Quixley (a stuffed zebra) wearing rainbow earrings and a rainbow smiley-face pin.
I got a pin at last weekend’s Pride parade—yes, Pride is in July in San Diego; don’t worry about it. —qxz
Murray (a plush anteater) sitting on a toy bicycle on a table, watching the Tour de France on television.
Murray is excited for the last day of the Tour de France today!
Ruth (a plush meadowlark) and Rochester (a plush bison) sitting on a fence looking at Balanced Rock, a rock formation that looks like a boulder precariously balanced on top of a pillar, with another rectangular rock formation next to it.
Ruth joins us from her old job at one of the National Parks; here she is showing Rochester around when we came to pick her up on the #WildRepublicRoadTrip.
On a white blanket, from left to right: Archy (a plush meadowlark), Melora (a plush prairie dog), Rochester (a plush bison), and Alphonse (a plush hippo); in the background are pillows and bookshelves
Here's Archy in her onboarding meeting with Rochester, Alphonse, and Melora (who she'll be working with closely).
Ruth (a plush meadowlark) sitting on a threadbare tan pillow
Now that we're back from the #WildRepublicRoadTrip, we can introduce the newest member of our office team! Meet Ruth "Archy" Archibald, joining us from the department of the Interior!
A bunch of plush animals on a bed, with a black and white duvet, a pillow with a Steven Universe pillowcase, and a rainbow neck pillow. On top of the rainbow pillow, Pascale (a wolverine) and Marietta (a platypus); in front of the rainbow pillow, Odoacer (a round narwhal) and Tritica (a jaguar), and on the bed, Trudy (a shark), Rochester (a bison), the fox, Quixley (a zebra), and Barry (an elephant).
Back home in San Diego at last! (Well, a week ago, but we've been too busy unpacking to post about it.) It was a wild #WildRepublicRoadTrip, but it's great to be back!
Tritica (a plush jaguar) sitting in a hollow in a slab of a giant sequoia tree, mounted vertically to show its growth rings
Rochester (a plush bison) looking up at a massive giant sequoia tree
Tritica looking at a tiny tree sapling next to a sign that says "Sequoia Seedling / Plántula del Secuoya" with a "don't step on it" symbol
...and the giant sequoias in Calaveras Big Trees State Park! #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Rochester (a plush bison) and Tritica (a plush jaguar) sitting on a rock, looking out at trees and snowy mountains in the distance
On Friday, Rochester and Tritica admired the Sierra Nevada in Tuolumne County... #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Quixley (a plush zebra) on a shelf posing with a can of Star Trek–branded "Roman Ale Energy Drink".
I got to try an extraterrestrial beverage! —qxz #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Quixley (a plush zebra) sitting on top of a crashed flying saucer, in an outdoor setting with trees and desert in the background
Quixley and Marietta (a plush platypus) sitting on a highway sign saying EXTRATERRESTRIAL HIGHWAY in a space-age font, with the symbol for Nevada state highway 375 and a picture of a spaceship on it. A piece of paper is taped to the sign saying "DO NOT FOR ANY REASON WRITE ON THIS SIGN!! / MANAGEMENT". The sign is hung on a white wall which is covered in signatures and graffiti, mostly in black ink.
Marietta and Quixley sitting on a step-stool in front of a flying saucer monument in a parking lot in the desert
Quixley and Marietta sitting on a granite monument showing the "ID4" logo for the film Independence Day. On the front of the monument is a plaque with text on it (too small to read), and at its foot is a mosaic representing an alien's face.
...and Marietta and I took in the sights on the Extraterrestrial Highway! #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Rochester (a plush bison) in the foreground, looking across a parking lot and a vegetation-covered hillside to a mountain of reddish rock beyond
Rochester sitting on a National Park Service placard, looking at reddish mountains beyond some trees in the distance
More busy times on the #WildRepublicRoadTrip! On Thursday, Rochester admired the rock formations at Kolob Canyon at Zion National Park...
Barry (a plush elephant) sitting on a fencepost in the foreground, facing to the left; in the background is the Parade of Elephants, a giant rock formation that looks *very* approximately like an elephant facing to the left.
Barry was excited to join in when he heard there was a rock formation called the "Parade of Elephants"; he said he was pleased by the recognition. #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Rochester (a plush bison) sitting on a fence in the foreground, looking at Balanced Rock in the background—a giant rock formation that looks like a boulder balanced precariously on top of a pillar.
