to have a meeting with him later this week. I am having each of them prepare a question to ask him; they're both excited and I think a little nervous. I am somewhat of a politics wonk, so my children have grown to understand that this is a pretty cool opportunity for them. I'm sure there are more pictures to come!
Besides that, we explored the area a bit with my sister. We went up to Laramie one of the days; there is nothing in Laramie! We accidentally discovered Highway 287 from Laramie to Fort Collins, which was an absolutely beautiful drive… made all the better by jamming to kitschy '90s tunes (I told you, she's a hipster). We then spent the rest of that day dinking around Fort Collins, which I realized I actually really like (when I'm not stuck in a crappy apartment waiting for my house to be built!). Less cowboy, more hippie. My kind of place! Depending on where Hubs' career takes him, maybe we'll end up back down in that area at some point.
Katie flew home right as the kids' Spring Break started. We tried to pack in as much vacation revelry as one week (and Hubs' pesky work obligations) would allow. We went and saw the Lego Movie, which was ridiculously cute. We went out to eat a few times. We had the obligatory Harry Potter movie marathon, because it's just what we do. We went down to the Rocky Mountain Archery range in Fort Collins, where the kids (and us) learned how to shoot with a bow and arrow; it was very fun, but a little stressful trying to keep the 3-year-old from running out onto the shooting range when people were, you know, shooting very, very sharp arrows.
And we bought a travel trailer!!!
That's right, no more tent camping for me, bitches!
I'm actually totally cool with tent camping, but in this neck of the woods, there are many places that don't allow tents, either because of wind hazards, or because of, you know, the risk of being mauled by a bear. And weirdly enough, I prefer not being mauled by a bear. Crazy, huh?
But I digress. The whole buying a trailer thing happened sort of randomly. We've been looking for a little over a month, just trying to gauge amenities, prices, etc, but we weren't planning on actually purchasing one until next year. We figured since we just bought a house, a bank wouldn't then turn around and give us a loan on a trailer too. But then Hubs was at our bank running errands, he and the teller were making small talk, and Hubs asked if they did auto or RV loans (it's a credit union, and not all credit unions do that). He explained how we were planning on getting one next year, the teller explained how they had really good interest rates right now, one thing led to another, and bada bing, bada boom, we own a trailer!
We don't actually pick it up until Thursday, because the dealership is de-winterizing it, installing the equalizer, and doing their inspections and whatnot (they threw a bunch of technical jargon at us, Hubs understood it, I… just nodded). Then first thing Thursday morning, we are bringing our Suburban in to get the trailer brakes installed, and then we're good to go!
And yes, we are so going camping this weekend!
(I just hope they change Sunday's forecast, since right now it is calling for snow…)
Sigh. Welcome to Wyoming...
 |
| See? This guy gets it. |
The last couple of weeks have been an utter whirlwind! Mostly in a good way, mind you. But still very whirly and windy.
First, I finished Winter Quarter. I don't feel like I finished as strong as I should have… but that's probably because I totally didn't finish as strong as I should have. My brain was done. I had all but completely checked out. I did what needed to be done, but in all honesty, not much more than that! I walked away with a 4.0 in psychology (I'm still trying to figure out how that happened), a 4.0 in sociology, and a measly 3.7 in Econ (and that's mostly because I totally crapped out on the last assignment, and I own that) (seriously, why make us do graphs for the first time in the final assignment?!?).
Next quarter I'm taking Intro to Communications (my final elective; I hope that's kinda like underwater basket weaving, minus the risk of drowning) and Management Strategy (the fancy name for my capstone, otherwise known has proving the culmination of your educational worth so they give you the degree). I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous about that one. But only because there's like 18 different 10-page case study assignments to complete in a 10 week period… and I'm only mildly exaggerating. But I survived an over-full-time course load, I can handle a capstone right?…. Right?… RIGHT?!?!?
Anyway, while I was trying somewhat earnestly to finish my classes, I also complicated things for myself by flying back to Seattle to surprise my mom. My sister and I had been plotting for a few months to have me fly up for the Northwest Women's Show, which is something my mom and I (and occasionally my sister, when it didn't coincide with Comic Con) have attended every year for, oh, 13 years or so?
Suffice it to say, my mom was totally shocked and pleased with our diabolical little scheme, and we had a blast at the women's show!
The next day I had been planning on surprising my grandparents with a quick visit before jetting back out of town, but I decided to be responsible and finish my final Econ assignment instead. Call it kismet or luck or what have you, but had I decided to go up to Darrington, I would have been on Highway 530 the morning of the mudslide… that realization made me a bit queasy.
(For the latest on the mudslide, click here and here)
(And to donate to the Snohomish County Red Cross, click here)
Aside from my cancelled visit to my beloved grandpeople, I also had made lunch plans with my Soul Sista Kym. Unfortunately, her youngest daughter (otherwise known as BabyBaby) came down ill, so we had to cancel our lunch date.
