NORTHWEST WANDERINGS

Meet Makalu

2007-01-20T21:27:00.000-08:00

This is my new cat, Makalu or Bob. During the time I was thinking of a name, we just called him Bob (for Bobcat) and it kind of stuck. I decided on the name Makalu, a mountain in the Himalayan range, the 5th highest mountain in the world at 27,765 feet. He is slowing getting along with Kimba our Persian cat and Sundari (Sunday), my Lhasa Apso. He has drawn blood from Sunday in his first few days, but they seem to get along now. Sunday likes to play but Makalu plays rough with sharp claws. Him and Kimba still fight over the food sometimes, but things are getting better. So world, meet Makalu.

Riding at Moab, Utah

2006-11-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

Monday I took a detour from my journey back to California, turned left onto Utah Route 128 towards Moab. This road might just be the most beautiful I have driven. It runs along the Colorado River alongside Arches National Park.

I had pizza and beer at Zax in downtown Moab and stayed there for the night. Tuesday morning I did some shopping, then decided Klondike Bluffs Trail would work for me. Klondike Bluffs is on the easier side of Moab trails but since riding in a car for the last few days and not in the best shape with 2 days of driving left, I thought it a wise choice. I was by no means disappointed. The ride was amazing to say the least. The trail had 800 feet of elevation gain to 5400'. Riding on the slickrock was an unique experience. I found it remarkable how well the traction was. After joining up with a guy from Vermont, we rode up to the edge of Arches National Park. He took off I guess for a hike of the Park.

I took a couple photos, hopped on the bike and rode down. And what a ride down it was.
The Kona Blast held up for the jarring ride although my hands and arms were exhausted from holding on.
I would say to anyone who likes to ride a bike: Moab is a must! I only rode one trail of many and I was overly impressed.

I almost forgot, along the trail, the dinosaur footprints make the ride that much more interesting.

Camping at Burlingame State Park, Rhode Island

2006-10-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend I decided to brave the cold nights and camp at Burlingame State Park in Rhode Island. Although the temps got down in the 30's, it was a beautiful weekend with clear, sunny skies. It was a good relaxing weekend.

I rode my bike around the state park as single track twisted their way all throughout the park as well as the popular stone walls.

The adjacent Kimball Wildlife Sanctuary added alot of hiking room to roam around. The Bird Sanctuary restricts bikes so I hiked around that side of the park.

My Trip Across The US

2006-09-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few pictures of my journey from Redding, California to Groton, Connecticut. The majority of my trip was on US Route 80 with a few variances. I embarked on CA Route 44 in Redding, went by Mt. Lassen and met up with Interstate 80 in Reno, Nevada.

Rode through Nevada to Utah.

The Salt Flats of Utah were pretty amazing.

After seeing the ski jump area from the 2002 Winter Olympics, I wasn't in Utah long before entering Wyoming. What a beautiful state. It started off rocky and ended up with rolling hills.

I particularly liked the what seemed to be chaotically placed fences to prevent snow drifts.

The whole state seems to be above 5000 feet.

Nebraska was boring, not much to say about that.

Iowa was more farm land. I took a slight detour from Interstate 80, jumped over to US Route 30. Drove through some small towns in Iowa like Le Grand and Tama. Try to find them on a map.

I crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois.

Went up to Chicago, picked up my wife at the airport who flew in from California to continue my journey with me. Drove past the home of the White Sox.

We continued to Ohio, where we found a great seafood restaurant and devoured some delicious crab, then the trek across Pennsylvania to Philadelphia.

My wife flew home from Philadelphia while I headed off to my final destination of southeastern Connecticut. It was a fun trip with plenty of things to see. I can't wait to do it again heading west in November.

Riding at Whiskeytown, California

2006-08-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a few days this past week riding around the trails at Whiskeytown. Although it's been about 100 degrees every day, most trails are somewhat in the shade. I started off easy by riding the 4.6 round trip Oak Bottom Water Ditch Trail. It is simply a quick little ride with only 20 feet elevation increase from 1220 to 1240. It loops around the Whiskeytown Lake and is good to get fly on. Had to watch out for the occassional hiker or jogger, but other than that, a good speed run.

