Cure for the Homesick Blues: Oregon

Come April every year, I find myself shoving all my bikes in the back of my car and hightailing it back home to Oregon. Every year I plan on getting some kind of summer job waiting tables or picking cherries in the orchards.... only to be convinced by my parents to spend all day playing with them. It's not a lifestyle anyone can live, it requires a lot of biking, windsurfing, hiking, and exploring. You haven't lived a "full" summer day unless it has involved at least three sports. Long live the 3-sport day!

Again, it is not for the weak, my friends.

At times, we'll all make side comments like "geez, it's embarrassing that all we do is play", but then we just shrug our shoulders and say, "but somebody's gotta do it."

Gang's all here 

So when we made the smartest "adult-like" decision to stay in Provo and go to school/work, I was pretty distraught. Frankly, I still am. Nothing beats a Hood River summer, I don't care what all you ambitious people say. I've had this conversation with a lot of friends and they tend to go straight to the "I would get bored with all that time on my hands" comment. Hmmm. That's still a foreign concept to me and flirts with blasphemy.

Whether working really provides joy or not (that's another debate for another time), my dilemma of being hopelessly homesick still needed to be solved. So badda-bing badda-boo we decided to skip work, school, and dental appointments to go standby back home. (Which turns out sometimes isn't as easy as badda-bing badda-boo, as outlined in the pictures below.)

 

These are pictures of Jackson's battered toes, about 9 hours into our 12+ hours of stand-by torture. I left him alone for 40 seconds in the LAX airport, only to be scammed by way too many of these "artistic poses". We actually enjoyed our time in the airports, questioning the sanity of humans in general and yearning after the food that was too expensive for us. And I only got really really grumpy about three times! That's pretty good!

Our long weekend was so blissfully perfect that I might have shed some dramatically quiet tears when we landed again in Salt Lake. Utah is wonderful, but it's just not the same as my little Shire. Evidence of how happy we were can be found below!

If you're reading this, there is a large possibility you already know all this information because your my mom or husband, but I like pretending I'm a famous blogger who gets paid to talk about pretty places, so bear with me. So hello there Mom, Jackson, and other unknown readers! If you are ever blessed enough to pass through the Gorge area, then make sure to go hike or bike at Syncline. It's just east of Bingen, Washington and absolutely stunning. This is the place to go for wildflowers and river vistas. I recommend biking up the Little Maui trail and then going down Little Moab (if you like semi-tenchical rock drops). Gahh! I just love this ride so much. It wasn't always this way though. My mom would have to bribe me into going when I was in elementary/middle school by taking me to get a chocolate dipped cone at McDonald's. The Golden Arches: Convincing Kids To Do What Their Parents Want Them To For Generations. 

Good Taco Alert: While over in the Bingen area, head over to El Rinconcito . It is preferrable to bring a Shane Ostler whn you go because unknown to me, he is a local celebrity there. Everyone was yelling, "Hey Shane, you're back!", while my Dad was guffawing with everyone in sight. "Maria's going to fix me a good taco!" (as she raised a spatula in the air from the kitchen). " How are your boys? Long time no see, Carlos!" I felt honored to be in his company, especially when I saw the whoppingly huge portions we were given. Hurray for Shane!

 I love how easily things grow in Oregon. Life is so abundant. In the words of Jackson, "Alex, this is your Eve. When I first came here it was like I finally understood why you are the way you are."

Gosh, it's like I am obsessed or something? Less words, more pictures, before this gets too flowery. (hahaha. Get it? Wildflowers everywhere? Puns?)

P.S. Another really good mountain bike trail is the Whoopdee Doo trail system in Hood River. There's a new one called Ronoke and IT IS THE MOST EXCITING RIDE I HAVE EVER DONE. No joke, even though I say that about a lot of trails. This is my new favorite. So steep, with a million banked turns in a row, through fields of balsam root flowers. GAHHH! I was laughing uncontrollably the entire time because it was so perfect. If you go, invite me. I want to experience those thrills every day for the rest of my life.

 More photographic evidence that this place is my Edenic Paradise. 

Ronoke! Trail! Go! Now!

We took Jackson on the Eagle Creek hike and he was in stonefly heaven. For those who don't know, Jackson is studying Conservation Biology and is focusing his research on aquatic insects (but the species he goes absolutely hog wild over is Pteronarcys.) He looked like this ^^^ the entire time we were close to the water. I won some MAJOR wife points by finding a species he had never seen before, Pteronarcys princeps. When I showed it to him it looked like I had found him a car-sized chocolate bunny (that would have gotten me excited).

On my way to being a formidable Entymologist myself. (Picture from common.wikimedia.com)

When at Eagle Creek, many people simply walk to the the Punchball Falls and back (6 miles round trip). But you're missing out if you stop there! Keep on trekking along till you arrive at Tunnel Falls (12 miles total). It's one of my favorites. (I know I know. I say that about everything. But I'm serious every time.) You get to walk BEHIND the falls through this little tunnel and it's like you're in some kind of Gollum cave, except with flowers/moss growing everywhere and the absence of a mutant, bloodthirsty hobbit.

I always say that Hood River is the crown gem of Oregon, which is true. But Bend is definitely the gem right below it in all aspects (so would that make it the tiara gem?). Central Oregon is so cool because it's a desert, yet still full of rivers, lakes, and trees. And Bend has some of the most stunning peaks of the Cascades surrounding it and a big black lava field going right down the middle. I would most definitely live there, especially because they have a 5 Guys.

