Run, Run As Fast As You Can....

I have many things to catch you up on, as I have not posted since my return from my motorcycle trip. I'll try and be brief :-)

1) Crazy non-runner me...JOINED A RUN CLUB! 

Can you believe it?!? I have never been into running but needed motivation to get back into shape and since Lifetime Fitness has a Run Club (which is free), I decided I'd join. We meet twice a week at 5:30AM (I do live in AZ so it's 100 degrees by 6AM) and run anywhere from 5-7 miles. I have yet to run the entire way as it has only been about three weeks but I can now run 3-4 miles at an 11:30 minute pace. Not bad, if I do say so myself.  Through this club, I also just completed my first 5K of the new and motivated Nicole! I did it in under 36 minutes (my goal) and now have a time to beat! It's funny how all it took were strangers who love to run, to get me to love run. NEVER Ever in a million years did I think I would say..."Hey I want to try and train for a MARATHON." Crazy, huh?

2) Volunteering

I was asked a few months ago to help out with a local therapy place's summer language camp for a few weeks and have to say I'm loving it. I am still able to throw in some speech/language skills of mine without the pressure of being graded. I am not doing full speech/language therapy because I am not certified yet nor is there a certified SLP at the camp, but I do love sharing my knowledge of the field with the certified Occupational Therapist that I am working with; she's the supervisor! I can say that this summer off and doing this volunteering has made me more eager to begin my externship in about a month!

3) I'm a QUARTER of a century old 

Oh my, where did the time go? I cannot believe that I am 25 (as of yesterday) and still have so much to conquer in life. I have accomplished quite a bit in my mere 25 years; graduated high school and college, completed my master's course work, traveled to both Europe and Central America, and found my passion/favorite hobby in life (scrap booking and photography), just to name a few! I am nervous, yet excited, to see where the next 25 years are going to take me. Hell, who knows where this next year is going to take me...since I only have a plan until December (talk about scary).

4) Scrap Booking

Since my return...I have been trying to complete a scrap book for my dad of our journey to show our friends and family (and just because I love doing it). It has been a slow process trying to complete the book just how I want it to look. I have finished about 6 days thus far and only have two weeks to complete the other 8 days (must be finished before my family and I head to Iowa for vaca). Finger's crossed that I can finish it in time. 

5) Babysitting

I have to be the best aunt/sister in the world because I just cannot say no to babysitting my nephew and helping my sister and brother-in-law out. He's 8 months old and just the cutest little bugger EVER. He's a crawling machine but a really easy baby to watch so I don't mind spending my Saturdays and some Sundays watching him. Just look for yourself...

Adorable, right?

Well, I believe that has been my life for the past three weeks. Hope you enjoyed reading and I will see you again next time :-)

Daddy Daughter Cycle Ride: Day 13 & 14

Day 13: No Stats

It's Sunday (June 26th) today and our first full day in Idaho, and what do dad and I do? We wake up at 5 AM so that we can make it to the start of the Ironman Triathlon. Talk about dedication huh? If you haven't seen a start to an Ironman, as in the swim start, you should. It's quite an amazing sight to see. Thousands of people running into the water. It's pretty motivating to get into shape to want to compete in one...some day.

The entire day was centered around this event...the Ironman. We met up with a friend of my dad and his family at the swim start and spent the entire day with them. We ate breakfast, watched the swim/bike transition, some of the bike route, the bike/run transition and then ended the afternoon with watching the pros finish up the marathon. If you are unsure what an Ironman Triathlon is...well its a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a full 26.2 marathon. Talk about insane huh? Guess who is planning on doing on in 2012...DAD! Wish him luck everyone, he has the training ahead of him now.

Top right: Swim start; Top left: bike run transition of Craig Alexander (winner)
Bottom left: Julie Dibens bike run transition (female winner); Bottom right: Dad and I at finish line

Want to know how we ended our fabulous day of wandering the streets of Coeur d'Alene and watching the Ironman Tri? We had a Surf and Turf dinner with King Crab legs and Steak...Delicious! I can not thank our friend's the Smith Family more for their generosity and hospitality for putting up with my dad and I all day! It was an amazing day!

Day 14: No Stats

Today was another first for me! I got to visit a saw mill...yes that's right I got to see where lumber is made! HOW COOL IS THAT!! Courtesy of my dad's friend, Curt who works for Idaho Forest Group, we spent a good 90 minutes touring the saw mill.

 I can honestly say that never in a million years would I imagine that I would have the opportunity to visit one. It was fascinating watching a large piece of timber some, 40 feet long, turn into 2 by 6s and 2 by 8s. For an entire factory, TWO GUYS (shocking right) run the entire plant. There are more running the packaging side of things but to actually turn the timber logs into lumber for stores is done by two guys. It doesn't help that the there was some of the highest technology I've seen running this plant. I can't even tell you the numbers that this place turns out because it was just so astonishing. But I can tell you that he was throwing down numbers in the millions; millions of dollars, millions of feet, well you get the picture.

