Yesterday the girls and I headed up to Stevens Pass for some early season skiing. They had opened on Thursday and the reports were that the snow was good (they had received 24 inches in 24 hours) and the weather was clear and cold.
The first trip down the mountain Kati had a pretty tough time. She was having trouble remembering all the techniques and she was out of control, stopped, or crashing most of the way down. There were lots of tears, and a good bit of angry stomping. If you had been behind me on that first trip down, and saw me headed to back up the lift - you would have either reported me to CPS or thought me a madman. I'd love to say that I knew what was going to happen next, but in truth, my ability to coach my youngest daughter is mirrored by my ability to coach my wife. This time I happened to give Kati one tip - to put her hands on her knees - that she somehow followed and all the muscle memories kicked it. The second trip, and all subsequent trips, were fun and flawless (mostly because I kept my mouth shut and let the girls ski)
Olivia had no problems. She had been up the night before, worried that she wouldn't remember, but her first trip down was memorable only in that she spent an awful lot of time waiting for Kati and I to catch up! She was wedge turning like a pro and flying down the hill whenever she wanted. The girls even found a little trail with a jump that had been cut into the side of one of the runs. Both were catching air (at least that's how they saw it) by the end of the day.
We had a great first day. The girls had a blast, and I did too. I love skiing with my girls as much today as I did last year - and I imagine it will always be that way.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Playdoh FEAST!
In Seattle - big snow means no school. The girls have been home for the better part of the week, Kati has been home the entire week as AM Kindergarten is pretty useless when you start 2 hours late (she would end up being in school for about 30 minutes). The girls have been troopers, playing in the snow, watching movies with Mom and even breaking out some toys that haven't seen a lot of air time in quite a while.
Photo's by Olivia
Photo's by Olivia
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Gingerbread House
Audra snagged a kit at the Safeway this afternoon and proceeded to put it together for the girls to decorate after dinner. Great fun was had by all - and I think some of the candy even ended up on the house!
Friday, November 21, 2008
More MAUI!
Wow what fun we are having in this island paradise! Audra and I went to Hana yesterday, spent the night in a remote shack and drove back today. Good times!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Getting Here!
Wow, long first day. As the previous posts attest we got here safe and sound and had a chance to walk on the beach, go for a swim, and generally enjoy Maui life. Chris & Linda's house is special - the woodwork, the lighting, the spaces - all are amazing. I am really looking forward to kicking back and watching the waves and sunset this trip.
airplane
The complimentary mai tai's will certainly help me be a better traveler. Although on a 6 hour flight it is going to take more than one!
Good times
At the airport
So far so good! We made it here in plenty of time to grab a bite and a cup a jo. Maui here we come!
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Flooded
I love living out here. The proximity of the ocean, the mountains the trails - but about twice a year the Snoqualmie River floods and messes up traffic in a very serious way. It's been pouring for 5 days and, like clockwork - the river overflows its banks.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Pick up
Apparently somone has been leaving all their shoes around the house.... 
a subtle reminder to pick up my stuff.
a subtle reminder to pick up my stuff.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Manhattan
Manhattans! It is cold outside. It is raining - nay it is pouring - NAY it is coming down so hard that the newsman asked us not to use our washing machines, our dishwashers nor our toilets (that is if you are having a rather bad spell) It is November in Seattle; time for flood warnings, time for going to work in the dark - coming home in the dark, time when its not so much the Emerald City as a cold, dark, damp metropolis. Time to fully understand the real reason Lewis&Clark called their westernmost camp Cape Disappointment. The clouds are oppressive, the rain is unceasing, the inky blackness consuming. Why do I live here again?
The Manhattan shines a bright bourbon scented light into the brutal sky. Chill two glasses, fill a boston shaker with ice and add to it:
2 Parts Bourbon
1/2 Part Sweet Vermouth (or one part if you like 'em sweeter)
a dash of Bitters
Shake it up and let it sit for a moment while you add a couple maraschino cherries and a splash of the juice to the glass.
Pour and enjoy.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Halloween
Spooky times in the neighborhood last night. First I took Olivia and Kati down to visit Paige, Tessa, Lauren, Brooke and Chloe - oh sorry - I took Glenda and Dorothy down to visit a Pop star, a purple haired witch, another witch, a tiger and Hannah Montana.
After that we did a run around the neighborhood just to make sure we'll have candy until the cows come home.
After that we did a run around the neighborhood just to make sure we'll have candy until the cows come home.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Pumpkins!
While I was in Lewiston visiting my folks last week Audra picked up a couple pumpkins for the girls. Tonight we had them first draw their design on a piece of paper and then, once they were satisfied, we marked up the front of the pumpkin. Pumpkin carving has gotten a whole lot easier once we figured out we could use a drywall saw to do the carving instead of a butcher knife. The butcher knife technique always made me feel like I was just a couple milliseconds from losing a finger, or five. The drywall saw goes through the pumpkin like a hot knife through butter!
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
GOOOOOAAAL!
Kati has only one thing on her mind when she plays soccer.... SCORE.
Last night she was a little powerhouse, Audra stopped counting her scores at 8 - we figure she got at least 10. At this age Olivia was a good little goal scorer too, I recall one game where she had 6 but Olivia never scored in the manner that Kati scores. Olivia would (and still does) take a ball off the edge, kick it to free space dribble it down and blast a good shot, Kati flat just blows it up.
From the sound of the whistle she attacks, driving through the little scrum of 6 five-year-olds and usually (last night every) coming out with the ball and once she has a view she is GONE. Kati keeps the ball close and has very good sense of where she is on the field - this is a tough thing at this age. Last night she had one play where she blew up the scrum near mid field, took the ball to the corner, stopped, brought it in to the goal (going through 2 or 3 five-year-olds twice her size in the process) and banged it home.
