Have I mentioned that I love Oregon?

Well, I've finished my first week at the Wildlife Safari out here.  I've been so impressed with how much the zoo vets and the keepers care for the animals, and how quick they are to react to the slightest change in an animal.  I've also been lucky to get the opportunity for lots of hands-on experience - I've been able to do physical exams on anesthetized animals, monitor anesthesia, feed a couple critters (the giraffes, elephants and a deer), and get way closer to some wild animals then I ever have.  For example, they have the cheetahs trained to stand in a small area of their enclosure, and allow the veterinarians to draw blood from their tail, while being distracted by being fed skewered meat through the fence.  The low-stress handling techniques they use are good for the vet staff and good for the animals.  The vets at the zoo gave me permission to share some of the following photos.

Today, Gen and I went to Florence, OR, visited the world's largest sea cave that is full of sea lions, swung by Eugene, and visited Voodoo Donuts (because everybody needs donuts with pentagrams on them, or phallic-shaped pastries), and tomorrow we're going to go hike up to some waterfalls, and potentially visit crater lake.  I'm going to have such a hard time leaving this state.