Milling machiner and logs

After the mill tour (thanks Curt), dad and I headed up to Sand Point which is about 45 minutes north of Coeur d'Alene. No reason for the journey, but he's been there before and thought it would be a good place to check out and eat lunch. It was a quaint town right on the Pend Orielle (pronounced Pon-der-ray) Lake. We spent a  few hours wandering before heading back into Coeur d'Alene. 

left: B&B in Sandpoint; middle: Dad and I at the compound; right: Mugs hanging at Mick Duff's called Muggers.

An unexpected thing happened today. We found out old friends of ours (my sister and I went to school with their children), who just bought a house on Lake Coeur d'Alene, were actually in town. We went over to their beautiful new cabin to say hi and to check out their place. The view was quite spectacular and so was their cabin! It was so nice to catch up with them, as the mom was actually one of my girl scout leaders, who I haven't seen since high school. 

Our friend's cabin

All in all, today was a great relaxing day to end our 2-week Daddy Daughter Cycle Ride! Where should my next adventure be? (preferably not on a harley...my @$$ needs a break)

LOVE MY DADDY!

Daddy Daughter Cycle Ride: Day 12

I have been bad at blogging the last few days of the trip, but not by choice. We didn't figure out our friends passcode to his internet until Monday and by then I was exhausted. Though, wouldn't you be too after having been riding for almost 3,000 miles. I'm going to do my best to summarize our trip to Idaho and our 2.5 day stay in Idaho! So lets start with our trip to CDA:

Day 12 Daily Stats: LAST RIDING DAY

Time of Departure: 8:30 AM                                   

Departure City: Pendleton, Oregon

Time of Arrival: 4:50 PM        

Arrival City: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Total Travel Time: 8 hours 20  minutes (no info on riding time)

TOTAL MILAGE: 310.0 miles

Can you believe it...Dad and I survived our last riding day together traveling through three states. We drove for a total of 10 out of the 12 days for a total of 2,993 miles (seriously, only 7 miles under the 3,000 mark). 

To be quite honest, if your visiting Pendleton, Oregon, there is one thing you MUST see before leaving. Can you guess it? If you guessed the Pendleton Woolen Mills, then you would be correct! We didn't get to go on a tour as it was 9AM on a Saturday, which they normally don't have tours on the weekends, but just walking around their store is quite impressive. It's hard to imagine how a company makes a living from wool products. I can't imagine people in Phoenix wanting to own any wool products, since their designed for warmth. All in all, it was cool that I can now say I have been to their head factory!

Outside the warehouse :)

We continued our drive north on a beautiful scenic route...which we soon found out was called Hells Canyon. Dad's response: "I don't know why it's called Hells Canyon? I would say it's pretty heavenly." I would have to agree. We rode near a creek for a ways, then through small towns, then down a twisty, gorgeous mountainside. We even drove past buffalos, another animal we can add to our list of wildlife we've seen. 

See Heavenly :-)

Half way down the mountain was the Washington/Oregon Border...yes, it was literally halfway down the mountain. It's not like dad and I didn't stop, which of course we did, but it was just a funny location. At least, I thought so.

We also crossed the Washington/Idaho Border which was placed in the middle of a river. Another great choice for a border, but nothing we can really do about changing them :-). This border happens to be in between Clarkston and Lewiston, towns named after Lewis and Clark. Pretty neat huh?

Washington Border; Idaho Border; The river dividing the two; I couldn't resist IDAHO!

 From there, it was just a straight shot up to the Sweiter Compound (dad's friends cabin). I compound, well because it is like a compound, an absolutely beautiful and scenic compound nonetheless. I felt pretty privilege to get to stay on this gorgeous property...and I cannot wait to go back!!

Sweiter Compound: left is the main house and the fountain; right is dad and the view!

Dad and I kept it simple that night because we had a long day awaiting us in the morning, as the Ironman Coeur d'Alene was the next morning!!!  

Daddy Daughter Cycle Ride Day 11

Daily Stats:

Time of Departure: 9:00 AM                                   

Departure City: Sisters/Bend, Oregon

Time of Arrival: 4:57 PM        

Arrival City: Pendleton, Oregon

Total Travel Time: 7 hours 57  minutes (5 hrs 36 min on bike)

TOTAL MILAGE: 301.4 miles

Today was a shorter day than both dad and I expected. We haven't arrived at a destination this early our whole trip. It's crazy how times change when you get a freeway involved. 

We got off to a late start this morning, since both dad and I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of rain...or at least we thought it was rain. Dad went to go check and thank goodness it was just the sprinklers hitting the trailer. While outside, dad randomly looked up, then woke me up, because the sky was so crystal clear. You could see the milky way. It was incredible! Well worth the 4am wake up time.

We did manage to get up and on the road by 9, which was pretty impressive considering. I got a great picture of the Three Sisters (mountain range) on our way out of town, since the sky was clear.

