Deer, cars, and now...bears?

Another reason I'm rethinking ever doing Boulder Peak.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/25/national/main1833579.shtml

It was the best of times...

Here we are in Blanding, Utah. After locating lattes, we'll head home to Albuquerque via 4 corners. I thought I'd take a moment and wrap up a synopsis of our trip.

By the numbers:
Miles driven: about 4300
States visited: 6
Magnets collected: 7
Triathlons raced: 2
National Parks Visited: 7
Highest altitude reached: 8000
Most hours driven in a day: 15
Highest temperature reached: 110 F
Mileage on the Honda FIT: about 38 mpg
Number of new "Roadside Geology" books purchased: 3 (Utah, Oregon, Central/Northern Calif)

Best and worst:
Best place to hear trains: Flagstaff, AZ
Best place to do a training run: Forest Park, in Portland
Best East Indian food I've ever had, in my life: Carson City, Nevada. We were the only people in there, and it was in an old Bananza steakhouse building, and it was to die for.
Worst place to be a certain species of chub: Bend, Oregon. They are getting ready to net over 100,000 of these fish, kill them, and then poison the entire lake in order to eradicate them, mainly because they are "invasive" and make the fishermen unhappy.
Worst place to do a training run: Needles, California
Worst place to buy gas: Needles, California
Best place to buy gas: Oregon. By law, you must allow the attendant to pump your gas. Creates jobs and contributes to the local economy.
Best place to throw a snowball in July: Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Best place to visit an old ghost town: Bodie, California
Best place to see the "other" great salt lake: Mona Basic, California
Clearest, prettiest water: Crater Lake, OR
Best place to fake a moon landing: Four Corners, Utah
Best place to be a cycling activist: Portland, Oregon
Least drinkable water water: Mono Lake, Ca. (3x salinity of sea water)
Best place to splat onto a windshield: Oregon
Worst place to be a plant: central-eastern Utah (things that occur naturally here include uranium, selenium, hot geysers, clays that severely expand and contract, and asphalt--did you know asphalt occured naturally in the earth? neither did I--and it gets 5 inches of precipitation annually)
Best place to see "Othello" or any other Shakespeare play: shores of Lake Tahoe, at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare festival.
Best energy drink I can't find at home: "Go, girl!" Sugar free, with 150 mg of caffein. They don't sell it here. Yet.
Most breathtaking scenery: (Tie) Western oregon, North and South eastern Utah
Best Geological Features: another tie, either incredibly volcanic Oregon or Utah, which likes to label strata with the epoch, era, and name of the formations.
Worst place to find a bookstore: Pocatello, Idaho
Best place to have the locals stare at you, intently, for no reason: Pocatello, Idaho
Best place to do an open water swim: Bend, Oregon
Worst place to live if you're a Vegan: Green River, Wyoming
Best place to be a Vegan: Portland, Oregon
Best place to live if you sell gas for a living: Green River, Wyoming. We saw customer after customer put nearly $200 in gas in their boats. In their boats. That doesn't count what went in their giant 6-wheeled pickups and Winebagos.
Worst place to be the head on any trophy animal: Green River, Wyoming.
Worst place to try to get a decent espresso: Blanding, Utah

Deschutes Dash Sprint Triathlon Race Report

I'll mention the best thing and the worst thing about my experience.

First, the best. When I got to the transition area, which was neatly arranged on soft, thick grass I was stunned to see them. There they were all around me, in such numbers as I had ever seen before.
Remember that scene in Jurassic Park I where they look out over the rise and see all the Brontosauri? Majestic music swells, and you see them, gentle, beautiful giants, lumbering gracefully, and that is the picture I'm trying to put in front of you at this moment when I saw what was in the transition area.

Athenas!

Clearly, Bend, Oregon is where My People are. My peeps walked around on solid legs, their bad selves wearing their size L and XL Sugio, Speedo, and Tyr suits with pride. They were tall with hips, thighs and calves that said, "I mean business!" Oh, sure - there were some little petite bird-like people scurrying underfoot with worried, tense expressions, chattering about the cold water. We paid them no mind, and shared tips about body glide and sweat. We had other worries than cold water, which are the subject of my only real complaint of this triathlon. There were far more Athenas than Clydesdales, in my opinion, and it was ironic that there was no Athena or Clydesdale division.

