The lazy beast within

Christmas was very nice for Chris and I. We have been so busy lately between work and Liberia preparations that we needed a few days off. I missed being with my family but the quiet time at home was wonderful. We had our friends Mollie and Rob over on Christmas Eve. Kelty, their 2-year-old, kept our cats in line, and Keen, their tiny 1-mo-old just lay there and snorted every now and then. We had some good laughs and it was nice to share the holiday with friends.

We went to church at 11 PM and Christmas day we slept in (the theme of the weekend). Chris gave me some great books I'm looking forward to reading (3 cups of tea, in defense of food, and a slow-cooker cookbook!) and some funny presents. He was simply delighted by the UGA snuggie I bought him (haha). Personally I think it is great for those sub-zero nights we've been having, even if it's not as stylish as the leapord-print snuggies. I stayed in my pajamas all day on Christmas, a feat I have not accomplished in ages. It was great! I even got started on my masterpiece paint-by-numbers (further proof of my inner 80-year-old).

This morning was painful though, and after 4 days of sleeping past 9:00, I realized just how lazy I am deep down. Somehow, I surpress the laziness through early morning workouts and my caffeine addiction, but letting the lazy beast out for a few days made it even harder to fight back today. I lead a pretty active lifestyle and sometimes compare myself to some amatuer triathletes or cyclists, but in this respect I am so different from the super driven athletes. When given the chance, I LOVE to slack off! It just makes me wonder how long I can keep up this act.

Luckily, although it was difficult to get to, I really enjoyed my 6:30 AM body pump class, so I have some hope for returning to a productive human being. Then again, it's 1 PM and I am blogging instead of working, sooooo ...... yeah.

Day 8: Arolla to La Sage

We took our time leaving today and did some grocery shopping first. We also said goodbye to our British friends, who were taking a rest day in Arolla. Chris and I also split ways early on the trail – he took a more difficult route while I tried to salvage the cartilage in my knees by taking the lower trail. We’ve been having a great time traveling together, but it was a little nice to be on the trail alone for a bit. Solitude is a good thing from time to time.

After about 1-1/2 hours we met up at Lac Blue – more like a pond with very clear, blue water. Well, it was a little warm so I decided to jump in. Once my feet were in I realized I’d have to just dive in or give up because it was frigid! When I dove in, I really wondered if I would make it out – it was probably the coldest water I’ve ever been in! There were lots of people picnicking around the lake and I got some funny looks, including from Chris. Oh well, it was fun!

We then hiked down a lot to Les Haudres, where we had a delicious lunch of Switzerland’s version of a slim jim, bread, honey (from Les Haudres), nutella and plums. Very nice. From there it was just an hour to La Sage, where we are staying tonight. La Sage is tiny and I kind of wish we had just stayed in Les Haudres. Our hostel/gite is kind of dumpy but what else can I expect from an old village on the side of a mountain? I did some laundry, then Chris and I sat on the deck and took in the views and some beer/coffee. Dinner was a very pleasant surprise. Chris got lamb covered in an amazing soft cheese and I had a tasty sausage. Now we are hanging out in a common room with some French people. Oh yeah, there was a bit of communication error with our hostess. We asked for the menu and then waited 30 minutes before deciding that something had been lost in translation. At least that gave us plenty of time to get very hungry!

The silly American

A typical Valaisian home in Les Haudres

Our hostel in La Sage, the food was great

Day 7: Refuge les Ecoulies and Arrolla

We woke up to less than an inch of snow. Not a big deal but it was very pretty … and cold! The door to the bathroom, outside the refuge, was frozen shut! Today’s hike was very exciting, and we really enjoyed having the trail to ourselves most of the way. We left at 8:45 and walked along the Lac Dixence. We decided to hike by the Cabane de Dix and I’m glad we did. It’s in an amazing setting, surrounded by peaks and glaciers. It would be an awesome place to stay the night.

But we continued on and walked across a glacier! This was one of the highlights of the trip so far. We were on the glacier before we realized it. We both thought we were still on a lateral moraine, but looked down and realized the small rocks and dirt were actually frozen together. If you brushed the top layer of rocks aside you saw nothing but clear ice below! Once we got to the main glacier, it was obvious. Under the dusting of snow, it was just clear. Here and there little streams coursed down the ice and looked like them-park water slides (Chris even tried sliding down a little slope on the glacier). It was very beautiful. The streams were the clearest things you’ve ever seen. I got some water from one and it was refreshing, and also had an interesting mineral flavor. It was also interesting being at the edge of a glacier. You could see how the ice in contact with rocks would melt first, so if there were only very small rocks you’d see little spires of ice between them.

