Mount Diablo

Peter and I rode up Mt. Diablo this evening. It was a great ride and quite a climb. About 10 miles and 3800 feet. I didn't take my camera because I wore my sleeveless jersey with the crappy pocket and I didn't want my new camera hitting the skids. Of course, the views were incredible! so sorry that I can't share. Some fun stuff planned for the next few days - stay tuned for updated from Alcatraz. I am dissapointed that the next available night tour is in the middle of August so I'll have to settle for a mid day adventure.

San Fran

San Fran has been fun so far. Uncle Ed took Dad and I sailing out in the Bay on Friday. It was really fun. I actually got to steer the boat and everything. It was a lot easier to tack than to run, which suprised me. Peter took me for a ride around the area on Sat. and I was suprised by how easy it was to get away from the city. We were up in the Oakland hills in no time and what views! Yesterday was the 1/2 marathon and I bailed on it. The blisters on my feet prevented me from getting all the miles in that I would have liked to actually enjoy that long of a run so I did the 5K while Peter and Melissa ran the 1/2. They did great - both beating their time goals and still smiling at the end of the day. I managed to set a person best too in my 5k time - funny since I haven't ran since the end of June. Maybe that's the trick.

Highway 1

On the way down the coast yesterdsay I drove down the Avenue of the Giants. It was very impressive and I kept seeing people taking pics of themselves with these trees so I had to do it too. Look at the size of this thing! Redwoods are an interesting and unique tree species.

I drove down HWY 1 to Santa Rosa because these guys that I talked to in Humboldt said the riding there was really good. They said it was a 2-1/2 hr drive, but it was more like 6. Luckily there were right about the riding though. The drive was spectacular and worth the time.

So these guys that I spoke with told me about Santa Rosa because it was great mtn biking and close to the wine country so I could get a mtn bike ride and a road ride in w/ little driving. They warned me that the mtn biking was rocky though :) Check out this super rocky trail! I was lovin it! Middle ring climbs, smooth, and fast. It was a riot! Today's ride was pretty good too. I went to Napa and road out to Calistoga. Pretty, but I'd have to say I've seen better. So many great rides so far that the competition is pretty steep.

Now I'm in San Fran hanging out with the fam. Peter and I are picking up the Dad and Uncle Ed this evening and we're going sailing tomorrow. Yet antother new adventure - can't wait!

from Ashland through the Redwoods

I spent the weekend with Peter Fuzzy Bunny in Ashland and had the best time ever! Pete and I went to college together and he is now the proud owner and operater of Momentum River Expeditions. I got to go on a trip down the Klamath River. The trip started outside of Ashland and ended in northern CA. It was a blast! I also got to meet a bunch of his new friends, which were a ton of fun. We went to the County Fair and rode the rides. Of course, the Zipper (my favorite) was one of them. We also rode this evil one called the Ring of Fire. It didn't look that bad from the ground. It was one of those that goes in a big circle and hold you upside down. It was a LOT scarier than I thought it would be. This thing had shoulder staps that were held down by a seat belt!!! and of course the whole thing was big enough for one and a half of me so I was holding on dear life and all I could think about was the stress on that seatbelt trap. I did some praying in that 3 minutes!

Here's a random - Pete's old roommate used to work with Jayson and had met me way back in '94. Small world. He is also a rider so he took me out and showed me some of the fun stuff around Ashland. It was beautiful riding. He suggested this 100 mi. loop out by Etna (middle of nowhere place sort of on the way). It was a great ride, but soooo hard! This is me at the top of the climb. I had the look of suffering! and for good reason. I think it was the longest, steepest sustained climb I have done. 25 miles that "rolls" up to the kicker at the top. 30 miles in the 26...

I headed to the Redwoods and hiked yesterday. It was a cool hike. I went to Fern Canyon because Star Wars was supposed to have been filmed there. I have been trying to find the stas on that, but w/o luck yet. Either way, it was fun to pretent to be one of those Jaberwocky dudes racing through on one of those air-mobile dealios. You can see it behind all my hair (the humidity is def. bringing on the fro). Then I headed down to Humboldt SP and it was really cool. I could spend the rest of the summer in this area and be perfectly content.

