Amusings: Summer adventures and transitions 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Summer adventures and transitions 2010

Phew! Has it ever been a busy and adventurous summer. Here are some updates.

We started off in May (yes, this is officially summer in my book as the semester at GU was over and done with and we had a chance to breath some fresh air. As a bonus, it was actually Memorial Day Weekend, which for many of us signals the beginning of warmer weather and a season of barbecues and festivities). We headed up to the Big Apple to visit some friends from near and far (most exotic relocated friend? a toss up between a good friend from Denmark and studying in Connecticut via Estonia and another friend relocated from Malta via Estonia -- yes, all roads go through Eestimaa!). We were lucky enough to also see some recently relocated friends from DC. Besides socializing, I got the chance to visit some of my old haunts on the Upper West Side (I lived in New York 1998-1999), and Uli got to see the Statue of Liberty. We took in a Broadway Show, ate lots of good food, and did a whole lot of walking. Such a big, bustling city. It's intoxicating and exhausting at the same time. What I would give to be able to watch myself living there in my 20s after relocating from life in Wyoming and school in South Dakota. That definitely was the first big and diverse adventure that led to many more...

Just a handful of my wild, funny, and brilliant TMU scholars!

After teaching in a really fantastic summer program with student researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University at GU and also working with MATESOL students up at American University, I began staging another transition out of DC and NoVA... Uli and I drove 2,000 miles this summer back to Wyoming to my lovely family and storage company (Uhler, inc.). Passing through Lansing, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Sioux Falls along the way to say hello to good friends and enjoy some good local foods and fun, we made the most of our cross-country trek and slow removal from my DC home. Two years of life is hard to leave behind, but it was made a bit easier by watching the miles pass under our wheels and the scenery slowly slip from forest to corn to plains to mountains...

Baby Cohen along with big brother and big sister

We arrived in Gillette just in time for a new addition to the family! We welcomed baby Cohen to the Uhler clan, and I got to be an aunt three times over (being an aunt is really the best thing ever!).

Jumping through the sprinkler on a hot day with my niece

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary and visited the Fishing Lake in Gillette to see our lock -- it's still there!

Our Love Lock at Fishing Bridge in Gillette survives

Our time underneath Wyoming skies has been busy with reunions, cookouts, and games of Pinochle. I've also become hopelessly addicted to the crime thriller novels by Stieg Larsson. However, we did head out for a week long trip to see the deer and the buffalo play.

From cody, yellowstone, grand tetons

We spent seven days camping in the old West town of Cody, Yellowstone National Park, Teton National Park, and a final stay in the Hot Springs of Thermopolis (for more great pictures, click on one of the images above or below). The following were some of the highlights:

Cowboy music show after dinner at the Irma in Cody
Camping at Pebble Creek in YNP
Bear sightings (yes, we saw probably around 8-10 black and grizzlies in total)
Bison traffic jams
Hot mud pools and geysers
Uli's birthday dinner lakeside at Grant Village
Moose sighting in Moose, Wyo (who would have guessed?!)
Wild water rafting and overnight scenic tour on the Snake River
Relaxing thermal waters and safari saloon in Thermop

From cody, yellowstone, grand tetons

In recovery from our trip, we've been helping my dad to roof his cabin on some land just west of Gillette in the Black Hills. Yesterday, we managed to put the finishing touches on and it looks great.

From 07-29-2010 Gillette Wyoming

It's been a great summer so far as we head into August and our next set of adjustments and transitions. Uli heads out to Eestimaa on Sunday and I will follow the next week. We're beginning the planning and packing and are really looking forward to the adventures that will be "next" in our story!