Watched Bruce play some LAX. Not biased, but he is the superstar of the team. Watching family members play sports is actually fun when they're talented! (Sorry family for all those painful years where I picked flowers instead of chasing the soccer ball around the field.)

 I am consciously trying to avoid declaring that our 40-mile ride on the Deschutes River trail was one of my most favorites ever. But why am I trying to curb my enthusiasm for great riding?!? It's fairly easy, non-technical riding that meanders along the riverside for miles, making it the perfect place for a leisurely ride. That is, unless you're the Ostlers and have to show off to friends who join you, leaving you breathless and exhausted and craving plates on plates of pasta.

Go Bruceeeeeeee!

Smith Rock, Oregon. Or, the place where Jackson and I were humiliated when we did a multi-pitch last summer. 

Meet Bertha, my family's pet pig. It's a weird time when you come home to find your father infatuated with a sow and the entire family room converted into a ping-pong arena. My parents are so rad. But I still hate this pig, most ornery creature on the planet. 

A word on my baby brother, Bruce. I am so proud of this boy. Not only is he supremely talented, he is also one of the most loyal and strong people ever. He passionately puts everything on the line for the things he loves, which is evidenced by his success in everything he puts his mind to. On top of it all, he has a pet pig and loves all animals! What a catch! We are so stoked that he will be here in Utah for school this fall at WESTMINSTER! Wahoo! Cross your fingers he gets to play for their LAX team, he definitely has the talent and drive to. Either way, he is going to wish that his sister didn't live so closely to him, he might need to put a restraining order on me.

This trip also included reading three whole books and pretending to be Shamu in the hot tub. Life complete. 

HASTA AUGUST, MY EDEN!

Chicago: The Weekend We Weren't In The Mountains

People at work have started to get bored at my responses to the pervasive Monday Question; what did you do this weekend? They start to zone-out as I talk about bleh de blah blah blah (adventures). I hate to be that pretentiously arrogant person who is always bragging about how much time they spend climbing mountains, skiing powder, biking perfect single track, etc. But I actually don't hate it! I like talking to people about what I love, it definitely beats discussing our job, that is something that would put anyone into a deep and depressing trance.

So when I came back this Monday people were so surprised to hear that I had been in a bustling metropolis. Someone actually incredulously asked, "wait, you weren't wandering around in the mountains at all?" To which I responded, "No. But I kind of wish I had been." This is always true, in a sense, but we did have fun in the city visiting with Jackson's family. 

Although I typically don't love cities, I thought Chicago was pretty nice. I was impressed by the absence of gum, trash, suspiciously human-looking fecal matter on the sidewalks. I hardly even felt accosted by all of the scents associated with the human race. So, good on ya, Chicago!

We were actually there to see T's final art show. (T is Jackson's older sister who was getting her Master's degree at the Art Institute.) T and I's relationship is mostly based on giggling, candy, and making bat sounds, solid indicators of a healthy bond, if you ask me. I'm including a link that talks about her show, because I didn't even try to take pictures of it. It's basically an exploration into our relationship with media and it's implications on the environment. Did you even know that the internet is a physical thing? hahaha. I must be dumb, but I thought it was literally a little technology cloud floating around near Saturn. But no, the internet is actually composed of servers (?) and wires (?) and networks (?) that require millions of gallons of water a day to cool down! WHAT?

Check it out here. T is actually going to move back to Utah this fall to get ANOTHER Master's degree in Environmental Humanities. Wahoo! Giggles, candy, and bat noises everyday! I'm positive that she is going to end up collecting fancy degrees her entire life. As for me, I'm pretty content with the one I have, thank you very much.)

Nope. Not wearing a wet suit in this picture. I did try to convince Jackson to jump in with me. He wouldn't, so I spent the rest of my time chasing seagulls. 

I was obsessed with that Michigan Sea they have there. Don't try telling me it's a freshwater lake, I won't believe you.

Another one of my favorite memories in Chicago was walking in a complete downpour to Ravenwood's Used Bookstore. Dreamy is the only way to describe it, especially on a cold rainy day. The pictures below just don't do it justice. They organize the books by not really organizing them at all, stacking them in bookcases to the ceilings and on the floor. It's a little labyrinth of tiny nooks bursting with old books on every kind of subject. Christmas lights are draped over everything and jazzy music plays in the background. To sum it up, this is the cutest fire hazard and tinderbox you have ever encountered. The employee there was so cool! Can we all agree that people who work at bookstores are generally the friendliest, quirkiest, and raddest people in society? Jackson bought a book about the man who discovered how to tell geological time using dirt layers and I got Candide! Can I finally be considered a well-read person now that I'm discovering the sarcasm of Voltaire??

Instagram continues to teach me that if you haven't taken a selfie at the Bean then you were never really in Chicago. We've mercilessly mocked tourists who take these pictures, but we had to condescend to take one anyway, because its the BEAN!

The weather was very windy and rainy while we were there, as demonstrated by Jennifer. Isn't she the cutest mother-in-law you've ever seen?? The gusty atmosphere also gave me endless opportunities to share my only fun-fact about Chicago: Did you know it's named the Windy City after the breath of raging politicians and not the wind?

The only real request I had for this trip was going to get a hot dog. Some girls like Versache and others like overly processed meat. To each their own. We went to Byron's Hot Dogs, which has the quintessential "Chicago-style dog" (think normal hot dog with lots of vegetables). Seeing new and exotic places is so wonderful because in the end you realize hot dogs are great, no matter where you are.

We look way too into these.

Most of all, I am thankful to be an unofficial Birrell. (Unofficial because I've been way too lazy to go change my name.) This family welcomed me into their little clan instantly and I'm so lucky to be their #6.