San Juan Islands

Man, this is quite the place.  

Parker and I have loved being up here, and we plan on coming back at some point. 

Working up here is rather awful, but vacationing would be spectacular!

After driving from Seattle, we hopped on a ferry headed from Anacortes to Friday Harbor.  

We're staying at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in some housing for Friday Harbor Laboratories. I'm not complaining about the view from our deck.

 

Our bosses were here with us the first week, but this week and next its just Parker and I.   

Heather aka "Boss"

We were glad they worked with us for this reason:

Our work entails bushwhacking through brambles 5-9ft tall.  Oftentimes the brambles are hearty rose bushes and trailing blackberry.  

I'm afraid I'm not too fond of wild rose bushes any longer.  I hope these ones get eaten by slugs.  All of them.

This has been the hardest mapping Parker and I have ever done.  We've had to go through walls of vegetation.  I'm not joking when I say walls.  We literally kick and struggle and push through vegetation that in any other scenario would be termed impassible.  

On the upside, we get to ride on a boat daily and the views are beautiful.  

Bet you wish you could wear one of these every day, don't ya?

We map islands that others aren't allowed onto, excepting a few.  

 

Seals are usually surrounding the islands, lounging on rocks or popping their heads up from the water to check out what we're doing.  They're such curious, playful animals.  Its been great seeing them swim, nurse their pups, splash, and lounge. 

Yesterday the fog was so thick we didn't make it out to map.  With cloud cover, it was difficult to tell where the water, fog, and sky were separated.  It was an incredible feeling.

 

So we came back to Friday Harbor and set out to explore the island.  

We drove past Whale Watch Park at the perfect time to see Orca whales breaching in the water.  What a sight!  They're HUGE! 

 After Whale Watch Park, we continued down the road to Lime Kiln State Park and headed out on a trail we found.  These trails are what you'd imagine in a perfect trail -- moss on the sides, tall trees, leaves littering the ground.  Oh it was gorgeous. 

Slicked back hair from the rain.  Nice.  Real nice.

We've found some random things while mapping.  I found this onion on an uninhabited island in the middle of a patch of brambles it was nearly impossible to go through.  Full grown, nearly a pound in weight.

Whaaaaaat??

This is Patos Island.  We came to look for plants, but the island was impressive over by the lighthouse -- the grass, the ocean, the lighthouse, the salty wind.  

These islands are sweet.  I can't wait to come back and vacation here.  It will be epic.  I'm bummed we're headed back in a week.  This is one beautiful place.

starting over

It's been quite some time since I posted on here.
Here's to starting over and trying to be a little more diligent in updating this blog.
Tidbit updates for Parker and I covering the last, oh, 5 years:

• We got married! Married life is the best thing we could ask for!

• We went all over the place with our summer job, including: Rhode Island, Boston, D.C., NYC, Maine, Outer Banks, etc.

• We graduated from the U of U with our Baccalaureate degrees -- hooray!

• Parker decided he couldn't keep away from school and began his Masters of Public Health the following fall. What a trooper. Thank goodness for summer to keep him sane.

• I began teaching at an elementary school, and have loved it ever since. I teach 4-5 year olds, and they are sweeter than you can imagine. I still cannot believe I was blessed with that job.

• We wish we had a dog, and constantly plan for when we get one. Hoping for a Bernese Mountain Dog. Oh for the love! 

                                         

• We decided we're infatuated with Banff, Canada.  If Parker ever gets a job up in Alberta, man oh man we're headed there quick!

• This summer we've worked in Utah and Nevada. I'm feeling blessed because I've hardly seen any snakes, which sends me into panic mode.  We'll spend a three weeks in WA, which will be heavenly after Nevada. We're stoked.

• Parker and I were lucky enough to be a Ma and Pa on our Stake Trek, and it was a marvelous experience.  I can hardly use words to describe the experience -- we all grew, and we love those "kids" of ours so much! 

• We have tickets to Norway in October. We wish we were going to stay for good, and that all our family would follow suit. I could definitely be Norwegian.

• We are officially adopted into this family, and are learning Nepali slowly.  We visit them every Sunday since we don't have family down here in Salt Lake.  

                                                     

We're feeling happy.  I'm glad school is starting soon, I love those little people!
For now, we're off to Washington for the remainder of August.  Its going to be a vacation after Nevada.  :)