….and we did make it to the wedding!
Fortunately it was running about an hour behind & we were about an hour late. BUT, when we got there, the wedding party was lining up for their procession, so we had to potty Inigo & change into our wedding garb real quick like in the parking lot. Luckily Stellita was accommodating & just slept in her carseat through all that. We carried her into the ceremony set in the lovely canyon at the end of Wallowa Lake next to Chief Joseph Mountain. The sound of opera singers echoing the canyon & eagles soaring & deer grazing here and there, I felt like I had entered a fairy tale.
Stella made it all the way to the very end of the ceremony when she woke up from her nap ravenous so we walked her back to the car to feed her. We got to see the whole ceremony though! Yippee! She serenaded the guests with her cries while papa topher changed her diaper as they left the peaceful event.
The irony.
I sat in the car after her change & fed her & watched as a doe & a buck entered the grounds to graze. Some of the party goers wanted to play & the deer were so friendly, they just let people go right up to them & pet them….among other things….
After the deer/nursing interlude, we decided to go find the camping area & set up our tent. We had about an hour or so before dinner, so it was good timing.
We pulled into the campground at the headwaters of the Wallowa River & there was a pretty little site right on the creek. Stella had been fussy since she woke up, but when we got to the campsite and got her out into the fresh air & into the sound of the water rushing past, she fell fast asleep. She’s definitely a water girl! Born in the water, swam in the Caribbean when I was 7 months pregnant, her first camping trip at the ocean & I swam through my whole pregnancy @ the Dishman Community Center. The closer we can stay to water on this trip, the better for all of us I think!
After we set up our tent, we headed back down to the hall for dinner & dancing. By this time it was about 5pm & I realized I hadn’t eaten anything but pop tart & jerky all day.…not so good for a nursing mother. I needed some calories!
Topher took Stella for a walk up the Tramline to calm her down from her nightly witching hour while I got in the food line. Although it took a while for the food to arrive, it was worth the wait! We had a great dinner with fresh salmon & veggies & salads & pork tenderloin in a hall filled with light & laughter at the happy union of these two sweethearts. The roasts/toasts were hilarious & heartfelt, with just the right mix of joking & sincerity. That is my favorite part of weddings, when the family & friends get to pay their respects & do a little storytelling. It felt good to laugh & sing with the community to hold these two up. I haven’t been getting out much these days, so it was a really nice treat to share in that.
After the dinner reception, a second reception was scheduled out at one of Kurt’s highschool buddies’ ranch. We got Stella all bundled up & Topher wore her in the baby bjorn & we loaded up the Groove Bomb to max capacity, rocking out to Stevie Wonder & James Brown. Stella’s first Groove Bomb ride! The Groove Bomb was the first bus M4 used for touring. It is an old Tri-Met bus converted to an RV. It has facilitated & seen some fabulous events, this night being one of them. Now it is mostly used for Safety Third functions & other slightly dangerous mobile parties.
When we got to the ranch we unloaded under the endlessly starry night of the open range & Topher & I watched in amazement as an instant Burning Man in a Bus was constructed all around us. The ranch hands placed giant bales of straw all around the field for lounging & a big flatbed truck for a dance platform. Dex, a pyrotechnic master constructed the fire torches & fire cannons on top of the Groove Bomb. Solovox set up his one man sound onslaught & Tito & others set up the bar/buffet.
The fire show that ensued was insane. It was crazy to sit back & watch it all & think, we are out in the middle of nowhere in Wallowa County. That had to be the most underground Burning Man style party ever produced, Melissa & I joked about it the next day.
It was however, pretty loud & we new parents were slightly concerned for our little one without any earplugs handy. We were also pretty whooped & getting horizontal was sounding good after a couple hours of enjoying the instaparty. She did sleep the entire time we were out to her credit. I think all that touring & gigging with her in my belly has solidified her as being very at home & comfortable in the party environment.
In our excitement to go ride on the Groove Bomb, we completely spaced our ride back situation. We didn’t bring Stella’s carseat….oopsie! Oh well, I guess Topher will just wear her in the baby bjorn in the back seat…that’s about the safest place she could be I’d imagine, strapped to her papa. Hell, our parents never even made us wear seatbelts back in the day. I remember flying around in the back of our Suburban on the back country roads, Dad hauling ass around corners, us sliding around laughing & giggling. Somehow, we survived….Stella would too this night.
Luckily there were very accommodating rancher’s sons standing by to shuttle people back, completely sober & really nice kids. Michael, our chauffeur, told us all about the ranching life, about their 5000 acre ranch, about how they ONLY had 200 cows & how that wasn’t that many out in these parts. About how they ONLY hay about 1700 acres worth of land & how that is not that much out here, but that it is bone breaking work. About how when he’s not working what does he do for fun? Rest he says. He was only 21 but he says he has the body of a 50 year old. He brought us right back all the way to our car & Topher gladly tipped him well.
That baby was so out when we got back to our tent, we could have played checkers on her & she wouldn’t have woken up. Sweet sweet sleep, by the sweetest little stream, sweet sweet dreams sweet family…..
