Sister!!!

So En came up here to visit me on her road trip about a week and a half ago. We had a good time even though there isn't much to do here. We went for a walk at Celilo Park and found some rainbow colored rocks and had a pizza, movie and red wine night. The next day I took her and Aris to the turbines and as you can see it was windy, I don't think Aris liked it too much,

stopped at a spooky house (which we had to explore) and took a walk near one of the draws.
Not too exciting but it was wonderful having a familiar face to hang out with!

Spring

Here it is the day before Cinco de Mayo and it finally feels like what I consider to be spring weather. Of course I'm a little biased to the warmer temperatures but the flowers were only a few weeks ahead of me.

Speaking of flowers I took some pictures of some wildflowers in the area and the sagebrush around here.

The sagebrush here looks much more healthy than the bushes in Idaho that I worked in most likely due to the cattle out there. They are supposed to be tall and bushy like the ones in my picture.


Don't the tulips out in the picnic yard look so pretty. They are a nice thing to wake up to, so happy and cheery.

Snow

Today we got snowed out. It's almost April and we had to stop after two turbines because the weather was horrible and we couldn't see anything. Go figure. I posted the first picture of the turbines in just for comparison of the good weather and the freezing weather. Things here are pretty good other than being cold all the time. I am sooooo ready for warm weather. Some days are lonely and some days I am just too beat to be anything. Tomorrow I am going to Portland again, this means I get to go to Olive Garden again. I just can't get enough of their soup, salad and bread sticks. I guess I could go to another restaurant but my other favorite kind is steak houses and they make a really good steak right here a few blocks from me. I have a few other things to get done while I am there so I should have a nice full day in the city.

Time Off

Recently I have had quite a bit of time on my hands so I've been working on some projects. I am almost done with a cross stitch I have working on for a few years but I need about 35 stitches worth of floss to finish it. The project I did finish all the way was an afghan which I have pictures of. It was a pretty quick and simple pattern.

A Little Bit of Everything

I have several pictures for you guys this post. The first three are pictures of my room now that everything is where it is going to be for a while. If you look at them in respect to the bed you can figure out how everything is oriented. Small but cozy.

The next two pictures I took at work. There is no need to look at the one with me and the turbine too close:) I appear to have a grimse on my face instead of a smile which I am sure is either due to the amount of soreness I have been experienceing lately or the fact I was waiting for the timer to take the picture or both. The next is a picture of the turbines I work with and there just so happens to have a car in it for scale. The base of the turbines must be 8-10 feet in diameter.

Now on to the pretty Oregon stuff. I stopped on the way home from work one day to take this beautiful picture of Mt. Hood at sunset. Of course more extraordinary in person.

Now this past Saturday I went into Portland to get some stuff done. First of all I had to stop by Olive Garden to get some all you can eat soup, salad and bread sticks while I had the chance. Then to do what I had really gone there to do in the first place which was to trade my boots in for one that fit better and hopefully won't hurt my feet. REI is the best store for outdoor equipment and that is that you can return or exchange your equipment even after you have used it even if it is very used and torn up. However, it being the weekend and all the parking lot was full so while circleing looking for a spot I took the opportunity to snap a picture of the double rainbow. Once again, more extraordinary in person. Then on my way back to Wasco I stopped at Multnomah Falls since Gramma mentioned it and it is right on the Interstate. I, however, did not go under the freeway and climb the stairs but it was still pretty cool.

Blisters

Today was a good day but I got some crazy blisters. Here are the pictures of the old merchandise building next door to me and the Oskaloosa Hotel I am staying at. The buildings here are old but there are some very nice Victorian houses I will have to get pictures of. The yard in the picture of the old store is part of the hotel yard and my neighbors who own the hotel are very nice and BBQed T-bone steaks for us on Tuesday so we ate on the picnic bench. Very nice people. More on the job next time. Good night.

A Little More Info

It is my first real day here in Wasco and I am oh so tired. Yesterday I called my field supervisor and he told me to meet him in Walla Walla at 9 am. This means I have to get up at 5 am (you all know that's my bedtime not wake up time) so I have time to shower, eat and fill up on gas. When I get there proptly at 9 my supervisor is in a meeting and has no idea why I am there. Long story short my field supervisor was in the field when I called and thought I was someone else so there was no reason for me to be there. However, I did get to talk to them a little and they gave me a map of the turbines I will be working at and he told me a little more of the project. Basically West Inc. performed an environmental evaluation of the area a few years ago, the turbines were built and now I will be performing an environmental impact study of the area. Not too complicated but necessary. Anyway, I have a picture of the hotel I am currently staying in and one of the building next door but for some reason I can't upload them right now. I will find out what the building is and get a few more pictures of the town, that can be walked in 5 minutes, later but right now I need to take a nap. Yes Gramma I am somewhat near the Falls, aproximately 30-45 mins. east. I am about 15 mins. from the Columbian River, which I incidentally saw a Bald Eagle on today. If that last sentence didn't make a lot of sense please excuse me as I nap.