postcard from Timpanogos Caves

Photos from Cameron and I's hike to Timpanogos Cave National Monument in early July. July you say? Yes, I will let you know when this blog becomes more current - we have a lot of photo posts to go between now and then. And they all scream summer, sweet freedom, and the light little moments of adventure that I've made sure to plan for myself (and of course to spend time with my constant companion) at least once every couple of weeks.

Portland, OR

Day 5: Eugene to Portland, Oregon via Hwy 99W.
As this is the last of the road trip posts, written three months after the fact, it makes some sense to start from the end and go backwards, no? Mostly because I want to start with the last photo I took on the trip: my friend Jamila, a Portland transplant from Salt Lake City, displaying some curiously titled, adorably illustrated "Prevention" magazines she got in a free bin on the street ("The Magazine for Better Health" - somehow tied to foxes and raccoons?). This was taken as we walked back to the car that Heather and I left Salt Lake in, that would very shortly take me to the airport and Heather on to continue her journey.

I credit the good times we experienced in Portland to Jamila, who acted as guide to our whirlwind tour. This marks the third time in as many years that I have spent less than 24 hours in Portland. And even though that's never given me the time to properly soak in the city, I'm positive that Jamila's perspective gave me the closest glimpse into the real Portland, and by far the most fun of my three visits.








This Portland was food carts, street kids, hipstervilles, bicycles, and vegan food. Lots and lots of vegan food. After our drive up from Eugene through Oregon wine country, we met up with Jamila and immediately took the bus to dinner at the oh so delicious and greasy Hungry Tiger Too (greasy as in vegan bacon cheeseburger). Here, we discovered that Jamila, along with the rest of the city of Portland, is a pro at pinball. Who knew? We then wandered on a walking tour of what may have been downtown Portland - again, I still haven't properly "grasped" Portland and I like that despite it being the closest sister city to Salt Lake, the scope of Portland remains a mystery in my mind. I know that we ended up at Voodoo Doughnut, where the line spills out into the street and around the block and at the end you find yourself with a scrumptious sprinkled cake donut for just a couple bucks, 24 hours a day. From the website: "Famous for their girth, our doughnuts are made fresh with love and care. You can pay us more for our product which is locally made, locally owned, and an honest dream come true, or you can buy cheaper, megalacorp, machine cut, rebaked, defrozen, warehouse doughnuts and pastries." The choice is yours. Since I know your next questions are, "do they have vegan donuts and can I get married there?" - this is Portland, silly. The answers are yes and yes.

The final day of the road trip was spent leisurely with Jam and Heather enjoying the most important meal of the day: a hearty brunch (see photo above - titled Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Scramble. Bell peppers, red onion, zucchini, scrambled eggs, toast, cheese-smothered potatoes. Yum). You can find this delicious dish at Muddy's (restaurant/coffee shop in a cute little house! Named after a dog! Where the tea is served in individual pots!).


Stuffed and satisfied, we made our way down the street, where I snapped this final photo of Heather in front of the little homemade ice cream cart pictured above, Jamila picked up her Prevention magazines, and...you see? The end is the beginning is the end.

p.s. At the airport, I managed to get in a few last-minute Oregon tourist staples: touching my first real-life Pendleton blanket and browsing the airport outpost of Powell's Books. Then I flew home to the waiting arms of my furry little family - Finnegan, Frankenstein, and Cameron - and engaged in some epic cuddling, homebodying, photo uploading, and reflection on my trip.

ptcruisinacrossamerica.blogspot.com

Remember the road trip I took last summer? And its accompanying vlog? When the digital age failed me and I lost all of my photos and videos (later recovering some thanks to Juli's cross-camera/cross-computer uploading backup), I could still count on my analog memories. Those beautiful, grainy, washed out analog memories. I did some long overdue Polaroid scanning last weekend.










(Photos taken in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kentucky, respectively)

Eugene, OR

I realize I never finished my road trip posts. There are two stops to go. We will recommence now.

Day 4: Crater Lake National Park to Eugene, Oregon
I think Heather and I were both the slightest bit burned out by the time we got to Eugene. The road there was beautiful, winding along the Umpqua River on a scenic byway. We were very grateful to arrive at the Eugene Whiteaker Hostel before dark, that they had two beds available, and that those two beds were in a dorm room with no other occupants and its own bathroom and shower. Sometimes those comforts - a long shower, cell phone reception, and internet access - come right when you need them.





The bulk of our time in Eugene was spent on the University of Oregon campus, and it did not disappoint. The pictures above display it pretty accurately - green, green, green. We paid a visit to the track field, home to the legendary Prefontaine, stalked the Humanities building, scoped the library, etc.

Friday night we hit up Bingo night at Sam Bonds Garage, on the recommendation of the friendly owner of the hostel. Did I mention this hostel had free, grill-your-own pancakes? This, again, couldn't have come at a better time. I think I ate about six, and they were probably the best pancakes I've ever had. The hostel also had a friendly resident dog, a little music studio, and a backyard garden. But I digress. Bingo night turned out to be the perfect way to scope out the 20-something social scene of Eugene - the place was so packed that we ended up at a table with about 10 other people. One festive couple even came decked out in full octogenarian costume, complete with limping around the bar at a turtle's pace and holding up any college kids who happened to be packed behind them. From this experience I got the vibe of Eugene as a sort of resting place for various quirky, eclectic, free-spirited types, mostly migrating from other parts of the West. It's the type of college town where the hippies and the geeks and probably the yuppies too live happily alongside each other, and the little vegan eateries and bike shops on the main campus commercial strip are sandwiched right next to the Digital Duck for all your technology needs and, no joke, an American Apparel not 100 yards from campus.


