Trip to RI

I've had the same depressing post on my blog since December. Much has changed since then so I thought I would do a little update.

Here are some photos from my Memorial Day Weekend trip to Rhode Island . I went to celebrate my sister's college graduation. Not only did she complete a double major in math and education, but within a week of graduating she was hired for a full-time position. Way to go sis!

While I was back I also had the opportunity to visit with some old friends and their little one (and she is INCREDIBLY cute.) I also got to visit with some relatives I hadn't seen since my grandmother's funeral in 1999. They still look like me...or is it that I look like them?

Anyway, fear not...more blog posts will follow.

My Car Crash

I was in a car crash yesterday.

While making a left turn from SW Morgan onto SW 35th, I was hit by an on-coming chevy blazer. I don't remember much before the impact, but I can still see the passengers door explode and watch the street through the windshield as I skid across the intersection.

I turned the car off and looked around. It was just about 5 o'clock - twilight - and the rain was a steady drizzle. I got out and saw people looking at me from all directions. I saw the car that hit me on the other side of the intersection. I ran over to see if the driver was okay.

The man behind the wheel rolled down his window and asked if I was okay. I hadn't really thought of that, but I didn't hurt and I could walk fine. He said he was okay, but would need to have his car towed. I went back to my car to move it out of the intersection and parked it at the gas station at the corner. By then, the reality of the situation was starting to sink in and I began mumbling to myself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...." I kept repeating the mantra over and over again. I grabbed my insurance information from the glove compartment and headed back to the other car.

The other drive was talking to a woman holding an umbrella. "Do you two want to sit in my car and exchange info?" We got into her minivan (I remember it being quite clean.) The other driver was very composed and kind. "The important thing is that no one was hurt. It's just property."

There was a knock on my window. I rolled it down. A policeman was standing there.
"Everyone okay?" Yes.
"Are you exchanging insurance information?" Yes.
"Could someone move that Blazer out of traffic?" Sure.
Then he left.

By this point, I was starting to freak out. I got back to my car, but realized I hadn't gotten the other driver's insurance number. So I ran back and asked him for it.

"Oh, sure. Here you go. I'm just glad everyone's okay." I wanted to hug him. He seemed so calm and I wasn't. I wanted to know everything was okay. I now realized that being able to talk, stand and use my body meant that, in fact, everything was way more okay than it could have been. (This realization is currently giving me a lot of sollace.)

I got in my car and screamed for a minute. Once I'd gotten that out, I started the car and pulled out onto the street.

The car was definitely out of alignment, but drove surprisingly well. My nerves were shot and I proceeded down the road with my hazard lights on driving about 20mph. Every car that passed me in the other lane gave me a little jolt. The sound of the wipers sliding across the cracked windshield reminded me of the impact.

I was afraid of the car breaking down, so I decided to take surface roads home. I dropped onto what I thought was Spokane St, but soon found myself driving in the dark on an unfamiliar road. After a bit, I turned the car around to take my chances with the highway.

About this time, my fingers began to tingle. The my lips tingled. And then my chest was tingling and my hands were shaking. I couldn't control my fingers and gripped the steering wheel with my palms. My chest was shaking now and I realized I should probably see a doctor before I tried to drive home.

I knew of a hospital in West Seattle, not far from the accident, so I backtracked my way there. At an intersection I realized that having my hazards on meant no one could tell which way I was turning, so I drove with my arm stuck out the window like I was on a bike.

I found the hospital and drove around looking for the emergency room . There wasn't one. In fact, Providence Mt. St. Vincent didn't appeared to be much of a hospital. I parked the car and ran to the main entrance. The automatic doors parted and inside there were a lot of old people. Shit. Nursing home.

I figured there must be a nurse around somewhere, and all I needed was someone with some training to tell me I wasn't going to die, that I was just freaking out from the accident and everything would be okay. I found a nurse and he looked at me like I was crazy. I can't blame him. My hair was wet from standing in the rain and I was shaking.

I asked him to see a 'health care professional'. He said he could call 911.
"You can't help me? You're a nurse, right?"
"I can call 911," he repeated.
"Liability. Right?"
"Yep," he said as he picked up the phone and dialed. "There's a man here who says he's been in a car accident and wants to see a doctor." (I did sound like a nut - going to a nursing home to find a doctor.)

The nurse found me a wheelchair to sit in. An old man with a sippy cup looked at me like I was taking his favorite chair. The nurse wheeled me over to the entrance and said, "This is where they'll come in."

After sitting in the wheel chair for five minutes trying to breathe calmly (which wasn't working), a fire truck showed up. I thought, "That's not necessary."

Five firemen walked in and surrounded me. One guy asked me questions about the accident and another guy took my pulse and blood pressure. The captain - I know he was the captain because the other guys called him 'captain' - sat next to me and watched as his men looked me over. After a few minutes of questions, a guy with 'Brown' on his name tag told me "You've experienced a trauma and your body is in shock."

Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

They told me to relax for a bit and things would be okay. Good. That's what I needed to hear. The shaking began to subside. And then they left me in the nursing home foyer and drove off in the fire truck.

I walked back to my car, got in and drove home.