Lately I moved over to the Clear Creek Canal Trail. This is a 4.5 mile one way trail that is pretty fun. Had to go around some downed trees and let some horses go by, but other than that, this trail is well worth it. Some parts are pretty rocky as well. I have a few more days here in California, maybe I will return to this trail or try something new.

Weekend at Boulder Lake

2006-07-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, Jake and I took the advice of Lance and went with him to Boulder Lake along the Tenas Creek. At the trailhead it was about 100 degrees. Four hours, many breaks, 3 miles and 2000 feet up later, we ended up at the very scenic lake.

The lake was full of rainbow trout, although we didn't catch any. The flies and mosquitos were abundant. The pika were squeaking and the grey jays came out. Saturday was pretty uneventful for Jake and I. We took a few jumps in the cold lake but it was extremely refreshing due to the excessive heat.

Lance went up to further to Pear Lake while I took a nap. Saturday evening we ventured around the lake a little for a different view.

Sunday we awoke with the sun and scurried down to the truck before the sun could do its damage.

Biking at Winthrop, Washington

2006-07-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend riding out at Winthrop with a couple friends from work. Rader Creek was a quick and exciting mile and a half downhill which we rode twice along with Patterson Lake on Saturday. Thompson Road was a long steady climb, but the Inside Passage over to Rader Creek was worth it. Sunday was reserved for Pipestone Canyon, which was a unsuccessful search for rattlesnakes, but a great ride nonetheless.

On the ride home, we stopped at Cedar Creek and reluctantly hiked up the 1.7 miles to the waterfalls, then rode the challenging trail down.

The Sun Mountain trails are a great set in the middle of some beautiful country. I want to thank Jake and Skip, my riding partners for an exciting and memorable weekend. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, tubing down the cold but calm Methow River was a short and fun little ride to cool off from the hot Eastern Washington sun.

Goodbye Morrissey

2006-07-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

I had to say goodbye to a good friend on Monday. My cat Morrissey, the one on the right in the picture, slipped off a banister down the stairs and broke his upper left rear leg. The break was severe and required expensive surgery. We reluctantly decided to put him to sleep. I already miss his morning wake-up calls by clawing my pillow, the constant feeding (he loved dog food more than his own), the rolling around in the catnip, and of course the loud purring. His first birthday would have been in August. Thanks for the memories, buddy, although I wish we had many more.

Honeymoon at San Francisco and Lake Tahoe

2006-05-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

I married the love of my life on May 13th in Redding, California. I will post pictures as soon as they are available. Although I do have pictures from our honeymoon in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe. No, not those type of pictures!

Here is my bride by the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a great day to actually see the scenery in San Francisco.

This was our view from our room at Tahoe. I recommend Lake Tahoe to anyone who has not been there. We are definitely planning on returning. The picture at the top is from the boat on the lake.

Let's Try This Again

2006-05-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I took the Sony camera back after realizing the DVD format is not Mac friendly and just an overall pain to edit anything on the computer. I opted for the Canon ZR600 which uses the MiniDV format. This camera does not come close to offering the features that the Sony did, but is perfect for what I need and is $600 cheaper.

New Toy

2006-05-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend I broke down and got my first video camera. I am looking forward to playing around with this thing. This thing is pretty amazing. Finally I will be able to use the video tools I have on my computer. I will keep you updated.

Last Day at Stevens Pass

2006-03-27T21:12:00.000-08:00

It was a great season full of good times with all my snowboarding partners, Whitney in California and Jerome and Brian in Washington. I learned alot and am 200% better than I was 3 months ago. I am not sure if I will make it down the slopes again this season due to my busy schedule. Thanks alot everybody for the great memories. Pray for snow next winter. It's never to early to start.