After probably about an hour, we left the glacier and headed up the Col de Chevres. I guess we left the trail because we ended up scrambling up some super-steep, sketchy stuff. It reminded me of some of our Alaska hiking. You can’t actually hike up the Col de Chevres – instead there are four 10-15 ft. ladders linked together scaling a steep cliff! I was very relieved and a little shaky at the top!

This was when we started to run into all the other hikers. It was a nice descent into Arolla. As we talked to people, we learned that our choice to not stay at the Cabane de Prafluerie was a good one. It was crowded and only had 2 bathrooms and no cooking facilities. No one sounded like they enjoyed it, plus the Col de Roux was very icy in the early morning.

We’ve learned that the Swiss seem to be super hikers. I think you have to be pretty hardcore to climb any of these mountains. This point was further driven home when we arrived in Arolla and a 25 km race was ending that went from 1800 m (5900 ft) to 3000 m (9800 ft) and back to 2000 m (6500 ft). The winner did it in 2:15! Arolla was nice but crowded, especially with the “trek” in town. Luckily we found a room and dinner from some folks selling food out of their garage. We had a refreshing beer with dinner and then polished off an entire bottle of wine! A Goron from Cab. de la Tsa – which actually is a cabin you can stay at perched above Arolla. The funniest part of the day was listening to all the drunk racers and festival-goers outside our hostel. They were singing in French along with an accordion – funny how drunk people sound the same in any language.

Cabane de Dix (get your mind out of the gutter, "dix" means ten in French!):

We were hoping to start the 2009 Georgia season right, oh well:

Glaciers and ice outside of Arolla:

Day 6: Cab. Mont Fort to Refuge Les Ecoulies

Today was a very difficult day in terms of mileage (~11 mi.) and terrain (4 cols), but we both felt great and had a very good day. The only bad thing about the day was the line of people on the trail, thanks to the added traffic from the tour group. We can go fast, but today we stopped so often for pictures or just enjoying the scenery that we were almost the last ones on the trail. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so why rush?

First we walked along the Sentier des Chamois, an almost even trail along the side of a mountain with spectacular views of the Grand Combin and the mountains we’d walked by days 2, 3, and 4. Every now and then we’d look around and realized, “Holy crap, we’re walking in the Swiss Alps!” ☺ We went over the Col Termin, then the much more difficult Col de Louvie. The wind was so fierce at the top that it knocked Chris over when he knelt to take a picture! It was flurrying, too, so we hurried on and had lunch overlooking the Grand Desert glacier.

The hike to the Col du Plafuerie was our favorite part of the day. Past the Grand Desert, we were on flat rocky ledges and passed by a picturesque tarn. The sun even came out, so we stopped to gaulk and have a couple of sips of wine. The wine led to all sorts of silliness heading up the Col (or maybe it was just our ebulence at the glory of the day). We imitated Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin (cycling announcers) and referred to the hikers ahead of us as the breakaway that we were trying to reel in. Then Chris attacked … all hell broke loose! Once the climb kicked in we stopped talking though. We caught up to Mike and Jenny (the couple from Texas) and then waited on them at the top for high-fives and then headed on.


By now it was snowing/graupeling, and that continued on and off the rest of the evening. We made it to the Cabane Prafluerie around 5:00. It was packed. We stopped in for some hot drinks and chatted with Todd. I got hot chocolate and Chris got coffee and they both came in huge bowls! Yum! We somewhat reluctantly left the warmth of the Cabane for Col #4: Col de Roux. It didn’t take long and soon we were overlooking the Val d’Dixence, with a long man-made lake, steep slopes all around, and large glacier-clad mountains at the head of the valley.

We stopped for several pictures and then made our way to the Refuge des Ecoulies. We were the only ones there – a very welcome sight after the Cabane. We had some delicious cold ravioli with cheese, sauce, and 3-day old bread. Add some wine and great views, it was an excellent evening!

Hot chocolate served in a bowl. Score!















Sunshine on the other side of Col de Roux















Our cabin for the night

Day 5: Le Chable to Cabane du Mont Fort

Today we ascended 1600 m, or 5200 feet, kind of like climbing Long’s Peak! It was difficult yet enjoyable. The higher we got, the grander the views. Relative to the Swiss hiking times posted on signs here, Chris and I are faster uphill than down. I think we just get into a good rhythm and take less breaks going up. Stopping during a climb makes getting going again very difficult. So we just go. Today Chris set the pace and it was challenging but do-able for me. Unil the end, when we came around a ridge and saw the Cabane. It looked so close but was 45 minutes away! I was delirious with exhaustion, but also with the amazement at the views.

I like the cabane, it’s nicer than expected. We have a private room and things seem pretty clean. It’s 3-stories high and has strange horned human heads outside that howl when you walk by. Someone’s idea of art, my idea of creepy!