Crate Lake

Crater Lake was something else. It was cold and rainy when I got there, but it did clear off for about 10 minutes between down pours to give us a great rainbow over the lake. This pic doesn't do it justice. It rained all night and as I was floating around in my tent, I just kept thinking - I hope this means tomorrow will be dry. It was! When I started out it was a balmy 48 degrees. I didn't bring tights or leg warmers because I decided before I left that I would not be riding if I needed those things. Guess I was premature in that decision. It was way too pretty to be in the car so I busted out the wool socks, the rubber jacket and all the other warm weather clothes I have with me and off I went, up up into the clouds. Before the top is this sign - I had to post it just for Holly! I didn't get close enough to the edge to test it out. Just peerting over the walls I could tell that the sign was correct - not may, but WILL cause death, or injury that would make death look appealing. Although it wasn't as blue as it is famous for being due to the cloud cover, there were some sun breaks that gave me a peak at what it would be like if it had been really sunny. I also went down to check out the pinnacles, which reminded me a lot of Bryce Canyon in UT. The creek below is a result of one of the leak points that keeps Crater Lake at a fairly consistent level.

Save your 9 bucks

check out the oh so exciting Sea Lion Caves

playing tourista

I was a hard core tourist today. It took me from 9 am to 5 pm to make it 50 miles because I stopped at every pull out and took in every tourist attraction - it was great! The weather today was dreary so I didn't feel rushed to get out on the bike so I started the day tide pooling at Seal Rock. I saw 2 leopard seals and a bunch of starfish and other thigns I couldn't identify. Then to the Alsea Bay Interpretive Center to pick up an Oregon road map and come to find out they had a display on the history of transportaton in OR! So I spent some time reading about that and was happy to discover that the beautiful concrete bridges along hwy 101 were designed by Conde McCullough. I wanted to find out who had designed these after noticing how striking the Yaquina Bay Bridge was (pic posted yesterday). Now I know, as do you. The one posted today is of at Heceda Head. I spoke with the nice woman at the interp. center for a bit and she made several very good suggestions about places to stop. I proceeded to take her advice and went for a hike at Cape Perpetua. She said it offered the best views of the coast so I had to find out. I must say, the view was incredible and vast, but maybe not "the best" that I have seen. Lots of Pacific Ocean and that's about it...but there was a 500 year oud Sitka Spruce that was quite impressive. What was even more impressive was the couple that I met up there - they were in their late 70's (and hiking!) who were also on an 11 week adventure. They gave me a few places to check out in CA - like Fern Canyon in the Red Woods and the scenic bypass that is about 6' wide. Looking forward to that, but lots of other adventures to be had before I hit the CA line. Anyway, then I went to the Heceta Head Lighthouse and was going to tour that, but it was a 30 min. wait and I didn't think it could be that cool, esp. since I went up the tallest lighthouse in WA and this is not the tallest lighthouse in OR, just the most photographed one, and I could do that from the outside. So I proceeded to the Sea Lion Caves. It was kind of a trip. There used to be a bunch of stairs that went down a wooden ladder or sorts - now that would have been cool! Now it's just an elevator and a bunch of stink. It felt too zoo like so I'll try to post the video I made to save anyone else the $9. that they charge. I ended up at the Sand Dunes. I wish I had a motorized recreation vehicle because it would be fun to rally around and check things out. oh well - I walked around instead, the "environmentally responsible" thing to do (i.e., I don't own a motorized rec vehicle so I don't have a choice thing to do).

into Oregon

What a fun few days. I met up with Brian in Seaside on Friday and we ended up going to Bagby hotsprings near Hood. It was a mini backpacking trip - just the kind I like. The hot springs were really neat and much more developed than I would imagine hot springs out in the woods to be. There were hollowed out logs that the water could be diverted into. I have added an outdoor, hollowed out log tub to my dream house bathroom, along with the outdoor shower. We found the primo camp spot too- next to this great swim hole. Thanks Brian, for showing me a fun time and a new area!

Now I'm back on the coast and enjoying the ocean. The sunset last night was really pretty, but not in the typical sunset over the ocean kind of way. It was actually a very cool color sunset - the water was an icey blue and the sky way pastel pinks and mostly blues. I went on an incredible ride today. I started off heading south into Newport and visited Yaquiba Head, Oregon's tallest lighthouse. Then I headed east to 229, a very quiet road off of 101 that offered some different scenery. I would highly recommend riding it if ever in the area. It was a roller coaster full of interesting things to look at. The coast in the area of Newport is incredible as well. I made a point of stopping at every scenic pull off and it was rewarding! I saw several Gray whales close to the shore today, and one of them even gave us a bit of a show. The bike route along the coast diverts from 101 as well and offers a lot more views. Tomorrow I plan to go looking for seals.