Other than that, the race was very well organized, with one glaring problem: The first wave took off at 9:00. I was in the 9th wave, so I took off at 9:45. That's right. 9:45 in the morning, after the temperature was already into the 80's. The waves were arranged in ascending age order and gender, which meant the oldest would be on the run around noon, when the temperature was expected to be in th upper 90's. This is the latest triathlon I've ever done, and as it happens, my only real complaint. I asked the race director about that later, and she said that from now on, they're going to start it an hour earlier, with fewer waves. yay! Other than starting so late, the race was awesome.

I walked into the water to prepare for my wave, and that's when I understood it, the chattering about the water. The water as COLD. Not that I was surprised or angry that a mountain stream was cold - but it was startling none the less. It was so cold my feet ached. Take your breath away cold. Hella cold. Damn cold. Mama can your boys still have babies cold. When I started the swim, my face hurt with how cold it was.
Did I mention it was cold?

Siren would have HATED this swim, because the closed-eye trick wouldn't have worked; occasionally water weeds would be floating on the surface, and when you reached to make a stroke, your fingers would become entangled in some. Other than that, though, the water was clear, clean, and did I mention, cold?

The best part of the swim was that it was down-river. The current was strong enough to get you a serious PR on your swim, and I got mine: about 20 minutes for 1300 yards. My T1 time was better; I think I'm getting pretty efficient at getting the wetsuit off. I no longer even attempt to dry my feet; I just brush off whatever debris has collected and shove socks and shoes on them. I figure it's just a sprint, so I don't worry about any residual dampness.

The bike was through new neighborhood and then out along a mountain road, pleasantly uphill but downwind on the way out, a little more downgrade but into the wind on the way back. It was 14 miles, and I did it in about 57 minutes. Not my best time, but I'm working on not blowing out my legs so that I can have a good run.

The run was flat, a double loop. It was nearing noon as I was finishing, and I was started to feel pretty hot and a little shaky toward the end. I had a decent time, (for me) with about a 11:30 minute mile. Then I headed across the finish line, where a volunteer handed me a "finisher's medal": a cowbell with the race logo painted on it Neat! I always wanted one of these to have at races to wave noisily at my friends.

I hung out in the medicial tent for no real reason other than I was damned hot and I desperately needed shade, NOW. I sat on a cot and drank ice cold water while they gave me a bag of ice to apply to myself. I shoved it into my skinsuit and it was awesome. The EMT's could not for the life of them figure out why "race directors in Oregon seem to like to start races late, when it's hot". Me neither. next time, I'll bring more water. Otherwise, the race was fun, and I had a great time. I love my cow bell. I think I was in the last half of my age group, but I wasn't last.

Now I'm off to Pocatello, ID. See you soon!

Portland, to Bend

Last night, we went down to Riverplace and met with Brave Athena--who is every bit as smart, funny and quirky as she is in her blog --whereupon, I grilled her about Portland. It seems like a very cool place to live. There are cycling communities that get together for activist and social events, and lots of running events.

We sat down at Three Degrees restaurant and had hummus, fried potatoes, and "Monty Margaritas". Well, actually I was the only one having the MM's, as Husband is the DD. I do love my Margaritas. I recently listed it as my favorite t3 drink. If only race directors knew. Brave Athena and I chatted about various subjects regarding Portland, as I'm intensely interested in how probably it would be to live there. I'm very attracted to the progressiveness and mild climate. I'm interested in the state of mental health care, since that is where I hope to be after leaving the teaching profession, some day.

The river was really pretty as it got dark, with the city lights on it, but then as cities do in July, Portland began radiating the heat it had collected all day long, and it wa time to call it a night.

One thing I really like is how slow drivers are in Portland. They don't endeavor to cut your off or prevent you from getting where you want to be, as they do in other places. Albuquerque, for instance, is a sea of people who want to get there first, and they will, even if they have to cut you off in the meantime. But I digress.

