Before I get into this post, I wanted to properly draw your attention to the above map and ride data, which I included in my previous post about the Hardtrigger ride, but which did not show up on Google Reader. With my new cyclecomputer, Garmin provided some embedding code for a quick snapshot of my ride data and map, however, the code is not compatible in Reader. I've figured out a workaround and it should work for the future, but I was disappointed to discover that the data for my awesome ride did not go through to my Reader folks. Anyhoo, click on the image and it will take you to my Garmin site, where you can check out some interesting graphs and an interactive map, etc.
Now for today's post... Marsing Mini-Vacation
As I indicated in my previous post, Josh and I celebrated my 30th birthday in Marsing and riding bikes in the Owyhees. We actually drove up on Friday morning and stayed the night through Saturday.
Marsing is a fun little town, and has more going on than one might initially think. For example, despite its population not quite cresting 900 people, it has a number of places to procure a cup of coffee, a taco stand, an actual Mexican restaurant, a nicer restaurant, a diner, a biker bar, several thrift stores, a hardware store, a grocery store (equipped with hunting and fishing gear, of course!), a senior center, a smattering of religious establishments, a field office for the Bureau of Land Management, and even a motel.
Ahh... the motel. If you recall, Josh and I took a mini-vacation to Marsing a few years ago and found that the motel, coined the "Whitehouse Motel", was not what we had expected. Josh and I normally stay in one or two star accommodations, usually picking either the cheapest hotel or the second cheapest. In fact, no one could ever argue successfully that we are hotel snobs. Or even very picky, for that matter. Mainly because we prefer to spend our travel money on dining and other experiences of DOING things rather than on the hotel. Another reason for our selection of the cheapest hotels is because one can sometimes find a gem among crapholes. Take, for instance, the Whitehouse Motel in Marsing Idaho.
Arguably, the Whitehouse Motel bears a somewhat misleading name. For whatever grand structure the name "Whitehouse" conjures, the Whitehouse Motel is, quite simply, a doublewide trailer. Below are a few photos from the previous trip.
The Whitehouse Motel is, however, $36 a night, has plenty of hot water and has insanely comfortable beds. Also, the plywood roofing produces soothing sounds during a wind or rain storm, which we have experienced during both our stays there.
Unfortunately, the Whitehouse Motel is not as clean as I would prefer (and I have realistic cleanliness standards when it comes to my one star motel accommodations) and the water smells like sulfur. Really, really bad sulfur. And definitely not drinkable.
Other than that, it's a great (and only) place to stay in Marsing.
On Friday afternoon, Josh and I did a mountain bike ride over by the S. Jump Creek area of the Owyhees. It was just an out-and-back and wasn't anything to write home to Mom about. But it was a good warm-up for the next day's Hardtrigger 25 mile ride.
We set out with no expectations about the ride. Friday was very cloudy and windy, with severe storms going on in the Valley (that was the day there was a funnel cloud in Boise!!!), so Josh and I expected that we would have to cut a ride short. Of course, because my life is nothing if not ironic, we didn't apply sunscreen before the ride because it had been absolutely dark and cloudy all day. Then, not long into the ride, the sun poked out. And the previously cold weather turned to hot. And I had to take off my long sleeve jersey because I was baking, and proceeded to worry about being fried in the sun.
We rode for about an hour in the sun, and I did not get a sunburn.
It was, however, incredibly windy. So windy that I was literally blown off the trail several times.
There were also a lot of cows, a prelude to our Hardtrigger bovine experience. At some point, while we were climbing a section, we crossed paths with a very very pregnant cow who was so pregnant that she couldn't scamper away from us like the others and instead she had a massive diarrhea explosion in response to our presence.
We turned around shortly thereafter, in part because of the cows, but also because the road was difficult to ride with the deep hoof prints from the cows, because I was worried about being in the sun for so long without sunscreen, and because of the strong winds.
Behold my data and map! Click on it to see more.
After the bike ride, we got cleaned up and had dinner at the Sandbar, which is the slightly nicer restaurant in Marsing, down by the Snake River. We ate there on our previous trip, dining on delicious steaks. This time, I dunno, it was a little disappointing and I don't feel like dwelling on the experience.
