Hiking in Oregon

Ok, so maybe you all are getting tired of hearing about volksmarching. However, this weekend I went to an event in Cascade Locks, Oregon and have thus decided that Oregon is the most beautiful of all 50 states and that I probably should live here someday. I was about 1/2 hour east of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge and the drive alone was worth the trip but the hike was so incredibly outrageously gorgeous that it bordered on ridiculous. All in all it took me over 5 hours to go up and down on a 25k course. I started the hike with a couple from Sacramento, CA who were really nice and gave me all sorts of advice for my drive home next month. Then I continued alone for the rest of the hike although there were lots of hikers on the trail and it was fun to meet all these different people. When I got to the turn around point at Crossover Falls I took a rest by the river and then headed back down. I soon discovered on the way down that my water bottle had leaked all over the contents of my backpack. So the last two hours of my hike was done with a wet and sticky back PLUS sans anything to drink. It did mar the experience a bit but as you can see it was such a beautiful view that it wasn't hard to forget about all that.

Winding down

Hi, everybody! My assignment here in Tacoma, Wa is about to end and I will soon be making the drive back down to Texas. July 8 is the day I'll start the trip and instead of taking the same route I came up here on (ya'll saw how well that went) I think I'll go south on I-5 through California - stopping and staying with a few friends on the way then east through Arizona, New Mexico and then Texas. However, I'll only be able to spend a few days with the family before going back to Albuquerque where I'll start my next 3 month assignment. I'll be working at the same hospital as last time and I couldn't be more excited. I know the point of me traveling is to see new destinations but I figure what good is loving a place if you don't get to go back and enjoy it some more? I truly dig Albuquerque and the surrounding area. I made a lot of great friends and ate too much good food! It's like a second home to me and it's a comfort to know where I'll be spending the next 3 months. PLUS, it feels like I'm just down the street from my family in Tx - seeing how I'll only be 4 hours away as opposed to 30! I'll keep everyone posted on my travels and of course I expect phone calls to keep me company on the 4 day drive.
I really will miss the Pacific Northwest. I am constantly amazed at how beautiful it is and my time spent here has been very rejuvenating. I'll miss it and hope to come back but for now it is time to move on.

Bonsai!!!!!

Today, Sunday, I did another Volksmarch - this time at the Weyerhauser Campus in Federal Way, Wa. - about a 30 minute drive from my apartment. It did rain or drizzle on us most of the way but the views were incredible. I went with a coworker and we completed the 10k course, ate a Lion's Club breakfast consisting of pancakes and ham and then went around one more time on the 5k course. Volksmarching is a really big thing up here and I am happy that I have found it because it is exactly what I have been looking for. There are events in all 50 states so I should be able to continue to Volksmarch all over the country - AND YOU CAN TOO! Check out the American Volksport Association webpage for events in your area! http://www.ava.org/index.htm There were different parts to the walk: trails through the most beautiful woods, around a pond, through a rhododendron garden (the Washington state flower) and a bonsai exhibit.

Weekend Volkswalk

Today I went to a Volksmarch event at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (http://www.nwtrek.org/). For once this week the weather was beautiful and I had a great 10k walk. My 2nd. I saw some amazing animals in a great setting - in their own habitats - without cages. After the walk which took me about 2 hours to complete due to all the picture taking I took a tram ride through the rest of the park and saw caribou, bison, rams, racoons and some BIG elk!

Volksmarching!!

I discovered something new today and it was a lot of fun and something I will continue to do throughout my travels. It is called volksport - which is german for "sport of the people" it's a completely non-competitive way to get out and do sporting events. You buy record books and keep track of your progress. At each event you get your book stamped and if you pay a little more you get a patch or a pin. Each walk is usually 10 km (6.2 miles). My first volksmarch today was on the Fort Lewis Army Base for Armed Forces day. Aside from the walk they had a little street fair with booths and all kinds of army vehicles and whatnot for civilians to check out. It was a great day!

