Winter FUN Just Around the Corner

The other day, I was driving home from the airport feeling a little wistful and sad after so many fun-filled days with various friends in the Bay Area. On my drive home, as I headed back to Issaquah on I-90, there was a brief break in the clouds and I could see the dusting of fresh snow in the mountains. That brought a smile back to my face and optimism for the upcoming winter season. So, to get everyone in the mood and to remind you why rainstorms are a good thing during the fall and winter months, I've put together a collection of webcams for live views of some places I've been at along the west coast. Click on the logo to view and may I suggest that you bookmark this page. Whee!

British Columbia:




Washington:





Oregon:







California:




Colorado:




Utah:






So, I am keeping tabs on all of you who said that they are coming to (fill in appropriate outdoor activity) in the near future. As for ski instructing, I still haven't made a commitment but I may have found another company that will allow me to teach during the week (and maybe a 1/2 day session on a Saturday) which will free up my time to play in the snow with pretty much everyone else who has the M-F grind. So, think SNOW!! And, regularly do some cardio, lunges, squats, wall sits, double-leg jump overs, more cardio, some core work so we can get the most out of each play day without any injuries :-) Woot!

Time to hit the Beach! - Cannon Beach, OR

Jocelyn: "Hey Julie...wanna hit the beach?"
Julie: "Sure! Let me grab my parka!"

This is what happens when you invite a SoCal gal for some beach time in the Pacific Northwest. Actually, I expected the same which is why my bag was packed to the brim because you never know what you'll get out on the coast so I packed for everything. However, I DID NOT pack a parka :-)

It was time for the ocean. Sure, you have the Puget Sound around Seattle but it's nothing compared to the ocean..the sound, the smells, the wildlife, and the saltwater taffy! So, we headed down from Seattle to the Oregon coast and one of my favorite places.....Cannon Beach, Oregon. I haven't been there in over 14 years so it was time to pay a visit. So much has changed on the road down to Oregon. Like everything else anywhere, so much has built up and there are so many people and so many cars. But, when you get out on the beach itself, everything is as I had remembered.

Cannon Beach has maintained its small town charm after all these years. Thank god...no Walmart nearby! I applaud the local community and government for keeping out those massive, evil, mom&pop devouring, uncompassionate treatment of its employees, chain stores! Phew...ok, enough of my rants...back to the easy-going beach life. It's a dog-friendly town with many of the establishments accepting pets on the patio or in the stores. And, the sand! So fine, soft and so warm! We lucked out and the sun came out for all the days we were there. Everyone in town was complaining about the colder than usual summer and I kept thinking "what are these people talking about?" In general, I think people in the northwest just like to verbally complain about the weather hoping to keep everyone else from moving to this incredibly beautiful region. And, secondly, I spent 13 years in San Francisco and everyone knows that famous Mark Twain quote "The coldest winter I spent was a summer in San Francisco." So, this past summer in the Northwest has been amazing for me! "What, I can wear shorts and a tank top after 3:00 in the afternoon?"

In any case, Cannon Beach, Oregon is a must visit. From Portland, it's only 80 miles. From Seattle, it's 180 miles. Every summer (June, I think?), they hold a huge Sand Castle Competition that produces some of the most amazing sand sculptures I've ever seen. I found this site that has pictures of the 2008 competition. The competition started in 1965 one year after a tsunami had hit the area. The year after the tsunami, the beach recorded the lowest tide levels in the century and some locals decided to capitalize on the media attention and held a sandcastle competition. Since then, up to 45,000 people (yikes) have attended the competition. It's held at the foot of the most recognized monolith of the Oregon coast - Haystack rock.

Highway 101 is also a popular cycling touring route with hundreds testing their legs and lungs along the Pacific Coast every year. I saw quite a few tackling the route from Astoria, OR to Cannon Beach and it had me pining for my bike. At lunch the other day at Mo's (southern part of Cannon Beach), some cyclists sat down next to us and they were riding their bikes from Portland San Francisco. Well, Anan was...the other two were going to catch the train back down to EssEff from Florence, OR. Their group exemplified what I miss about living in SF...Anan is originally from El Salvador, another rider from Australia, and the one woman from Spain. I miss that....going to a restaurant, bar, or an event in the Bay Area and meeting people from so many different parts of the world. I LOVE the northwest and I won't be moving back to the Bay Area, BUT...I miss that diversity and exposure to so many different cultures (and the food!!) without ever having to leave "The City." Sorry, I apologize for the tangents. Must stay focused!

Anyway, Anan was going to be cycling the next 2 weeks down the coast and he was using this book which I need to buy - Bicycling the Pacific Coast by the Mountaineers Club. I flipped through it and it looked pretty good with not only the mileage included but also the elevation gain and campsites. Phew....I had a feeling that the Oregon/California border was going to be tough...and it is. But, that is definitely one ride I'll have to do. Fun times at the shore and Daisy is currently snoring so loud so I know she had a great time. Here's a link to the photos I took that day.