I was ref-ing the game last night and could hear an audible sigh from the opposing side each time Kati would get the ball. I think I even heard it on substitutions when Kati would come in to the game. Needless to say we are very proud of our little powerhouse.
Last night she was a little powerhouse, Audra stopped counting her scores at 8 - we figure she got at least 10. At this age Olivia was a good little goal scorer too, I recall one game where she had 6 but Olivia never scored in the manner that Kati scores. Olivia would (and still does) take a ball off the edge, kick it to free space dribble it down and blast a good shot, Kati flat just blows it up.
From the sound of the whistle she attacks, driving through the little scrum of 6 five-year-olds and usually (last night every) coming out with the ball and once she has a view she is GONE. Kati keeps the ball close and has very good sense of where she is on the field - this is a tough thing at this age. Last night she had one play where she blew up the scrum near mid field, took the ball to the corner, stopped, brought it in to the goal (going through 2 or 3 five-year-olds twice her size in the process) and banged it home.
I was ref-ing the game last night and could hear an audible sigh from the opposing side each time Kati would get the ball. I think I even heard it on substitutions when Kati would come in to the game. Needless to say we are very proud of our little powerhouse.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Disneyland continued...
Click your heels three times and you'll get home...oh, wrong story. We know we've had a good time when our girls don't want to go home and sleep in their own beds. They really loved Disneyland! We rode almost every ride in both parks with the exception of the Tower of Terror, California Screamin' and the Grizzly River Run. Both girls loved all the roller coasters with the exception of Space Mountain. I really didn't remember the ride until it started going or I wouldn't have taken them on it. Both were crying by the time we got off (probably because of all my screaming). We hit the pool each afternoon and enjoyed the low 80's sunshine. Several of the nights we were all in bed by 8:30. The girls and I are already planning our next trip...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Rides!
The girls had lots of fun on the rides, the favorite coaster had to be between Mulholland Madness over at California Adventure and Thunder Mountain in Disneyland. Aud used our little camera to capture a video of Mulholland Madness - by the way, that scream/giggle you hear from Audra at the first big drop is the exact sound she made the entire ride of the Space Mountain coaster. Good Times
Disneyland
We flew down Tuesday morning and hit the park running. By the time it was all said and done we had ridden every ride we wanted to and several more than once, seen just about all the princesses and played in the pool till we were pruned.
There are 51 pictures in this slideshow so go ahead, hit pause and go get yourself something to drink and come back and watch the show.
There are 51 pictures in this slideshow so go ahead, hit pause and go get yourself something to drink and come back and watch the show.
Friday, September 19, 2008
First Day of School
Kati got to ride the Bus! Both girls are really loving school again this year. They can't wait to go each morning. Olivia is a 2nd grader this year and with Kati in 1/2 day Kindergarten Audra was hoping for a moment of respite - but with PTSA's Membership drive she hasn't had much time to herself.
Soccer is in full swing
One of the key reasons I'm so far behind on my blogging is Soccer. Starting just after we got back from the camping trip we've had either practice or a game four nights a week. Olivia's U8 Girls team, the Avalanche, plays on Mondays and Wednesdays and Kati's Team Pugg (that I'm co-coaching) plays every Tuesday and Thursday. While the schedule is a bit stiff, the girls are really enjoying it. We've had a wonderful spell of Indian Summer here the past few weeks that has kept the spirits up (and the players dry). We'll play until the 15th or so of October - since the games start at 6:00pm it will be getting pretty dark by the time the games end.
Lake Wenatchee Camping Trip
Wow - someone stepped on the gas near the middle of August and we haven't had a chance to take a breath since. Luckily we have been taking a few pictures of our activities or I wouldn't have a clue what we did!
The last hot week of summer we took a camping trip to Lake Wenatchee for 3 glorious days. Like our camping trip to Birch Bay earlier in the summer, this trip was with several of the families that we hang out with on a regular basis. As a kid, can you imagine the fun that results in going camping with ALL your friends? The girls were on their bikes at sun-up, in the lake as soon as the morning mountain air warmed up and exploring the woods in between. We cleaned their filthy faces and they collapsed into bed each night with grins so wide you'd think it was Christmas Eve.
A couple of the dads notched a small downed tree between two trees which wedged itself into a perfect natural teeter totter. The Ranger was quite impressed by the ingenuity - but I tend to think other kids must have tried it - they just didn't have the sheer mass of 5-12 year olds required to move the thing. Of course it turned into a battle - who could get the most weight on their side.
There is a small lake at the south western tip of Lake Wenatchee that requires a short hike of about 1/3 of a mile. 2 years ago this hike took quite a while - we were hiking with a 3 and 5 year old - but this year we were at the top and in the lake in about 10 minutes. This lake was considerably cooler than Lake Wenatchee and gave me fond memories of the cold, clear and deep waters of Spirit lake outside of Rathdrum in northern Idaho. The cold water felt good, the hike was short but the temps were touching the mid 90's. These waters held a tremendous number of small fish - I suppose they were baby trout - that would nibble at just about anything that came there way. A piece of bread from a lightly touched PB&J was set upon like we were at a Koi pond.
Not all the fun was had by the little ones. I pulled together my friends Mike and Greg to ride one of the great trails in Washington. Devil's Gulch rises nearly 3500 feet from the trail head to the top of the Mission Ridge Trail over about 11 miles of climbing. The trail is in great shape as it carves and climbs its way through the gulch crossing several streams on the way up. Most of the time you're pretty sheltered but on occasion the trail is benched into the side of the canyon and the drop is pretty significant. Blind exposed switchbacks and steep side hills will certainly get your blood going! The descent of the Ridge Trail will leave you hammered, puckered and breathless. The pitch and exposure are relentless - the aptly named Ridge Trail follows several ridges, sometimes riding the knife edge, as you plummet back to the valley floor. In several places its hard to believe that you really climbed this high? The trail is primarily used as a climbing trail for moto's - there is no way to climb it on a Mountain Bike - and I think the next time we ride out there we'll be sure to climb the road and descend Devils Gulch avoiding the Ridge Trail all together. All told the 17mile ride took just under 5 hours and offered up 3800 feet total of climbing.
