The first college we visited on our road trip through Oregon was University of Oregon. We toured around the campus while it was pouring rain outside in Eugene, Oregon. We met up with Maddy, a first year student of University of Oregon, showed us around her dorm. I really enjoyed it and was able to get a very good feeling of the school. I enjoyed it a lot. After looking around we checked out downtown Eugene, which had an amazing farmers/ craft fair going on which spanned over about three blocks. It was full of all kinds of characters and talents. I really enjoyed it, even though I was being rained on the whole time. ...

On our road trip up to Oregon we stopped for a snack in Corning, California which proclaimed itself as the olive capital. I am a huge olive fan so I pulled off at a tourist shop full of olives of every kind. I was a kid in a candy shop… the Olive Pit. They even had a huge sample bar for all kinds of olives from Cajun spiced, Texas hot, garlic, Kalamata, and smoked. First note, Texas spicy green olives were definitely the best, I had many, many samples of it. The woman kept eyeing me, I guess I wasn’t sneaky enough. Second note, smoked olives are disgusting. I won’t make that mistake again. They had really cool little scoopers to pick the olives out, it was quite the experience. ...

So for the first part of my spring break I am going to be heading up to Portland Oregon for some college visits. My mom and I are road trippin it up and we are going to be having fun along the way. Top on my list is Reed. I can’t wait to see it, Reed is one of my top choices at this point and I am ready to learn more. ...

Something like a pot of flowers can seem so ordinary, not because it actually is but because we have become so accustomed to it that it has lost it’s uniqueness in our eyes. In my eyes this is a crime. My job is to provide perspective to all of you, it may not be right, different, or even worth your time, but it is something to remind people that nothing is one dimensional. Here is a series of photos, all of this seemingly normal flower bouquet. (P.S. I love flowers that is why I chose them, I think they are beautiful beyond compare) ...

Here is the last photo of otters while I was in Yellowstone. I saved this picture for a friend but here it is now, the trio. Three little rambunctious river otters that teased us all day and finally gave us some good pictures, they even posed. I will miss them, I miss the quiet of Yellowstone the serenity, the wildlife, and the feeling of being a part of nature, not an adversary of it. Life seems so much simpler in the wild, yet so much more complicated. I hope I can come back again soon. ...

Even the murkiest of waters can still reveal a reflection that is true. Many people forget a major aspect of their lives and aren’t even aware of it; they forget to reflect. Not just on their actions but upon themselves. It is so easy to forget that to truly understand others, you have to first understand yourself and the only way to achieve this is through self-reflection. So I say to you, take a moment and look in a mirror, or a puddle on a rainy day like this, and take a good hard look. Not at what you look like but who you have become over time. Is it someone you like, is it something you hate? Or is it who you always said you would be? Take a look at yourself and tell me what you see.

Mary is watching Waiting for you Standing ever patient In a field of green That never dies Or withers with time She stands in a place Untouched by time Sorrow or shame Mary is watching From very far away Because the world we live in Is to dark for her And too unforgiving For her to enter So she stands On the other side Patiently waiting Because she has All the time in the world But you don’t ...

Even the dimmest light, in the darkest of places can illuminate your way. Who lights your way? Is it a best friend, a parent, your imagination, or God? It doesn’t matter who or what your light is, follow it, because it will always lead you to brighter times.

Yeah I know, another flower shot. There is just something magical about flowers and how each one is so monumentally different from the next.

Antelopes are one of the strangest looking creatures I have encountered. They appear so alien, but at times like this, so funny. I like his blue tongue… Anyways, I love the way they look because they just have such huge eyes and amazing color patterns. I was afraid I wasn’t going to get to see any on my trip out to Yellowstone, but on the last day we spotted some out in a field and they wound up coming right up next to the road. We got to watch them for some time jut grazing. They really are majestic and wonderful. Even though they are so simple compared to coyotes or wolves and even buffalo I still enjoy watching them. ...