Traveler

Like many people in our age group, we are re-living our ”born to be wild ” days,  complete with Harley-Davidson Road King, and all the requisite leather accessories.  Its been a great year  - we have done some cool rides - including a tour of the Mojave Valley/ Palm Springs/Joshua Tree National Park  area , and a recent trip on Going to the Sun road to Glacier National Park in Montana.   By the way, experiencing the majesty of a place like Glacier Park is really intense on a bike. The sights, sounds, smells, feel of the wind and temperature all combine to make an unforgettable experience.  

When we reached the top of Logan Pass (around 7000 ft. elevation), we also reached the continental divide. We stopped at the ranger station and decided to take a 4 mile roundtrip hike to Hidden Lake, which was, of course, hidden - up a hill and over the ridge.

It was a beautiful summer day, and so up we went - in full leathers and boots, no less.  Quite the sight, I am sure, to the Teva and t-shirt crowd coming down the trail. The hike took us up a boardwalk-like  series of stairs for the first 1/2 mile. We climbed along rocky layered outcroppings of the maroon and purple stone called hematite,  graced by drifts of delicate blue and white alpine flowers.

 At the overlook to Hidden Lake, the view was incredible, although I had the almost uncontrollable urge to start twirling and singing ” the hills are alive” …from the Sound of Music. But I thought that might be traumatizing to the other hikers.

The highlight of the trip were several close encounters with mountain goats. At one point, a snowy pair of twin kids scampered by within 2 feet of me, eyeing me with curiosity, while their distrustful mom followed with her hackles up and head down, ready for business. I silently sent “good vibes” and hoped she would understand that I came in peace.

The trip down the mountain was much quicker, of course, and we saw many more goats as we descended to the parking lot with aching feet and burned from the high altitude sun. Back on the bike, we headed down the eastern slope of the mountains, and caught a quick view of a small herd of Big-Horn sheep, laying in the shade.  Although it was an head-turning experience for the two humans whizzing by, for them it was just another fine day up on the Great Divide.

Today Mark and I took our dog, Oz for a walk in one of our favorite places -  along the dike on the South Fork of the Skagit river.  The Skagit Valley is full of walking and cycling opportunities, and this little jewel of an easy walk is one of them.

About a mile into our walk, we pass directly beneath  a gnarled, broken old cottonwood tree that is home to a rambunctious eagle family who make their home in a nest  the size of a Volkswagon bug.  Two hungry chicks are very visible now, and like babies everywhere, they are noisy and very demanding of their industrious parents, who are usually hunting nearby for a tasty duck or  salmon from the nearby river.  I’ve never been able to get this close to an active eagle nest before, especially one with this kind of visibility, and we have taken some incredible photos.

We followed the curve of the rolling river (by some accounts the second largest river on the west coast - only surpassed by the mighty Columbia), marveling at the  incredible volume of water that moves through this river system every day.  

Near our turnaround point, we wander by the South Fork Alpaca farm, where the very curious herd has recently been shorn of their winter coats. The 20-odd members of this gang  -  every color of the alpaca rainbow, including a little espresso colored baby - look really funny in their skinny fur coats and fuzzy, unshaved faces, and they are always very interested in us - particularly Oz - as we walk by.

The 4 mile walk is a very pleasant way to burn some calories, get some sun and relax in the peaceful countryside. To Oz, this place is heaven on earth. I agree, and hope you get a chance to see it some day!  

Workout:

• Type: Walk
• Date: 06/18/2007
• Time: 16:00:00
• Distance: 4 miles

Today Phil introduced me to this new site, and I think it is way cool.  My intention is that participating in  this community will inspire me to do more, in terms of fitness. As a woman of a “certain age” who has never been a fitness freak,  has minor physical challenges  and major body image issues, its all a bit intimidating. But today I went cycling and did about 26 miles on the Centennial trail. I felt great and really enjoyed myself! I am pleased with how good I feel afterward, because I’ve only been on the bike two or three times this year.  I look forward to reading and learning from those who are much farther down the fitness path…..

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 06/02/2007
• Time: 16:00:00
• Total Time: 2:30:00.00
• Distance: 28 miles
• Average Speed: 11.2 mph