Time For A Bike Ride

2006-03-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Sunday, I went with a couple guys from work to Cranberry Lake in Anacortes for my first bike ride of 2006. I forgot how good that place was. I will definitely have to return soon now that the weather is warming up. I may have to invest in a new helmet though. My current one doesn't quite fit right.

On The Slopes

2006-02-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

I have been snowboarding my butt off lately at Stevens Pass, with trips to Shasta scattered in there as well. I try something new every time. Thursday night at Stevens was great. Deep, soft, fresh powder everywhere as more fell throughout the night. I landed about 50% of my little jump attempts. I feel much more confident or perhaps insane when I know the landing is soft. Venturing off into the deep stuff did not work all that well. This weekend is busy with work, so my next trip will have to wait. I am awaiting pictures from Stevens with my "partners in snow" and will post them here as soon as I get them.

Snowboarding at Stevens Pass

2006-01-29T13:01:00.000-08:00

I went up to Stevens for the first time after work Friday. It was a great 4 hours on the slopes. The snow was falling which made for great soft powder although the runs needed groomed pretty bad. Tried a few times to get some air off of the "moguls". Each landing was a disaster. I think I will be using my season pass alot. The facilities are pretty good. Although it was Friday night, it wasn't very crowded. Started off at Daisy to get warmed up then had a great time on Hogsback, Skyline Express and Brooks. Can't wait to go again.

Drought Over!

2006-01-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

Twenty seven straight days of Seattle rain only helped the Seahawks win their first playoff game since 1984. I didn't mind standing in the rain for a few drama-filled hours with 67,000 other fans as Seattle beat the Redskins 20-10. Jake and I got tickets on eBay after a stressful bidding war. We had great seats in Section 131. Now we are trying to either win the chance to buy or get lucky on Ticketmaster for the NFC Championship game on Sunday.

Snowboarding at Mt. Shasta

2006-01-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

I spent three of my vacation days having a great time snowboarding at Mt. Shasta in northern California. After a few times on the easier Marmot lift, I ventured over to the Douglas and Coyote lifts. The initial drop on Douglas was way over my head, but after doing it a few times, I started to get the hang of it. I can now say with confidence that I am getting pretty good on my heel edge. Just need to continue working on the toe and transitions. Mt Shasta is a great ski park and I look forward to returning. Thanks to Whitney for putting up with me on my many falls.

Go Seahawks!

2005-12-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

I went to the Colts-Seahawks game on December 24th with a few guys from work. We had a great time. Although Peyton Manning and the important starters didn't play the whole game, it was still fun to watch the Seahawks beat up on the Colts. Manning had his good moments early by driving the Colts down the field a couple times with ease, but could not find the way to the end zone. Alexander tied the season TD record with a run that the whole stadium knew was coming. It was the second all-time attendance at Qwest Field at 67,855. (1st was 68,093, Monday Night last year against Dallas. I was at that one too.) Was this a preview of the Super Bowl? They are definitely the top two teams from their respected conferences. Hoping to get playoff tickets!!!

Snowboarding at Baker

2005-12-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

I went snowboarding for the first time today with Jerome Pinder today at Mt. Baker. On the ride up there, rain was worrying me, but as the day went on, it got much better. Jumped on the board around 11:45 and after many hard falls, wrapped things up around 2:30. The rain made for soft snow which was very forgiving. I had a great time and can't wait to go again. My neck and right knee are slightly sore but that is minor compared to what I should be feeling right now after the tumbles down the slopes.

Depeche Mode

2005-11-17T19:53:00.000-08:00

I had the great opportunity to see Depeche Mode for the second time last night in Seattle. The show was awesome to say the least. When a band has 25 years worth of songs to pick from, you get a great variety and DM chose wisely last night. There were many highlights, including Martin Gore singing a beautiful "Somebody" and of course the crowd-involving "Everything Counts". Isn't Martin Gore's costume great? The photos here are courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Beginnings

2005-11-13T17:04:00.000-08:00

I wanted a place to share my activities from my home in Puget Sound and this is it. I will keep this introduction short. Come back often to find out more.