Autumn has arrived in the Klamath Basin and despite our persistent drought, it is stunning. The evergreens cover the hills, interrupted only by bright splashes of Aspen gold. It is cool in the morning and warm in the afternoons. It is [always] sunny. I have to say, Klamath wears this season very well.
And seasons are, of course, a time of change. Stephanie and I finally closed our
Couch to 5K lecture series, which was so much more successful than we had anticipated. Our last hike drew around 40-50 participants who came, decked out in our T-rex t-shirts and walked, jogged or ran 5-6 kilometers. It was a great showing. We were lucky enough to have a reporter from Runner's World join us for the hike. I'm not sure that this particular story was interesting enough for the magazine, but he'll be following our project for the next few years and might do an ongoing story. We'll see!
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| C25K Crew! |
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| Sad Maizie. |
Unfortunately, as Stephanie and I marked the trail for our final hike, Maizie had a run-in with a metal culvert. Thus, we sent her to surgery where she got about 30 stitches and 4 drains as well as the cone of shame. It was tough week for all. For us, because it is a pain the butt to keep her from jumping, running and playing. And for her, because her legs are too short and the cone kept getting stuck on the carpet, rendering her helpless to lift her head. She was pretty pathetic. Fortunately, she's recovered well. (I may not have exactly followed the vet's instructions to keep her still for so long.)
Randal headed down to Phoenix to work on his old house there and so I filled my time by accepting one of Berta's challenges again. I joined she and Dr. Jim Calvert on a 60 mile ride around Klamath County to raise money for kids. It was an absolutely gorgeous ride in which I showed up in shorts and a t-shirt, assuming that it would warm up as I started pedaling. Unfortunately, it didn't. At the second aid station though, friendly Jim approached a woman and asked her if she had some extra clothes for me. She did. And I rode in a borrowed long sleeve shirt, making for a much more enjoyable last 40 miles of the trip.
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| Vroom! |
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| Jim, Berta and me. Cold. Happy. |
Last weekend, Randal and I headed to the coast to meet our friends for a birthday retreat. We had so much fun that we pretty much neglected to take any pictures until Randal and my final hike on the our last day. It was a great weekend though... Crabbing for the boys... Boat joy-riding for the girls... And we all enjoyed the fruits of the boys labor that evening with an amazing crab dinner: messy, buttery, and delicious. The sky was pristinely blue and the weather was warm. Randal and I built a fantastic sand castle (he's truly a sand artist!) and we all laughed and talked and ate great food. It was a wonderful retreat.
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| I felt so graceful when I posed for this picture. In retrospect, I was not. |
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| I love him. |
My birthday was quite fun, although adulthood is kind-of a drag when you have to wake up at 6am on your birthday to catch up on work. However, I made up for it in the evening at my birthday party at Gathering Grounds, the newest coffee shop in town owned by our friend, Brandon. His wife has the same birthday as me, so we threw a joint party, inviting all of our friends, eating great snacks, and sipping wine. It was quite fun and festive, albeit exhausting. It's hard to start a week with a happenin' birthday... but it was worth it!
On Friday, Randal and I went up to Bend so that I could see
Dr. James Sallis, one of the founding fathers of the built environment and health linkages. I demonstrated, once again, how incredibly hip I am, by becoming totally awestruck, calling myself a fangirl, and falling all over myself to tell him how much I loved him. Of course, no one else at the event had ever heard of this public health demigod, so I tried to spread the gospel as best I could. I love him. So much.
Randal became a convert as well (as much as he could, of course... the public health world doesn't always lend itself to celebrities). But, mostly we enjoyed an evening in Bend and a delicious brunch the next day. (Oh Bend brunch... another one of my Oregonian loves...)
The dogs joined us on this little trip, so we took them on a hike to Tumalo Falls, which was just gorgeous. As we hiked among the pines and explored the many waterfalls that exist adjacent to this beautiful trail, we marveled at our luck to live in Oregon. We also acknowledged that we might be pretty annoying as we brag about this state to everyone we know. But, really. We LIVE here. We are so damn lucky.
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