Playing catch-up: A dozen highlights (the second half)
Here’s the second half of the top dozen highlights of my May and June 2009. Again, in chronological order…enjoy!
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7. Saw Fema Kuti perform at the Oregon Zoo.
Oregon Zoo concerts are a summer tradition in Portland, so we decided that we should check one out. The whole night was perfect. We rode our bikes to one of the downtown MAX stations and took our bikes on the train for the ride up to the zoo. (The Oregon Zoo is located high in the west hills of Portland, so this is the easy way up.) We met our friend Chris and walked through the zoo – past gorillas and mountain goats – carrying our dinner picnic and blankets and Crazy Creeks, and hung out on a large lawn at sunset to watch son of Afro-beat legend and human rights activist Fela Kuti perform with his band on a warm, summer night in Oregon. Yup. Sure. We could get used to that.
Fema Kuti at the Oregon Zoo (6.2009)
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8. Sarah and I celebrated Father’s Day by heading out past the west hills and to some berry farms and picked 8 lbs of raspberries and 4 lbs of strawberries (for only $14!).
Yum! (And we saw some cool cars that day, too.)
1929 making a comeback :: Scholls, OR (6.2009)
Willamette Valley from the Chehalem Moutains looking west (6.2009)
Willamette raspberries galore! (6.2009)
Hood strawberry happiness (6.2009)
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9. Visited with Amy’s mom in Seattle and had a fun day exploring the Pike Place Market, the Waterfront, and Pioneer Square.
It was great to see Maggie for a short visit – she was on a ten-day train trip from Chicago to Seattle via Canada. And, it’s so nice to have Seattle only 3 ½ hours away by train or car.
King Street Station :: Seattle, WA (6.2009)
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10. THE highlight of the young summer
On Wednesday, June 24th, I made my first backcountry ski trip…to Mt. St. Helens, no less…with my buddies Chris, Dave and Charley.
We started out at 6am from camp at 3700’ and hiked four hours to the summit and edge of the caldera at around 8300’ among what are literally small dunes of ash. We then took in the amazing view, strapped on our boots, skis and packs and made our way down over 3500’ of vertical. Perfect weather, consistent snow. Great first experience in the backcountry. Can’t wait for more. Click here for a more complete set of photos from the trip: Mt. St. Helens, 6.24.09
5:30am prep session (6.2009)
Rest stop – heavy pack respite (6.2009)
Looking southeast across the Columbia River Gorge to Mt. Hood – the highest peak in Oregon; 4th highest in Cascade Range at 11,239′ (6.2009)
About 2/3 way up the south face – refueling next to a seismic monitoring station (6.2009)
Looking east to Mt. Adams – 3rd highest mountain in the Cascades at 12,276′ (6.2009)
Lava dome – growing again – facing north :: note entire north face missing from 1980 eruption (6.2009)
Looking west up the summit cornice (6.2009)
At the summit – 8365′ – camera facing east to Mt. Adams (6.2009)
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11. Road trip to Bend and Sunriver for Sarah to participate in the Pacific Crest Triathlon – Long Course.
This was Sarah’s third triathlon and second “Ironman” class triathlon. She kicked ass! The “long course” is so-called since “Ironman” is a trademark, but for the record this was a longer course (by 1 mile on the bike): 1.1 mile swim, 57 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. The water temperature was 62 degrees, the day was 90 degrees in the shade and the course traversed altitudes between 4000-6000 feet. Sarah finished 7th out of 29 in her age group with a time of 5:51:11 and she had the 60th fastest run among all 433 competitors. She placed 136th overall. Congratulations, Sarah! Check out the full set of pictures here: Pacific Crest Triathlon, 6.27.09
Race face – 6:30am (6.2009)
Sarah & The Best Cheering Crew EVER! (6.2009)
Time to get the party started – Wickiup Reservoir (6.2009)
Swimming done…on to 57 miles of black top (6.2009)
Sarah being chased by the paparazzi/cheerleaders, Mile 8ish :: Sunriver, OR (6.2009)
A hard earned and well deserved victory! (6.2009)
Still standing…barely (6.2009)
One of the proud, adoring fans (6.2009)
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12. Saw Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller at Oaks Park in Portland.
Billed as “Three Girls and Their Buddy” – it was great music and a very chill evening in a park right along the Willamette at sunset. Sweet way to end the month of June!
Oaks Park at sunset (6.2009)
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