The ABC's of Trip Planning, Pt 1- K is for Keeping Things Kooky- Drinks V-Z; pg. 197 + New Link

[KatMark]

How scary; glad you and your friend were there to help.

Camping...nope, never going to happen for me again.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hi Liesa! I'm back from vacation and working on getting caught up with everyone. I hope you had a great time in--

Shoot me now.

Uh oh. Well, maybe it will get better as you--

Today is our last day here. Thank God. But at least I do have some great photos to share. Hopefully, Sunday afternoon.

Well, you have the photos. So there's that. And a Disney trip to plan.

Well, the reason I was here all along happened tonight just as the town was filing up for the party. A car of 3 people coming to town rolled off the cliff. The nursing friend I'm camping with and I triaged and gave first responder care to 3 trauma patients brought into town until life flight showed. The one flown out I'm praying makes it.... It was pretty bad.

Wow. I'm so glad you and your friend were there. I hope and pray they are ok.

 

[KathyM2]

Wow that's crazy. Sad story but it is good you were there to help. I hope they are ok. And also sounds like it was a bit of a confidence boost for you which is always good. Way to go!!

 

[Steppesister]

Dear, DEAR Friends. I am indeed back, and trying to get into the groove of things again. Fortunately, or unfortunately for you maybe, I came back having to jump straight into starting my Summer Internship at a local hospital. I will be doing a total of 5 14-hour shifts, 2 of which are done now. I have been slowly editing my photos. Some, I have to say, did turn out REALLY beautifully; it's a photogs haven for sure over there. Please bear with me. Becuase, it won't let up yet...


I GOT MY AUTHORIZATION TO TEST, and will be taking my State Boards THIS Friday!!!!!

Please, please, I am asking for your prayers as I sit this 5 hour exam at 8:00AM this Friday. I am extremely nervous about passing as I"ve not done anywhere near as well as I'd been hoping on the practice exams I've been working on the last couple weeks. I just hope it all comes back as needed as I'm sitting there.

I will post something as a teaser tomorrow sometime, but I do have to focus on studying (cramming) tomorrow and Thursday.

 

[Flossbolna]

Good luck with your exam!! I am confident that you will pass - and for this exam, that is all that matters!!

 

[KatMark]

Sending lots of and best wishes for your boards.

 

[pkondz]

Good luck with the exam!
And looking forward to some photos!

 

[jenb1023]

Glad you were there to help and got some great photos! Good luck on the boards! You can do it!

 

[afwdwfan]

Good luck with your test! I'm sure you'll be fine!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Best of luck on the exam.

 

[Steppesister]

Here is your one teaser before I get back here.... with a LOT more photos for you.

 

[KathyM2]

and will be taking my State Boards THIS Friday!!!!!

Wow!! Good luck!! I will be crossing everything and sending good vibes from up here in the North!!

Here is your one teaser before I get back here

Wow...what a cool picture...and I am intrigued to see what else you've got to share!!

 

[pkondz]

Nice shot!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I GOT MY AUTHORIZATION TO TEST, and will be taking my State Boards THIS Friday!!!!!

Please, please, I am asking for your prayers as I sit this 5 hour exam at 8:00AM this Friday. I am extremely nervous about passing as I"ve not done anywhere near as well as I'd been hoping on the practice exams I've been working on the last couple weeks. I just hope it all comes back as needed as I'm sitting there.

I've got you covered.

Now you'll be sure to get an 88.

Already saw it on Facebook, but it's worth saying again--it's an amazing photo!

 

[glennbo123]

Just got myself a job of Charge Nurse at a REALLY wonderful Skilled Care/Long Term Care Facility. No big deal.

Congratulations Liesa! That's great news.

She is the kind to just stay out of the way of.... I've seen them before.

Me too. In a movie called, "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest".

That was was a pocket page for receipts that I'd empty nightly. It worked like a charm!!

That'd be good. It helps when you're traveling solo though. On our last trip, I put the receipts I received in a pocket of my camera bag, but Judy put hers in her purse. Now there's quite a mish-mash.

Well, the reason I was here all along happened tonight just as the town was filing up for the party. A car of 3 people coming to town rolled off the cliff. The nursing friend I'm camping with and I triaged and gave first responder care to 3 trauma patients brought into town until life flight showed. The one flown out I'm praying makes it.... It was pretty bad.

Wow. Good practice for you, and providential I'm sure.

I GOT MY AUTHORIZATION TO TEST

What a coincidence -- they're having me tested too!

Please, please, I am asking for your prayers as I sit this 5 hour exam at 8:00AM this Friday. I am extremely nervous about passing as I"ve not done anywhere near as well as I'd been hoping on the practice exams I've been working on the last couple weeks. I just hope it all comes back as needed as I'm sitting there.

Go get 'em. 88 or bust!

 

[Steppesister]

Thanks, All for the encouragement and cheering! It was definitely a VERY difficult test and on a lot of stuff I've never even HEARD of. UGH!

I have NO idea whether I've passed or not, and won't for at least 48 hours. I have the day off of EVERYTHING tomorrow... except working on our goat fence and shelter. We're buying a couple of "lawn mowers".

We lost 2 of our pets in the last few days (my little beta fish, and Anara's MUCH beloved pet rat), so we're just working to keep the census up.