Boot Camp with BBTC (Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club)

I love the internet. It's so easy to find organizations and groups around activities I love to participate in and I don't have to wait for friends to clear their calendars or get off their a**es to join me. If I want to do something, I can usually find a group to meet up with and head out. My most recent find is the BBTC (Backcountry Bicycle Trails) for time on my mountain bike. Through them, I met up with the local chapter of the Lunachix riders and on Saturday, I signed up for their Boot Camp to work on some skills. On a side note, the other thing I like about the BBTC is the work they do to maintain trails as well as advocate mountain biking in Washington to help keep trails open and accessible to riders. I have to do my part and get out there and work on some trails myself.

My instructors were Bob and Ed and the class was at St. Edward Park in Juanita where I've ridden a few times before. And, I was happy to find one of my hockey teammates, Marie, at the clinic. Our class started out in the open field working on proper body positioning for turns and getting over obstacles like logs (big, bigger, huge). Then, we hit the trails and applied (at least attempted to) the skills we worked on. We rode around the part of the park that I was familiar with and that always helps so you know when to change gears. Then, we got on the trail that connects St. Edward with Big Finn Hill which I hadn't ridden. The trail was a bit more challenging because the climbs were steeper, and they had these crazy-ass bridges that were about a foot wide with a slight bend. Needless to say, the first bridge took me by surprise and BAM, hello ground. Bob came back and after I dusted myself off, he told me to do-it-over. I headed back up the hill but now I'm all freaked out in my head and waaay more tentative than I should be. I got on the bridge, and then saw the slight bend, and CRASH....hello log. I was really getting in touch with Ma Nature today. Bob wanted me to do-it-over again, but I looked at him like he was crazy. I just got back on my bike and continued on the trail....haha. Well, Bob wasn't done challenging us. He took us to a part of the trail called the 'Elevator Shaft.' I remember looking at Marie thinking "WTF?" Uh, yeah....it was steep on both sides. I didn't make it...but now I have new challenges in that area to work on - that damn bridge and that gully.

Next on my list is to try and find some time to get my golf game back (found another group online to join up with and start tracking my handicap again) so maybe I can head down to Bend, OR (Sunriver, Woodlands/aka North course - one of my most absolute favorite places to play) or even further south to Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast. There's also so many other new courses that have sprung up including the one by my parents' house - Chambers Bay which is a links style course and the site of the 2015 U.S. Open (and the first course in the Pacific Northwest to get the Audubon International certification for its environmental discipline). Summertime....sigh, *so much* to do! Thank goodness the sun doesn't set until close to 10:00 pm. Toodles!

Climb on!

This past St. Paddy's Day, I wasn't doing a jig at a local Irish pub...been there, done that :-) Instead, I headed out to REI with my friend, Kate who I met while ski instructing at the Summit at Snoqualmie this past winter. Kate also manages a local kayak company, Alki Kayak Tours, which I'll write about in another blog - as soon as I get out there for a paddle.

That night at REI, we spent a few hours with climbing instructors on rock climbing techniques. It has been over 6 months since I climbed...that was up at Squamish, British Columbia. Through Tantalus Adventures, we were set up with Squamish Rock Guides and Jeremy was our guide for the day. I was there with friends who had never climbed before that day. But, by the end of that day, they were excited about the routes they finished and how they were able to overcome their fears. Click here for my blog about that trip - I'm too lazy to transfer it all over to blogger. But, if you climb, a visit to Squamish is a must!! Even if you want to try it out, let me know! It's a great place to learn (much more scenic than a smelly gym).

OK, back to St. Paddy's at REI. I was with people who had little to no climbing experience so it was great to watch their progression and their confidence build as we tried out different techniques and routes. For me, it was great to get back on the wall and use different muscles. The instruction was so helpful and I am really excited to head out to some local gyms and practice some of the new moves I learned. I even got to do some overhangs and learned how to properly execute some non-vertical moves - that was so scary but after my first time through, I wanted to do more! I'm even more excited because I have a a pool of local belay partners who are eager to do more climbing - after one of our earlier sessions, Kate went out and bought her harness and shoes. We'll head out and check some local gyms like Stone Gardens in Ballard, and Vertical World, a chain with multiple locations in the area.

Eventually, we'd like to head outside. I'm already planting some seeds with my new group for a trip up to Squamish for another climbing adventure. Other areas that would be worth exploring include an area right outside of North Bend, off of Exit 38 (on I-90), just 20 minutes down the road from me. And, I would love to head down to central Oregon to check out Smith Rock which is on the way down to Bend. OK, I'm ready for some outdoor activities that's not snow-related. Now, if the rain would just stop :-)