The last hot week of summer we took a camping trip to Lake Wenatchee for 3 glorious days. Like our camping trip to Birch Bay earlier in the summer, this trip was with several of the families that we hang out with on a regular basis. As a kid, can you imagine the fun that results in going camping with ALL your friends? The girls were on their bikes at sun-up, in the lake as soon as the morning mountain air warmed up and exploring the woods in between. We cleaned their filthy faces and they collapsed into bed each night with grins so wide you'd think it was Christmas Eve.
A couple of the dads notched a small downed tree between two trees which wedged itself into a perfect natural teeter totter. The Ranger was quite impressed by the ingenuity - but I tend to think other kids must have tried it - they just didn't have the sheer mass of 5-12 year olds required to move the thing. Of course it turned into a battle - who could get the most weight on their side.
There is a small lake at the south western tip of Lake Wenatchee that requires a short hike of about 1/3 of a mile. 2 years ago this hike took quite a while - we were hiking with a 3 and 5 year old - but this year we were at the top and in the lake in about 10 minutes. This lake was considerably cooler than Lake Wenatchee and gave me fond memories of the cold, clear and deep waters of Spirit lake outside of Rathdrum in northern Idaho. The cold water felt good, the hike was short but the temps were touching the mid 90's. These waters held a tremendous number of small fish - I suppose they were baby trout - that would nibble at just about anything that came there way. A piece of bread from a lightly touched PB&J was set upon like we were at a Koi pond.
Not all the fun was had by the little ones. I pulled together my friends Mike and Greg to ride one of the great trails in Washington. Devil's Gulch rises nearly 3500 feet from the trail head to the top of the Mission Ridge Trail over about 11 miles of climbing. The trail is in great shape as it carves and climbs its way through the gulch crossing several streams on the way up. Most of the time you're pretty sheltered but on occasion the trail is benched into the side of the canyon and the drop is pretty significant. Blind exposed switchbacks and steep side hills will certainly get your blood going! The descent of the Ridge Trail will leave you hammered, puckered and breathless. The pitch and exposure are relentless - the aptly named Ridge Trail follows several ridges, sometimes riding the knife edge, as you plummet back to the valley floor. In several places its hard to believe that you really climbed this high? The trail is primarily used as a climbing trail for moto's - there is no way to climb it on a Mountain Bike - and I think the next time we ride out there we'll be sure to climb the road and descend Devils Gulch avoiding the Ridge Trail all together. All told the 17mile ride took just under 5 hours and offered up 3800 feet total of climbing.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Dunk
How can you imagine! Two little girls. Two beautiful little girls that absolutely love their dear old dad. We go swimming in my parents pool and they swim gently over to say hello. To float quietly next to their dear old dad - to hop up on the air mattress - and HEY WAIT A MINUTE!
The little smiling urchins dunked me!
The little smiling urchins dunked me!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Gramma Camp and the 40th
Will write more later on the activities - but the girls had a great time hanging out at the farm and down in Lewiston and attending Bob & Judy's 40th Anniversary Celebration.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Big Girl Haircuts
Both girls have been really wanting major haircuts! So our friend Char had us over for a haircut party in her new salon. The girls got the royal treatment: shampoo bowl, elevated chair and big mirror. Liv went first and had about 7 inches taken off. Kati had 6 inches or so cut off. Char used the hairdryer and styled their hair beautifully. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it look that pretty again but after showers the other night I gave it a quick dry and flip with the brush. We've been quite successful with the styling and the girls love the feel of their new do's on the back of their neck. Too cute!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Commute Ride Report
Great ride yesterday after work. This time I chose a different route home from Seattle to Duvall - avoiding all the pitfalls that befell me the last time. On Monday I rode north through the city, grabbing the western terminus of the Burke-Gilman Trail and riding all the way to 124th in between Woodinville and Redmond. From there I had a steep climb up and over 124th to Avondale, another climb over Old Woodinville Duvall Road and finally the last pitch up the hill in downtown Duvall - Stevenson. All in all its 38.15 miles, took 2:34 and I burned 2350 kCal according to the heart rate monitor. The weather was perfect and I took some additional precautions after my last debacle:
1) I made sure to EAT something substantial for lunch - last time I had a little salad, this time I had a couple sandwiches, a cup of soup and big chocolate chip cookie.
2) I didn't wear my backpack. I usually ride home with all my clothes stuffed in my Ortlieb Velocity backpack. The pack is small enough to not be a hassle and big enough to carry laptop when necessary. AND its waterproof - something pretty keen for the crap-sandwich Seattle weather.
3) I packed extra water - last time I ran out before the last climb up Big Rock Road.
4) I used my heart rate monitor as a governor, keeping my heart rate under 150 while I was on the trail made sure I had enough left in the tank for the three big climbs at the end of the road.
Once I got home I celebrated with home made pie (Audra made an Apple-Rhubarb and a Strawberry-Rhubarb pie for fathers day) and a bottle of Redhook Sun Rye (ok so maybe two bottles - but hey I was replacing valuable fluids!)
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1) I made sure to EAT something substantial for lunch - last time I had a little salad, this time I had a couple sandwiches, a cup of soup and big chocolate chip cookie.