Anyway, I am hoping to devote some of the day to hanging out here to upload some of my better photos (sorry those of you who've seen them on FB) and visit all of the fun stuff I've missed on your threads. I am beyond exhausted and really do need a nice long rest before I hit my 14 hour shifts Monday and Tuesday. The stress of waiting is hard, so the more I can distract myself, the better.

 

[pkondz]

Sorry to hear about the pet losses.
By all means... take a little break woman!

Looking forward to the photos!

 

[Steppesister]

Uploading right now.....

 

[Steppesister]

C is for: Cowboys, Critters, & Countryside
​

No, this is not a Disney-related post for the most part until the end. Because in true fashion, I have some very pertinent commentary to make which actually does tie directly into my next vacation, which will be decidedly Disney, in every way. Hang in there with me, and just enjoy the photos. If you don't especially like them, skip to the last few paragraphs and there will be Disney stuff.

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The morning started early. So early that the birds were only starting to welcome the dawn with their twittering as we groggily saddled the horse (powers) and hitched up our fully mechaninzed covered wagon. It would be a long 12 hour road trip to....




the place where Hell's Heat came to park for the week.


After a hearty breakfast stop in The Dalles, Oregon (we won't be leaving Oregon, so I'll now stop using the State's name), we continued our trip in a mostly non-eventful way. You know, the usual long car trip punctuated with the all-too-frequent, "Are we there yet?", "She's on my side." and "I'm hungry!"

About 5:00 in the early evening... pretty much the very hottest part of the day... we pulled into our campsite which we'd call home for the next 8 days. It had no shade. Imagine stepping out of your car (which, if you recall from my last rantings, had an emergency day-before-departure AC fix, THANK GOD!!!!!) and having the hot wind nearly singe your nose hairs and light your eyebrows on fire. It was a lot like that. Only worse. Because we had to set up a tent and campsite. Some of you scoffed in unbelief at my news on FB that it was 113 in the shade when we arrived to our little space of Hades. Here is your pictorial proof. You know, the whole pictures or it didn't happen crap.... so let's just get that out of they way before I continue our little (ok, big. It was hard to control my twitchy fingers behind my lens) photo tour of Wallowa County (Oregon- it seemed like it needed the Oregon for posterity). This was taken at 10:00 PM. 104*.



Told ya so.


So, in addition to being incredibly blistering, this little "town" was also incredibly small. Wanna see a picture of it? Of course you do! Here it is:



This was about 100 feet down the "Main Drag":



More on that later... :enter ominous buh-buh-buuuuuhmmmm:

To be fair, across the river, by way of footbridge, is a school made of a double wide modular which also serves as the town's library. And across from the building you see above there is a similar sized building which houses the showers and "lodge" (used extremely liberally) for the Hunting Crowd that gathers each season to bag their game. Trust me, there is plenty of that to spare, as you will shortly see. Other than that, there are a smattering of mostly abandoned cabins and about 20 or so permanent-ish hunting tents all empty save 2 weeks a year that make up the town. The official population is 8. No, that's no a typo.

Without further ado, I present to you a photo montage of Wallowa County- in no particular order. I tried to include a variety of scenery, wildlife, a few family shots, recreating, panoramas, etc...



Wallowa County is home to some of the last REAL cowboy lifestyle in rural America. This was picturesque farm just before we dropped down 2,000 ft. into the deep canyon that Troy is settled in.



(My daughter Mikki at the 4th of July Celebration)

The next one is quite a story. This gentlemen is the cousin of the folks who took us with them. His grandfather homesteaded a farm on the plateau just about town and is one of Oregon's "Century Farms" as it was established in 1897. Orvis has only left Wallowa County twice in his life, and still traps a bear every year for his year's supply of lard and some meat. Each year, he comes down the mountain to the 4th of July celebration and bids on his neighbor's (she lives 2 miles away) donated huckleberry pie. This year he bought it for $260. It must be one hell of a good pie. Just sayin'.



I got a little artsy farsty with this one to see if I could capture the "Essence of Oldtime Cowboy". I adore how it turned out!! (I need a better editing program to get that cup out, though.)



A mule deer:



An elk calf:




More artsy fartsy, but this one is hilarious because it was actually a total accident! I think I was fiddling with settings and found it after I got home.



The Hubs comtemplating Nature. This canyon is massive, and steep!




Snake in the grass!!



I KNOW you want to see another snake! Admit it, you do!



The moon was smiling down on us each evening and we spent several just gazing at its rising over wine, friends and cooler air. It was bliss!



A couple of evenings we did drive up the canyon to Orvis' property up on the plateau to see what we could find. It was a veritible treasure trove of a mixture of crap and some of the coolest antiques I have EVER seen. I kid you not, the place was a horders dreamland of stuff from 100 years ago on to today. NOTHING was ever taken off the mountain. How would they? There must be literally 20 tons of scrap- some far too precious, and probably valuable to do such a thing. Some truly belongs in a museum.

This for example, was THE grader that made the 4 mile road up the steeeeeeep mountainside up to his place in probably 1900 or so. I will do some research, as I did take some photos of the serial numbers and manufacturing plates still just barely readable.

Here's my friend as we tried to figure out its workings. We played on it for a good long time:




Other antique autos...





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Continued in next post... tomorrow...

 

[englishrose47]

Wow 104 degrees !!!! How was sleeping in the TENT!!!!!!!!!. The antiques look interesting !!!Orvis looks like quite an interesting character !!!