Oof, that heatwave that hit the Pacific Northwest last week was rough.  First, we had record temperatures here in Beaverton, then it followed my family across the Cascades to central Oregon, where we’d booked a vacation in Sunriver just outside Bend.  On the way over, we saw eerie evidence of last year’s wildfires, with huge swaths of darkened, discolored forest, and here and there new houses and other buildings under construction.  

Turns out that most houses in Sunriver, at least at the time I’m writing this, don’t have air conditioning.  Then halfway through the trip, on our way out of the High Desert Museum, our car decided that it didn’t need air conditioning either.  Suffice to say, we had quite the adventure. 

We made the most of it, though, getting the kids on horseback for their first time, taking them rafting on a slow part of the Deschutes River, and getting them in touch with some of their roots at a Peruvian restaurant.  And the High Desert Museum has really expanded since my last visit there years ago, with a great mix of indoor and outdoor exhibits.  We had to rush through the outdoor ones, though, since it was well over 100 degrees. 

Definitely a memorable trip!  I’d ambitiously hoped to finish drafting a story during this vacation, but the heat and resulting lack of sleep baked the creativity and focus right out of me. 

In other writing news, Locus published an article about this year’s Nebula Conference in their July issue.  Also, I have some very exciting news to share later this month, involving a new story sale, a workshop, and an anthology release!  In the meantime, stay cool.