2) I didn't wear my backpack. I usually ride home with all my clothes stuffed in my Ortlieb Velocity backpack. The pack is small enough to not be a hassle and big enough to carry laptop when necessary. AND its waterproof - something pretty keen for the crap-sandwich Seattle weather.
3) I packed extra water - last time I ran out before the last climb up Big Rock Road.
4) I used my heart rate monitor as a governor, keeping my heart rate under 150 while I was on the trail made sure I had enough left in the tank for the three big climbs at the end of the road.
Once I got home I celebrated with home made pie (Audra made an Apple-Rhubarb and a Strawberry-Rhubarb pie for fathers day) and a bottle of Redhook Sun Rye (ok so maybe two bottles - but hey I was replacing valuable fluids!)
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Friday, June 13, 2008
My ride to Olivia's game in Snoqualmie:
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Ended up being about 23 miles and roughly 860 feet of elevation gain. With all the rain the ferns and trees along the trail are verdant green. It's like riding through a green tunnel in several places. Absolutely amazing. On the way up to Snoqualmie falls the trail goes over 2 spans that are breathtaking. The trail must be 300 feet above the valley floor and the views down the gorge are astounding.
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Ended up being about 23 miles and roughly 860 feet of elevation gain. With all the rain the ferns and trees along the trail are verdant green. It's like riding through a green tunnel in several places. Absolutely amazing. On the way up to Snoqualmie falls the trail goes over 2 spans that are breathtaking. The trail must be 300 feet above the valley floor and the views down the gorge are astounding.
Switch Hitting!
Olivia picked up the bat last week for practice and started hitting balls left handed. She didn't even realize she was doing anything different, she just happened to take a left handed stance at first. Audra reminded her of it last night, and coach Kevin overheard so he offered to pitch 3 balls to her left handed. If she didn't get a hit, she would have to switch back - Liv took the first ball and slapped it down the 3rd base line!
Monday, June 09, 2008
Lake Margaret Ride
If you like to earn your descent you would love this area! The three trails mentiond below: YGD is You're Going Down and SnT is Sick and Twisted and Funner is, well, Funner. YGD is a technical descent with some fast parts, some wicked drops and a couple exposed switch backs to keep you honest. SnT is just plain stupid fast twisting single track. When its dry you can really fly. Funner is a brand new technical descent we just got through helping my buddy Bob build, its fun now but its going to be amazing once it packs in!
There are several creeks that pour out of or around lake Margaret. With all the rain these things have been huge! And that sucks if you end up on the wrong side of them.
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Randy and I rode from the house out the pipline trial to 322nd, down the hill to Kelly Road and then took the right on to 151st. Things were going well until I decided to take a right and climb instead of a left and descend at the T. So we climbed and climbed, descended for a quick bit and then got back to climbing until we hit a clear cut and realized we were on the wrong ridge. No matter, we just shot back down and headed across the little bridge and up that road to the trail that cuts through, or I guess used to cut through, the two big rocks and made our way back to the middle road. The trip between the rocks has been re-routed.
We then climbed up the road that borders Funner and got on the wrong side of the creek up at the blow out. I knew it would still be high, but I wanted to see the new trail Bob cut in around the wash out and I really figured we could just hop across.... Right. It was doable, but we had to improvise a bit. We pulled some of the downed logs from the road and laid them across the rocks, I imagine they'll be gone by the next rain, but it allowed us the one step we needed to get to the other side. We were running out of time now, our little diversion to the clear cut took about 40 minutes, so we just headed up to YGD and out SnT.
Mileage- about 16
Ride Time - 2hr 40min
Calories - 2100
Two other notables for those of you that have ridden out here:
1- we met up with the guy that guides horse trips as we were making our way back to the middle road, he was coming off the trail on to the road there by the two big rocks you used to be able to ride between. We were stopped anyway, orienting, but man did he give me the hairy eyeball, even turned around in his saddle to keep eyeballin me as they rode down around the corner there. I just waived politely, smiled, and wished them a good ride.
2- when we were making our way across the creek we could see fresh debris in the trees ABOVE our heads, too much rain I guess.
There are several creeks that pour out of or around lake Margaret. With all the rain these things have been huge! And that sucks if you end up on the wrong side of them.
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Randy and I rode from the house out the pipline trial to 322nd, down the hill to Kelly Road and then took the right on to 151st. Things were going well until I decided to take a right and climb instead of a left and descend at the T. So we climbed and climbed, descended for a quick bit and then got back to climbing until we hit a clear cut and realized we were on the wrong ridge. No matter, we just shot back down and headed across the little bridge and up that road to the trail that cuts through, or I guess used to cut through, the two big rocks and made our way back to the middle road. The trip between the rocks has been re-routed.
We then climbed up the road that borders Funner and got on the wrong side of the creek up at the blow out. I knew it would still be high, but I wanted to see the new trail Bob cut in around the wash out and I really figured we could just hop across.... Right. It was doable, but we had to improvise a bit. We pulled some of the downed logs from the road and laid them across the rocks, I imagine they'll be gone by the next rain, but it allowed us the one step we needed to get to the other side. We were running out of time now, our little diversion to the clear cut took about 40 minutes, so we just headed up to YGD and out SnT.
Mileage- about 16
Ride Time - 2hr 40min
Calories - 2100
Two other notables for those of you that have ridden out here:
1- we met up with the guy that guides horse trips as we were making our way back to the middle road, he was coming off the trail on to the road there by the two big rocks you used to be able to ride between. We were stopped anyway, orienting, but man did he give me the hairy eyeball, even turned around in his saddle to keep eyeballin me as they rode down around the corner there. I just waived politely, smiled, and wished them a good ride.
