The Homestead

I bought a new toy last week and couldn't wait to use it.  In fact…I took a portrait lens with me climbing because the wide angle I ordered hadn't arrived yet.  Nonetheless, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the images I captured.  Impressed enough to inspire a blog entry from Arizona!

Since arriving back in the US to start work in June, I have managed to continue to pursue my climbing, traveling, and exploratory dreams within the country from California to Nevada to Kentucky, New York, Massachusetts, Texas, and [of course] Indiana.  I am still a wanderlust.  My travels earlier this year did not fulfill my desires to see the world but instead fed them.  I know it is hard for many to understand this and at times very stressful for my family.  I only ask that my family and friends be open-minded, be supportive, and trust that I am experienced and know what I am doing!

As much as I love seeing other countries and cultures, I am excited to say that I have finally made a decision to spend a few months traveling around the Western US for ski season this winter.  And I plan on doing it similarly to how I travel other countries. I am staying with some friends in certain places but plan on winging the rest and am so eager to see what the US has to offer.

Now back to the topic at hand…last weekend!  I spent many of good weekends last year at a climbing area called The Homestead, a couple hours drive from Phoenix.  This was my first weekend to go back there in a year, and I was able to spend it with most of the same people.  I know this sounds cheesy and disgusting, but it was absolutely splendid! :-)  And here are the pictures of the weekend that I have promised.

 My friends the big horn sheep.

 Dr. Nick hanging around

 Dan was super excited for the rock we found!  We were both calling dibs on the tufas :)

Flying Home to Slave to the Machine

I boarded my plane in Bergen for Amsterdam and then arrived in Amsterdam to be mildly interrogated before jumping on the plane to Detroit. I was subjected to an exit/entry interview before boarding the plane or arriving in the country. I was asked the usual line up of questions. Where are you coming from? How long have you been gone? Why are you going to the US? I gave my typical honest answers which fail me every time. I told the truth. I flew into the UK the end of December. I named the other countries. I said I was flying home for work. My interrogator asks if I live in Norway now and where I am working there. I give him a confused look and say I'm going to the US to work. I don't live or work in Norway. He asks why I have a return flight to Norway from the US in December. It was then that I remembered that I bought a round trip flight. I told him it was cheaper. He looked at me confused and asked the prices. I told him $1600 for one-way but only $1150 for a round trip flight. He looked less confused and more understanding then. He let me through to board the plane.

I board the plane only to be subjected to another reminder that I am returning to the US. Half the plane is filled with college kids, returning from what, I haven't the slightest idea. All I could hear was gossip, gossip, excitement, lots of American accents, and as quick as possible, my Bose headphones were applied to block the voices and postpone reality as long as possible.

I arrived in Detroit for customs and another speedy connection for my last leg to Indianapolis. My brothers were texting me excitedly. We of course schemed a plan to surprise my parents. Jacob did the negotiating and had my parents at the airport to pick up his fiancé who was in town for a bachelorette party. In reality, there was no bachelorette party and his fiancé would not be arriving. Instead, they had me walking out of the airport. I could see my dad saying something (which I later found out was along the lines of, "Well, that looks like Jessica"), followed by a shrill-like voice from my mother as she jumped out of the car in tears of joy (I think) before the car was even stopped.

I made it back for a rather anti-climatic year at the Indianapolis 500. I visited family and friends for about nine days. Dad helped me find a car to buy. I posted on Facebook that I needed a partner in crime for the drive back to Arizona. Judge Akers in my town happens to be my friend on Facebook (a good family friend and previous neighbor). His daughter moved to Arizona three months ago. He gave me her number. I called her and asked if she could be on a plane in two hours. She says sureee, why not?! Spontaneity = bonus points in my book. I didn't really know her, besides as being a family friend, until the drive. We detoured a little to see my brother and Renee in Wichita Falls, TX for the night.  We hit the road early the next morning for the "scenic" route back to Phoenix. The scenic route that I wanted drove us by White Dunes National Monument.

When I arrived back in Phoenix, I was exhausted, jet lagged, wired, and tired, all at the same time. After squaring away some work B.S., I headed to higher ground near Flagstaff for climbing from Thursday until Sunday.

Paradise Forks, AZ

Monday and Tuesday I had orientation at the hospital (what a waste of their money since I am just a rehire six months after leaving). Wednesday afternoon I had to go in for my first actual shift. I was a bit nervous...justifiably so after a six month hiatus.

