the last hurrah

I know, you're thinking "Enough with the lizards, lady!" It's just that I like the fauna of a place, and even though Montana has much bigger fauna, we're too cold to have fragile little reptiles like this. They look like tiny dinosaurs, and I always thought it was kind of exciting when I saw one. The locals probably thought I was as lame as I thought it was when I saw a magpie in the zoo in Seattle (like putting a winged rat on display).

Self-portrait, under the banyan tree, post ice cream. I'm seriously one giant freckle!

Our last sunset on the beach. Rob captured it via time lapse - here's hoping you get to see THAT stitched together into a lovely video on HIS blog.

A: "Ok, now at least smile or lift your eyebrows in this one."
R: "Sure. You first."

We capped off our last night with dinner at an Irish pub, of all things. This guy is the local bagpiper, and he was GREAT. He's actually Irish, answered the question that no one asked with "Socks and boots," and played Iron Man and Smoke on the Water. The food and drinks were okay, but we'd go back in a heartbeat for the entertainment. It was stellar!

Waiting for takeoff in Portland...

In the air! I loved seeing that there are no straight lines on the ground that are not man-made. Linear isn't in nature's language, and the folds and curves of the earth, the ribbons of water, the lay of snowfall on the land - it was remarkably beautiful to me on this trip.

One of my happy shots, and one I wanted to leave unedited. Those are God's original colors, and it was just spectacular, a truly incredible last sunset.

Those are the photos and videos I have worth sharing. The rest of the stories can be metered out a bit. I'm taking a few days off!