2- when we were making our way across the creek we could see fresh debris in the trees ABOVE our heads, too much rain I guess.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Carbon Footprint - 11kg or 2234kCal
Yesterday I left my car at home. I rode my bike down to the bus stop in Duvall and caught the 311 in to the city at 6:47am. Before I left the house I made Audra promise that she would come get me if I missed the bus. There is about 500 feet of elevation between downtown Duvall and my house and although I've climbed it numerous times I was not interested in getting my natty work clothes all sweaty - especially at 6:47am. Audra was asleep when she made the promise - so I'm really glad that I didn't have to make that call.
The one hour 7 minute ride in was uneventful. I sat near the front to keep a watchful eye on my bike as we made the trip through the dangerous upper middle class hamlets of Cottage Lake, Woodinville and finally Kirkland before heading across the lake on Highway 520. I got off at my new normal spot - at Stewart and Denny - and commenced to play tag with the downtown morning traffic. After pulling my bike off the bus, strapping on my backpack and buckling my helmet I head down Stewart to the bus alley (aka 3rd Street) make a left and head down the hill to my building at 3rd and Madison. The trip down 3rd street is pretty nice as only buses, cyclists and the occasional cop are allowed during peak commute times. Alternatively, I sometimes see cyclists on 5th street when I ride the bus all the way in and I scratch my head at this. 5th street is typically PACKED in the mornings - buses, delivery trucks and cars all packed in 3 wide, all looking weaving in and out as folks make their way to work. You have to have some serious thrill issues to ride that route to work.
Round about 4:00 I shut down my computer and geared up for the commute home.
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The first 20 miles of the commute is grand. My normal route through downtown, across the I90 bridge, over Mercer Island, up through Bellevue and down in to Redmond is primarily on surface streets through neighborhoods; no drama, no pensive moments, no enraged Escalade driving soccer moms late for practice talking on their cell phones, just an easy ride. It takes me about an hour twenty to complete and I've taken to keeping a frosty cold beverage in a little cooler in my Jeep to celebrate the end of the ride - no not THAT kind of beverage(that one is reserved for when I'm safely home)- just a nalgene full of cold water or Gatorade. My point is that my standard route from Seattle to Redmond is nice and I look forward to it. Even on crappy weather days, its a far better thing to be spinning along in the wind and rain than stuffed in a bus. On the really wet days the buses tend to smell like wet dog... not good. The last 11 miles are a different story all together.
My standard route from Redmond to Duvall is miserable. I have two other routes I'm temped to try, but they have their shortcomings as well. As far as I can tell, there just wasn't supposed to be as many people living up on Redmond Ridge or out in Duvall/Carnation/Monroe. Because, you see, if there were supposed to be this many people living out here, then OBVIOUSLY the roads would have been modified to accommodate them. There wouldn't be a stop and go line of cars from the end of 520 to the top of Redmond Ridge. There wouldn't be a dark savage winding narrow two lane plummet from the top of the ridge to the Snoqualmie River valley floor. There wouldn't be several stretches of menacing blackberries seeking their pound of flesh on a shoulder less road.
The excitement starts shortly after leaving the safety of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail just east of Redmond Town Center. Here you are forced to jump in to 45mph bumper to bumper 2 lane traffic and cross an old set of train tracks before stopping at the light at Redmond Way. After crossing Redmond way traffic is funneled into a narrow 2 land alley-turned-road up to the intersection with Avondale. This is one of the really fun parts - 5 lanes of constant traffic, no bike lane, several feeder streets that splits at Union Hill road so you have cars weaving in and out to either make or miss the exit. As a cyclist it feels like a luge - you jump out of the saddle at the intersection of 170th and Avondale, take the left lane and hug the center turn lane so cars can get around. If you take the normal slot right lane against the curb your going to have to navigate all the cars nosing into the road trying to find a spot long enough to pull out into traffic without getting hit, also you're going to have to cross traffic and change lanes at the split - neither activity is especially pleasing so I park it in the left lane and stomp.
Once on Avondale proper (after the split to Union Hill road) things calm down a bit. The road has a full bike lane and enough cyclist traffic to keep the cars honest. The trouble from here to the top of Redmond ridge is the constant stop and go traffic. There is always a car next to you either idling, inching along, or roaring up to close a gap. On the flat this isn't so bad but when the road starts to climb this really sucks. The climb up to the top of Redmond ridge is a stout 4 miles with about 500 feet of elevation gain, mostly concentrated in 3 1/4 mile pitches of upwards of 11%. For a fat guy like me - that's plenty steep enough to get me sucking wind, and with the constant traffic, sucking fumes. It takes me about 18 minutes to get from the bottom of the hill to the top. At the top things once again open up - new road, plenty of bike lane and about a mile of downhill.
Normally I would look forward to this fast swooping downhill run to the valley floor. Is it fast - absolutely, are there cars - yep, in front and behind you, is it swoopy - not really. According to the Washington State DOT this section of road sees in excess of 40,000 vehicles per day. 40,000 cars, vans, pickups, dump-trucks, buses and moving vans really tear up pavement. If you look up at the map you'll see a little bend in the road just up the hill from West Snoqualmie Valley Road. On the map it doesn't look all that dramatic, you really wouldn't give it a second glance but in reality its a torn up 20mph off camber corner that in a car forces you to hit the brakes pretty hard and crank around. The pavement is grooved here as it helps funnel the water away when it rains - the cuts are too small to affect the large contact patch of a car tire, or really even a motorcycle - but damn do they get your heart started on a bicycle. At the bottom of the hill you have to navigate about 500 yards of what is essentially a single lane paved road that's been turned into two lanes. You can't get too close to the edge as the blackberries are encroaching into the open space of the roadway - hit one of those thick barbed branches at 20mph and you'll need stitches.
