Happy Holidays: from Steve Opat

Welcome to the second installment of my annual holiday card. Many of you may find yourselves in these pictures or at least very familiar with the settings in which they were taken! I hope you enjoy the look back at my life in 2010!

Tucson Arizona

MY SECOND TRAVEL NURSING ASSIGNMENT TOOK ME TO TUCSON, ARIZONA. NOT MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THE JOB BUT I CAN’T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS TO DO IN TUCSON.

This was an awesome day adventure with my fellow travel nurses! We took a long hike up Sabino Canyon to these falls and then returned for a night on the town!

First bite of sushi ever……First Saki-bomb ever!!

Dale and Lindsey. I’d be seeing plenty more of them later in the year as well!!

These Became My Tucson Hobbies…Rock Climbing & Snowboarding!

…Rugby with the Old Pueblo Lions

my adventure crew in Tucson. Nick Schriever: We’ve known eachother since we were toddlers and were able to get reconnected in Tucson. We even started a quest to find the best “fish taco” in all of Tucson!

Mike: a fellow Minnesotan. I became his rock climbing & snowboarding sidekick.

Flagstaff Arizona

Rocky Point Mexico

This was an amazing weekend in a cheap little Mexican resort town. I highly recommend the place. My friend Emily flew in from Fargo to visit and we spent a long weekend enjoying Mexico. I drank fruity rum drinks out of a pineapple all weekend and she enjoyed her break from the frigid North Dakota weather and unfortunately got a bad case of sunburn to show for it…

Fishing with Captain ‘Gringo’

I met Shawn and Ashley while in Mexico. They had just gotten engaged! So we celebrated….til 6a.m.

Guys weekend!! Beer. Snackpacks. Baseball/Golf. And WRESTLEMANIA 2010!!!

My next job was in Mesa, AZ. Through Craigslist, I found my new landloard/roomate/friend Tony. And the Best Spring Ever Ensued!!

Tony

I think I lived on Stadium Beer and Hotdogs for the entire month of March watching Spring Training Baseball in the Cactus League!!

Pool Party at the house

Baseball Season Continued in full swing as I made the 8 hr solo road/day trip to Anaheim to watch my Minnesota Twins play the Angels for MLB Opening Day!! My first trip to California!

Undoubtedly one of the best days of my life!!! First game ever at Target Field. The new home of my Minnesota Twins. Tony and I Stub-Hubbed some tickets and flew in from Mesa for the big event.

‘The Great White Buffalo’

‘Freddie’Tony

Bucket List item complete: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in a place with a large Mexican Population!!

Cinco De Mayo Celebration at Salty Seniorita’s Saloon…... with my Peds ER co-workers

MEGCHUBBS

‘E.Q’ MATT

The ‘Joke Hat’ If you wanted to wear the hat, you had to tell a joke! Don’t know why though…

‘Toni

*not a real close friend or coworker. Just really like the shirt and sombrero

Sedona Arizona

Mesa was no more than a few hours from my friend Chad in Flagstaff, Arizona. Sedona happens to be just south of flagstaff and en route to there and the Grand Canyon. The Red Rock formations are a sight to see and there was no shortage of hippies and tourists there to take pictures. I have to admit that I was mostly tourist on this particular adventure.

In May, I made a second trip to Flagstaff, Arizona to meet again with Chad Eickhoff whom I’d been a classmate with since preschool. Like Nick, Chad had relocated to Arizona for a great job and we had a good time having fun and catching up. This visit was the opportunity I needed to finally go see the

spectacle that is: The Grand Canyon

.

I planned the trip on real short notice and didn’t get there in time to hike as far as I’d have liked to. I stopped and watched the IMAX movie and then spent half of a day trekking down into the canyon before walking out to take these pictures at sunset. The place is spectacular!

My only regret is realizing I wanted to do the dang helicopter tour after they had closed down for the day!!

BUDDIES

Finished In Arizona, I ventured Home For Some Family Time And Kristin & Kylie’s Birthday Party. (Hence, The Slip-N-Slide & Family Picture by Kylie’s new playhouse!)

It’s makeup…. We were playing in the mirror with her Barbie makeup

Camp Nurse + Summer in Maine=. One of the best jobs Ever!

The Lerman Family. Owners and Operators of Camp Caribou for Boys

The Sunday-Off Crew.I was the only American.

Through my fellow travel nurses Lindsey and Dale, I got the notion to apply for a job in Maine as a camp nurse. No Regrets!! It became an amazing summer as I looked after and had fun with campers and staff from all over the globe. We played sports all summer and got ROWDY on our days off. We dressed up , got LOUD, traveled, competed,, GOOFED AROUND, but most off all had more fun than a person could ask for!!!