Saturday at Pikes Market Place

You couldn't ask for a better day than we had on Saturday at Pikes Market Place. We walked around downtown all day - the weather was nice - the weirdos were out and we had a good time! I just got home from dropping off the girls at the airport. Anyone who knows me, knows that I need my alone time. But I had a great time these past 5 days and I'm so glad Melissa and Whitney came to visit. They really showed me Washington in a new light. It's so good to have good friends that you can laugh with. I'm going to miss their company.

Play Day

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

Company has arrived. Whitney, my sister and Melissa my best friend of, hmm.....20 years got to the Seattle/Tacoma airport yesterday afternoon. After getting luggage and ourselves back to the car we headed into Seattle and pointed the car toward the Space Needle. Since they disobeyed me and did not wear their dinner clothes I made them change in the backseat of the car as we were driving downtown. Not to worry I have dark tint on the windows. We finished up in some random parking lot fluffing our hair and bartering jewelry back and forth for the evening.
It's a 40 second elevator ride to the restaurant and you get a fun view of the city on the way up. When you step into the lobby of Sky City everything is deceivingly normal but when they take you to your seat you step into the dining area and you instantly feel like you've had one too many drinks because everything is moving. Thankfully you get used to it and you are treated to a 360 degree view of the city, Mt. Rainier, Elliot Bay, the Olympic Mountains, etc. Our meal was great and expensive but worth it. We were treated to a free smoking sundae at the end of our meal and how can you turn down a free smoking sundae even if you're stuffed with lobster, potatoes and bread?



It's Thursday morning and I have finally gotten everyone up and about. We are ready to start a new day of exploring. More soon!

FINE!!

Alright - I'll make a new post. I'm tired of hearing all you guys bitch. I guess I have been waiting for something cool to happen or for good picture oppurtunities to arise before I wrote something new. Life is good here. I've had a great time this week. Work for some reason has been really slow until today and we had 4 cases. I worked with a good team today and we really had a lot of fun which can be rare - you know, for heart surgery. The weather has been phenomenal. It's been all sun and no rain and around 60 degrees everyday. I hope I'm not jinxing myself but I really hope this keeps up. Everything is starting to bloom. I'm not sure what the weekend has in store for me. I want to do something but also want to keep it on the frugal side. Maybe a good long drive is in order - that always makes for something interesting. I'll keep you all posted. I have been watching the first season of Deadwood which is an HBO series. The cast includes Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock and shows the town of Deadwood at the beginning of the Gold Rush. It was a very wild and lawless time. I've also been going to a lot of yoga classes trying to get back into shape. And I've been walking on this strip down in Commencement Bay. It's along the water and there are lots of restaurants there and also picnic places, coffee shops, etc. It's a great place to people watch. I'm glad it's Friday. There that's all that is on my mind! See, I knew it would potentially be boring and I was trying to spare you guys that. I'll try to liven up and get something started to blog about soon. I will be having some company before too long. Got lots of plans for Melissa and Whitney. We'll be dining at the Space Needle to start their time off here and I'm totally looking forward to that. Have a great weekend ya'll!

Bathroom humour - it's lamer than you think

I realize this post may cause some of you to pause and question my taste in pictures...but to others I think it will be appropriate. Notice the homey accents - I do have to say - my toilet is better than yours.
Confused? click here: http://mrk329.blogspot.com/2006/03/these-pictures-are-pictures-of-my-home.html

The universe is not only queerer than we suppose it is queerer than we CAN suppose.

Wednesday night I did something that I always imagined doing if I lived in a big city. I know it won't sound exciting to anyone reading this. In fact, it may make me sound like a nerd. But I guess as you get older you care less about that and care more about the things that interest and make you happy. I went to a lecture given by a well known (well, not to me - but apparently in the scientific community) theoretical physicist named Michio Kaku. He is a professor at City University of New York and is co-founder of String Field Theory which is a theory developed to explain the universe and it's foundational laws. I heard him speaking on Coast to Coast AM about a month ago and after visiting his website found that he would be coming to Seattle to promote his book. His lecture was very intersting and easy to understand for the most part. He talked about new findings on the Big Bang and the universe and the cosmos in general. He explained how the universe is expanding at a very fast rate and that eventually it will end in a big freeze. He spoke about black holes and worm holes and possible ways to travel through them to get to a parellel universe or to travel in time. Sounds very science fiction but who knows. I believe that our existence is so special and constructed in such an awesome way by God that ANYTHING is possible. It was all very exciting. It was fun to meet the people who also came to hear Michio speak. The lecture was held in a hall in downtown Seattle. Gloria Steinem was also speaking that night upstairs. Driving home that evening (late for me; 10:30) it started SNOWING which is unheard of down in here in the cities. It was bad. Then as I pulled off the freeway and stopped at a stop light I looked over at a convenience store and there was a car in the lot ON FIRE!
MKaku.org Theoretical Physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, science & technology