We are getting to know some of our fellow trekkers. Mike and Jenny are kind and maybe a little overwhelmed by the experience. Todd is a vet from Vermont/Albany (NY). We ate dinner with him tonight. Then there are four British guys in their late 50’s who impress us with their speed. We’ve also met a British couple and a Canadian couple. We were a little bummed to see a group of 10+ show up on a guided tour. The only plus is one of the guides, Dan, went to UGA and has lived in Italy for 15 years since graduating.

Well this hike has been very enjoyable so far. Some times it’s harder than I expected, but the views almost never disappoint and Chris and I are having fun. We came to the realization this morning that our legs will probably hurt the rest of the trip. But, on the plus, they will be made of steel by the time we reach Zermatt! ☺ Oh yeah, the espresso at Hotel la Poste was amazing!

The Cabane du Mont Fort, nestled among the peaks and gondolas

Incredible view from the cabin's deck

Day 4: Champex-Lac to Le Chable

According to Kev, today was “easy.” According to Chris, “It was steep and far down to the place.” The hike was mostly downhill, but that can be very rough on the legs. It started out fabulously. We hobbled to breakfast and then decided to go for a walk before checking out of the Club Alpin. The walk elevated our legs from very gimpy to slightly sore status. We watched old men fishing along the Lac and fog rolling in over the hills. We spoke with 3 people on their way out on the Tour du Mont Blanc, and one couple from Texas (Mike and Jenny) who are also doing the Haute Route. None of them went over the Fenetre the day before, which made us feel either special or dumb, or maybe just “youthfully” over-ambitious.

We left town about 10:15. The first half of the hike was great – overlooking a very pastoral valley with impressive mountains all around. We passed a handful of hamlets. Many of the homes in this region have their own garden, some of which Chris was drooling over.

If I could go back to this AM however, I would recommend taking the train between Sembrancher and Le Chable. Much of the walk was on a gravel road next to an extensive gravel pit, with lots of heavy machinery and a recycling/compost center. It was ugly, to be honest. One highlight, however, was when we realized the Tour de France had passed through this area in July. Apparently, there’s something called the “Livestrong bot”, which will paint messages on the raods of the TDF. The messages went on for a few hundred meters and made an impression on me. Here, thousands of miles from home, you see evidence of two things probably all people have in common. First is cancer – in some form we all know someone who had or has it. Second is the human spirit – the will to fight, the audacity to hope (sorry to steal the phrase), the remembrance of loved ones gone, the need to cheer for cyclists about to tackle climbs that seem just as crazy as beating cancer. It just made me feel, I don’t know, more connected to the humanity around us, and even to whatever it is that compels so many people to shoulder a pack and traipse through these jumbled mountains (I’ll let you know when I figure out what that is).

So enough philosophy. Le Chable is in an impressive setting, but unfortunately it’s cloudy so we can’t fully appreciate it. We spent the afternoon in an exhausting search for groceries, dinner, gifts, etc. But now we are enjoying our 80 degrees private room in Hotel la Poste. Also we are noticing our heart rates are unusually high. Mine was 86 bpm at breakfast. Maybe it was the 3 cups of coffee, because tonight it is down to 52.

Day 3: Side of mountain to Champex-Lac

Trient Glacier

Chris didn’t sleep well at our crooked campsite, and I woke up from time to time, too, with fears of marmots getting into our bags or geese flying over our heads (not sure why that was a concern but I woke Chris up a few times yelling at these fictitious creatures). But every time I woke up, I was enthralled by the scene around us. The horizon, or 270 degrees of it, was lined with jagged peaks, and the sky splashed with stars. Down below us, the peaceful village of Trient sparkled in the dark valley. So not sleeping well didn’t bother me too much.

When we woke up, some chamoix were wandering around the hillside next to us. These “acrobats of the hillside,” according to a children’s book we bought for Ashlyn, look like goats with warpaint, according to Chris. They looked like beefy pronghorn to me. Anyway, the closest one to us made eye contact when we started talking, and then ran away. Then all the others galloped off, as if the rocy hillside were nothing. They must have been very spooked because they kept running until they were far out of sight. But I felt like we were very fortunate to see so many of them (8-10), considering how skittish they are.

Anyway, we had seen the trail for the day the evening before, and it looked crazy. This ended up being a very difficult day, but I was glad we at least knew somewhat what to expect. We started hiking at 9:15 and hiked down, down, down. We had to take a break near the Chalet du Glacier at about 11 AM just to give our joints a break. Here’s an idea of the profile: we passed the Refuge les Grands at 2100 m, then down to the Chalet at 1500 m, and then back up to the Fenetre d’Arpette at 2660 m, and back down to Champex at 1460 m! My legs were so tired by the end that they ached.

