P-Town

I'm a little late in posting this but better late than never. I headed to Portland last weekend. It was a somewhat spur of the moment trip to see some friends. I've been informed by some that the "cool kids" refer to it as PDX. I'm sticking with P-town. It's a nice city. Depending on what I decide I want out of the news business, Portland looks to be an ideal spot for me. It would be hard to get there but it's a decent possibility.

The drive was annoying (especially the 9 hour, snow-laden trip back) but I had an awesome time. Stupidly, I didn't take any pictures. But I dug through all my old photos to come up with a reconstructed narrative. Enjoy.

My main motive for going was to see Katie.
We met more than 5 years ago in Glacier National Park. Here we are in 2003 at Charlie's in Babb, Montana. Katie has come to visit me many times in Bozeman and Boise so I thought it was time to return the favor. Despite a disasterous trip up to Mt. Hood...it was a good time.

Two more Glacier buddies also live in Portland.

This is Jason and Shelly, also known as Shelson (and occasionally referred to by their lesser known portmanteau Jelly). They met in Glacier, fell in love, and got married. Cute isn't it? We had dinner and drinks and reminisced the night away. However, we're all getting on in years and most of us were in bed by midnight. Still...good times.

Also living Portland...my good friend Chris.

I met Chris in 2004 when I worked at Big Sky Resort. Here he is getting a workout in Monument Valley. Chris works for the National Park Service in Denali National Park. He's basically stationed on Mt. McKinley all summer long. He's hard core. I met his lovely girlfriend Amanda too. They're a disgustingly cute couple.

I expected to see one more person.

This would be Josh. He's Chris' good friend and also worked in Big Sky. Unfortunately, Josh got called into work (he works with an outdoor wilderness school for troubled youth) and couldn't hang out for the weekend. Maybe next time.

There's a certain moment in life that I cherish. It feels the same every time it happens yet it never gets old. I'm in the midst of a group of people I love (whether it be friends or family) and I take stock for a brief second. It's almost like I'm watching the scene out of a movie. The scene where everyone is laughing and talking and smiling. Conversations of all sorts fly by and sometimes mix with each other. I watch this and I simply smile. I'm part of this group of happy, fun-loving individuals and we are having a good time. It's hard not to revel in such simplistic joy. I had one of those moments this past weekend.

Thanks Portland.