Okay, guys, I'm finally finding a moment... and, fuck, that's been the story of what I've been up to... a whole bunch of little things keeping me busy, but still feeling like I haven't gotten time to do much relaxing or get anything productive done. Most of all, I miss the hell out of all of you (and a number of other family and friends). Now that the whole dissertation defense thing is over, my big reflection on the whole process is that it requires way too much social and personal isolation. But, hey, I guess I can't really complain about being in college forever. And, I do get to live in the beautiful NW.

I have managed to get outside a bit here and there, including some hiking in this area and in the Olympic Peninsula. In fact, I'm going to be going rafting and hiking there again next week with my mom, who's going to be in town for a week. I'll put more pics up on that in about a month, I'd guess (realistically). But, I am committed to doing a better job of keeping up with what you're all up to at least, and planning on posting at least once a month. Still, I've gotta go through the whole job application process again in about a month and I'm teaching three courses (150 students total) this fall... it's crazy how much influence the state of WA allows me to have over the minds of tomorrow's leaders, huh?! :)

Based on what I've been reading on this blog, (which, despite my relative low activity to date, I really have to commend Stebes on starting and all of you on keeping up on) like you've all been living and making inroads on some beautiful lives in your new homes. The blog makes it feel much more like I still get to be part of your lives, or at least know the gist of what's going, and I'm so happy to have a constant connection to such amazing friends. Thank you all for your support, understanding, and constant ribbing during my long, grueling college experience :)

I love Bilas, S and A, and I really love the great 'teaching the boy to swim' photos. I'm at that same point with D, but I'm not quite ready to just throw him in. I think Colleen might possibly harass me a bit about that one, huh? Steve, I know you made the right decision and for the right reasons, but, goddamnit, quit teasing about getting a fucking dog. Most people put a tenth of the thought and consideration into having fucking kids! :) Good work getting your new kid out into the gorgeous scenery around you, too, S and A. I miss the hell out of you guys and can't wait to come visit! It will happen, as I think I may have a few extra dollars in about 6 months (fingers crossed, of course).

I'm also stoked I got to experience (virtually, but that's the best I can get) that East Coast summer thunderstorm, Stebes... it's been far too long, and it's the only thing I miss about summer weather there. The video actually made me smile. I remember running out when they'd come just to play in the torrential downpour and mini flash floods... and that was when I was 22 and about to move out here. Even more fun when you're a kid, I recall.

I've uploaded a bunch of pics below to remind everyone how gorgeous this area, my (limited) outdoors time, and my growing son all are. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot. Therefore, they're all out of order, so apologies for the random order and out of place captions that will inevitably result!



This is a bison that was at a game preserve in the northern Olympic Peninsula, where you can drive through a bunch of free roaming big game animals. This guy is king of this particular pile of shit and hay.





Here are a couple of shots of Kim and I during a temperate rainforest hike in the Hoh Rainforest. The idea here is to show how incredibly fucking huge and old these trees are. The fallen trunk that Kim's standing next to had someone mark major counts of years on the rings (too small to see clearly here). It was over 300 years old, and was among the smaller ones around it.







Here are a couple of gorgeous sunsets we found on the beach, where we camped one night. In fact, these were taken from our campsite. Very fucking cool.





















Here I am in La Push, having climbed (of course) way out on a jedi to be a fool on the buoy. The town is way isolated on the Peninsula and only about 10K people, but it's the werewolf home in that Twilight series that was filmed there


Here are some elk we saw on our drive, which was awesome. Sadly, we saw them because the national forest land was sold to timber companies. Fuck, I hate US policy.



And then, there's Tokeland, which was a nothing town, but the sign deserved a pic. Wonder why.




Tree hugging, as usual... and a sense of scale. It's truly a spiritual experience for me every time I get to walk among the old growth. The only physical space that has ever created that feeling in my physically.







This was just a cool shot I got from a recent hike with good old Bryan Rookey, who's now teaching at the Univ. of Portland. Lucky fucker has my dream job... unfortunately we're both Criminologists from WSU, so it's unlikely they'll need another one. The hike was Triple Falls, off 84.

Here are a couple of shots of my boy... one with me, making silly faces... something we continue to do non stop (and will continue to forever, I'm sure). We were swimming at Vancouver lake, but it was brief, as the extra cool, wet, long spring led to so many mosquitoes that we were literally swarmed by them after about twenty minutes. The other pic is during one of our berry picking adventures (this was raspberries). Cute kid, I gotta say.