Thursday, May 11, 2017

Our A&M Graduate

Jamin and Ambassador (Ret)  Napper
Congratulations to Jamin - a new graduate of the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M. He now has two Masters degrees in Security Studies and International Relations. He envisions a life of public service in the National Security or Diplomatic Corps. 

He has a couple of irons in the fire, and we aren't 100% sure of where he is going next. I believe I will not say anything more until we ARE 100% sure. On a side note, if he goes into these fields we will be limited in future updates.

We're proud of  Jamin's vision for service and the hard work he is putting into pursuing preparation to serve. 

Some of have asked, "Why two masters and not a doctorate?"  He wanted more breadth in his educational background. He talks about pursuing the doctorate - after he works a few years. 
One last picture with H.W. 
For now, he needs to sell the rest of his stuff, rest, fly to Seattle and drive to Alaska with Josiah. He'll spend the summer in Alaska. 

Down the Road...."Church-docking"

We got back to the campsite after exploring Register Rock, hooked up Nimo and headed down the road - totally refreshed. 

Driving day.....
 THIS is mostly the #ViewFromMyWindshield today
BUGS!
We had gotten permission to boondock/urbandock/moochdock at a local church for the evening. They had a great spot - and it wasn't being used on a Thursday night.  Thanks for the hospitality!

We had barely arrived when Beth followed us into the parking lot. She had been down the road picking up a watermelon when she saw us. We spent a lovely afternoon visiting with her, Don, her parents and their kids - minus Sweet Sarah, who we saw on the way out. 
Jon and Heather
Jon, Heather, Jordan, Stacia, Nolan, Alex

We called it a night around 10 p.m. and went back to the church. Yikes. Someone had opened the fire hydrant and it had blown water across the parking lot and all the way back here. Uchi is an ARK! 😛

Register Rock

The view was still great this morning! 

We drove around to the spot where travelers on the Oregon/California Trail used to camp. We were looking for Registration Rock.  

Trains would camp in this meadow beside a salmon stream, cook dinner and then carve their names in the rocks around the area.



This is the moment when we discovered Salmon jumping up the creek....I took photos and videos, but I don't think you can see them. I'll check later. It's hard to edit on windy roads. 


We loved the above story of J.J. Hansen. 

Indian head - carved when he was 7 and camped here; he visited years later in 1902. 

Trying to spot the preacher's and Indian's heads

I don't see the preacher's head....

Michael went exploring the area. We knew there had to be wagon ruts....I suspect much was destroyed when the interstate was built.....

Though they aren't walked bare.....these appear to be wagon ruts. 

This was a great morning drive. We were fascinated with the  history of the spot....and it's ideal for a picnic. It's not far from the Interstate and worth your stop if you are driving be.