The hike up the Fenetre (which means ‘window’ in French) was not so bad because we did a good job of pacing ourselves (AKA I was in front, and we stopped every 25-30 minutes). We arrived at about 2:10 and the view at the top was pretty amazing, as were the views of the Glacier de Trient all the way up. I’ve never been so close to such a huge glacier, it was impressive. It was also interesting to compare it to a picture in the book we are using. I don’t know when that was taken, but the glacier seems to have retreated quite a bit since then.

The only really bad part of the day was the water. There were plentiful streams to drink from on the way up but none for about 1-1/2 hours on the way down. It was hot and we were very very thirsty and growing more fatigued with every step. I was so happy to finally see a stream that I was ready to lap the water off the ground, if necessary.

We finally arrived at Champex-Lac at 6:15, just in time to check into a hotel (Club Alpin), rinse off, and sit down for a magnificent dinner. So all told we hiked for 8 hours 15 minutes. Kev (the author of our guide book) said it would take 6.5-7, oh well. We loved our hotel. For 70 francs (about $70), we got a 5-person room all to ourselves, a 4-course dinner, and breakfast (I had 3 cups of coffee ☺). Also Champex was nice, a beautiful setting but not over-developed.

The Refuge les Grands - a nice spot that we passed up in favor of camping last night.


Easy hiking on the western side of the Fenetre

Views along Lac Champex

Stage 2: Argentiere to side of mountain

View from our campsite

Today we hiked from 10:30-4:45, with about a 1-1/2 hr break at the Col de Balme. The hike up to the Col was much more difficult than I was expecting. We gained 2400 ft. from Le Tour. Mocking us the whole way were gondolas and lifts, but that would be cheating! The views made it well worthwhile, though – especially of Mont Blanc.

At the Col, we had lunch and then napped for 45-60 minutes! We were beat. The trail since hasn’t been difficult, just along the side of this mountain. We decided to camp tonight (even though it’s illegal, for whatever reason). It’s been nice to have this amazing vista to ourselves. Only problem is there’s no room for a tent because the hillside is steep and rocky. So we will be sleeping at a bit of an angle but hopefully won’t roll away!

I’m enjoying our food – salami, local cheese, baguettes, nutella, chocolate, fruit, and wine. ☺ Sleeping outside is great, this makes the trip feel more like what we usually enjoy doing outside.

the dinner table

view of Mont Blanc on the way up the Col de Balme

Pictures from Stage 1, Haute Route

These didn't work last time so I'm trying again! Better late than never :)

A view from the train in Germany. This is when I was thinking, "I want to move to Europe."


Reto cooking us fondue:

Street-side dining in Bern:

Neat mountains along the trail on the first day:

I'm going to Liberia

The craziness never ends in the Harper household. Just as the dust is settling from one trip, we up and decide to go on another. In truth, going to Liberia will be much more than a vacation, and will gobble up the majority of our time off for 2010, but I think it will be worth it. I think it will be good for me, it's been 4 years since I went to Gulfport to help with hurricane relief, and that trip was inspiring and humbling at the same time. This will be Gulfport multiplied by 1000 since I have probably never seen anything like what we'll see in Monrovia. The trip will be great for Chris because he'll be able to use his talents at videography to help this project get off the ground and continue. And, I am very happy that we are both going, because I think it will be good for us as a couple.

Here is a news story about Plumpy Nut, which is basically peanut butter with some extra nutrients to help feed malnourished kids. According to what I've learned so far, this simple food can save lives, and is easily produced in countries like Liberia where peanuts are easily grown. So it is also a self-sustaining business. I'm sure I'll have more to say later.


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3 reasons to be happy

1. This morning on the way to work I had a tailwind (yipee) and one of my favorite songs came on my shuffle, "These are the days" by Keith Urban (the song at the end of the 'be here' CD). I love the words so I thought I'd share. (I also love the guitar and his voice too ;)
My grandmama was a wise old soul
took me by the hand not long ago
Said, son what's your hurry, boy slow it down
taste the wild honey, listen to the sound
of the wind that's blowing through the trees
rivers flowing to the sea
yeah they're all heading home just like you and me
life's for living, child can't you see
that these are the days we will remember
these are the times that won't come again
the highest of flames becomes an ember
and you've gotta live it while you can ...

2. I went to an interesting event last night called Ignite Fort Collins. There were quick 5 minute presentations from everything from building your own bike, to being a tomboy, to chasing your dreams. Somewhere in there was a quote I've always liked from Henry Ford: "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're probably right!" I think this is true & a good reason to have a positive attitude.

3. The Dawgs play Auburn this weekend! This is always a fun game, especially if you are there. It's the Souths oldest rivalry but also a great excuse for friends from both schools to get together and live it up for the weekend. I have several great memories of traveling to this game and hosting friends in Athens. :) Go Dawgs!

(This is an infamous picture of Uga attacking an Auburn player during the 97 game.)