124th across the valley is a blessing, wide, flat with a good bike lane. If the road was like this all the way to Redmond I might do this more often! Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and this one ends at highway 203. It's only a mile from 124th to the Safeway parking lot - but a mile on a full fledged freeway is one mile too many for this kid. Once on this road I was passed by 5 dump-trucks pulling pup trailers - in a row. Oh- and I saw God, he told me to get off the road. So instead I grab the rails-to-trails gravel path that parallels 203 and ride that up to the access road below Safeway. The final grunt is up Big Rock Road - the same one I didn't want to climb at 6:47am is now directly in front of me roughly twelve hours later.
All in all my heart rate monitor told me I burned 2234 calories in the 2:15 it took me to navigate the 31 miles. For reference, 2234 calories is the equivalent of:
15 Twinkies
4 Big Mac's
20 Bud Light's
6 cups of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream.
For fun I thought about what my carbon footprint typically is for my round trip to Redmond when I take the bus both ways - it figures out to be around 12kg of CO2. Based on my trip from Duvall to Redmond - I'm going to have to find a better way to save both the $4.50 in gas as well as the 12kg of CO2.
The one hour 7 minute ride in was uneventful. I sat near the front to keep a watchful eye on my bike as we made the trip through the dangerous upper middle class hamlets of Cottage Lake, Woodinville and finally Kirkland before heading across the lake on Highway 520. I got off at my new normal spot - at Stewart and Denny - and commenced to play tag with the downtown morning traffic. After pulling my bike off the bus, strapping on my backpack and buckling my helmet I head down Stewart to the bus alley (aka 3rd Street) make a left and head down the hill to my building at 3rd and Madison. The trip down 3rd street is pretty nice as only buses, cyclists and the occasional cop are allowed during peak commute times. Alternatively, I sometimes see cyclists on 5th street when I ride the bus all the way in and I scratch my head at this. 5th street is typically PACKED in the mornings - buses, delivery trucks and cars all packed in 3 wide, all looking weaving in and out as folks make their way to work. You have to have some serious thrill issues to ride that route to work.
Round about 4:00 I shut down my computer and geared up for the commute home.
View Larger Map
The first 20 miles of the commute is grand. My normal route through downtown, across the I90 bridge, over Mercer Island, up through Bellevue and down in to Redmond is primarily on surface streets through neighborhoods; no drama, no pensive moments, no enraged Escalade driving soccer moms late for practice talking on their cell phones, just an easy ride. It takes me about an hour twenty to complete and I've taken to keeping a frosty cold beverage in a little cooler in my Jeep to celebrate the end of the ride - no not THAT kind of beverage(that one is reserved for when I'm safely home)- just a nalgene full of cold water or Gatorade. My point is that my standard route from Seattle to Redmond is nice and I look forward to it. Even on crappy weather days, its a far better thing to be spinning along in the wind and rain than stuffed in a bus. On the really wet days the buses tend to smell like wet dog... not good. The last 11 miles are a different story all together.
My standard route from Redmond to Duvall is miserable. I have two other routes I'm temped to try, but they have their shortcomings as well. As far as I can tell, there just wasn't supposed to be as many people living up on Redmond Ridge or out in Duvall/Carnation/Monroe. Because, you see, if there were supposed to be this many people living out here, then OBVIOUSLY the roads would have been modified to accommodate them. There wouldn't be a stop and go line of cars from the end of 520 to the top of Redmond Ridge. There wouldn't be a dark savage winding narrow two lane plummet from the top of the ridge to the Snoqualmie River valley floor. There wouldn't be several stretches of menacing blackberries seeking their pound of flesh on a shoulder less road.
The excitement starts shortly after leaving the safety of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail just east of Redmond Town Center. Here you are forced to jump in to 45mph bumper to bumper 2 lane traffic and cross an old set of train tracks before stopping at the light at Redmond Way. After crossing Redmond way traffic is funneled into a narrow 2 land alley-turned-road up to the intersection with Avondale. This is one of the really fun parts - 5 lanes of constant traffic, no bike lane, several feeder streets that splits at Union Hill road so you have cars weaving in and out to either make or miss the exit. As a cyclist it feels like a luge - you jump out of the saddle at the intersection of 170th and Avondale, take the left lane and hug the center turn lane so cars can get around. If you take the normal slot right lane against the curb your going to have to navigate all the cars nosing into the road trying to find a spot long enough to pull out into traffic without getting hit, also you're going to have to cross traffic and change lanes at the split - neither activity is especially pleasing so I park it in the left lane and stomp.
Once on Avondale proper (after the split to Union Hill road) things calm down a bit. The road has a full bike lane and enough cyclist traffic to keep the cars honest. The trouble from here to the top of Redmond ridge is the constant stop and go traffic. There is always a car next to you either idling, inching along, or roaring up to close a gap. On the flat this isn't so bad but when the road starts to climb this really sucks. The climb up to the top of Redmond ridge is a stout 4 miles with about 500 feet of elevation gain, mostly concentrated in 3 1/4 mile pitches of upwards of 11%. For a fat guy like me - that's plenty steep enough to get me sucking wind, and with the constant traffic, sucking fumes. It takes me about 18 minutes to get from the bottom of the hill to the top. At the top things once again open up - new road, plenty of bike lane and about a mile of downhill.
Normally I would look forward to this fast swooping downhill run to the valley floor. Is it fast - absolutely, are there cars - yep, in front and behind you, is it swoopy - not really. According to the Washington State DOT this section of road sees in excess of 40,000 vehicles per day. 40,000 cars, vans, pickups, dump-trucks, buses and moving vans really tear up pavement. If you look up at the map you'll see a little bend in the road just up the hill from West Snoqualmie Valley Road. On the map it doesn't look all that dramatic, you really wouldn't give it a second glance but in reality its a torn up 20mph off camber corner that in a car forces you to hit the brakes pretty hard and crank around. The pavement is grooved here as it helps funnel the water away when it rains - the cuts are too small to affect the large contact patch of a car tire, or really even a motorcycle - but damn do they get your heart started on a bicycle. At the bottom of the hill you have to navigate about 500 yards of what is essentially a single lane paved road that's been turned into two lanes. You can't get too close to the edge as the blackberries are encroaching into the open space of the roadway - hit one of those thick barbed branches at 20mph and you'll need stitches.
