Summer '24 Part 2 - June 21 to Sept 5

Hello lovely people! I've been so engaged in the good things in life that I'm just getting around to posting again :-) Hang on tight, here we go!

After I completed the cross-country drive, Lisa flew out to Portland and we had 2 fantastic weeks visiting with friends and enjoying the abundance of beauty that Oregon serves up.

Got to see these excellent fellows -- Todd Weinman and Gregg Eiler -- friends since the dim and distant year 1995 when we were all starting our recruiting careers in the SF Bay area. Hanging with these guys, it felt like no time had passed at all :-)

After Portland we headed to a remote part of the Northern Oregon coast to spend the July 4th week with Brittany & Aaron - fellow Airstreamers, and more importantly, kindred spirits who love hiking and dogs as much as we do :-)

Lisa: "MacDuff, your paws are too dirty to get in Aaron's truck"

MacDuff: eye roll

Hanging with Aaron and Brittany is a great combination of adventure and relaxation.

If you don't believe me, take MacDuff's word for it.

After 2 weeks in Oregon, Lisa flew home and I headed up to Canada (as is my habit) to spend some time in British Columbia. Here's the view from my campsite near the sweet little town of Pemberton.

I was there during a heat wave (100 degrees every day) so I had to find some alternative activities to hiking. Sipping a Sneaky Weasel lager beside the Green River fit the bill. Some people say that "a man cannot spend his life drinking beer by a beautiful river." Trust me, those people are stupid and wrong.

Alas, the time came to move on. Anyone want to ride along?

In late July, MacDuff and I hustled back across the country in time for me to do a couple of important things.

First...attend the Merge records 35th year anniversary show at the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill with Gabriel! (In case you're wondering, Superchunk can still kill it.)

And then...help Landon move out of his apartment in Blacksburg and get ready for his next stage in life.

And POOF just like that he's moving into his apartment in Pocatello, Idaho - where he's beginning a Master's in Counseling Psychology at Idaho State University!

While Landon got started with classes I headed out to spend a week in one of my absolute favorite parts of the world. The locals there have made me promise not to tell anyone else about it ;-)

Here's a shot of MacDuff and me relaxing half way through a 15 mile hike.

And just when I was feeling like things couldn't get any better...they did!

Alan Rucker and I met when we were 18 and have now been close friends for twice that many years. Alan "parachuted into paradise" to spend a week exploring some of the best that Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah have to offer.

Highlights included Yellowstone, Tetons, and hanging for an evening at Jimmy Kimmel's fly-fishing lodge in Swan Valley, Idaho (oops, secret's out! sorry locals!)

After a fantastic week, I dropped Alan at the Salt Lake City airport and picked up Lisa, who flew in for another 2-weeker to see Landon in his new habitat.

Pocatello is home to my favorite quirky attraction: The Museum of Clean. Ask me about it sometime. Oddly, the splash it made in Duval-world produced some outsized ripple effects including Landon's choice of grad programs!

Lisa, MacDuff and I took a side trip to a beautiful and remote state park called Castle Rocks in southern Idaho. This shot says it all:

But if I had to pick one shot that sums up Idaho for me, here you go. This picture is how it looks and feels to explore out here.

I'm grateful to be able to surround myself with excellent people it glorious places. If you find yourself wondering what this guy will Wander up next....

...stay tuned for more WanderStuff! See ya then!