Three Sisters

We ate breakfast in Redmond, only about 20 miles from Sisters at a chain called Black Bear Diner. Breakfast is becoming my new favorite meal...as we have often skipped lunch because of it. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, how can you possibly go wrong?!?

Don't Feed the Bears

On today's drive, we passed the 45th Parallel which marks the half way point between the equator and the north pole. Dad even turned around for it, just to get a photograph! It was then off to Mt. Hood National Forest. Would you believe if I told you that Mt. Hood was still COMPLETELY covered in snow? Would you also believe if I told you that dad and I were a little cold on the ride? Well both are true and here's proof about the snow.

Entering the National Forest

We are officially on the top 1/4th of the world!

Told you COMPLETELY COVERED

Finally on the decent down, the weather began to warm up. Of course making a pit-stop at The Gorge White House (historic landmark) for some wine tasting (I did the tasting) may have help :-). This was a very nicely maintained property in the middle of the Columbia River Gorge that is famous for their pear wine; all pears are grown on their estate. You can also pick your own flowers and strawberries. It was quite enjoyable and a great place for our mid-day break. 

Wine Tasting!

From there, we then journeyed through the Columbia River Gorge to Pendleton, which is VERY western and filled with cowboys and cowgirls. Since today was Friday, it happened to be their weekly farmer's market that was filled with organic fruits and veggies, music, and Weiner dog races. You did read that correctly. I did say weiner dog races. Apparently it brings in quite a crowd as their were weiner dogs all over main street and not to mention quite a sight to see. 

We ate a wonderfully delicious dinner in a 100 year old building at a place called Hamley's Salon; so western. Dad even considered buying a cowboy shirt...but mom said he was still not invited to Country Thunder. 

It may have been a relatively short riding day (time that is), but it was still packed full of excitement. Never a dull moment! Only one riding day left as we head to Coeur d'Alene, ID via the Lewis and Clark Trail (Oregon Trail) in the AM. It will be my first time in Washington and Idaho so let's hope for more great weather. 

Oregon Trail Baby!!

Daddy Daughter Cycle Ride Day 10

Daily Stats:

Time of Departure: 8:10 AM                                   

Departure City: Gold Beach, Oregon

Time of Arrival: 6:38 PM        

Arrival City: Sisters/Bend, Oregon

Total Travel Time: 10 hours 28  minutes (7 hrs 06 min on bike)

TOTAL MILAGE: 334.0 miles

Wow...Oregon has some beautiful and picturesque scenery along the coastline and along the McKenzie River (right through Eugene). We were both in awe during our drive today and are DEFINITELY vacationing here for longer than a few days.

Getting ready to leave Gold Beach.

We started this morning not really sure what to expect since we didn’t really plan our trek through Oregon, as much as we did in California. Our friend, Rick, has been directing us on where to go, how to travel, etc. We are extremely grateful for all of his advice on where to travel because as I have mentioned...BEAUTIFUL! 

Oregon Coast

We drove today along the coastline for a couple of hours north of Gold Beach to Florence, OR, which is where the Oregon Dunes are located and are quite fascinating to drive along. We didn’t get to see much of the early coastline (too foggy), but were quite happy that today was clear skies, though still freezing. Along the way, we drove thru Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, which apparently is pretty well known among golfers and, as I am not one, didn’t know what the hype was all about. But hey, I can say I have seen the Bandon Dunes Golf Courses (their are 4, 18-hole courses).

Entrance sign

Then it was off to the Sea Lion Cave, which is the largest sea lion cave in the world. Not going to lie, the cave, well, a little on the stinky side, but quite a sight to see. Its hard to imagine these massive male sea lions (up to 2400 lbs), can climb up on those rocks. I am glad we went the 11-miles off course to see them. There is also a sea lion lookout, which is where you can lookout onto the “hook” (shoreline) where the sea lions breed and “hangout”. As they were in breeding season, we could heard the males hollering. Another cool touristy thing I can check off my list.

Sea Lion Cave

From Florence, it was a straight shot along HWY 126, bordering the McKenzie River, to Sisters. We drove though stunning rainforest mountains and got to see the destruction from the 2003 forest fire that occurred in the Deschutes National Forest. It’s pretty upsetting, especially when you compare their 100,000 acres to the 500,000 acres that were destroyed in the Wallow Fire in AZ.

Did I also mention that ALL the surrounding mountains visible in Sisters have SNOW on them? I thought it was June not January... come on mountains, get with the program here. Not really a sight I like to see, as dad and I almost considered tent-camping at the KOA in Redmond.

We are happy with our choice, as this RV park is well-maintained and a beautiful piece of land. Only a few more riding days left in our journey, but still filled with adventures. Tomorrow is Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge day...stay tuned! (more photos to come from this adventurous day)

The Most Photographed Lighthouse

Dad in front of the most photographed lighthouse

My Turn

Fire Damage :(