Greetings, old friends!
My drafts folder tells me I started writing this post back in March, but apparently I’ve just given up on timeliness and actually finishing things. But here we are, at the end of June, still very much alive. I’m going to play an insane game of catch up and power through everything we’ve done since February, as I’m likely to forget these months even existed if I don’t blog about them. Please settle in with some coffee and a snack. Here we go!
Logan, Utah
One of my dear friends moved to Utah last fall, and we had the opportunity to visit her in February. Our visit mostly consisted of running, hiking, eating, and Olympics-watching, which is basically all I need in life.
Joseph, Oregon
The precious town of Joseph stole our hearts when we Thanksgivinged there a few years ago. We made our triumphant return for Eric’s birthday this year, where we enjoyed a solid snowstorm, approximately 12 pounds of chocolate, and an epic playlist of all the Billboard #1 hits since 1988.
Spring in Portland
Can you even claim to live here if you don’t have 100 photos of the cherry blossoms on your phone?
We did some trail runs in pretty places (trying to make marathon training a little more interesting). I also did run a marathon, but I have no photo evidence to share with you, so you’ll just have to trust me.
Table Mountain
A confusing hike with at least a mile of basically climbing stairs, if I recall correctly. (You see, when I wait months to blog about something, it’s possible the difficulty of a hike is slightly exaggerated.)
Hamilton Mountain
As a bon voyage to our pal, a few small groupers (those of us with random availability on a Friday) went for a spring hike.
Dog Mountain
At peak wildflower season, hiking Dog Mountain on a weekend is basically torture. But if you can go on a Wednesday morning, it’s a little better. Even on a weekday morning, I snagged the last parking spot in the lot, and there were at least 50 people at the summit.
Also, dirt levels on Dog Mountain? High. Very high.
Silver Star Mountain
This hike has been on my to-do list since we moved to Oregon (although it’s in Washington, but whatever). So, 6 years later, we finally did it! What was holding us back this whole time? Every trail report I read talked about the terrible road conditions leading to the trailhead, and the need for a high-clearance vehicle. Luckily, we upgraded to a high-clearance vehicle last year (praise hands), so we finally felt ready. Did I panic about the giant pot holes? Yes. Did we watch a much larger truck get stuck in the ruts in front of us? Yes. Did we park 2 miles downhill from the actual trailhead because I would not let Eric drive us straight into crevices that surely would have swallowed us whole? Yes. (See photo above for pothole/human size comparison.)
The hike was spectacular and gave me all kinds of Switzerland-Ireland-general-European-feelings. Of course, when we made it to the top to see the spectacular view, we were completely socked in with fog. And, naturally, by the time we made it back down to our car, all the clouds had cleared. Still, amazing and worth doing in any weather (as long as you are prepared to tack on a few extra miles by parking way downhill).
Timothy Lake
We’re attempting to get in some altitude training for a race we are running later this summer. Portland is basically at sea level, so we’ve been traveling to the mountains for some trails this spring. If you have never attempted to run at high elevations after living at sea level your entire life, let me tell you that it is way harder. Luckily, adding 3000-ish feet doesn’t seem to be terrible, and I knocked out 11-15 miles (depending on your trail distance source and the completely inconsistent signage on the trail) around Timothy Lake. It was beautiful and very hot, and all I wanted to do was jump into that crystal clear water. I almost worked up the courage to jump in at the end of my run, but after sticking my feet in, I remembered that I am, in fact, a cold water wimp, and couldn’t do it. Someday, Oregon. Someday.
And with that, I think we are officially caught up (and I am relieved to see that we actually did some fun and interesting things over the past 5 months). Cheers to you for making it through a photo-heavy, word-light post. Here’s hoping we have a fun summer ahead!
-Ally
steve geckeler says
Always great to hear from you. Hope you got our updates. Amy and Jay, Tim and Niki and grands….Kenzie, Ellie and Jacob were here for a week. Miss then already. We leave Thursday morning for Stratford Shakespeare Festival. 60th high school reunion later in the month. Life is a gas. Love your pictures. Love you guys too. Uncle Steve
JUDY GECKELER says
Spectacular pictures so sounded like a spectacular time. I love reading your blogs.