Then we had a lovely stroll through the park along the river (where we had a few run-ins with some geese) and through some cute neighborhoods. We ended up at the biker bar where we shared a pitcher of Coors Light, downed some shots of tequila, chatted with the bartender (who took a shot with us), and played shuffleboard.
After a good night's sleep, we had eggs, toast, and hashbrowns at the diner next to the motel and then did our big Hardtrigger ride. After the ride, we rushed home to clean up in time to make a friend's wedding reception, where we mingled and had a lovely time.
Regarding yesterday's post, I forgot to mention the outcome of my sleep-facilitating action steps: that for a week and a half, I have been sleeping like a rock. In fact, I can't recall a time when I slept so well. Being back on track with sleeping, I've resumed my morning gym routine this week and it's going better than ever.
Here's a much procrastinated post about a few fun-filled activities.
Part I: Tour de Fat 2009
The other weekend ago was the annual Fat Tire Festival. The event transpired as it typically does: meet friends in silly costumes for a morning bicycle parade through the city streets, go have lunch, return to the festivities for beer, fun, and lots and lots of laughing. I managed to avoid the incredible sunburn of year's past and also made less of a fool of myself (this was the first year that I opted out of drunken silly contest participation).
My "costume" this year featured an unmatching colorful outfit, with a cape and knee highs. Below is the best photo, snapped by Eric. The cape was totally radical, awesome, and amazing. Riding my bicycle along, the cape would flutter and flap behind me. It also served as a good dance-party accessory and shielded me from the sun. Also pictured are Josh, Keith, and David.
Speaking of costumes and Eric, he dressed as Tobias from Arrested Development when he was trying out for Blue Man Group. It was fantastic because he didn't dress as a member of Blue Man Group, nor did he dress as Tobias, but as Tobias trying out for Blue Man Group. Hee!
There were some awesome costumes this year. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries so I took few photos. I did manage to capture a few of the gang of superheros. Our group rode next to theirs for most of the parade. The superman guy on the trike had a boombox in the rear basket, playing Michael Jackson hits. They were also really nice - - at one point, I had exclaimed that I wanted to join the superhero group, Josh responded that I technically wasn't a superhero, even though I had an awesome cape, and the guy dressed up as Wolverine said that they are accepting of all kinds of superheros. It made my day!
After the parade, we went to Donnie Macs in the Linen District for lunch. I had a hot dog and sweet potato fries. Then we returned to the park and spent the next many hours drinking cold beer, playing around on the funky bicycles, and dancing. This event occurred during the last days of my massive insomnia, so I felt delirious for most of the day - - particularly because of the colorful costumes, the beer, and the heat. Around 4:00 (when the event ends), several of us cooled off in the river. Josh and I rode home, drunk and barefoot. It was a fun day.
Part II: Outdoor Adventures
During my insomnia phase, I did not feel comfortable operating my mountain bike. Several weekends ago, Josh and I went out to the Owyhees for an adventure, but it was unsuccessful because I was so exhausted. We did ride far enough to check out a neat rock formation and also rode past a Unabomber-type compound, which made us nervous. Though, I haven't been on a successful ride since Orchard Trail about a month ago. WHICH IS SO WEIRD AND LAME. This Friday, I'm planning on riding with a group of people and I am really excited about it.
I have, however, been on a lot of good hikes. The most recent was this weekend, when Josh and I hiked Mores Mountain up at Bogus. Before that was Corralls with Amy and her pooch, and before that, somewhere with Elizabeth. Hiking with friends is nice because it's more of a social occasion, which was benefitial to me this past month.
These photos are from Mores Mountain. It was so beautiful up there - - my photos of the stunning views and scenery were unremarkable, but I thought these macro shots were okay.
In other news, I've finally gone bananas with the weeding of our little patio space. It is a big undertaking but I decided that the weeds are never going to pull themselves. The result is that there is now adequate room for the flowers that I planted this spring to bloom, and all of my blooming flowers make me happy. I'm excited for next spring - - I've developed a plan for half of the space to be a flower garden, the other half for veggies.
