Oregon

My husband recently got a job as the Director of Facilitation at Tree to Tree Adventure Park, a ropes course in Gaston, Oregon. CJ (my husband) moved us up to Oregon while I was in the Middle East. I came up last week after all of my adventures, and so now we are both living in Forest Grove, Oregon. It's great to be back with him! CJ took a few days off of work so that he and I could travel around western Oregon a bit so that I could get a feel for the area. We started off by camping at Ainsworth State Park near Multnomah Falls. This area is located roughly 45 minutes outside of Portland, and it is beautiful! We hiked around a bit to a few of the many falls located there. Here are some photos.

CJ and me at Wahkeena Falls

Beautiful creek on the way to Fairy Falls

Cute mushroom growing on a tree

On the trail going up to Fairy Falls

Fairy Falls

On the trail to Multnomah Falls

CJ and me at Multnomah Falls

View of the Columbia River

We also took a day and drove out to the coast to Cannon Beach. We visited many of the art galleries there and took a stroll up the beach. The wind was blowing and it was freezing! We had a great day there though.

Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach

CJ and me with Haystack Rock in the background

CJ and Me

Passage to Paradise

I entered this painting in the Alpine Artists' Holiday in Ouray, Colorado this year and it won an honorable mention in the mixed media category.

Tesserae from 2011 Palmyra Excavation

Research Trip

Another component of this year’s excavation in Syria involved research trips to Jordan, Italy, and Great Britain to look at Roman theaters and Roman Legionary sites throughout the Roman world that are contemporary with the site that we are excavating in Afamia, Syria. The political situation in Syria this year made it too dangerous for us to excavate in Afamia this year, which is why a research trip to these other contemporary Roman sites was planned.

Jordan 2011

Roman theater in Amman

On the stage at the theater in Amman

Enjoying a "show" in true Roman fashion showing off my bling

Jerash

Niche! (in Jerash)

Theater in Jerash

Hiking into Wadi Sabra

Nabataean theater in Wadi Sabra

At the theater in Wadi Sabra

Nabataean theater in Petra

Petra just got a little better.

Italy 2011

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica

Near the crypts in Ostia Antica

Hadrian's Grotto in Sperlonga

Taormina

Theater in Taormina

Fountain in the ancient city of Syracuse

Taormina view

On the ferry out to Sicily

On the streets of Speletto

Speletto

Verona

Verona

Verona

Egyptian Museum in Turin

Tivoli

Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli

Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli

Pizza!

Countryside near Volterra

Volterra

Volterra

Little door in Volterra

Gnocchi!

Great Britain 2011

The British Museum!

On the top of a double-decker with my goods

Piccadilly Square

Kitty!

Bath

Bath

Brampton

Brampton

Caerleon

Caerleon

Hadrian's Wall

On Hadrian's Wall

Sheep!

Near Hadrian's Wall