Keeping up with Keri
I've always been great at procrastinating- I'd like to blame my priorities for that. It's just that they're a little different than most because the top of my list consists of a bucket list, and if I can get outside and complete one of those items rather than something in my daily to-do, well you just won't see me sticking around for long. I'll be long gone in the wind.
So I tell myself that it's difficult to write when really it's only difficult because there are so many other things higher up on that list than retrospect about living in the moment. Because that's just it- I am very much a living in the moment kinda girl. Put everything aside for one second and give yourself one choice. Not a decision, but a single option. Leave your excuses at home; it's a discipline in which you'll thank yourself later.
And since I left my excuses at home and I am at home today, here's one: the updates have been non-existent for the last two months because so much has happened and I just don't know where to start. Once they've happened, the moment has passed and the pictures are the only thing that remain of the story I told in my head.
I've never been a great storyteller. I am much better at showing rather than telling. So let me just give you a glimpse into the last two months. All of these events have been logged in the Project page which now includes a latest update log in each category.
We last left off not long after my exploration into the Enchantments.
In the first week of August I met a girl named Tess. She found me on instagram and asked to meet up while she was in Portland. I was awkward and she was Aussi and somehow we never found ourselves out of words. She was going to school in Philly and was on vacation in the PNW staying with a sweet older lady who she had met near her school after the woman had cycled across the continental US. We met up a few times and explored dark caves, crystal blue lava canyons, windy passes of St. Helens, lakes of Mount Hood, and cold gorge waterfalls. It was an exhausting whirlwind of fun.
Not long after that Vic and I took a short weekend to relax in Bend. We camped out next to scotts lake, had lots of beer in Bend, took the scenic route home and made a pit stop at three pools. It was a relaxing weekend after the excitement of the weeks prior.
Then came the introduction to the Indian Heavens which was the last thing I got around to writing about but since we're going through time, here's a little reminder:
This is when time started flying past my eyes and I ended up here in the present with all of these memories after no time at all. There was some photo fun with my face on it by the incredible Dave Hutt, a good friend who slept on our couch for a week of delicious food and mountain views, lots of exploring in Mount Hood, a few good trips with my brother, a trip to the Olympic National Forest and the Washington Coast, crazy last minute decisions to drive out in the middle of the night to camp in the rain to catch the morning dew on the lake in front of the gorgeous Mount Adams, and the first snow of the season. I can go on for days so let me let the photos speak for themselves. Catch the full photo log under projects.
Photo by Dave Hutt
Photo by Dave Hutt
Photo by Dave hutt
I'm just going to leave it at that.
After two years of constant use, my hiking shoes have finally taken their final step. I walked them right to the dumpster when I got back from my last trip. You think I'd be more sentimental about them after all the places they had taken me. Truth is, if I didn't throw them away then, they would have stayed in my closet forever- getting jealous of the new pair that i will buy. I have never been so thankful for 2 day amazon prime shipping.