January began with Paul recovering from a 2-day cold. We stayed close to home for the first bit, taking a trip down the Willamette Valley to meet a friend for coffee in Newberg (at the fantastic Coffee Cottage). On the way back, we stopped by Champoeg State Park, once a thriving town until it was washed away by a flood. Legend has it that this is where a vote took place, the outcome of which was that the settlers decided to accept the authority of the US government. The town was half US citizens, half French at the time. Here is a post marking where Napolean Street used to be.

Later in the week we spent an half day in the Columbia Gorge on a hike. The night before it there had been freezing rain. At a certain altitude, everything was covered with a thin layer of ice. Check out this tree.

Here is a closer look at the branches.

There was plenty of water flowing through the small creeks.

The second week of January we spent at the Joint Math Meetings in San Francisco. Iva gave a talk; Paul co-organized a special session, lots of math books were investigated and old grad-school friends encountered. We also got to see Mark for an afternoon, which was great. Overall a good trip.

Now, classes are in session - lots of work to be done at school.

And one more "surprise" is yet to be posted...