GNP - Day 2

It's always good to see this kind of sign, it's sort of like your "welcome home" greeting.  We met a cool couple from Banff, Canada at this campsite.

 The view from our tent.......aaaaaaaah!

 Sitting down, having breakfast, the sun began to come through the trees, and make this spider web shimmer in the rays of the sun.

....... and we're off; 7.2 miles to the next campsite; elevation change 200 feet up. Should be a piece of cake, right?

GNP is heaven on earth with breathtaking views all around. 

GNP - Day 1 Continued

 We were fortunate that many of the wild flowers seemed to be at their peak. Here's a Mariposa Lily.

 Not sure what this is, but liked it too; reminded me a little bit of ti leaves.

 Another cool plant.

 Todd next to a patch of cow parsnip. The bears eat it too and had trampled them.

Did I mention it was hot? Yes, it was very hot and much more humid than we expected. Got to stay hydrated.

 Beautiful Columbine.

Hoping we're close to camp. I see water in the background, that's a good sign. See my right hand? I felt like I was packin' but my holster contained bear spray, not a gun.

GNP - Day 1

 We used the shuttle service to take us to the trailhead where we'd start the hike. We had the greatest driver, "Cajun Jim" from Louisiana. What a smart, funny and full of life person he is. And.... he's got a great life story.

 The shuttle ride north was already treating us to spectacular views.

 Here we are about several hundred feet away from the US-Canada border. We started the hike at the Chief Mtn. trailhead.

My cute mountain man, ready to go!

Glacier National Park Adventure

After a busy month of advising at orientation for new students we were off on another adventure.....

Destination = Glacier National Park

Objective = backcountry hiking and camping

Gear = our house (a.k.a. tent), sleeping pads and bags, fuel to cook, lots of food, first aid kit, water pump, toilet paper, and the all important bear spray.

Goal = fit it all into the green and blue backpacks you see towards the top left of the picture and be able to carry it on our backs for 40+ miles of hiking. Now that's a vacation!

Mode of transportation = Amtrak train, the Empire Builder route. We boarded at the Minneapolis/St. Paul station close to midnight.

Woke up the next morning somewhere in North Dakota.  I think we were in the second to the last car of a long train.

 Here I am in our "roomette." Our 4 X 6 foot sleeper cubicle.

June = Orientation

It's June and that means Orientation for new students. A crazy, hectic, not enough sleep month, but it's so much fun.  The reason its a good time is because I get to work with awesome UWEC Students.  This year, my Orientation Assistant (OA) is Meng. I was fortunate to work with him as his advisor when he was a new student.

 

Yesterday was crazy pants day - now a tradition with the OAs. Here are some of them in their wild pants.

Last Lunch of the Semester

At the end of spring semester, I gathered one more time for lunch with my international students. L to R: Amber, me, Helen.

It was easy to decide where to eat; they chose Egg Rolls Plus. A locally owned, Hmong restaurant with the best egg rolls and pho. Amber was happy with her selection!

Garage Sale Fun

A few weekends ago there was a huge neighborhood garage sale where my friends live and they let me join in.  We were all happy with the money we made, that we got rid of stuff and it didn't rain. Now I'm motivated to scrounge up more stuff to sell.

Here's Tim with his ice cream.

Jasmine's so talented she could eat her ice cream and be the cashier.

Is Mike smiling because he's making money or enjoying the ice cream?

Thinking Warm Thoughts

Happy Memorial Day! Today's weather isn't what you'd hope for on a holiday weekend, but we'll have to live with it. Currently 57 degrees, a predicted high of 63, cloudy and gray, chance of thundershowers.

As I sit here and wish for the sun to make an appearance, I'll be prepared for hot weather with one of these.......

A Delicious Meal

A while back, one of our international students, Helen wanted to make us a Korean meal - I wasn't going to turn that offer down. She prepared bulgogi.

 Here she is making the kim chee pancakes - yummy!

Pancho wanted to get in on the action too; he's no dummy, he knew there was somethin' good going on.

Enjoying the meal. From L to R: Todd, Kodai, Helen, Amber.

I Work in a Beautiful Place

I'm so fortunate to work on a beautiful campus. Despite construction for the last couple of years, there are still many wonderful things,like this tree outside the building I work in.

 Things were in bloom at the just the right time, the weekend of graduation.

Tulips greeted everyone as they arrived at the arena for the graduation ceremony.