She Speaks

From the passenger seat of the truck, co-pilot/lady/wife speaks.  Below, she has crafted a few musings into a Top 10 List of highlights from our trip thus far. 

1.      The weather.  We departed the Last Frontier and somehow arrived at Skulls Hollow Campground just as the last snow storm of the season coated the landscape in white.  Since we were a week earlier than expected, we waited it out and were rewarded with sunshine and cool mornings and windy warm afternoons.  Tok enjoyed the cooler temperatures as he chased, unsuccessfully so, ground squirrels and rabbits at the campground.  As we pack up camp, we hear song birds and see bright green leaves sprouting on the trees.  We loved seeing how spring sprung around us the few weeks.

2.      Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.  Josh and I share a love for this NPR show.  A weekly news quiz that routinely features notable celebrity guests with a host from whom no one and no topic is safe.  Laughter fills the truck cab as we listen to pod casts and cover thousands of miles of road.

3.      Bruises.  Brown, black, blue, purple, and green bruises are beginning to outnumber my freckles around my knee caps and along my shins.  My novice approach to routes, holds, and even the rock itself has humbled me as I clamber my way up and down, constantly earning more sore spots.

4.      The bath house.  Imagine a small enclosed salt water pool with waist deep water.  Now imagine, clad in your swim suit, looking up through open ceiling to sit in the pool under a gentle breeze, sunshine, stars, and even snow.  Imagine having a beer in your hand as you soothe your aching muscles in the warm water.  And finally imagine having the love of your life right there with you, pouring you another beer.  I found nirvana at the McMenamin’s Bath House in Bend, OR.

5.      Gourmet car camping over an open flame.  Sockeye salmon and eggs for breakfast. Chicken and bacon piccata with peas for dinner. Steaks with a mushroom cream sauce over potatoes.  We ate like kings at the campground.

6.      Friends and their toys.  Bikes, golf clubs, Frisbees, hackey sacks, slack lines decorated our camp site.  With three tents pitched (and a hammock strung), we had a mini vacation club among us when our friends arrived to climb at Smith Rock.  Music and stories filled the air.  The laughter shared lifted my heart.  I am so happy to have the people we love join us for portions of this journey.

7.      Family.  We began my introduction to the family with our first stop in Seattle.  We chased around new cousin, Shea, as he ran around the house randomly handing us toys as we caught up with his parents (and gracious hosts), Dave and Diana.  Following our climbing escapades, we drove to North Dakota to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Reservation to meet more cousins, aunties, and uncles that I could keep track of in a single weekend.  Hailed as her new daughter in law, Mama Hendrickson, proceeded to introduce me to people everywhere- and seemingly the majority of the res are my new cousins in law.  Papa Hendrickson was up next at home in La Crosse, WI; and up next is the remainder of dad’s side of the clan coming for a braut cook out the weekend before we depart for Finland.

8.      Customs and Border Patrol.  I handed the agent Tok’s health certificate and rabies shot paperwork, and he did not even look at it and handed it back.  But, he was concerned about the dry dog food in Tok’s Rubbermaid container.  I learned that dog food must be sealed in its original packaging to get across the border. 

9.      Facing fears.  Despite a botched attempt to climb Monkey’s Face, I faced a lot of my own fears of heights and am learning to trust my gear on this trip.  With each foot placement, each crimpy handhold, my confidence grew.  Trusting myself to have a handle on a new route became a goal that I achieved by the end of our trip.  As Josh would say, I have room for improvement, and I hope that our continued climbing gets my ready for our next adventures (Thailand 2015!).

10.   Beer.  For those who have followed Josh’s facebook check ins, you know we sampled many a brew along the way. Stopping for beer passes the time as traffic clears, cools our hands from a long day of climbing, celebrates rest days, and simply allows us check out a new brewery’s best offerings.  Thanks to Josh, I am now very much a beer snob; not as much as I am a wine snob but getting there.  We surmised that all this beer drinking will help our livers balance the copious amount of vodka we will drink as our train travels take us through Finland, Russia, Mongolia, and China. 

So, ladies and gents.  More to come.  We depart on 1 May and look forward to continuing our check in and summaries as we access wifi sporadically along the train route.