Tomorrow you can expect a knitting update if I can brainstorm sufficient content.
On Saturday, Josh and I decided to head out to the Bruneau Sand Dunes for some fun hyperactivity. We had thought about doing a big mountain bike ride, but felt like doing something a bit different... a bit more silly. And to ensure plentiful silliness, we brought sleds.
The hike to the top of the ridge was a good workout. On the previous day, we did a mountain bike ride up Hard Guy and so hiking on the dunes was an excellent complimentary workout. Once we got to the top of the ridge, we found that it was really windy. We used our sleds to shield ourselves from the wind.
Once on top of the ridge, we continued hiking. Above us, stormclouds were brewing.
Hiking along the ridge was quite a bit of work.
Some of us had to stop and take a breather.
Then the time came to sled down the dunes. And it was a lot of fun! Josh called it "a bit of glory" and we continued to experience "another bit of glory" all the way down.
Note how I crash at the end. That was common.
Cowabunga!!!
And we became completely covered in sand. Because of the wind and the sledding, I had so much sand in my hair that I expect it to take several showers before I can get it all out.
We took highway 78 back to Boise, and stopped at the Emu-Z-Um, sort of a 'mom and pop' museum of Idaho antiques. Wow, what an interesting place. These two people have, in the middle of Owyhee County, created this overwhelming display of a lifetime of collecting Idaho history. Possibly the most interesting aspect of this museum is talking to the owners, who have built buildings and created these museum-style displays. It is well worth the five bucks.
And, just in case you're wondering about the name... yes, there are emus.
I was most impressed by some of the driftwood displays.
There were also some impressive doilies. As a knitter, I can appreciate the doily.
And neat glass bottles!
And old bikes!!!
More photos are on the photoset (link below), though, you really have go to there to experience it. It is kind of incredible.
After the museum, we drove past Murphy and stopped at the Blue Canoe for dinner. We enjoyed ribeyes and an assortment of vegetables.
Oh, and remember those crazy stormclouds?
They caused some crazy flash flooding. During the drive, there was water running all over the road. And on the side of the road, creeks gushing with water where creeks before did not exist. Watching the erosion happen gave me chills.
I had a lovely birthday weekend, thank you to everyone who wished me a merry day. Getting older is great as it involves collecting experiences.
On Friday, I got out of work early so to go on a quick bike ride and prepare for a potluck/BBQ at my place. From this experience, I've discovered that if you want to sample a lot of really really delicious food, host a potluck. I set up a 4' x 8' table which was completely covered in various food dishes. Yum! Lucky for me, there was more food than people were able to stuff into their bellies, and I continue to enjoy the leftovers.
Other than the food, of course, it was a very enjoyable evening. The attendees were, in no particular order, Elizabeth, my dad, Amy, Leah, David, Alisha and Samwise, Lorry, Sam, Edvin, Samir, and Sandina. Given the company, I obviously had a wonderful time. Even the most introverted of the bunch, who did not know everyone, seemed to have a great time. My father, for example, drank beers and conversed for several hours with everyone.
The photos of the evening, unfortunately, aren't that great. I attempted to photograph everyone naturally, which means that I have photos of people chewing their food and talking... poses that don't come out well in a still shot.
The weather had predicted thunderstorms and I was delighted that they held off just long enough for us to finish BBQing. Elizabeth and Edvin brought their delicious yogurt chicken and Samir and Sandina brought shrimp kebabs, both of which needed some grilling. Josh removed the last of the kebabs just as the rain began pouring.
Then there was Alisha and Samwise... and a lot of cooing. A number of us took turns holding the baby, who is really the cutest.
On Saturday, the weather limited what fun was able to be had. Josh and I had a Nampa day, during which time we visited the Canyon County Historical Museum, most of which is dedicated to the railroad. The first photo at the top of this post is from a photo at the railroad museum, and I love it.