124th across the valley is a blessing, wide, flat with a good bike lane. If the road was like this all the way to Redmond I might do this more often! Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and this one ends at highway 203. It's only a mile from 124th to the Safeway parking lot - but a mile on a full fledged freeway is one mile too many for this kid. Once on this road I was passed by 5 dump-trucks pulling pup trailers - in a row. Oh- and I saw God, he told me to get off the road. So instead I grab the rails-to-trails gravel path that parallels 203 and ride that up to the access road below Safeway. The final grunt is up Big Rock Road - the same one I didn't want to climb at 6:47am is now directly in front of me roughly twelve hours later.
All in all my heart rate monitor told me I burned 2234 calories in the 2:15 it took me to navigate the 31 miles. For reference, 2234 calories is the equivalent of:
15 Twinkies
4 Big Mac's
20 Bud Light's
6 cups of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream.
For fun I thought about what my carbon footprint typically is for my round trip to Redmond when I take the bus both ways - it figures out to be around 12kg of CO2. Based on my trip from Duvall to Redmond - I'm going to have to find a better way to save both the $4.50 in gas as well as the 12kg of CO2.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Geocaching
The girls and I headed out to an area that I roam frequently on my mountain bike for a stroll in the sun. We were headed to a bridge over Margaret Creek and whatever treasures lay inside the geo. We had a great time checking the depth of the puddles with our sticks, chasing purple butterflies, and bounding around the woods like deer. I really enjoy these quick adventures and the girls do too -
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Travis' Birthday
Today we headed north to the Tulips. The weather was miserable but that has been the norm this spring so we paid it no mind - just bundled up and headed to Mt Vernon. Originally I had grand visions for this day - that we would stroll through the glorious fields, have a picnic lunch of wine and cheese amidst the flowers before hopping on a ferry in Anacortes to spend the night under the stars camping at Spencer Spit state park on Lopez Island....
right.
The wind howling and snow immanent there was no languorous stroll - double that for the wine and cheese. We hustled through Roozengarde's show gardens, stopping briefly to shoot a few pictures of girls in front of the flowers. From there we swung south to one of the fields you can walk through. The tulips were beautiful, but as you can see in the pictures the colors are a bit muted by the grey skies and the frigid temps. No matter, we walked briskly and made it back to the van with rosy cheeks and runny noses. A family vote resulted in our heading out of the fields and back to town for some lunch at the local micro brew joint. The Skagit River Brewing Company is located right next to a set of busy train tracks and the girls were thrilled at the trains rumbling past. After lunch we strolled a bit and happened to be outside when one of the trains thundered past - the girls loved it - Audra was thrilled there was a fence between us and the train!
We got home just in front of the weather and were cozily watching Night At The Museum while the snow fell outside. I'm not sure I've ever had snow on my birtday before - shows there can still be surprises, even at 38.
So happy birthday to me -
right.
The wind howling and snow immanent there was no languorous stroll - double that for the wine and cheese. We hustled through Roozengarde's show gardens, stopping briefly to shoot a few pictures of girls in front of the flowers. From there we swung south to one of the fields you can walk through. The tulips were beautiful, but as you can see in the pictures the colors are a bit muted by the grey skies and the frigid temps. No matter, we walked briskly and made it back to the van with rosy cheeks and runny noses. A family vote resulted in our heading out of the fields and back to town for some lunch at the local micro brew joint. The Skagit River Brewing Company is located right next to a set of busy train tracks and the girls were thrilled at the trains rumbling past. After lunch we strolled a bit and happened to be outside when one of the trains thundered past - the girls loved it - Audra was thrilled there was a fence between us and the train!
We got home just in front of the weather and were cozily watching Night At The Museum while the snow fell outside. I'm not sure I've ever had snow on my birtday before - shows there can still be surprises, even at 38.
So happy birthday to me -
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday Ski Trip!
We had a great day up on the mountain. I love skiing with my girls.
Kati
Both Together!
Kati
Both Together!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Monroe Quilt Show
Audra and her folks, Bob and Judy Callison, ventured 10 miles north to Monroe to see a quilt show on Sunday afternoon. Audra took some pic's of the one's she really liked.
Happy Birthday Kati!
Kati turned 5 (and now gets to be taller) on Saturday. She wanted to go eat at our local Mexican joint Xtapa where they sing and take your picture. Good times!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Weekend
Our Saturday consisted of a Girls Day Out and I eventually got my duff off the couch and went for a spring pedal with my friend Pete. Audra took the girls and her friend Char(lotte) + her daughter and Kati’s partner in crime Meghan to Redmond Town Center for lunch and then on to the 2nd Story Repertory production of Cinderella wonderfully done with the two stepsisters (Obnoxia and Repulsia in drag) We all arrived back at the ranch at about the same time for Idaho sirloins, fresh aspergrass and a glass of red wine as well. Good times now that I’m back on the mend.
Sunday was church in the morning followed by a romp in the woods on my mountain bike with my friend Scott and then a 3 hour adventure to the City with Audra and the girls. I needed to exchange a shirt I got from Outdoor Research and the store just ain’t that convenient. Its located on
Friday, March 07, 2008
Pretzels!
Homemade pretzels were the fun and the dinner tonight. We made the recipe from Alton Brown"s Good Eats episode Pretzel Logic
Olivia ponders the O for Olivia - good pretzel letter.
