A trip home

I'm currently relaxing in a very decent airport bar in Denver International having just wrapped up a trip back home to visit the family. And sitting here it's hitting me that I really don't know when my next trip back to WA state might be. I start A-100 in just 5 days, and once I'm in class I don't really have the flexibility to take vacations that require 10 hours of travel each way.

That sad thought aside, I had a wonderful, if too quick, trip home. It always feels like such of whirlwind of activity, but this trip kept me busy but still allowed for some quality bonding time with the niece and nephew. The morning after I landed we piled into my parents' motorhome to visit the "Inland Northwest's Premier Family Destination," Silverwood Theme Park in Northern Idaho. I love Silverwood and have since I was little. It's not big or fancy, but it has some very thrilling roller coasters and plenty of small rides to keep the kiddos entertained. And it was a beautiful sunny, 80 degree day with zero humidity, so that didn't hurt.

Timber Terror - a crazy fast wooden coaster. 

The warning for Tremors, a wooden coaster than dives underground. 

Looking up at Aftershock - the only coaster I've refused to go on twice. So scary!

Silverwood is Western themed, which includes a train ride through an old "ghost town"

The rest of my time at home was spent running errands in my parents' new "dingy," aka the car they will pull behind their motorhome. The 1980 convertible 5-speed Rabbit would have been my dream car in high school, though I am secretly trying to figure out how to kidnap it and ship it to wherever in the world I end up. I also got to relax a little with my mom and sister, including a trip out to a local winery tasting room (Eastern Washington beats Virginia hands down on good wines) and watching my niece's soccer practice. I even managed to complete all the necessary paperwork to prove that I am indeed domiciled in Washington State.* I won't go into all the crazy details of taxes while living overseas (because I mostly don't understand these details), but I wanted to make sure that once I'm sent overseas that it's clear that all of my personal ties and interests lie in back in WA State.

So Monday the staycation ends and the chaos begins. I'll update more frequently as things like bid lists and Flag Day come flying at me, but first stop is Main State for my badge. I can't wait!

I love this car!

*Domicile is a legal term that is separate from residence. I can be a resident of DC, but if my intent is to return to WA State and I have most of my personal interests there, and I can prove all of this, then while living overseas I would then use WA State for tax purposes. WA State, unlike DC and most of the rest of the country, does not have state income taxes.

Into the Woods

For someone whose career is focused on natural resource protection, I rarely actually get out into those natural resources to enjoy the beauty and peace that inspired me to take this route in the first place. This past weekend I traveled a couple thousands miles to get back to my outdoor loving roots and to spending some quality time with the whole family, a feat even rarer than my chances to be outdoors.

After flying into the capital of the Inland Empire, Spokane, Wash., I helped the pack up the truck, camper, and accompanying vehicles with all possible provisions for a 3-day expedition into the wilderness with four kids and four adults. We headed east past Coeur d'Alene until reaching Kingston, ID, where we turned North along the Coeur d'Alene river. This is where cell phone signal ended and I started to remember what it was like to be completely without multiple digital leashes. Our destination was somewhere in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, along a glacial creek at a campsite where we ended up being the only inhabitants.

The whole family spent a couple of days battling the bugs, eating camping food, and enjoying the frigid rivers and streams. Nothing like the great outdoors to get the whole family to agree on something - that the great outdoors can be a lot of work!

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