Brain Overload

Today has been admittedly unproductive. But seriously, you try getting some work done when all you can think about is ...
- Planning a logical and safe way to drive back to Georgia by yourself.
- Also planning how you will get enough work done while driving and visiting friends to justify taking time off (here kicks in grad student guilt complex).
- Wondering if it's worth thousands of dollars to travel to Liberia to help construct a facility that will manufacture and distribute peanut butter to malnourished kids.
- Feeling guilty for just thinking about taking another 2 weeks off for this trip!
- Missing a best friend who you haven't seen in 2 years and probably won't see or talk to again for who knows how long (another year, 3 years??)
- Wondering what else God has up his sleeves for you in the next 6 months ...

I guess it's not much unusual - just life - but I've been in one of those moods today when I just would rather sit and think and talk about all this than do any work. Hence my blogging at 10 PM when I am supposed to be working on a paper revision!

Off-season Goals

Technically you could say my off-season began as soon as I finished my half ironman Aug. 9. I am a big fan of taking some serious time off during the year. I know it means I lose some fitness but it's worth it for the mental break. Anyway, I slacked off for a couple of months and now I'm ready to get back into a semi-regular routine. But I still won't consider myself back in "training" mode until January - for now I'm happy just to stay active and do what I enjoy!

That being said, I have a couple of goals. These are flexible though and I try to give myself extra wiggle-room this time of year. Chris and I have decided to run together 2-3 days a week, although I'd like to go 3 times and I want to work on speed. I'm not a fast runner but I think with some work that can change. Last year I worked on endurance, so I think this year I'll focus more on faster, shorter runs.

I also want to ride my road bike 2 times a week, just to keep my legs used to it - I hate getting on the bike for the first time in weeks and feeling like crap. Plus I LOVE riding my bike, so this will keep me happy too.

This time of year is also a good time to work on all that boring stuff, like strength and flexibility. I'm trying to go to yoga once a week, which I really enjoy. Rachel and I are talking about lifting weights together - we started today by meeting at the gym at 6:30 AM - way to go us! :)

So, that's it! Oh yeah, I'm also trying to not give in every time I want something unhealthy. I am not very good at things like "self control" and "just say no". I figure if I say no 4 out of 5 times, then I'm on a roll and deserve to splurge 20% of the time. The bad thing is I'm realizing I want something unhealthy most waking moment, so 20% of the time is still a lot. Something else to work on I guess!

Amazing snow!

How is it that after living here for 5 years I am still so excited by the first big snow of the year? It helps that this is the second biggest storm since we've moved here! I went to work today and just kept looking out the window in wonderment. CSU shut down at 2:00 but I unfortunately have a lot to do, so I was at work till 4. When I got home, Chris and I suited up in our longjohns and snowboarding jackets and walked to Safeway, about a mile away. Along the way, we jumped around in snowdrifts and took pictures of the flaky, powdery stuff clinging to trees in such a beautiful way. You couldn't design a better scene if you had your whole lifetime to do it in!



We picked up some essentials at Safeway - like a baguette, donut, and coffee. Then we called our friends and new neighbors, Matt and Beth, to see if we could stop by and see their new house. Well they were so nice and said they'd cook dinner for us and they had a keg that needed emptying. We're not the kind to refuse help to friends, so we took them up on the offer.

Now we're home and warm. It is still supposed to snow all night and maybe even tomorrow! What fun!



We've been having fun so far in October. My mom came out last weekend to visit. We had a great time on Friday at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and on Saturday hiking up to Arthur's Rock and watching college football. It was really nice to spend some quality time with her!

Haute Route - Day 1, Chamonix to Argentiere

I kept a log while Chris and I hiked in Switzerland ... I'll be posting 1 or 2 days at a time over the next week or so. Enjoy!

Our trip so far has been great. Reto and his wife treated us to fabulous hospitality in Bern, Switzerland our first night in Europe. Reto cooked fondue, with gruyere and some other local cheeses, wine, garlic, and maybe something else. It was so good! We ate it with bread and cooked carrots and mushrooms.

I am in love (already) with the European lifestyle. The trains are so easy to take and so far have all gone through gorgeous countryside. It seems there is very little untouched land, and yet the towns are very picturesque and the hillsides are covered in fruit trees and vineyards and some pine forests, and the lowlands are usually filled with corn (at least in S. Germany). Bikes are everywhere, and though I noticed that when I went to Europe the first time with my friend Kristi, I appreciate it so much more now that I am a cyclist.

Reto and Saskia’s apartment was not much smaller than our house and very nicely laid out with an open living room and nice balcony. People walk to the grocery store, where processed foods are far less common than in your average American supermarket. Most stores in Bern were closed this morning (Sunday), and despite being a national capital, the city felt very peaceful. Anyway, I think after 3 weeks on this continent, I will be strongly resolved to find a European post-doc!

