Five years ago

Five years ago. That's how long it had been since I saw my friend Marissa. Five years, until this past weekend. Alas, I don't have photographic evidence, but I got to spend Saturday with her, showing her around Portland on a day that had to be weather perfected.

Marissa and I lived next door to each other in Neihardt Hall for two years in college and it was so great to see her and catch up. And eat and drink of course! We started out at the Saturday market and then headed to the food cart pod at 12th and Hawthorne for some Potato Champion. (Yep, Portlanders, you know what I'm talking about.) Then we drove up to Mt. Tabor for a view of the city and then on to Widmer Brothers Brewing for Oktoberfest. We topped off her short visit with tacos at Chez Jose with B and then Katie's dance show. Whew.

Great day with a great old friend.

The birds, the birds!

A couple of years ago, over the course of about 6 weeks or so, B and I watched the entire Planet Earth series from the Discovery Channel. If you haven't seen it, you should because it is a fascinating look at the wildlife of our planet. Polar bears on the hunt, migrating elephants, the elusive snow leopard.

What struck B and I as the most fascinating though, wasn't watching the great white sharks actually jump out of the water, but rather seeing all of the crazy, neurotic birds of the world. Canadian snow geese that will challenge a fox that is going after its nest. Birds of paradise in Borneo that make clicking sounds and dance around to attract mates. These amazing cranes that migrate over the Himalayan mountains. Birds are fascinating. So, when Alyson and Brad suggested that we have dinner together last week, I said, "Hey! Let's go see the swifts!"

The swifts I speak of are the Portland Vaux Swifts. Every September, around 30,000 of them roost in the old chimney of an elementary school in NW Portland. It's become the event of the fall in Portland--pack a blanket and a picnic and sit on the hill by the school and watch the swifts gather. Then at dusk, they swirl down into the chimney for the night. It's absolutely fantastic. (You can also watch adorable children run around and play and slide down the hill on cardboard boxes, but really, the birds are the show.)

The Swift Watch 2010 Team: Brad, Alyson and B.

Four years

The Mother of all Relays

Oh, Hood to Coast. Where do I even start? How can I possibly describe you? The Hood to Coast Relay is this thing almost everyone in Portland, or Oregon for that matter, has done at least once in their life. You get 11 of your friends together and then over the course of 28 hours or so, you run from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to Seaside, at the Oregon coast. It's madness, absolutely lunacy, but it was so. much. fun.

My HTC team was dreamed up over a year ago during a slightly drunk installment of the Hotel Emanuel Book Club. We all decided we would run and also talk some of the husbands into doing it too. Well, over the course of the year before the run, three of the girls got pregnant. So, we found some more friends to replace them and then found more friends to replace some of those friends who got injured and finally, we had our team. Van #1: Steve, Pat, Rhiannon, Chris, John and Jessica. Van #2: Chris, Emily, Nandi, Alisa, Katie and me. With another Katie along for the ride in Van #2 as our driver and all-around cheerleader extraordinaire. And on Friday, after long months of running, we finally set out on our relay.

Here is my Hood to Coast experience by the numbers:

Distance: 197 miles

Start time: 8/27/10, 7:15am

Number of teams: 1,000

Number of runners: 12,000

Distance of leg #11, my first leg: 4.39 miles

Time: 37:51

Number of minutes of rest we got at the second van exchange before van #1 radioed that they were on the way: approx. 30

Times van #1 locked the keys in the car: 1

Times we had to have van #2 jump-started: 1

Times Emily and Nandi thought they were going to die on their second legs: numerous.

Quote of the race, from Nandi as we drove by her on her second leg: "It's like the f***in' Blair Witch Project out here!"

Time of day Nandi was running: 12:30am. (deep in the coast range, on a gravel forest road.)

Distance of leg #23, my second leg: 4.18 miles

Time: 37:15

Hours of sleep we got during the fourth van exchange: 2

Hours of sleep during the entire relay: 2

Distance of leg #35, my third and last leg: 7.28

Leg conditions: uphill, in full sun, 11am in the morning, on gravel. i.e. major suck.

