The Wasserman Times

Wednesday July 20, 2011

Today is the third day of our cross-country adventure. We left Portland late Monday night and drove two hours to Tacoma, Washington. Our friend from high school, Stephen, goes to the University of Puget Sound there, so we thought we would say two nights with him. At this point it is tradition to visit Stephen before we go on long trips. Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early to go on a day hike on Mt. Rainier with Stephen and his friend Lindsey. Stephen had done this hike at least a dozen times before so he assured us it would be fun. Little did we know that Stephen is a huge liar...or that he just cannot predict weather patterns. When we reached the trailhead for the hike, it was cold, covered in snow, and so foggy that you could not see one hundred feet in front of you. We decided to go on the hike anyway, because we are such awesome people. After a mile of marching uphill in the snow, it was agreed that we should head back. Going down the mountain was more fun because it felt almost like skiing. About halfway back down, we came across a snow slide someone had built. We all saw the clearly marked 'No Sliding' signs at the trailhead, but we thoughtlessly ignored them and all of us went down the slide at least once. Please don't judge us; we had to make some fun from the horrible weather. As you can see, it was really fun.

Driving back down the mountain, we took our time stopping at waterfalls. The waterfalls were beautiful and numerous because the snow was melting. Stephen said there would have been many old glacial features to see if it weren't for the fog. If my professors ask, I noticed all of them and they were great.

Now is the part where I tell you about watching an octopus devour a crab. Stephen works in a marine biology lab on his campus, and while out doing research one day he found a wounded octopus washed up on shore. He brought it back to his lab to keep as a pet, and we all went to go look at it. When Stephen fed a large crab to the octopus, we gathered around the tank like Romans in the Coliseum. We watched as the octopus and the large crab battled it out, but eventually the crab scared the octopus, so Stephen dropped in a smaller crab and we all watched the octopus devour that.

After touring the lab, we went to a local pizzeria/bar for a trivia game, and then slept at Stephen's house again . We woke up at 6:30am for our three hundred mile ride to Kamloops, British Columbia today. The ride was gorgeous! Everywhere I looked, there was picture perfect scenery. On BC license pates it says 'Beautiful British Columbia,' and that is no exaggeration. The ride made me so proud to live in the pacific northwest where the weather isn't always great, but the area makes up for that by being incredibly breathtaking. Our campsite in Kamloops is beautiful because the weather is nice, the forests are huge, and we have a view of a beautiful lake. Someday I would like to travel back here and stay for a week. I am excited for what tomorrow brings, because we will be heading into Jasper National Park.

-Amelia