Today we left Bern at noon. Our train approached the imposing-looking Alps, then went under them and arrived in Visp. We also transferred in Martigny and Vallercine. The ride between those towns was very scenic and actually went up the mountains.

We started our hike at about 4:00. We wandered around Chamonix before finding our route. It was very crowded because of a 100-mile ultramarathon ending in town today! Just when Chris and I begin to think we are doing something crazy, a few thousand people outdo us! Chamonix has a nice setting, especially because of snow-clad Mont Blanc above it and the Drews (spire-like mountains) lining the valley. Mont Blanc just seems like one humongous glacier that was broadly lifted from the valley.

The hike was confusing – we walked through a golf course and along roads, and when we tried to go our own way on the Petite Balcon Sud, we just ended up back on the original trail. But once we were actually on a trail and away from the road, it was much better. Every now and then we’d get views of the amazing mountains, but mostly we were in a forest. After a bit (around 7:00), we arrived in Argentiere.

The hotel/hostel we are in is nice and has cheap food down the street. Best part is, it’s only 14.50 euros per person (we’re sharing a room with 2 other Americans).Of course, the food has been great. The trip is amazing so far!

P.S. Blogger's not uploading my pictures but check back later to see some of them.

Proof

Here is proof of the snow. I think we got about 5 inches at my house! To make things even more crazy, I ran in the CSU Homecoming 5K Saturday morning. It was freezing cold but kind of fun. It was a good chance to see where I'm at fitness-wise. I ran it in 27:30, although my last mile was in 8:00. So one of my goals for the winter is to get faster! I can't believe how cold it's been. It hasn't been over 30 since Friday afternoon and yesterday's high was in the low 20's! Yikes. Alright, pictures.



And, happy birthday to my husband who is 30 today! I guess we are entering a new era in our lives, who knows what kind of adventures our 30's will bring us.

The sky is falling!

What the heck?? It is snowing outside, the second time this week! This is our sixth winter in Colorado and by far the earliest snow yet, especially considering that 1.5 inches have already fallen at our house and it's supposed to keep up all night! I was really proud of us for not using the AC all summer because it was unusually cool for the most part. But I guess the flip side is that we caved and turned on the heat tonight, since it is already 17 degrees outside and 53 degrees in our bedroom! So I guess our gas bill this winter will make up for our low energy bill over the summer. I am caught off-guard by this weather but I am going to try to have a positive attitude this winter. Snow is really pretty, and I love snowboarding, snowshoeing, wearing hoodies and drinking hot beverages. So ... here's to winter!

In the Mood

I've really been in the mood to cook and bake recently. I think it is partly because we were out of town for so long, and I was craving some home-cooked food by the end of our vacation. And I just really enjoy the act of cooking and trying new things. Chris and I are trying to cut down on processed foods, and he is really good at creating recipes (like the pasta sauce he made last week).

I found a website that I am currently obsessed with. Every recipe on it looks amazing. We are going to make a variation of the chicken pot pie with herbed biscuit topping (http://inncuisine.com) sometime this week. But no Bisquick since it has high fructose corn syrup and I'm pretty sure we can come up with our own biscuit topping.

I'm also on a cornbread kick and just finished making some whole wheat strawberry cornbread muffins. I used the cornbread recipe on the box of cornmeal but did half whole wheat flour and a little extra milk. It was a little like this recipe from another cool website (http://madehealthier.com) I found.

Have you found any good recipes lately?? I know Rachel made some amazing fig-cinnamon swirl bread last weekend, which she shared with Michelle and I after a delectable lunch of taco bell. :)

I love fall!

Well the Rockies are going to the playoffs for the second time in two years! Woohoo! The only sad thing is they beat out the Braves for the wild card spot. I was trying not to cheer against the Braves the last few days, but as they say, I had to root for the home team! Chris and I are in the lottery for tickets to the NLCS (& world series), so hopefully they make it past the division playoffs! Going to the game 2 years ago when they beat the Phillies for the division title was a blast, so I really want to go to another postseason game!

It has been really windy the past few days (gusts up to 60 mph), but today started out calm and beautiful! I went for a run on one of my favorite routes and was just so uplifted by how pretty it was. It was very chilly, about 30 degrees, but sunny. I really love the sunshine, it makes everything better. The leaves are changing in the Fort and there is a crispness in the air that makes me happy.

The other wonderful thing about fall is college football! Chris and I have yet to spend an entire Saturday watching games since we've been gone, but tomorrow we will at least get to watch the Dawgs play LS-who. I hope it is a good game. If Georgia can keep the turnovers and penalties down, I think they will hang in there and maybe even give the Tigers a run for their money.