Sole Duc

Gregory and I made, what I hope will become, our annual backpacking trip in the Olympic National Park. We did the 'The Loop' around the Seven Lakes Basin. We started Sunday from the Sole Duc trailhead and headed south up the Sole Duc river to camp at Sole Duc Park. I found a couple of king boletes and was able to eat one for dinner that night Had we been on the ball we would have reserved a spot at Heart Lake, which sits just below the High Divide Trail. Monday was a short day as we traversed the High Divide trail for a couple miles and caught some amazing views of Mt. Olympus. We then dropped down into the Seven Lakes Basin and saw our only bear of the trip - a black bear foraging on the abundant blue berries. We set up camp at Lunch Lake and proceeded to become lunch for the swarms of mosquitoes that descended upon us. Thankfully we both had head nets. I found a King Bolete by the privy and we ate fresh boletes for two nights in a row.

We went to be around 10 and then awoke at 1:30 am to watch the full lunar eclipse. We had front row seats and the sky was so clear it felt like the movies. I stayed up for an hour and Gregory for longer. The most amazing thing about it was how dark it got. With the clear sky and the full moon - there's always a full moon during a lunar eclipse - it was really light out before the eclipse. We were able to walk around easily without headlamps. At the peak of the eclipse, it really felt like night. For those who haven't seen a lunar eclipse, the moon doesn't go completely black, but it does turn a deep orange. It's pretty cool.

Tuesday we got up and made a quick breakfast to avoid the mosquitoes and then headed downhill, stopping at Deer Lake for lunch. I had to catch a ferry, so we didn't have much time to waste. We huffed it out of the woods and made the car by 2:30.

It was a great trip, but short. Gregory and I both agree that if you're going to load your pack with gear, you've got to spend at least three nights. While I the High Divide, we both got the itch to do the Bailey Traverse, that rings around Mt. Olympus. It looks like it would be phenomenal - a life changing experience. But that will have to wait for next summer.

More Broughton Photos

Broughton Photos

Being in RI

I was just told that I don't ever post anything to my blog. Well, here is a posting.

I'm currently in Narragansett, RI with my girlfriend for a week. We came here for a friend's wedding and to visit my family. The trip has been nice, but I'm looking forward to being back in Seattle. I forgot what the summers are like in this small New England seaside town. When it's hot, it's humid. When it's sunny, the roads are full of cars. When it's sunny and hot, you just sit around the house and wish you were in Seattle. Oh, that's not entirely true. The evenings are lovely. Most of the daytrippers have left and the temps have cooled. The beaches are really lovely, and unlike the PNW, I can go in the ocean without risk of hypothermia.

There are also the gastronomic delights of the Ocean State. "What's a CLAM cake?" my girlfriend asks. If you you've never had one, the name seems to be a complete oxymoron. Clams in cakes. What could be more repulsive? In truth, they are pretty tasty. They are deep-fried balls of dough with clam bits in them that you eat with clam chowder - Rhode Island's clam theme has even been picked up by Saveur magazine. We also lay claim to 'hot wieners' - the food that is. Also known as 'New York System Style Wieners' - 'hot wieners' sounds better, doesn't it? - these little dogs are covered with a spiced meat sauce and are often served with mustard and onions. Then there's Del's frozen lemonade. Another odd RI concoction, this is like a lemonade slushy. I've heard they tried marketing it in other parts of the country buy people didn't know whether to sip it or eat it with a spoon. I guess people are less concerned with convention around here. It's not uncommon to see a kid at the beach with a towel around his waist mashing a waxed paper cup into a funnel to pour his Del's lemonade into his mouth. Without fail, at some point, the glacier of lemony ice calves a chunk into his nose. He wipes it off and continues his task like a dog trying to clean to bottom of a used mayonnaise jar.

When I get home to Seattle, I'll post some photos from the trip.

Been a While

Well, it's been a while since I've made a post. It has been, in part, because my laptop was stolen when someone broke into our house. But now I've got a new computer and no excuse not to do some daily writing.

Since I last wrote a post I've visited my old stomping grounds in Oregon, started teaching a new course (BI 203: Botany, Ecology and Evolution) and Brandy's mom passed away. I think these are the big events, particularly the last one, which has been a hard blow to our happy little home. Losing a loved one is hard. More and more I realize that my happiness is linked to the happiness and well-being of those I love. Seeing someone you love in pain is not easy.

On a brighter note, I bicycled home with my friend James today. I'm pretty proud of this. It was only 15 miles or so, but knowing I can get to/from work without a car makes me feel pretty good. Of course, 15 miles is nothing for James. His commute is about 35 miles ONE WAY. Talk about hardcore. We were joking on our ride today that he really puts his money where his mouth is. When he tells his students they could save the planet by biking to work, he stands behind it. Me, I just like not commuting by car, and if I can get some exercise in the meantime, I'm even happier.

I also found the ride to be a lot more pleasant than I had expected. Much of the ride was on the Green River Bike trail, which as the name implies, goes right along the river. It's a paved bike trail for much of the way and actually goes all the way up to the Duwamish. It doesn't connect with the Duwamish Bike trail, but to seems like it should.

James navigated us through Renton and then up to Seward Park Blvd, which was practically home for me. I left him at Othello and headed home for beer, grilled chicken and ice cream. He had another hour left ahead of him.