Rochester looking at the Double Arch: a rock formation in which two huge stone arches meet on the left, one closer to the camera and one extending back away from it.
Rochester had an amazing time at Arches National Park today! #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Stuffed animals lined up in front of the pillows on the head of a king-size hotel bed in front of a row of pillows: Barry (an elephant), Quixley (a zebra), Tritica (a jaguar), Rochester (a bison), Pascale (a wolverine), Trudy (a shark), Marietta (a platypus), and Odoacer (a round blue narwhal). The fox sits on the middle pillow above Rochester.
At our hotel in Utah last night, we were invited to stay in the King Executive Suite! #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Rochester (a plush bison) sits on the toe of a giant statue of a cowboy boot; the upper part of the boot is painted with pictures of Cheyenne buildings. In the back are a park and a sign pointing toward the Sand Creek Massacre Trail.
Rochester sits on a statue of a young boy dressed as a cowboy and holding a saddle (Rochester is on the saddle). The statue is outdoors on a street corner, and a plaque identifies it as "Rarin' to Ride" by George Lundeen
And later in the day on Monday, Rochester saw the sights in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming! #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Nine stuffed animals sit on the roof of a car in a parking lot: a jaguar (Tritica), a zebra (Quixley), a shark (Trudy), a round blue narwal (Odoacer), a bison (Rochester), a fox, a wolverine (Pascale), an elephant (Barry), and a platypus (Marietta). In the background is Carhenge, a replica of Stonehenge made of old cars painted gray (one car is yellow and orange).
And of course the high point of the #WildRepublicRoadTrip so far was a visit to Carhenge—a sacred space indeed!
Rochester (a plush bison) in the foreground, looking across a green grassy field at two massive rock formations emerging from the landscape in the distance, the Courthouse and Jail rocks: one smaller (but still huge), roughly cone-shaped rock and one about three times as wide as the other, narrowing slightly up to the height of the other one, with a smaller top section rising above the height of the first.
Rochester looking past a fence and across a grassy plain at Chimney Rock, a giant rock formation that looks like a narrow, pointy chimney sticking out of the top of a wide, conical mountain.
Rochester sitting below a round panel on the wall showing an illustration in red on a white background of an adult bison and a young bison, standing on a field in front of a river and two buttes with smoke rising from them. A placard says: "MIDDLE ARCHAIC FORAGERS. Middle Archaic people lived in this region about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. They lived atop the buttes lining the valley, watching for game and enemies. Signal Butte and Barn Butte are well known to archaeologists, rich in artifacts and animal bones, and with numerous fireplaces, storage pits, and refuse dumps buried within them."
Rochester looks through a pair of high-powered binoculars through a window at Chimney Rock in the distance
And on Monday, he got to visit two historic rock formations in Nebraska—the Courthouse and Jail Rocks, and the famous Chimney Rock! He also enjoyed the museum at the Chimney Rock visitor center. #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Rochester (a plush bison) sits on a table looking at a transparent plastic case containing replicas of a golden railroad spike and a gold and silver railroad spike.
Rochester in front of a diorama of a trestle bridge extending from a canyon wall
Rochester on a shelf with his left hood on the switch of a telegraph signal
Rochester in a train operator's chair, facing a bank of switches and instruments, with the track visible through the train's front window
It's been a busy few days on the #WildRepublicRoadTrip, especially for Rochester! On Sunday, he got to visit the Union Pacific Railroad Museum. Here he is admiring the Golden Spike and the Dale Creek Bridge, and operating a 19th-century telegraph and a modern train.
A model of a Star Trek ship, outdoors next to a lawn and a street. The ship's warp nacelle has a partly-visible label saying "...RSIDE NCC-1818". It sits on a pedestal saying "Riverside Iowa's Annual TREKFEST / The official future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk / www.trekfest.org". Marietta (a plush platypus) sits on the pedestal, and Quixley (a plush zebra) on a model shuttlecraft labeled "donations", next to the ship.
Outside the museum, Marietta and I admire the USS Riverside. #WildRepublicRoadTrip —qxz
Quixley (a plush zebra) sits in a replica of a Star Trek captain's chair, with various Star Trek magazines and cardboard cutouts visible in the background
Quixley sits on a plastic table with a plaque saying "Data's Desk: Used in Next Generation and Voyager series. Also in theatre show with William Shatner / Donated by Ed & Rachel Harrigan / 2018". Also on the desk is a framed still from Star Trek: The Next Generation showing Data sitting at the desk, with part of a note written on the photo visible: "...The Riverside Museum / ...s for taking care / ...my desk! / Data".