It's funny how apologetic people are about their cities. Gosh, I'm sorry it's so hot...so rainy...so dry...so cold...throughout our stay in Portland many, many people have apologized for it being so hot. I expect it, first of all, to be perfectly miserable just about everywhere in the US in July, heatwaves be damned, and folks, you don't need to apologize to me! It's a nice gesture, but I think that a lot of people, women especially, apologize too much.

My belief is that if you are apologizing for something, then do something about it. If you can't, then you shouldn't be apologizing.

I've had a good time with the inlaws, and we've spent most of today explaining the mechanics of triathlon so that they can watch us with an educated eye tomorrow, but I know from experience that it will be 400 some-odd people running around, zipping off on bikes, stripping off wetsuits, changing shoes, whatever. It will be the first time we've had family observe us for a triathlon. Packet pickup was today at the REI in bend, and the triathlon starts at a mind-numbing 9 am. Boy, it's gonna be hot for us back-of-the-packers.

More tomorrow, and a race report.

Dateline, Portland OR

We packed up the car Wednesday morning in South Lake Tahoe, and headed out for Oregon.
On the way out, we stopped at Lassen Volcanic National Park, which had tons of snow still in it, and then Crater Lake national park and bought a copy of "Roadside Geology of Oregon" to replace the now unusable "Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California." that I had been reading as we wound through northern and central Cali. Serious nerdly delight! Crater lake was formed when an active Volcano blew itself out some time back.

Furthermore, did you know that several mountains in the cascades are currently active and due for a major blowout in manner of St. Helens? Nothing helps generalized anxiety disorder quite like a love of Geology.

I know for sure exactly where I'm going to live when I die, provided I've been a good Vegan...Portland, Oregon. I love it here. The people are friendly and laid back, and very progressive. My inlaws were talking about how hot it was this week, insanely hot, dangerously hot, very, very unpleasantly hot...but for the most part, I've found it pretty bearable, just your average hot July weather. For some reason, I had remembered it being dirty and full of scruffy people who didn't know how to use an iron, but that hasn't been the case; I must have been in a bad mood the day that this memory was encoded.

Yesterday we headed out to see "An inconvenient truth". Go see it. All I can say is, if Gore had shown this much hustspa (spelling?) and charisma when running for Prez, maybe so many children wouldn't be left behind. Spare me your comments if you're a huge Bush supporter. I'm not interested, I won't respond, and I'll ignore you.

My blog, my prerogative.

ahem.

This morning, we went down to Forest Park for a run along the trails. It was fabulous, about ten degrees colder than the surrounding area and completely shaded by a variety of types of trees. I had a good 4 or so mile run. Then we went out to eat lunch at the Vegetarian House, where I ate Chinese food until I hurt. The only mildly annoying experience in the whole was my step-neice, who is one of those toddlers who has perfected the Extremely High-pitched Scream. It nearly shorted out my hearing aid. Mommy saved the day, however - by feeding her whenever she screamed.

"Thanks, Mom. Now I know exACTLY how loud to scream!"

It's been intensely great here, spending time with my inlaws, heading out to starbucks in the mornings, and as I mentioned, the park where we ran was fanTASTic. I could definitely live here. I've "slept in" each morning until 6:30 am or so.

Tomorrow, we head out for Bend and the Deutches Dash, and our inlaws get to view their very first triathlon.

Misty out!

Bitchy Tahoe post

I've lived and visited all over the United States. I've been to New York, California, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Texas, South Dakota...and more. I'll spare you the Johnny Cash lyrics.
In any case I now feel qualified to tell you where I think the rudist, most discourteous people in the US are.

California.

Hey, you think I like making this pronouncement? I want to like them. I really do. And, I will be the first to suggest that it's not necessarily Californians, but people I've observed IN California, who may or may not be Californians, California license plates notwithstanding.