The bad thing about how cold it was last night is that the garden is done. Last night Chris made pasta sauce with tomatoes, kale, and onions from the garden. He added some garlic, sugar, and red wine and it turned out delicious! We picked a lot more tomatoes and a large bag of zucchini, so hopefully we can make some more sauce and bread this weekend. I wouldn't mind having a few loaves of zucchini bread in the freezer this winter, and if I make my grandfather's baked ziti again for Christmas the sauce will come in handy! Anyway, we didn't get to enjoy the garden as much as usual this year. It never got really hot this summer, so although the plants are big they didn't produce much until the last month or so. The plus is that we never turned on our AC, either! Ok, enough blah-blah-blahing for now. Hope you are enjoying fall too!

Great American Beer Fest!

Chris and I solidified our beer snob status (I think it is inevitable if you remotely like beer and live in Colorado) by attending GABF in Denver last weekend. We attended the "Home Brewers" session, though, so we were not nearly as nerdy as some of the people there. Common attire included hop farm t-shirts and pretzel necklaces (so you can cleanse your palate between beers) with (for the truly hardcore) bagel medalions. You definitely don't want to drink all of that beer on an empty stomach, but come on, does your food really have to be hanging around your neck at all times??

Anyway, the experience was slightly overwhelming. There were hundreds of breweries and thousands of beers to chose from, and only 4 hours and limited tolerance to try it all! We started with a plan. Chris was going to try IPA's and sour ales. I was going for wheat beers and porters. However, I soon decided I also wanted to try Belgian strong ales and reds, and anything else that sounded delicious. They are supposed to pour you 1 oz of each beer, but often that turns into about 2 oz, and since many of the exciting beers are also strong (9% or higher), things can get out of hand in a hurry. All in all, it was a great time!

We did manage to take notes (until the last 15 minutes when we were just frantically trying to visit as many breweries as possible ...). So here are some of our favorites, and some that were awful!

Fiftyfifty Brewing Co (Truckee, CA): Concentrated Evil (Belgian Strong - the beginning of the end of sobriety) and Donner Party Porter. This brewery seemed to have a lot of cool beers.

Iron Hill Brewery (Wilmington, DE): They had 16 beers to chose from, many that sounded great. We liked the Coffee Imperial Porter and Dunkelweiss.

Old Forge Brewing Co (Danville, PA): Chris said Petey's Porter was BAD.

Sly Fox (Royersford, PA): More trouble. Ichor Quadrupple (although it tasted kind of strong but was "only" 9%) and a yummy Saison

Upslope (Boulder): This is a fairly new brewery that hopefully we can visit sometime soon b/c they had good beers. A Pro-am ('time of the season') and an easy drinking Dunkel Weiss. Pro-am's are recipes from home brewers brewed by professionals.

Allagash (Portland, Maine): They have an 11% Trippel, which when it was poured for me the guy said, "You're gonna love this beer, but be careful." Then he poured me 2 ounces which I couldn't finish. He was right.

Russian River, CA: We were looking forward to trying these beers because Chris really likes their Damnation Ale. They had a lot of sours. Chris liked Consecration, but Empirical 7 "smelled and tasted like the cat's litter box."

Lost Abbey, CA: A yummy Abbey called 10 Commandments, and a really good sour Cuvee de Tomme.

Dogfish Head (DE): Chicha (strange! Brewed with chewed up corn. Yes, that's what I said. And it tasted like blue corn chips.)
Pangea (An ingredient from every continent. We liked it.)
Palo Santo (strong, good, salty, and sweet ... is this an accurate description or was it just getting late in the day? Drink it and find out.)

Bear Republic: I think my favorite beer of the day was Double Rocket, a red ale. I really like reds, they are just the right amount of hops (unlike IPA's, ick).

Ballast Point, San Diego, CA: Sour Wench tasted like vinegar and was awful.

Port Pizza, CA: Who would think a pizza chain would have such good beer?? We enjoyed a double red and the Silky Smooth Oatmeal Stout.

Stone Brewing Co, CA: Chris had a unique black IPA and liked it.

Blackstone Brewing Co., Nashville, TN: St Charles Porter, I liked this a lot and it won Gold for Brown Porters.

And finally, we are now enjoying Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewing Co. A yummy imperial stout that won Gold in the Harper Brew Fest 09, thanks to my friends Brian and Nikki.

I'm back

It's been a while but I will probably get back into this blog soon. I keep meaning to write about our last few days in Alaska - I know in my head what I want to say but just haven't taken the time yet. Saturday we returned from 3 weeks in Europe! Hiking the Haute Route was an AMAZING experience and I have lots of stories and pictures. My main goal with those will be to make an actual photo album but I plan on doing some posting online to share with friends who live far away. The conference went well, even though I wasn't super excited about my poster, I feel like I learned a lot and was able to think about my research in a new light (usually I focus on hydrologic cycle and the conf. was on the carbon cycle).