Time: 72:51 (Go me!)

Final time: 28 hrs, 46 minutes. Success, full success.

Van #2 Awards (as nominated and awarded by me!):

Spirit Award: Katie D. She was our driver and our cheerleader, meeting every runner at every exchange. It was so nice to see her smiling face as we came into the exchange zone!

M.V.P.: Chris D. for running Emily's third leg for her as her knee was kaputt.

Team Captain Award: Katie A. She herded cats to get us all on the same page for this crazy thing. Her patience should be admired by all.

Hard-core-bad-ass Award: Nandi. She ran all of her legs on gravel, including that horrific leg #21 in the coast range. She's amazing.

Tiny Dancer Award: Alisa. Before her last leg, she was standing in the parking lot, jamming out to some hip-hop. She was tired, she was hungry, she wanted to be done, but most importantly, she wanted to dance.

The "I Survived the Pittsburgh Hill" Award: Emily. For just that, surviving the Pittsburgh hill. It's leg #20 and it's the worst, absolute worst. Em, you're a trooper.

I took some photos, but in the chaos that was "hey, they're coming!" and "you forgot your number!" and "where are my blinky flashers?" I forgot to take very many. To get an idea of what running Hood to Coast would be like, check out the trailer for the upcoming movie "Hood to Coast", due out on 1/11/11.

So, is it weird to say that I want to do it again?

Alone on a Saturday Night

B is shooting a wedding tonight and I had so many fun things at my fingertips to do:

• Movies in the park
• Riverfest
• Baconfest 2010
• More movies in the park

However, I decided to be lame, stay home and watch this movie instead.

So, sign up for Netflix, watch this movie too, be inspired, go on an adventure.

Day Trippin' in the S-dub-dub

Southwest Washington is an interesting place. And by interesting, I don't mean "interesting". I mean "interesting". You know what I'm talking about. You know you do.

Dacia, Aurelie and I spent today driving around on crazy forest roads looking for the trailhead to hike up Silver Star Mountain, a hike that I tried to find with Craig and Bridget way back in April. We ended up on the wrong road, ran across some serious K.A. (i.e. knuckle-head action, i.e. crazy kids out shootin' sh*t), turned around, drove back the way we came, found the road we missed and, three hours later, ended

up at the trailhead.

The rest was awesome.

A Night at the Races

Everyone loves a bike race. The Twilight Criterium last Friday.

My fellow bike racing fans, Katie and Julia. If anyone knows the really tall guy with nice quads that was in first for a couple of laps, please forward his number to Katie. Thank you.

The Party Planner

Just a few short years ago, I used to not be a "planner." Making plans used to exhaust me. I would much rather just "decide on Friday about the weekend." I planned our wedding in about three months just because I kept putting everything off.

However, my current position at work has changed all of that. I now plan events, schedule events and always look ahead at least two months on the calendar. I am obsessive about the date. I have an online email calendar and a written planner that I highlight and organize. So really, I shouldn't have been surprised when the managers at work asked me to plan a party for the store. Turns out, I'm kind of good at it.

So just how did REI Tualatin celebrate being named 2009 Store of the Year? With a BBQ picnic from Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grill and a guided paddle trip along the Tualatin River.

My view from the back seat of the canoe-- my friend Linda doing the work while I snap photos.

The Evolution of the Party

When I was a kid, the kind of partying I did mainly consisted of birthday parties and slumber parties, making lip sync music videos and staying up as late as possible. As I got older, boy/girl parties were the norm and we'd all roam the streets together looking for something to do. Then I went to college and discovered a new level of partying that mainly consisted of kegs, beer pong, flippy cup and of-course, the inevitable hangover. I think it is fair to say that once I moved to Oregon, my partying got a little bit more low key--instead of kegs, there was always a couple of bottles of wine and while we still occasionally had a house crammed with people, you'd more likely find us with a few close friends around the table. It seems though that the evolution of my party career has taken a new step. B and I hosted our first party at our new house and officially ushered ourselves into an age where we always have to have something non-alcoholic on hand and we can expect our friends to leave by 9:30pm. That's right folks, we threw a party for our friends and they brought their kids.

