Last few Days

So, I think it's my turn to post.
yeal, it's been since Christmas, I hope I'll blog a little more now that I'm working from home!!
That's right! FULL-TIMER freelancer! Two weeks on the job and not getting paid much. I'm realizing how much time I spend researching and concepting before I begin charging..... Maybe too much, I should be a little more conservative with my time. Plus, I've realized how frustrating it can be to wait on clients... the more I wait for them the more time I'm not working/getting paid.... sheesh! kinda sucks to have to think about money constantly!

But I do still make some time for fun... like my first piece of jewelry made for my sister Jodi to honor her pregnancy and beginning of motherhood.

Along with having to be a lit  more frugal, is a scooter. My sweet friend Michelle has let us borrow hers for the summer!!!! (and hopefully a purchase of our own is not too far off)

A great part about working from home is that I can multitask like no other! Do the laundry while I work, take a break and play with the dogs, call around for windshield replacement estimates.... and never have anyone look at me funny or have to whisper since I'm in a cubicle! And, I get to take off whenever I want.... so Friday morning I got all our camping gear together, packed up the car, fixed lunch and met up with brian to leave before 2pm for our last big trip together for a long time.

We decided to go south.... Northern California...

 Pass Mount Shasta

Stayed in Chico Friday night and experienced a protest/march!!! I felt like I was in hippie town!

We finally left for our backpacking trip just west of the town, and to my surprise,it was absolutely beautiful. There were rolling hills that were BRIGHT green which lead up to snowy mountains.... I felt like the hills were so green I was in a movie that had been adjusted to perfection.

 

And the cows just made the dogs go crazy!

Sadie has way too much nervous energy. She never can sleep in the car in fear she might miss a bird or some kind of moving object.

We were attempting to get to Yolla Bolly Wilderness Area, but ween't successful... snow  and some shady/stereotypical hunters or something made us turn around. Brian thinks it was a drug thing...
At least we got a view

We turned around and decided to head back north to Castle Crags... which was a sight in itself too!

Treue always needs extra encouragement and affection....  She's a pretty needy dog. so she always hangs out close by - and LOVES Brian

 

High Five!

 

 We ended up camping not too far off the road since we got off to such a  late start - but we able to camp near some snow melt waterfalls

My favorite part of the trip..... we didn't take any pictures!!! It was at the wildlife refuge right here in Klamath Falls! 

(here's an image I found online)

 

Here's more pics

We saw THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of birds and flocks and bald eagles, pelicans, ducks, geese, and so many I had never seen before!!! Since we're in the pacific flyaway we're one of the hot spots for birdwatching.... so keep that on your radar for the next time you come!

Miss you... and will probably be missing you even more in the next few months!

Sprained Ankle Marathon

So this past weekend was my big run over Old Fort Road.  It wasn't all that important, but it was a training standard that I wanted to meet before I leave for the summer (March 28...yikes!).

29 miles.  Over 1,500ft of climbing.  Beginning at 4,100 ft above sea level.  

Since it wasn't a race with aid stations or competition, I knew I'd need some help.  Jill was crucial in helping me along.  Though you can't tell because she only got out from behind the camera to help me run my last mile.  The rest of the time she was setting up water stops and passing along food...like these home made granola bars!  Delish!

They also support Varsity Sports in Baton Rouge.

The start...about 1pm.

We also had some friends cheer me on.  This is Andrew...and I invy his cyclocross bike.  He had a lot to smile about after the road went to mud. He said the granola bars were $2 quality!

About mile 8 and ahead of pace...yum!

This is Andrew's fiancee, Brooke, who also played a big role in rolling me across the finish line.

Half way.  As you can see in the picture, I didn't anticipate the mental struggle at this point.  If you look just next to my chin, you can see where the mountains touch the sky.  This is where the road curves over the top and then about 5 miles back down to the house.  Though I was feeling fine, I had no comfort in what I kept telling myself:

"All ya gotta do is run through those mountains at the end of the horizon, then 5 more miles. Cake!"

I would have rather run blind.

Finally, I made it to the end of the horizon and the top of the pass.  All downhill from here...except the last mile.  Brooke running with me and the great view of Mt. Shasta made the miles go by so much faster!

Finish!  29 miles in ~4hrs 17min

Proud of the finish, but as Dad says, "still room for improvement".  

Regardless, Treue was overjoyed for my return....mostly because it meant dinnertime.
I certainly shared her enthusiasm!

By the way, an excellent reward for a marathon are homemade elk burgers with friends!

Free your heels, and you'll free your soul!

This is one of the many mantras of the latest sport I've taken up.  It's a type of skiing called Telemark skiing.  The idea is that your heels aren't attached to the ski, but your toes are.  This allows you to traverses and climb up terrain, and look like a apparition coming down!

Last weekend a friend and I went to Crater Lake to traverse about 3 miles, climb to the top of a lookout tower, and get some turns in coming down.  Enjoy...and remember, randonnée is French for "can't tele".

Below you can see the fire lookout we climbed to.  

At the lunch spot.  Strangely enough, we're sitting there eating lunch when this 15-year-old comes around the corner on cross country skis, in his boxers and a tshirt.  We were practically in the middle of the road, and he never saw us.  Crazy things happen in the backcountry....right Dave?

The point of interest below are the wavy lines on the hillside.  This is where we couldn't pass up the powder.  We took a quick detour and did some laps.  Way out of my league.  You can pick out my lines because it has the crash marks in the snow.  

I got this picture for you, Dad, to compare a National Park Service lookout to the one on your district.  Notice the WORKING fire finder in the center of the room.  As best we could tell, it's a functioning fire lookout.  


After I took this picture, this thought process followed..."Hey, that's me in the other window!  It's a perfect reflection.  I wonder if I can..."

"Sweet!"

It took about 3-4 hours to get here, excluding our detour, and we were looking forward to the downhill ride.  I wish I could show you what we did, but imagine trying to video tape the scenery while your screaming down a hill on rollerblades.  I'll spare you the motion sickness and just send you to this link, if you care to experience the tele!

So...we weren't quite doing what the guys in the video are, but close.  Oh!, except for the guy that rolls head first out of control and the other guy that runs over a tree.  That was pretty much what I was doing.

Freeheel Skiing