Quixley stands in a mockup of a Star Trek transporter pad. Also on the pad are life-size cardboard cutouts of Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Spock.
A standing costume of the Gorn from the Star Trek episode "Arena", holding Quixley in the crook of his arm.
We made a side trip today so I could visit the Voyage Home Museum in Riverside, Iowa—the future birthplace of Captain Kirk! I sat in the captain's chair, worked at Data's desk, used the transporter, and wrestled the Gorn! #WildRepublicRoadTrip —qxz
Marietta (a plush platypus) looking at a mural on a brick wall. On the mural, the word IOWA in large letters is made up of about 20 or 30 photos of people and trucks of various eras, one of which is a sign saying "Iowa 80 Truck Stop" with the Standard gas logo; at the top of the mural are the words "Since 1964".
Marietta sitting on the sideboard of an old-fashioned red pickup truck, on whose door are the words "Iowa 80 Trucking Museum"
Marietta at the controls of a game of Pac-Man; the screen is several feet high and takes up most of the wall behind the controls. At the top is a sign saying "World's Largest Pac-Man".
Marietta in a gift shop looking at a rack of novelty Iowa license plate, which have names such as Maria, Mariah, Marissa, Mark, Martin, Mary, Matt, and Mason on them.
Marietta was excited to stop for lunch at the World's Largest Truck Stop, home of the Trucking Museum! She played the world's largest Pac-Man game, but couldn't find a novelty license plate with her name on it. #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Barry (a plush elephant) sitting on a bag of Tootsie Pops, Dots, and other such candies on a candy store shelf
Barry standing among a display of large lollipops on a candy store shelf
Barry standing in front of a mural for the B.A. Sweetie Candy Company
This morning in Cleveland, we visited North America’s biggest candy store! Barry was in heaven #WildRepublicRoadTrip
Shark Girl—a statue of a girl in a blue dress with the head of a shark sitting on a boulder, on a walkway overlooking a canal. On the boulder next to her sit Trudy (a plush shark) and Rochester (a plush bison).
Trudy and Rochester next to Shark Girl, seen from closer to the level of the stuffed animals, looking up at Shark Girl.
Now Trudy is sitting in Shark Girl’s lap.
On the first day of the second leg of this year’s #WildRepublicRoadTrip, we stopped in Buffalo to meet the Shark Girl—and we have a buffalo and shark girl of our own!
Pascale (a plush wolverine) poses with a seder plate
Pascale says chag sameach!
Continued IPA lessons at school! 🥺 My second grader spontaneously made this chart and started lecturing me about schwa and its relationship to the American English spelling system, — my heart grew 3 sizes this day! Little does he know, schwa lectures are my love language 🫶
A giant metal statue of a dragon in a field, with Marietta (a plush platypus) facing it from the edge of the frame.
…and Marietta faced off against the Kaskaskia Dragon! #WRRoadTrip
The front of the City Museum—and old brick buildings with a huge climbing structure for kids, including an entire airplane. Quixley (a plush zebra) looks on from the corner of the frame.
Barry (a plush elephant) sits on the wheel of an old fire engine.
Yesterday Barry and I visited the City Museum of St. Louis… #WRRoadTrip
The Blue Whale of Catoosa: a big blue cartoonish statue of a whale, in a pond in a park, seen from the side. On the right side of the frame, Odoacer (a Squishable blue plush narwhal) looks on.
Odoacer poses in front of the Blue Whale of Catoosa, both facing the camera. The footpath leading from the park into the Blue Whale’s mouth is visible.
Yesterday Odoacer met one of his personal heroes: the Blue Whale of Catoosa! #WRRoadTrip
Cadillac Ranch—a row of old cars half-buried in the soil, sticking up at an angle, and covered in graffiti; and Marietta (a plush platypus) in the foreground at the same angle.
Marietta looking at graffiti on a car reading “in omnia paratus” with a pink heart.
We visited Cadillac Ranch today on the #WRRoadTrip and Marietta was very excited!
Rochester (a plush bison) in the parking lot in front of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
Rochester in front of a cliffside of boulders, some of which have inscriptions on them of geometric shapes and figures of animals.
Today #WRRoadTrip was in Albuquerque, and Rochester visited the Pueblo Cultural Center and the Piedras Marcadas petroglyphs!