Oscar's

Did anyone watch the Academy Awards last night? I got a late start but saw most of it. I found one instance very disturbing. Toward the end of the night a man and woman won an award for maybe sound editing or something. The man took the microphone first and talked and thanked everyone. The woman obviously wanted a chance to talk also but he just kept on and on and then by the time he stepped away and she opened her mouth they had turned off the microphone. I find this so rude. If I knew who the man was I might even write him a letter. How about being a gentleman and letting the woman go first - or since you are splitting the award why not split the 60 seconds you both have to talk. Ug. It seems like I see more and more of this happening. Not long ago I was at the grocery store and an old woman and a much younger man were in front of me. She was slow at getting all of her coupons and payment together and he was very exasperated. When they were done he left her to push the big cart from the store to their car. I'm sure that this was his mother and it took everything I had not to go up and say something to him. Where are manners in today's world? Ok, so I'm pulling a Wanda but I get really disgusted when people don't think of others.

Good News

I just got great news from the nurse manager at St. Joseph's. She is not only going to extend my contract but she asked me to come on board as permanent staff. I am so happy to stay here another three months. And I was totally sweating this one out because I've had the feeling they were going to let me go. I talked to her on Tuesday and she said she would have to speak to her boss and I felt she was leaning towards no. But then she came to me today to tell me this and man, it is a big load off my mind. So now I will be here until July (unless I decide to move up here for good)(it's a nice thought but I couldn't be so far away from my friends and family). Anyway, people - come here to visit me - it's beautiful and I'm getting tired of having it all to myself.

Mount St. Helen's

Today I went to Mt. St Helen's. Kind of a spontaneous trip, I guess.

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier - an active volcano that last erupted 150 years ago. It is 14410 feet above sea level and the tallest of the peaks in the Cascades. It is beautiful but the photo doesn't do it justice. You've got to see it to believe it. And seeing it is harder than you would think because it is often hidden in the clouds and fog. When it isn't hidden people around here say "oh, the mountain is out today".

Road Trip

I did a lot of driving today! After my drive from Texas to Washington I haven't been in much of a hurry to explore. But the sun was shining and it was a perfect day for a road trip. I forgot how relaxing a long drive in beautiful scenery can be.

I took Hwy 101 North in a big loop from Tacoma to the Washington coast and back down again. I put back the sunroof - listened to some music on my ipod and coasted. I had packed a lunch and when I got the beach I ate on the rocks. My first view of the Pacific Ocean. I don't think you can get a good view of the drift wood on the beaches but big stacks of it run as far as your eye can see. It apparently falls down from excessive rain and glacier slides - travels along the rivers that feed into the ocean and then the surf washes it back to the beach. To get down to the water you have to climb over the mushy slippery logs - it's really awkward - I saw one older lady just crawling on her belly to get over them. Unfortunately my manners kept me from taking that picture and posting it here.

What I wish I could convey most and can't through words or pictures are the smells of the day. In the morning it was mist and wood smoke from Saturday morning fires. Through the forests it was of earth and soil and green. Closer to the ocean it was of fresh and cool air. It was my favorite part of the day.

My drive took me through so many different scenes. Mountains, beaches and forests. Past a surprise lake in the Olympic National Forest. I got the chance to hike and saw a huge cedar tree. There were other people out enjoying the views but not too many to make it crowded - mostly just enough to make me feel safe.