Saturday, August 3, 2013

Some pictures from lately...

Bret came to visit!

Detroit Lake

The biggest little rodeo in the world.

Yeehaw!

One year anniversary :)

Golfing in Redmond, OR

The Dublin clan at Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood

The ladies at Timberline Lodge

Multnomah Falls

At the Columbia River gorge

Newport, OR - a coastal town

The Oregon Aquarium

Newport

A fishing boat in Newport

Yaquina Lighthouse

Yaquina

The view from the top of Mt. Saint Helens

Sunrise on top of Mt. Saint Helens

My husband, the man :)

Hiking with Corey Brown into Jeff Park

Mt. Jefferson

Bay Lake at Mt. Jefferson, a great place for an after-hike dip!

It's funny.

It's funny how a year ago I had never given a second thought to Oregon. And now here we are, having lived in this state for almost 6 months.

And I have grown to love it. While the jobs have not been what either of us would consider our "niche," we have made good friends and had great times, and we have made the most of being here.

We have climbed Mt. Washington (which was terrifying). Josh has done a midnight climb of Mt. Saint Helens (which he will write all about soon). We have hiked to the base of Mt. Jefferson and camped with a view of it filling up the door of our tent. We have become amateur "backpackers," learning the ropes from some people we have met here who have been kind enough to take us under their wings. We have gained an appreciation for the rugged wilderness that is all around us, and it has brought us closer together.

Making the change to this whole "travel" lifestyle was really hard for me. It took me months to adjust, and a lot of good cries, if I am honest. But now I finally feel like I am on the other side of it, and I can open my eyes and look around and see what an amazing opportunity this has been so far. To move clear across the country and settle in, make friends, get to know the people and the land, and explore. We have become invested in a place that we may never live in again.  But maybe one day, we will bring our kids out here and show them around, and be able to tell them of all the great things we were able to do and see, once upon a time.

It's funny how a year ago I had never given a second thought to Oregon. And now that we are nearing the end of our assignments here (mine next Friday, and Josh's the next week), I cannot imagine leaving it for some place else.