Aptly named student vegan co-op, The Lorax. May I just say that I found the vegetarian co-op next door to look overall more cleanly, friendly, and welcoming, but I give The Lorax full points for name, concept, and the little Dr. Seuss character that watches over their abode.

Adorable whale we found in a neighborhood park. Nearby there was a little residential street filled with trees and blocked by a wildflower-strewn island with the sign: "Do Not Enter - Except Bicycles and Buses." Oh, Eugene.

sea change

Photos by Lindsay Josal, via Simply Photo.

I know I've expressed a reluctance to let go of summer, but the other day I found myself getting butterflies about Fall looking at these pictures. It might not be all sun-dappled and lake swimming and canoe forts, but the appeal of summer is surely overtaken by Fall's crisp air, orange-brown hues, cardigans and flannels and knit tights, chilly hikes, and back-to-school. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a heavy backpack, a neat stack of syllabi, and a picnic in the woods with a baby deer right about now. Sigh.

Realistically though, this autumn has the potential to be jam-packed with good things. Ideally these activities would include:
-the Utah State Fair
-Dutch Oven Cook-Off at the Farmers Market
-visiting the new baby elephant at the zoo
-visiting a farm...maybe for blueberry, raspberry, or apple picking, or maybe a visit to the lavender farm. Anyone know when the lavender harvest occurs?
-driving up to Sundance as the leaves change
-a kayaking/camping trip on the Great Salt Lake. I am determined to make this happen!
-a daytrip to the Spiral Jetty with Cameron, as he's never been
-that backpacking trip I was talking about

You see? Doesn't it look lovely all laid out like that? Unfortunately a lot of these have been sitting on my "to-do" list at least since spring (kayaking), if not for years (Spiral Jetty/Sundance/lavender farm). If my summer list is any indication, I may get around to actually doing three or four of these and leave the rest to carry over to the next season. Now is the time to prioritize and plan.

And don't worry, I have not yet thrown in the towel on sunshine and swimming: in accord with the weather, I still have one foot in and one foot out of summer. These photos remind me nicely of the in-between season we're currently experiencing, where it's cooler in the mornings and late evenings, but daytime temperatures range from 70 to 95 depending on mother nature's mood.



Photos by Anna Aden, via Rifle Made, an amazing blog I just discovered.

August Roundup

Movies Watched: 3
Books Completed: 0
Pool Swim Sessions: 2 (at the Holiday Inn, Richfield, UT; and what must be the world's best pool, at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center)
Twilight Concerts Attended: 1 (Iron and Wine)
Nights Spent Camping: 1 (at Goblin Valley State Park)
Uniform Project Days: 26

Uniform Project, Altered

For any who pay attention to my sidebar or monthly recaps, I thought I'd provide a little explanation of one of the items I've been tracking: "Uniform Project Days." This was one of those little personal goals I set for myself when I began my new job in late July. My available funds were extremely limited at that point, and I was staring down the barrel of five days a week of business casual attire with, I thought, nothing to wear. My last job was more laid-back (jeans were the norm), and the few staple purchases I'd made years ago - two pairs of more professional pants, a couple of button-up blouses, etc. - no longer fit. I thought about running to the nearest Target and stocking up again on a few of the cheapest, most versatile "professional" articles of clothing I could find, but then a much better idea struck. It was inspired by The Uniform Project - one girl's quest to wear a single dress for an entire year, with varying accessories, as "an exercise in sustainable fashion" and a fundraiser to educate children living in Indian slums. This is a woman after my own heart.

My own Uniform Project is only tangentially related to the ideas of the original, in that its goal is to consume less and be more creative with putting together outfits from what I already own. In this case, this applies only to my work "uniform." I took stock of all the skirts and dresses I do own that do fit, and started keeping track of how long I could go pulling together office-appropriate outfits from them, switching things up without repeating a single outfit. 26 days and counting! As much as I usually tend to wear the same couple of favorite outfits over and over again, it's been a fun challenge to pull out skirts I've owned since high school and dresses I wear very rarely and force myself to find ways to turn them into decent work outfits. I've managed to convince myself that although a few more professional blazers and trousers and pencil skirts will be solid investments down the line, for now the less professional side of business casual will be more than adequate for my needs. And I do in fact have plenty to wear - with the addition of my cardigans and tights supplies to switch things up even more and tide me over for several seasons!

(Full disclosure: while the goal of this project was to save money and delay buying myself a new wardrobe, in the past week several important factors have converged, including my pay period, some killer clearance sales, and the biannual event known as Employee Appreciation at UO, Anthropologie, and Free People that I am fortunate enough to take part in. I must admit I've broken my spending freeze tenfold and purchased: 1 pair of flats, 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of jeans, 3 t-shirts, 1 knit top, 2 cardigans, 1 dress, 2 pairs of tights, 1 set of speakers, 1 scarf, 1 flower for my hair, 1 laptop case, and 1 pizza cutter. I won't say what I spent, but for what I got, it's mere pennies. I will now quietly integrate these purchases into my Uniform Project and proceed.)