Wild cow milking

And what visit to Wallowa County would be complete without a night at Chief Joseph Days rodeo. Now, of course, they have all the PRCA sanctioned events - bull riding, bucking horses, barrel chasing, clowns, etc. etc. But what you probably haven't seen, a local favorite, is wild cow milking. Imagine... well, just take a look... a timed event of 2 people who rope, mug, and milk a cow. What great fun!

But it wasn't all work

For those of you who have been to Enterprise, OR, you know that you can't go there without multiple stops to Terminal Gravity Brewery.

And then, you also can't go to Wallowa County without going hiking. We took Saturday off and went up Twin Peaks (~9500ft) and a screamer of a hike for us flatlanders. My buddies Forrest from UF and Jesse from OSU joined on the trip.

Along the way, we were lucky to see a bit of wildlife.

And as we continued up to the top, heart still thumping, we enjoyed all the breathtaking views the Wallowa Mountains had to offer.

But among the many treats we had along the way - views, bighorn sheep, sliding on the snow, the most amazing was the color on the side of the mountain. Wildflowers were in full bloom. What a site to see!

Short field work in eastern Oregon

I didn't manage to get funding for research in Uganda this year, but I did make it back to eastern Oregon. So, for those of you still wondering what I actually do when I'm out in the field. This year, I only had a week to reconnect to folks in Wallowa County - the furthest east and north in OR. Here, 58% of the land is publicly owned, but managed by the US Forest Service. Literally hundreds of thousands of acres are dedicated to recreation and wilderness - Wallowa Whitman National Forest, Umatilla National Forest, Eagle Cap Wilderness, and Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. It's a beautiful place, which makes the area extremely attractive for ex-urbanites to buy land for a second home or retire here. This county has historically been dominated by rural land uses - agriculture, ranching, and forestry. With a team of colleauges from UNH, Oregon State, and University of Florida, I'm interested in the social and ecological impacts as the working landscape has changed over time. So, for those of you who still think I do "rocks", I don't (I'm not a geologist), and I do more than "just maps". And who thought geography wasn't cool?

Kingston State Park

Kingston was so nice yesterday, that we had to go again today. Today we were better equipped...a life jacket! Up until today, Jude has wanted nothing to do with his yellow vest. He had no choice though, and he tolerated it today. Jude is getting so brave in the water that he's beginning to scare me half to death. He has no fear of the deep end...and will walk until he's completely under. He's not always so sure-footed and will occasionally trip. He ends up head first into the drink. Although it doesn't really phase him too much, I'm always super nervous.
We were able to enjoy the warm water and the sandy beach with both Rebecca and Ben, as well as Andrea and Liv. What a joy to watch the kids play!

Bouncing Baby

With a delivery a little more than 3 weeks away, baby #2 has been moving like crazy. Last night he had the hiccups for almost an hour. Joel was sitting across the room and could see all of his vigorous moves. Once the camera came out, he may have shied up a bit. You can still see the hiccups, but his kicks and squirms are more difficult to notice.

Oops....We Almost Forgot

Poor Jack, at the bottom of the chain....We almost forgot his birthday! Jack turned 6 on July 11th. We were a bit late on singing Happy Birthday this year, so we made his treat extra-special. He enjoyed an ice cream come covered in peanut butter and filled with pistachio ice cream. Jack didn't seem to mind the fact that we were a bit late on the draw this year.

Meeting Up in Maine

This past weekend Triple J and Ray loaded up Hercules for a trip up to see family and friends. Thursday night we crashed at the Caswell's house for the evening. Jud BBQ'd some delicious chicken on the grill and for dessert we dipped into some of my berry pie. (The berries came from our raspberry bushes.) The kids enjoyed a mosquito filled evening on the deck.

The next morning while Eleanor was preparing for her last swim lesson, we gathered our stuff and headed out to Popham Beach. Here we were able to meet up with the "Z" family. Dave Z and family are friends that we met through Peter Loria. (The one and only matchmaker for Joel and Ray.) It's always fun to pull into a driveway filled with license plates from MI while you're vacationing in ME. We had a great morning at the beach followed by some nap time rain.

On our way back to NH we stopped by the Caswell's again to pick up Jack. Mars had prepared some awesome enchiladas. Yumm!!! It sure is nice to live close to family.