Favorite Holiday Music

I’m back in the Midwest and have been greeted with tons of snow and now bone-chilling cold. I LOVE it. Crazy, I know but it reminds me of when I was little and there was 12+ inches of snow on the ground and I’d burrow into my snowsuit, go sledding and come back inside to watch Christmas cartoons. Sigh, those were the days.

Although Rainy City, USA was graced with about an inch of snow just before Thanksgiving, it just wasn’t quite enough to get me into the holiday spirit. Something I do appreciate however, were the holiday tunes on TWO radio stations. I love nearly all of the seasonal music, but here is a list of a few of my favorites these days:


Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan :: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings

Low :: Just Like Christmas



Dave Matthews Band :: Christmas Song



What are your favorites this time of year?

Crater Lake: Attempt #2

Alright, after a much too long blogging hiatus (silly second year of grad school), here are the promised ramblings and photos from my second attempt at visiting Crater Lake National Park. 

You can revisit the dismal account, here.

Just for fun, here’s a comparison of attempt #1 vs. attempt #2. These photos were taken exactly a week apart.

Week One

Week Two

                                      

                                      

A result of Mount Mazama imploding in on itself, Crater Lake boasts some of the clearest water in the world and is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet.

I can most definitely confirm the water is absolutely breathtaking. Before visiting Crater Lake, I didn’t think such a color could occur naturally.

 We hiked up to a vista point:

…and down to the water. 

The climb back up is the equivalent of 125 flights of stairs to the top of the 75^th floor of a skyscraper. 

Pretty. Awesome.

I promise this was my last post about a National Park...at least for now!

Crater Lake: Hilariously Bad Weather

Well folks, I can 100%, without-a-doubt say that it is possible to visit Crater Lake National Park and not actually see the lake.

Yes, the deepest lake in the United States (1,943 feet). The lake with a 33 mile circumference, completely lost to the human eye this weekend. Thank you Oregon weather.

So instead of this:

(www.nps.gov)

We saw this:

(The lake is literally directly behind us in this photo).

Needless to say, we spent our time at the Crater Lake Lodge reading in front of the fireplace and playing Scattergories with newfound friends. It was fun, but definitely not the scenic hikes we had planned.

Even better, when we came to leave this morning it wasn't just raining, it was sleeting. Lord, thank you for Subarus and all-wheel drive. 

(Crater Lake ladies and gents)!

(Once again, the lake is behind us).

The National Park pass is good for another 10 days, so we're debating going back next weekend. Don't worry, the weather looks much more promising! 

My Apologies...

I know it's been forever since I have posted and I apologize! Academic life got in the way of personal blogging...shocker right?

Now that I'm on winter break and officially done with my first quarter of grad school (insert fist-pump), I'll be catching up!

I flew into Madison today, greeted by about 19" of snow and a "refreshing" windchill of -5 degrees. Welcome home to me! Who am I kidding; I'm ecstatic to be home!

I am bummed I missed out on this though, (give UW students a snow day and look what happens):

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

This past Friday, a group of friends and I ventured out in search of some quality pumpkins. In its normal fashion the Oregon weather provided ample precipitation throughout the day, making our exploit quite damp and muddy. Regardless of the weather, it was great to get out of town and comb the pumpkin patch with good friends.

Stay tuned for post-pumpkin carving party pictures!