Last Friday was the First Annual Hoybook Ice Cream Social and Blongoball Tournament. B spent the better part of the week churning homemade ice cream: Rosemary Honey, Triple Dutch Chocolate, Toasted Coconut Lime and Bacon Habanero. I made a Blongoball bracket and we constructed a trophy. And when I looked around, the kids and babies almost outnumbered the adults.

It's sometimes funny how your life changes. How one year, you're hosting a party and making homemade sangria, and the next, you're pouring lemonade and cream soda. But it's also awesome how your life changes. Because these kids and babies are going to need someone to show them how to party and I might just be qualified.

Dinner with the Cabin People

What started out as a simple invitation to have dinner with my aunt turned into this...

A great night out with members of our West Coast family at one of our favorite restaurants, Nuestra Cocina.

What aren't they telling us?

When I moved to Oregon, I moved with my good friend Kristina. We came here and lived with my good friends Jody and Travis. Then, I got a job at REI and met my good friend Jen. At that job, I met my good friend Drew and his wife Katie. Things were great for awhile.

I think Jen left first. She moved to St. Louis to be with her now husband Ben. Then, it was Drew and Katie, who moved to L.A. for a job Katie got at Biola University. Jody and Travis left about 18 months ago as Travis' company transferred him to the Bay area. And finally, just last week, Kristina left. She and her fiance Douglas are in the long, cross-country process of moving to Bar Harbor, Maine.

I miss them all, tremendously. B and I have many good friends now, but it's been hard to watch the people that got me settled into life in Oregon leave one by one. Makes me wonder: what aren't they telling us? Is the grass really greener? Well, at least we have four great places to visit now...

Kristina and I after one last meet up for happy hour. We'll miss you!

A beachy Sunday

Dacia + Ryan = Really awesome wedding

Our good friends, Ryan and Dacia, got married on the 17th at a gorgeous little B&B in wine country southwest of Portland. B shot the wedding and we were lucky enough to get to stay at the inn for the weekend.

What a gorgeous, simple, casual, relaxed, chill, fun, rad, awesome wedding. A simple lakeside ceremony, a delicious dinner, fantastic beers, fun dancing and a chill bonfire with s'mores. These two know how to throw a party.

Congrats Ryan and Dacia! Wishing you years of happiness!

How to grow a garden

Put up deer fence.

Plant seeds.

Water.

Ignore garden for weeks.

Come back and harvest.

This doesn't even come close to showing how much green, leafy lettuce we've been eating this month. Plus, this is only about half of the snap peas and the last of the broccoli. And really, I'm surprised those two strawberries even made it home. Usually, they go straight into my tum-tum.

Mt. Adams? Check.

Mountaineering is an interesting sport. It can be physically demanding, mentally exhausting and awe-inspiring all at once, which is why I always agree to go on a trip when invited. But is it fun? The jury is still out. The top sure is awesome, but getting there? Oh, I've done more enjoyable things in my life. But, for some reason, that moment of glee at the top, makes up for it. We climbed Mt. Adams last week and as I sit and reflect on the experience, I can't remember the climb. But I remember the top. Summit fever--it's what keeps people coming back for more.

B looking south toward Mt. Hood in the distance. Approx. elevation: 7,900 ft.

Me, climbing up through one of the first really big snow fields. All of eastern Oregon at my back. Approx. elevation: 8,600 ft.

Our little campsite on the Lunch Counter at sunrise. Mt. St. Helens is off to the upper right. The long dark triangle is Mt. Adams casting its shadow on southwestern Washington. Elevation: 9,100 ft.

Looking up toward the first false summit from our campsite. False summit elevation: 11,520 ft. The long lines you see running up and down are the glissade trails. It takes about 4 hours to climb from here to the summit and about 30 minutes to get back down.

Me, taking a rest at the stop of the false summit, Piker's Peak. I was in just a t-shirt until this point and then, in usual Gayle fashion, added two more layers and one more hat.