So I didn't end up seeing anyone else besides my immediate family before I had to fly back, but it was still a great trip. And The Husband and I have a family road trip up there planned for this summer, so we'll get to see everyone then.
 |
| The Husband's perspective |
 |
| My perspective |
When I flew back to Wyo, I was joined by my sister (!!!) who took a week off of work to come down, visit for a bit, and see where the hell we left Western Washington for.
And I don't think she was… impressed with Cheyenne!
She's a bit of a hipster, so the non-ironic cowboy vibe of Southeastern Wyoming wasn't really her thing. But it was fun to have her here for a bit; we all miss her terribly!
One fun and random thing that happened while Katie was here was that my youngest wanted to take her to the Capitol Building. He's mildly obsessed with it; he thinks it is the single coolest building he's ever seen, and as such, he asks to go to it nearly every day. Having his Auntie Tatie here gave him a valid excuse for us to go!
As soon as we entered the main doorway, he took her hand and brought her to the President Lincoln memorial statue in the East Wing of the building. As we passed the main staircase and entered the East hallway, we walked past a very large man in a dark suit, and I noticed he had one of those coiled ear-pieces you see in the movies. I put two and two together, and I whispered to my sister that the Governor was probably in the building, since I'd never seen secret service-type dudes there before.
(And for the record, those dudes are pretty intimidating!)
Anyway, we got down to the Lincoln statue, and Monkey is telling his Auntie about how it's really cool because it's a big head, and it's gold, so it must be a superhero (natural assumption), when we hear a voice behind us say hello…
And then this happened…
We met Governor Mead!!!
Now, granted, I disagree with probably a good 80% of the man's politics… but it was still pretty awesome to meet him. I am able to separate different opinions on policy with a respect for the office itself; plus I'm a politics geek in general, so it made my day.
My older kids were super jealous that they missed out on account of that whole being-in-school thing, so I managed to arrange with (or possibly annoy!) Gov. Mead's staff for the kids to have a meeting with him later this week. I am having each of them prepare a question to ask him; they're both excited and I think a little nervous. I am somewhat of a politics wonk, so my children have grown to understand that this is a pretty cool opportunity for them. I'm sure there are more pictures to come!
Besides that, we explored the area a bit with my sister. We went up to Laramie one of the days; there is nothing in Laramie! We accidentally discovered Highway 287 from Laramie to Fort Collins, which was an absolutely beautiful drive… made all the better by jamming to kitschy '90s tunes (I told you, she's a hipster). We then spent the rest of that day dinking around Fort Collins, which I realized I actually really like (when I'm not stuck in a crappy apartment waiting for my house to be built!). Less cowboy, more hippie. My kind of place! Depending on where Hubs' career takes him, maybe we'll end up back down in that area at some point.
 |
| Some of the views along 287. Red rocks, rolling hills, and jagged mountains all in one 40 minute drive. |
Katie flew home right as the kids' Spring Break started. We tried to pack in as much vacation revelry as one week (and Hubs' pesky work obligations) would allow. We went and saw the Lego Movie, which was ridiculously cute. We went out to eat a few times. We had the obligatory Harry Potter movie marathon, because it's just what we do. We went down to the Rocky Mountain Archery range in Fort Collins, where the kids (and us) learned how to shoot with a bow and arrow; it was very fun, but a little stressful trying to keep the 3-year-old from running out onto the shooting range when people were, you know, shooting very, very sharp arrows.
And we bought a travel trailer!!!
 |
| Jayco White Hawk |
That's right, no more tent camping for me, bitches!
I'm actually totally cool with tent camping, but in this neck of the woods, there are many places that don't allow tents, either because of wind hazards, or because of, you know, the risk of being mauled by a bear. And weirdly enough, I prefer not being mauled by a bear. Crazy, huh?
But I digress. The whole buying a trailer thing happened sort of randomly. We've been looking for a little over a month, just trying to gauge amenities, prices, etc, but we weren't planning on actually purchasing one until next year. We figured since we just bought a house, a bank wouldn't then turn around and give us a loan on a trailer too. But then Hubs was at our bank running errands, he and the teller were making small talk, and Hubs asked if they did auto or RV loans (it's a credit union, and not all credit unions do that). He explained how we were planning on getting one next year, the teller explained how they had really good interest rates right now, one thing led to another, and bada bing, bada boom, we own a trailer!
We don't actually pick it up until Thursday, because the dealership is de-winterizing it, installing the equalizer, and doing their inspections and whatnot (they threw a bunch of technical jargon at us, Hubs understood it, I… just nodded). Then first thing Thursday morning, we are bringing our Suburban in to get the trailer brakes installed, and then we're good to go!
And yes, we are so going camping this weekend!
(I just hope they change Sunday's forecast, since right now it is calling for snow…)
Sigh. Welcome to Wyoming...
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
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