Finally...My Account of Norway

More or less, I became lazy on writing while in Norway, and I've postponed this entirely too long. The lapse in time I'm certain will sadly cause a good story or two to be omitted. Our itinerary was as follows, and allowed for spectacular views along the Western coast, crossing more fjords via ferries than I could count:
Oslo -> Stavanger -> Bergen -> Førde -> Stryn/Olden -> Aalesund -> Molde -> Førde -> Bergen

Ingebjørg and I spent a day in Oslo before catching a train to Stavanger where she lives. She sublet her room while she was traveling, and so we stayed with her friend Tove. It's amazing how great it was to spend time in a house instead of just hostels or camping. Most of our days in Norway were spent climbing when the weather allowed. The other days we generally hiked.  One hike outside of Stavanger was to Preikestolen, a sheer-faced cliff with a 604 meter drop to the fjord below. The weather decided to cooperate for about 30 minutes once we arrived at the top for a nice photo shoot before the clouds rolled in.  The clouds and misty weather of course required us to make coffee at the top to warm up (my new addiction...but hey, there could be worse ones!) and eat a little before heading down.

Sunset in Stavanger

As the clouds rolled in over Preikestolen

Photo shoot on the edge

Just having a peak over the edge :-)...talk about a drop off.

We arrived in Bergen a few days before their national holiday, the 17th of May. We couch surfed Ingebjørg's friends' apartments, so I met lots of amazing, welcoming locals. We hiked two of the mountains and climbed on weather-permitting days. I was informed it was a must to be in Bergen during the 17th of May for the morning parade and celebrations. It was well worth it to see the abundance of traditional Norwegian attire, including Ingebjørg's. After the parade, we headed to her parents' house in Førde. We both indulged in baths, clean clothes, home cooked food, and comfortable beds. Her mom cooked an interesting traditional Norwegian dish that I believe was sour cream porridge, or at least that's how it was described to me. We added cinnamon and sugar to it. It was rich and delicious. We hiked two mountains during our time in Førde to attempt to make up for that porridge too ;).

Hiking in Bergen

 A little girl enjoying the parade and Ingebejorg with her parents.

Parade in Bergen for the 17th of May

Hiking in Førde

Next on the list was Stryn and Olden. We were meeting a group of climbers from Bergen to climb near Stryn at a crag called Beachen, of which I'm probably butchering the spelling. It was an extremely warm and sunny day, leading to a dip in the ocean afterwards. You can't get more refreshing than running into a fjord where the glacier water merges. I oddly didn't mind it, probably due to the fact that I was immediately numbed by the water. We drove to Olden afterwards to the cabins where we were staying at the base of Briksdalbreen (Briksdal Glacier). This was all in a day's work...in the daylight (with quite a bit of road time), including a cookout at the end of the day with some bouldering around the camp. The sun was rising around 5am and setting at about 10:15pm. That's not including the residual daylight that last a lot longer. It was incredible and exhausting all at the same time! I was running on little sleep and coffee. I was up early the next day though to read in the morning sun outside before taking off with a couple of the girls to hike to the glacier and attempt another mountain. I say attempt because we weren't prepared with crampons, and the snow covered areas were too big to maneuver around without risking sliding down the mountain for a sled-less, high speed ride that I didn't care to take. We aborted and headed back towards Stryn to go swimming.

The drive from Førde to Stryn

 

Bouldering near the cabin by the glaciers

 
The next morning we continued our journey North to Aalesund for some kayaking and more local food at another friend's family's cabin.  Last we headed to Molde before heading back South.

View from a hilltop in Aalesund

Here are some random shots from the drive back South too.  We stopped at her parents' house again on the way home.  When we got back to Bergen, we met up with her Stavanger friends for a climbing festival.

Climbing near Bergen

Norway is extremely breathtaking and it was getting even better the further North we went. It reminded me a little of New Zealand, especially Milford Sound in New Zealand. I don't know much about Norway's government or politics, besides the briefing I received from Ingebjørg. I was astounded by the cleanliness of the country as a whole. It seemed to be relatively void of extreme wealth or poverty. Apparently this is government controlled. Since Ingebjørg is a doctor there, we had numerous discussions about the health care system too which is not unexpectedly wayyy better than in the US from my perspective. To reiterate this point to all Americans, including my dad who questioned my access to health care while climbing abroad, the US is ranked number 37 according to the World Health Organization in 2000 (I could only speculate that we wouldn't be any higher on that list if WHO were to do an updated ranking). Seven of the eleven countries I visited are ranked higher than the US and two weren't far behind.

About two weeks into my Norwegian extravaganza, my prior boss in Phoenix sent me a text asking if I would be interested in an overnight position at the hospital that had just opened up. I already knew about the position. I was also considering returning to the US to find work for a few months in July. I was uncertain if I wanted the position, but when he texted I decided it would be the easiest short term job option, since I could stipulate a time frame in which he had to hire and train someone new. I decided to take it and booked a flight back to the US for five days later, hence aborting a flight I had already bought to Croatia. I think there is a fine line between work and play and having too much of either.  I felt like traveling was getting a little too comfortable for me and some work would put things back into perspective :-).

As I write this, I am six weeks back into work.  My perspective has been renewed, and I am even more eager for my next adventure!