How much salt can I put on there Daddy?
I think I'm going to eat the BIGGEST one first!
A little egg wash to help in the browning and to hold on to the salt. And finally the finished product
Olivia ponders the O for Olivia - good pretzel letter.
How much salt can I put on there Daddy?
I think I'm going to eat the BIGGEST one first!
A little egg wash to help in the browning and to hold on to the salt. And finally the finished product
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Looks like the Fultons bought themselves an RV
Well, a Coleman Cheyenne folding tent trailer to be more specific. Or you can check the website here to get a better look at the layout and the specifics.
Here's to hopin' the old Jeep will be able to hump it over the pass at least once, or maybe this will be our "goin to the ocean" trailer! Good times are a waitin!
Here's to hopin' the old Jeep will be able to hump it over the pass at least once, or maybe this will be our "goin to the ocean" trailer! Good times are a waitin!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Wii Boxing!
We got ourselves a Wii yesterday. Its a whole lot of fun. This little video shows the girls boxing!
YARD WORK
Yes capitalized. Audra tried to break me today.
We moved the tulip tree from the front yard to the new front garden bed. Hopefully the beautiful blossoms will last a bit longer now that it has some protection from the April wind and rain.
Then Audra got crazy and decided that we needed to pull out all the burning bushes along the south side of the house. Good times. She called our friends the Flynts and asked if they would take them - "sure!" so out they came.
Lastly we - uhm, I - dug out all the grass along the south side of the patio and proceeded to dig two holes. Like everywhere else, the yard would not give up the holes without a fight. I'm convinced my back yard used to be a crickbed. So it was a few scrapes across the top and then to the pick ax. Man do I love that pick ax. A few hearty swings into the ground, a few hundred stones broken loose and before you know it. Your back is smoked and you want to sit down. OR you haul out the two lilacs that are too close together (and twice the size of you) and put them into those well earned holes.
The weather was perfect for hard yard work. 55 and sunny. All in all a good start to the yard here in February. For some reason I think I should be doing something other than yard work in February -
We moved the tulip tree from the front yard to the new front garden bed. Hopefully the beautiful blossoms will last a bit longer now that it has some protection from the April wind and rain.
Then Audra got crazy and decided that we needed to pull out all the burning bushes along the south side of the house. Good times. She called our friends the Flynts and asked if they would take them - "sure!" so out they came.
Lastly we - uhm, I - dug out all the grass along the south side of the patio and proceeded to dig two holes. Like everywhere else, the yard would not give up the holes without a fight. I'm convinced my back yard used to be a crickbed. So it was a few scrapes across the top and then to the pick ax. Man do I love that pick ax. A few hearty swings into the ground, a few hundred stones broken loose and before you know it. Your back is smoked and you want to sit down. OR you haul out the two lilacs that are too close together (and twice the size of you) and put them into those well earned holes.
The weather was perfect for hard yard work. 55 and sunny. All in all a good start to the yard here in February. For some reason I think I should be doing something other than yard work in February -
Monday, February 18, 2008
End of the day
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Skiing at Crystal
Last Thursday we had our neighbors, the Questads, over for dinner and an obscene amount of Chocolate fondue. For those keeping track, last Thursday was both Valentines Day and the day my goals gave way to my desires. My goal was to loose two pounds last week and I was doing pretty well until the chocolate fondue. Now, you may scoff and say only a fool blames the fondue and not himself (actually, I think Confucius said that) but none of you reading this (unless you are Mat or Courtney) saw the fondue. Bubbling chocolaty goodness - or seething cauldron of diet busting isoflavonoids? You be the judge!
(best if loosely sung to the tune My favorite things)
We had pound cake and pretzels and crunchy graham crackers
bananas and oranges and tasty strawberries
fluffy white coconut homemade macaroons
all dunked in lovely chocolate cocoons
But the best part
yes the best part
early that day Audra made caramels
to give to the teachers and grumpy bus drivers (she's not grumpy but I needed the syllable)
And then we all dunked them in CHOCOLATE FONDUE
Yeah, I know that last part doesn't match or rhyme or really anything, but once you dip homemade caramel into chocolate fondue you really lose a lot of your self control and do crazy stuff like that.
Which brings me to my title. I went skiing at Crystal today with my good friend(and aforementioned neighbor) Mat. Drunk on fondue Mat asked if I would like to go up skiing at Crystal this weekend and as luck would have it - (luck being Audra) I could. So Mat and I packed up our gear and left the house this morning for a day in the sun on the slopes. It was a great day, the sun was out and Mt. Rainier was so close you felt like you could reach out and touch it. From the various ridges we could see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and even the white peak of Mt. Baker and Baker is like 3000 miles away! Great day.
I'll start my back on my diet again tomorrow.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Ski Trip
I took the girls up skiing a few weeks back. We had a perfect day. Rare weather for the cascades, dry, cold and clear as a bell. I enrolled the girls in their day classes and headed up to do some skiing myself. Their classes run from 9:30 to 3:00 and includes lunch. Checking in on them from time to time I noted their morning teachers were not as good as their afternoon - and that both the girls were having a great time. At the end of the day Olivia got to ride the chairlift all by herself. (Audra was not keen on this when I told her) Needless to say, both girls have the bug and are excited for our trip tomorrow. I'm hoping the weather holds out and we have another beautiful day in the mountains.
You'll notice that some of the pictures have a small icon in the lower left hand corner - these are short video clips of the girls skiing. If you click on the pic it will pop open another window and you should be able to view the clip.
You'll notice that some of the pictures have a small icon in the lower left hand corner - these are short video clips of the girls skiing. If you click on the pic it will pop open another window and you should be able to view the clip.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
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