Roseburg, OR

On September 18, I left sunny* Seattle and drove south into the lush and green state of Oregon.  I was planning to camp at a park near Salem, which has a nice waterfall, but it was raining.  Being the wuss that I am, I chose not to camp in the rain.  Instead, I drove further south to Roseburg, and camped out in the comfort of the Motel 6.  Here's a lovely shot of Roseburg from the parking lot:

I have to admit, the Motel 6 was actually pretty nice.  There weren't any bloodstains on the carpet, and the clientele seemed fairly non-degenerate.  However, I chose not to do the black light test.


* sarcasm

Seattle, WA

On Friday September 16 I drove from Walla Walla to Seattle to take part in the wedding of my buddy Pete, aka Twiggums, aka Father McNasty, aka The Chosen One.  The wedding was down on the waterfront, and offered a beautiful view of the water and of downtown.

The rehearsal was on Friday, and the wedding was on Saturday.  Both were a great deal of fun; I saw some people I hadn't seen in years, I met some new folks, I watched my buddy get married, and I got drunk and danced around like an idiot.

Ladies, take note of the picture above.  That was the first (and quite possibly the last) time I have ever worn a tux, so get your fill while you can.

While I was in Seattle I stayed with Heather and Phil, who are my brother's wife's sister and my brother's wife's sister's husband, respectively.  Ashley and Ryan were also visiting, and are also my brother's wife's sister and my brother's wife's sister's husband, respectively.  On Saturday morning, I helped Phil and Ryan tear down an old shed, then stood around and watched them build another one.  A good time was had by all.

Walla Walla, WA

On September 15 I drove from Pullman to Walla Walla, WA.  Walla Walla is the home of the famous sweet onions, a bunch of wineries, and also Brother Vagabond.  I spent the afternoon and evening chilling with my brother, my brother's wife, and my brother's wife's brother's wife's sister.  In addition to chilling, we ate some Thai food and watched a movie.

I also took a walk around the neighborhood, and was attacked by a shitty little black dog.  When it got within 10 feet of me it suddenly realized I meant business and took off yelping in the other direction.  Who's the man now, dog?

Pullman, WA

On September 13 I drove from Helena to Pullman, WA, the town where I spent the second 13 years of my life.  It was a nice day, and I managed to arrive in time to go train at my sensei's dojo.  That was fun, and it brought back a lot of memories.  Memories of blood.  And pain.

For those of you who don't know, Pullman is a farming community that is also the home of Washington State University, aka Wazzu.  This makes for an interesting juxtaposition of cultural identity, as the town consists of about 9,000 full-time residents and 21,000 students.  Consider the following two pictures:

The first picture is the Pullman-Moscow regional airport, and the second picture is Wazzu's 160,000-square-foot palatial recreation center.  Needless to say, the university dominates the town's identity.

The WSU campus is very pretty, full of green grass and trees, and beautiful brick buildings.  In addition, it is the home of this artistic monstrosity:

You are correct - that is a giant, pale blue heart covered with bits of something that remind me of gristle and body parts.  I don't know the story of this thing, but I hope it never goes away.

I tend to disparage life in Pullman, because there is very little to do there.  However, it is an excellent place to go to school and is the home of many fond memories.  In addition, I learned that at the Sports Page Tavern you can buy a can of Rainier Beer, a 20-oz. Alaskan Amber, and a gin and tonic for the grand total of $6.75.

Helena, MT

After possibly taking a naked bath in the woods, I continued eastward to Helena MT, the home of Mother Vagabond.  Her apartment has a nice view of the ugly apartment building across the parking lot, but also a decent view of Mount Helena.

On the morning of September 12, we woke up early and ascended Mt. Ascension, whose summit offers a nice view of Helena and the surrounding valley.

After our hike, we enjoyed a truly Montanan lunch: a buffalo burger washed down with a beer called Cold Smoke.  Can you get more manly than that?

Jerry Johnson Hot Springs, ID

On the fourth morning of my vacation, I woke up and realized that so far I had spent far too little time surrounded by naked strangers.  Therefore, I hopped into my car and backtracked a few miles to Jerry Johnson hot springs.  The hot springs are located about 1.5 miles off of highway 12, on the opposite side of the river.

After a short hike, I came across the steaming pools of water, and settled down for a nice soak.  My experience brought to mind the old philosophical riddle: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did Doctor Vagabond go naked during his morning bath?

Wendover Campground, ID

On the morning of September 10, I left Boise and headed into the mountains of Idaho.  I drove north for a few hours, then headed east on highway 12 towards Montana.  I stopped to camp for the night at Wendover Campground.  It was very quiet, and situated on the beautiful Lochsa River.

I spent a little time skipping stones across the river, then headed back to set up camp.  While walking around, I ran into Dave and Christina, who lived right across the street from me for 10 years in Pullman, WA.  It turns out that they also own the property where my ex-girlfriend and her family used to live.  I am not making this up.  One can leave Pullman, but one can never truly escape.