Bar scavenger list

Australia. Australia. New Zealand. England. Wales. South Africa

“Mainers”

Fresh Maine Lobsters!! Roadtrip with Lindsey in the ’73’ VW Beattle

Liam; Wales

Commando Capture the Flag

Paddies Pond. Waterville, Maine

Lloyd the King Brian DJ

Happy 4th of July!

Steve-0

• Camp ended & I flew home to Minnesota to spend time with family & start another fall of outdoor adventure!!

Red River Catfish

Lake Darling: Alexandria, MN. Opat boys weekend.

Western Days: Ferris Wheel Ride with Kylie

Western Days Parade. Catching Candy with the Family

Uncle “C.C.”

Niece Kylie

Uncle Mike

Uncle Johnnie-0

Brother Mike

Cousin Karn

Her Boyfriend A.J.

Bro-in-LawTravis

My MomTherese

Fargo, ND

Chatfield, MN Annual Western Days

In typical Steve and Taylor fashion, we headed to South Dakota in late August to get our hunting season started off right…by crawling on our bellies through cactus ridden plains in 103 degree weather to tag our antelope!! And again, in typical Steve and Taylor fashion, we filled our tags and had one hell of an adventure in doing so…

Taylor Cavanaugh:2010 SoDakota Antelope

Hay Bale Madness

I shot an antelope at 55 yds from this positon. Shirt off and everything!!

My Big Island Buck

Missouri’s Finest: Mr. Dick Peerson

Once again, I headed out labor day weekend for the North Dakota bow opener and a week at “El Deer Camp.” Dick pulled in with his camper and all the camping amenities a person doesn’t need. We took some good deer, drank some good beer, ate like gluttons, and had another great time in western North Dakota at our favorite hunting grounds!

El Deer Camp 2010

Western North Dakota

I took a contract in St. Paul, MN so I could spend the fall at home with my family. Here are some pictures of my time at home. I finished the cedar chest I started on 6 yrs ago. I celebrated my birthday with my family and Kylie helped blow out the candles. I played a season of Rugby with the Rochester Rogues. I even dressed up as Ralphie for my halloween shift in the ER.

Trappin’ with Tyler Carrigan and our new understudies.

Its an archery target…we’re weird.

Happy Halloween

Happy Birthday

Oh here’s a good story!! (Call me if you want the full details.)

Long story short: Open Range+Darkness+ Good song on the radio=

Dead Cow & - $1300 & Ground beef. *But my truck looks fabulous after 2wks in the body shop!!

Good Ole’ #798. May God bless her soul!

This is what your garage looks like when you have to butcher an entire cow and an entire deer.

I WAITED 3 YEARS TO DRAW A RIFLE TAG FOR THIS AREA. I HAD VISIONS OF A BUCK BIGGER THAN THIS BUT PLANS CHANGED A LITTLE BIT AFTER I WAS INTRODUCED TO COW #798. I’M STILL REALLY HAPPY WITH THIS GUY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I HAD ANOTHER FUN TIME CAMPING AT EL DEER CAMP. SLEEPING IN A WARM CANVAS TENT THRU FRIGID NIGHTS, MEALS OVER A CAMPFIRE, CHASING CRITTERS AND

SIPPING A COLD ONE WHILE STAR GAZING AT NIGHT.YUP! LIFE IS ALWAYS PRETTY ROUGH OUT THERE…

…Nap time

The newest addition to my family.My niece/Goddaughter Katelyn Christine Bray

Born: December 3, 2010

Nap time…

Merry Christmas!!

Relax! They’re just Wolf tracks. They follow my boots because the trail is packed down and easier for them to walk!

I had given myself a good month of vacation time between assignments. At this point I knew I’d be heading to Austin Texas after the New Year Holiday. With open time between the holidays, I headed back to Ely, MN for a winter camping/survival trip. I bring a can of food and a handful of granola bars.

Simply put: If I don’t catch fish……I go a little more hungry than I’d alike!

It’s a lot of work building a snow-shelter, gathering 3 days of wood for a fire that must never go out, and drilling fishing holes by hand. But its well worth it for me and very rewarding!!

Oh Little Town of Chatfield……My Home.

2010 was good to me. I hope this has brought you enjoyment and maybe inspired you to add some spice to your life.

Tomorrow is never promised. Seize the day.

Views from my land over the Chosen Valley of Chatfield, MN