The museum had several model railroad scenes - - watching the trains go around was mesmerizing. There was also display about the Chinese in Canyon County which I spent a long time contemplating, as they had one of the foot binding shoes. I had never seen one of the shoes before and found it totally disturbing, obviously. Then there was this WTF display at the museum.
On Sunday, Elizabeth and I drove out to the Owyhees and hiked Wilson Creek. It did not turn out quite as I had planned... The "plan" involved us driving to the 'trailhead' and starting from there. Unfortunately, every single time that Elizabeth and I have gone hiking this year, it has always been unbelievably muddy. In planning this adventure, neither of us recalled the torrential downpour that cause flashed flooding in parts of Owyhee County yesterday. Yeah... Anyhoo, so there we were, driving up the road, noting that it was getting muddier and muddier, when the car ceases to have enough traction to get up the mountain and is spinning out beneath us. Yeah...
After a pause to collect our thoughts, we managed to get the car turned around (for those who haven't been on this road, it is essentially a 'one lane' dirt road winding through the mountains) and navigated it down to a spot to park. We considered our hiking options and decided to hike the couple miles up the road to the 'trail' (and by 'trail' I mean the off-road road). Problem was that the mud was really crazy. It would stick to our boots and made them feel several pounds heavier. After we passed the spot where the car spun out, we found that that was the worst of the mud and it got significantly more hikeable thereafter.
It was beautiful out. We hiked up to the summit to take in the view - - another given when Elizabeth and I hike is that we always lose track of the time and go much farther than we are prepared for. Due to ill-preparation, neither of us had had lunch before the hike, and we began hiking about 1pm. Apparently we were so involved in blabbing for hours that we lost track of our hunger, and the growing pain in our feet and hamstrings. As we were approaching the summit, we were both becoming aware of these discomforts, but our desire to reach the summit overruled hunger and physical pain, especially because we kept talking about how the summit is just around the next bend... and the next bend... the next bend.
I had two Hammergels with me that we enjoyed at the summit, sitting on the rock, and very much enjoying the view. The view is totally worth starvation and buckling legs. Anyhoo, here's to my 29 years of collecting experiences.
Saturday evening, Josh, Elizabeth, Edvin, and I went on a bike ride down the Greenbelt.
Along the way, we saw an elk.
Then we stopped and got pizza and beer. The pizza was amazing and the beer totally satisfied.
After filling our bellies, we played smashmitten on the grass. We played boys against girls and forgot to keep score.
As the sun began to set, we rode back to town. It was apparent that we had enjoyed some beers. (Also, my bike broke... please note how Josh is carrying my partial fender in some of the photos... that's some high quality materials on my cruiser).
Despite having to prepare for a midterm, this was a very fun weekend.
On Friday, Josh and I had drinks with Lorry and Sam. I have to mention that Josh and I enjoyed several pints of Rogue Hazelnut Brown, a beer which neither of us had before tried but which both of us really enjoyed. Lorry and Sam were a delight.
The next day, we joined a bunch of friends for a hike up Rocky Canyon Road (Amy, Leah, David, Elizabeth, Edvin, and Bowski were all present). After much deliberation, we decided to hike Rocky Canyon because the trails were most likely muddy, and because the road was conducive to socialization during a group hike.
Another positive attribute to hiking Rocky Canyon Road was that it facilitated immature shenanigans, such as tossing chuncks of snow at each other. It was almost immediate that Josh and David launched into a protracted snowball fight, while the rest of us chatted. And that no one else initially participated in the snowball fight did not preclude us from being forced into the game - - in the below photo, notice the two large snowballs directly above Elizabeth and Leah.
Though, after I had satisfied my chatting needs, I opted to engage in the snowball fight and actively sought to hit anyone within my aim that I could. It proved to be a lot of fun.
That evening, my family got together to celebrate my sister's birthday. To that end, we went bowling, enjoying both pizza and beer. There was disagreement about whether beer results in better bowling - - everyone besides me succeeded in improving their score during the second game.