It's just that so far, the only ones I've met have been incredibly rude and/or completing lacking in observance of the rules. There was a woman who I've nick-named F.U. McPhereson. She was standing on a bike/run path with her dog, talking on her cell phone. Appeared middle-class, blond pony tail, dresssed in running clothes. He wasn't a mean, menacing dog, just your average sniffy golden lab. He was mosying around sniffing, and ambled onto the bike path, where, as I swerved around him, I hollared, "your dog needs to be on a leash" (which, I should mention, is the law here). I didn't cuss. I wasn't even angry. Her response? she shouted profanities at me - and one supposes, whomever she was talking to on her cell phone, to wit:

"Hey, F&$% YOU! MIND YOUR OWN F&$%ing BUSINESS!! YOU OUTTA BE ON A LEASE, YOU BITCH! YOU DIKE BITCH!!"

Woah.

New Yorkers, contrary to popular opinion, aren't rude. They mind their own business, and they're in a hurry, but they aren't jerks about it. They're actually pretty friendly. People I've met in California, though, well, IT'S ALL ABOUT "ME" After a week or so of observing them, I've come up with the top ten things on your average person's mind while in California:

10) It's just a bike path. It's not like I have to stay on the right or anything.

9) Sure, I know he's only done action movies and weighlifting, but I think he'd make a good governor...

8) Why the &$%* is there so many compact car spaces? Screw it. I'm parking here anyway.

7) I don't care what the research says; I can talk on my--WOAH!!--cell phone and drive at the same time.

6) I don't care what the sign says. I'm not a slow moving vehicle. Those people behind me can just go around. On the right.

7) F&*$ you, man.

6) Hey, we can walk four across--there's room! People won't mind using the gutter.

5) What's that yellow line for?

4) My dog doesn't need a leash. S/he's special.

3) I don't care what the sign says; I'd rather drive on the left. I like this lane. People can pass me on the right.

2) Is this where I turn? Is it? No, it's not. No, wait, yes it is. or maybe not...turn signal? What's that?

1) I don't need no stinking bicycle helmet.

Tahoe post #1

Well, you'll get two posts from me out of this trip. this first one will be very positive, and the second one will be sorta bitchy. First for the postive: It is so georgous here! Tall pines, which are what I grew up, and the lake is HUGE and COLD and very, very pretty. I'm pretty sure that if I'm really good, when I die I'll go to some place like Lake Tahoe.
They must have strict building covenances, because the businesses are prettier than I've seen elsewhere. Everything looks rustic and log cabin-ish. They're all built with logs, or cedar shakes, and rock, and I think they have strict signage ordinances. Once you cross into the California side of Lake Tahoe, you will see the prettiest McDonalds you've ever seen, but you won't know it until you're right on it. I also saw the prettiest KFC I've ever seen.
It smells really good here, too. I think it's the pines, but the air is sweet with a piney floral kind of smell. mmmmm.
This is not a time trial bike sort of place, but I hope to go out on a run tomorrow: I think the running would be superb. If you want to ride, I'd recommend road bikes with sturdy frames if you're going to stay in town, and side air bags if you leave it. Remember: biking is what I tolerate between running and swimming, so I'm fussy and picky and not all that comfortable on my bike. Husband is nimble and can do track stands and turn on a dime. Not me.
We got up this morning, and as Husband often likes to do, we lay around in bed chatting until he leaped up, starting pulling a shirt over his head and said, "Ready to go yet?"

He's not a jerk about it or anything. He's genuinely baffled, as I think many men are, as to why it takes me so long to get dressed, make breakfast, and put on sunscreen.
We started out on a 55 mile bike trip, but once we were about 10 miles into it, we started climbing, climbing, climbing onto some steep mountain roads with no shoulders or guardrails, just the ending of the pavement and a straight drop down the side of the mountain . I was tired, and my thighs were burning and shaking after some of that climbing, and there was more to come, so we had to turn back. Sorry, Myles. Our trip was only about 26 miles. It's supposed to be one of the best bike rides, but I think it's only for the very fit, of which I apparently am not. Husband cruised along, sipped from his air bottle, while I huffed and puffed up one mountain grade, gripping my handlebars like they'd save my life. Which they might well have; I figured if I fell off the side of the mountain the bike might catch in the branches of some tree and break my fall.
I'm hoping for a long swim today in that nice cold water. That's it for now! Misty out.