Since getting home I am trying to a) get over jet lag and b) get into a routine that is slightly less hectic than the one I was following over the summer. I really enjoyed eating breakfast with Chris while we hiked (we stayed at a lot of hotels/hostels that included breakfast), so since I'm not training for anything these days I'm looking forward to more relaxing mornings with him. I also want to ride my bike (commute) more often, run a few days a week, and do yoga. Also I have a list of things to do at work that I have somewhat prioritized, so I can hopefully make progress on some of the more important items. Getting back to work is hard but I feel like I got a decent amount done today. The only place I feel slightly overwhelmed is with things to do at home, just because that list seems to be never ending!

Also I have lost interest in facebook, at least for now, so don't expect to find out about my life on there ... instead give me a call :). I will probably post on here more often to make up for my obsessive desire to write obscure comments on my life. So, check back often and as always thanks for stopping by!

Chugach State Park Day 5

Day 5: Over Moraine Pass into Camp Creek valley, 6.75 miles

Low: Not sure ... probably beginning the day full of doubt and concern after the rough day before. I also was very low on energy toward the end of Moraine Pass, and actually told Chris I didn't care about looking at rocks! I think our low calorie diet was taking its toll, and probably a bit of stress-related exhaustion. Although I'll take this kind of stress over work stress any day!

High: Hiking through Camp Creek valley. We didn't know what to expect, especially as far as vegetation goes. But the descent was gradual and through a wide valley with a picturesque meandering stream. As Eric said, "This is a magical valley." Waterfalls poured down steep slopes on either side of us, and eventually we had views of some imposing mountains on the other side of Eagle River. I was very tired at that point but was celebrating on the inside.

This day was very scenic, so there are lots of pictures!
Looking up N. Fork Ship Creek valley.

Fresh snow on some of the mountains!

A lot of the rocks around Moraine Pass were shattered like this. I'm not sure why, it looked really neat.

Grizzly Bear Lake

Almost to Moraine Pass (aptly named as you can see from all the rocks, left behind by glaciers).

The view of Moraine Pass, to the left, and Paradise Pass straight ahead-ish. We had thought about going over Paradise but it would have extended our trip. Plus I have heard it is very steep, can you tell??

Looking up valley along Camp Creek.


What's that, sunshine?? Beautiful!

Chugach State Park Day 4

Day 4: Up (north fork) Ship Creek, without a paddle. 6 wet miles

What turned out to be our worst day started with 2 good omens. 1. I had an amazing dream the night before. I was euphoric after our successful hike over the pass and the amazing flower-filled meadow we were sleeping in. I dreamed I was back in Ft. Collins and someone asked me how the trip was. I enthusiastically responded, "It was great! Eagle and Symphony lakes were amazing, the hike over the pass was exhilerating ..." But I couldn't remember the rest of the trip. Then it dawned on me, that was because it hadn't happened yet! I was still in Alaska, and when I woke up, I got to continue living out this dream hike! Omen #2 was a rainbow slanting through Ship Creek valley when we woke up. This was going to be a good day!

Low: the rest of the day. It rained and was windy and cold most of the day. We were bushwhacking so made tremendously slow progress. We didn't make it nearly as far as we wanted to. We stopped by about 6 or 6:30, I was unsatisfied with how far we'd gone but was losing the will to keep trudging on. Eric was done, too, and his knees were causing him considerable pain, as I recall. I felt like we were all at our wits end, being so cold and worn out. Our spirits were as low as were were wet by the end of the day. This nights dreams were filled with concern over the feasibility of the rest of the trip.
A rainbow! This is going to be a great day!

A moose was uphill of us while we ate breakfast.

Sometimes we'd find a great moose or bear trail to follow, but inevitably it would tail off into something like this ...

A rare picture of our photographer.

This look says it all.

Chugach State Park Day 3

Day 3: Over unnamed pass to N. Fork Ship Creek valley (4.5 slow miles)

Low: I was very anxious approaching the pass. One part was very steep (no way to do it without scrambling on loose rock/scree). That made me nervous (I am a wimp), and the fear of the unknown was haunting me as we crested the pass. What if the other side was as steep? Or steeper?? Which brings me to the high - coming over the pass to an unbelievable panorama of jagged peaks, a huge valley, the water by Anchorage, and a gradual, grassy slope to descend on. :)

The coloring of Eagle and Symphony (foreground) lakes will never cease to amaze me.

Lots of rocks to hike over on the way up to the pass made for slow going. We chose to go up to the right of the two tarns above Symphony Lake.

The bump on the ridge is the scary part we had to go over. Steep and crumbly, yuck.

Looking back into headwaters of Symphony Lake.

We made it to the top!

Obligatory couple shot.

This was the other side of the pass. Eric perfected is sliding down heather technique here.