Cape Disappointment

Cape Disappointment was anything but. The ride more than made up for the lame ride at pacific Beach. I went up 103 to Oysterville and it was the cutest (yes, I said it - I hate that word, but it is an appropriate description) place I've ever seen. And not in that tourist trap kind of way either - I don't think I could have bought anything there even if I had wanted to. In the quaint kind of way. Like sit on the porch in your rocking chair with a cup of tea and watch the sea kind of way. Anyway, more light houses. I checked out Disappointment and North Lighthouses. Apparently there are some serious weather events on this beach - check out the logs wedged between those rocks. It was cool, cloudy, and windy, but luckily not even close to as bad as it could be. The hike up to the lighthouse was neat. I saw several frogs, 2 snakes and 3 or 4 banana slugs. I almost stepped on one of them - oops! that would have been gross.

Olympic Penninsula

I feel like I am in a different country over here on the Olympic Penn. It is so lush and diverse. I am getting so lucky with the weather as well. I went out to Ozette to check out some of the tide pools and the Wildlife Preserves out there. I went on a nice 9 mile loop trail and actually got to see the Pacific! I broke my camera taking this pic. of myself - and it's not even a good picture! A gust of wind came and blew the camera off the rock and it smashed onto the rocks. I cried. Then I started walking down the beach and saw this little fawn and that put a smile on my face. After awhile I decided to try to turn the camera on again and it worked! It looks mangled, but for now it is taking pictures. I went on a road ride yesterday and it was the most boring ride ever! I took a pic of the pretty part, but most of it was just trees, trees, trees and the only views were of logged areas. The foxglove seem to really like the logged areas though. It was nice to see something different than fireweed. I did see some of that too, but not much. Sunset at Pacific Beach was a nice one. I finished my book, a beer and the sun went down all within a minute of each other. Perfect end to a day.

The 787 roll out on, but of course, July 8, 2007

Today was the 787 roll out. It's a big deal so we went to witness the event. Only the customers and the suppliers were at the Everett plant so the employees were at the football stadium watching it on TV, along with I can't remember how many other countries around the world. It was interesting I suppose, but I don't think I'd go as far as saying I witnessed some huge historical event.

After the roll out we went to the SAM sculpture garden. It was a nice space and Holly entertained my bu touching the art, even tough the sign clearly stated OUCH! Even the lightest touch hards the art. We both thought that was pretty funny since it's located outside, where it rains all the time and right on the Sound, so it gets plenty of "fresh" sea air.

Check out who is sitting to the right of my sister - it's Nicole! I had no idea she was in town this week so it was a shock to see her sitting there. fun stuff - I love running into friends, especially when I'm traveling.

Museum of Flight

This evening Holly and I went to the Museum of Flight. I've learned some interesting things while I've been here this time because I kicked off the visit by doing a tour of Boeing. It wasn't nearly the tour that Matt Lauer showed on The Today Show, but interesting non the less. We found out some interesting factoids, such as stewardesses were originally nurses. There was a funny poster too that said "Ladies, please be careful of your language...there may be gentleman present." HA!

I thought this one was a bit sketchy - obviously more about the engineering and novelty than practicality, but since it was "flown" by a cyclist, I had to blog about it. The Gossamer Albatross was a human powered aircraft made of plastic.

Here's an interesting thing about DIA that I didn't realize. The Jeppesen terminal is named after Elrey B. Jeppesen, who was a mail pilot that flew the route from Salt Lake to Cheyenne, the most dangerous at the time. He is known for creating aeronatical charts and aiding in the development in navigational instruments.

After exploring the museum we went downtown to check out art walk, but it was closing up by the time we got there. I wanted some chocolate so we went to Dilettante for dessert. What a treat! I had a piece of chocolate cake and a cappachino and Holly had a slice of raspberry cheesecake. They were so pretty that I had to take a picture.

red, white and uuuewww

the Northern Cascades

The northern Cascades are amazing! I went on a hike to change things up a bit and was amuzed by how serious people take walking. One man comment about "what I was wearing" - the reality of it is that my pink surf shorts are not that much different than his beige hiking shorts. Then I got commentary from a different group how I looked like I was on a Sunday stroll. I had to say something about that - after all if was Sunday and I was out for a stroll. She said the 4 mile climb up the side of the moutain was a bit more than a stroll. I was wearing my sneakers and had left the moutain bike at camp so for a pleasant change, I wasn't lugging it up the moutain too so it did seem like a stroll. I guess it's just a matter of perspective... The views from the top of Driveway Butte were amazing, as was the diversity along the trail. The burn area was full of lupine and the contrast between the black and blue was striking. The gorillapod that my sister got me for Christmas is fun to play with. I was able to take a picture of myself at the top - evidence that I made it, even though I didn't wear the proper hiking attire.

Yet more water and another dam. The Diablo Dam and lake were impressive. The reservoir is turquoise in color due to glacial sediment called rock flour that is suspended in the water and reflects light.