The List

For fun, I thought it would be great to give you a summary of my trip through a couple of lists. So, here ya go!
Waterfalls: Wahkeena, Shepperd's Dell, Bridal Veil, Latourell, Multonomah, Paulina Creek, Vidae
License Plates: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon (duh), Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming,
Volcanoes (get ready for this one!): Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, Belknap Shield, Three Sisters (North Sister, Middle Sister, South Sister), Broken Top, Mt. Bachelor, Pilot Butte, Lava Butte, Black Butte, Newberry Shield, Mt. Mazama (what's left of it), Mt. Scott, Hole in the Ground, Fort Rock, Table Rock, Mt. Thielson, Wizard Island, Mt. Bailey, Diamond Peak, Mt. Ranier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. McLoughlin, and at least 20 other unnamed small volcanoes.
Places I stayed: Portland Marriott Convention Center, Hood River Inn, Yachats Inn, Campbell House B&B, Bean Complex Dorm: University of Oregon, EconoLodge Bend, Diamond Lake Resort. Then, back to the dorm for two nights and then back to the Marriott for one night.
Teachers for our program: Dr. Stephanie Shipp, Dr. Allan Treiman, Dr. Justin, Filiberto, Dr. Juliane Gross
Friends who traveled along: Alice and Elaine
Media captured: 879 pictures, 20 videos
Favorite Waterfall: Multonomah Falls
Favorite Volcano: Mt Bachelor because it looks like Mt. Fuji
Favorite Lake: Crater Lake, hands down. Amazing!
Favorite Roommate: Kate! She's da bomb! We had a great time together, and she was very patient with my late nights as I blogged.
Favorite Saying: Tie between "No small children were harmed..." and ""Stay on THIS side of the wall! Safety third!"
Favorite Smell: rows and rows of lavender growing in the shadow of Mt. Hood
Favorite Sound: the Pika alarm! Sounds like someone stepped on a squeak toy!
Favorite Feeling: the roughness of of pumice on the Big Obsidian Flow
Favorite Sight: our first glimpse of the vast blueness of Crater Lake
Favorite Taste: Marionberry jam Yummy!
Best thing about being home: Chad's hugs and being back in the Land of Diet Coke!

07-20-09 Flight Home

On my flight home, I was able to catch this awesome shot of four volcanoes! From Mt. Hood, in the bottom right corner of the picture, going counter clockwise, you can also see Mt. Adams, Mt. Ranier, and Mt. St. Helens. Only Mt. Hood is in Oregon, the other three volcanoes in this picture are in Washington state.

Portland: The City of Roses

Portland has one of the most beautiful rose gardens. They actually test roses here. As soon as I got out of the shuttle at the top of the hill, I could smell the roses. Intoxicating. I walked around in the gardens for hours, snapping pictures and enjoying the variety of shapes, colors, and sizes of these thorny beauties. It was a bonus to have views of the city below and Mt. Hood in the distance.

CSI Prop

There was a great CSI the Experience exhibit at the OMSI. There were three different crime scenes, with different sets of data to collect and analyze. Then you submit a report to Gil Grissom via computer and it tells you if you solved the crime. I did one scene. My super science skills helped me to solve that crime. Excellent! At the end of the exhibit, there were all the miniatures used in the series, including this one. Remember this episode?

07-19-09 Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

I caught a ride back to Portland from Eugene with Kathy and Lisa. They helped me get checked in to my hotel and then they dropped me off at the OMSI. I was hoping to be able to check out this museum. I've heard lots of good stuff about it. I saw an OmniMax movie (think giant curved screen) and also a planetarium show. There were lots of neat hands-on exhibits that remind me of the Exploratorium's exhibits.

I Gotta Get a Dart Board!

After we had all finished our reporting and post tests, we grabbed some grub at the dining hall (yippee. looking forward to getting home to some real food!) and headed out for a night on the town. Apparently, I have hidden darts skills. While they're not bullseyes, this was a pretty tight cluster! If I get myself a Darts set-up, I can probably go professional in just a few months.

Debriefing

We met one more time as a group to talk about our plans for using all the great information we learned and to take our post test. I am happy to report that it took me much longer to take the test this time than when I took it at the beginning of the field experience. I could write more than just "I don't know".