They call it a false summit because you think it's the top. While you're climbing up it, you think, "awesome, the top is right there." Then you get there and see that you have about 700 feet more to go. It's pretty deflating. Once at the false summit, you then have to cross a big snow field saddle over to the real summit.

Looking across the saddle over to the true summit, that little bit of snow sticking up in the upper left. Only 700 more feet up!Celebration on the summit. Elevation: 12,276 ft.Our climbing team included five of my co-workers: (from left) Brandon, age 20; Ron, age 64; Kim, age 40-ish; Caroline, age 40-ish; and our fearless climb leader, Doug, age 50.
B, dropping in off the false summit. It took me 30 minutes to get down. B? About 5 and he loved every minute of it.Descending after our successful summit.Back on dirt. Ron, Caroline, me, Doug, Kim & Brandon.
On the way home, I turned to B in the jeep and said, "I'm done climbing mountains. If someone asks me to do this again, I'll say no." At that point, I remembered how my legs ached and how my shoulders hurt from such a heavy pack. Right now, all I remember is this:

Guess I'll be coming back for more, just like the rest of you.

More photos here: B's Flickr page

The phone's for you. It's crazy calling.

I answered the phone at work on Monday, the conversation went like this:

Guy: Hi, I was wondering if you knew or had any contacts with anyone that does search and rescue for pets.
Me: Did you lose a pet out on a trail or something?
Guy: Well, we live in the woods and we lost our cat. I know that she is probably dead, but we want someone to come out and find the body so we can have some closure.
Me: Um, search and rescue doesn't do that kind of thing. Have you tried calling your local police department? They might be able to put you in touch with animal services.
Guy: Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Search and rescue won't do that?
Me: Nope.
Guy: OK, thanks.

Seriously?

The rest of the story

Of-course, I can't go to Nebraska and not try to see as many people as I possibly can, so after we got back from North Platte on Sunday night, I started the second, more tightly scheduled part of my trip.

First stop: Scribner, to see Grandpa and Grandma
We had a great lunch, I taught them all about how "to google", we drove out to see the flood damage from a couple of weeks ago and then we came back to town where they showed me some projects they were working on-- Grandpa is cleaning and re-wiring the oldest electrical cord I have ever seen and Grandma is sorting through old fabric. Then, we discovered the coolest thing. In a bag of fabric she was giving to my mom, Grandma pulls out a piece of white silk. It's a parachute that my Grandpa brought back from England where he was stationed during WWII. They had used part of it to make a baptismal dress for my mom and Grandma thought there was just enough fabric left to make another dress, that is, if there might be a baby anytime soon... hint, hint, wink, wink.Second stop: Wayne
Mom and I survived a deluge thunderstorm on our way from Scriber to Wayne to make it home in time for supper with my dad. We spent the evening on the new 3-season porch and talked until the wee hours of the morning. I've seen them four times in the last eight months, I'm really getting spoiled.

Third stop: Concord
Tuesday morning, I headed to Concord to visit with Aunt Ave and hang with my cousin Mark and Tiff's kids. It was non-stop action with all the "Gayle, guess what?" and "Gayle, watch this!" going on. How she keeps up with them, I will never know. Grandmas really are fountains of never-ending energy.
Fourth stop: Omaha
Tuesday afternoon, it was back to Omaha with Mindy and then off to the historic Joslyn castle for a networking event. Lisa came along too and since we really didn't have anyone to network with, we decided to become better acquainted with the food and drink. Delish. Then we were off to Brix, a wine bar in West O, where we met Carla and proceeded to drink the night away. So much fun.Wednesday was another day in Omaha so the girls all had lunch together again and then Mindy, Jason, Hudson, Skyler and I hit the mall to get out of the super yuck humidity. 95 degrees, dewpoint at 79, heat index of 117. Major suck.I tried to fly out Wednesday night, but for the first time in my life, my flight was "delayed indefinitely" because of a nasty thunderstorm. So, surprise! One more night in Omaha with the Hortons.
A truly fantastic trip to one of my favorite places-- home.