Last week was not the greatest week of all my time, and I came into the weekend greatly relieved that the week was over. Nothing in particular happened, it was just exhausting and I was feeling crappy. On Saturday, I was excited about doing something outdoors - - and so Josh and I took our new hiking boots up Bob's Trail. Some sections of the trail were very muddy, but it was mostly frozen. Walking along the icy creek was nice - - it not only afforded some pretty scenery but the water and air bubbles moving through the ice yielded some pleasant and unique sounds that I enjoyed.
At one point, we noticed some weird "microscopic" black lifeforms on the trail which we spent some time examining. Of course, I noted that they were not really "microscopic" if they could be seen by the naked eye, but whatever. We surmised that they were fleas. They were neat to watch - - they were moving around on the ground so fast that the ground appeared to be moving.
Josh spent a good amount of time describing to me what Bear Grylls would do to survive the danger on Bob's Trail. We also agreed that Josh needs to be featured on a survival program. Josh demonstrates his ability to distribute his weight across the ice, in the below photo.
Later that evening, we went out with my sister and Dad for a family bowling night to celebrate my Dad's birthday. We got some pitchers of beer and a large pizza and had some fun at Emerald Lanes. After about an hour, "Disco Video Bowling" started and I think it was a bit overwhelming for the Dad. They turned off the overhead lights, turned on neon lights, increased the music volume, and lowered screens next to each lane onto which was projected some music videos. It was sensory overload and possibly a little much for my senior citizen Dad, though I think I witnessed him bopping his head to the Black Eyed Peas.
It may surprise you that my tendency to excel at all things does not extend to bowling. In fact, my average score for an entire round of bowling is generally between 60 and 80. With such a score range, it may not surprise you that I did not win. In fact, I lost. After the second round, I had a particularly dismal score of about 62 (I get worse the longer I bowl), while Joanna won with about 125ish.
We were all in awe of the old lady and her middle aged son bowling on the adjacent lane, whose scores were a series of strikes and spares, one after another. It was really something to watch - - the old lady would just kind of drop the ball on the floor and it would magically knock down all of the pins, and the guy would awkwardly cradle the ball in his arm and hurl it, also magically knocking down all of the pins.
I like seasons. All, except the winter. On my walk to work these mornings, I keep almost slipping and killing myself. The icy sidewalks are a death trap. That I keep almost dying is a bit of a bummer not only because of the dying part but also because of how much I enjoy walking. You know, I've never told anyone this... but I regularly have dreams about taking really long walks, and they are glorious. When the weather is nice, I will frequently embark on multi-hour walks. Walking is an amazing pastime.
Below is a photo of some of the fall colors we had a few months ago.
But back to walking...
It seems as though anytime I engage in polite conversation with an acquaintance, they mention that they see me walking around all of the time. They normally ask me if I live around where I walk, but I can walk a long ways.
Recently, Josh has been reviewing some of the activities that we've done over the past almost-four years, and it's gotten me feeling all nostalgic. At the Y this evening, we were propped on the mats chatting about this very subject, and we concurred that it's enjoyable to do neat things with one's free time. That it gives a person something to look back on. Makes a person feel as though they're doing something with their life. You know.
I did say almost-four years. Isn't that crazy?
In other knews, last week the cold temperatures (which almost froze my face off when I was walking home from school at 9:30 pm) compelled me to knit up a balaclava. At first, I was going to knit one for myself (in a pretty, natural fiber yarn), but then I noted my having readily available some dude-friendly yarn (machine washable and dryable acrylic) in a dude-appreciating color (black). And I recalled that my dude had recently mentioned his face getting cold when bicycle commuting. And voila!
Note, that foot is the result of a perfectly-executed ninja kick. It was the photographer's fault for not capturing all of the glory.
Anyhoot, the balaclava took but a few days. The "pattern" is essentially k2, p2 ribbing, with a bind off/cast on for the eye hole, with decreases and a big sinch at the crown. Two skeins of Lion Brand Microfiber (yarn held double). Done and done.
This experience knitting up the balaclava has given me cause to consider knitting more face masks. In my online reading of all things knitting, I have encountered a great many people who knit up halloween costumes. And so, I am considering making up a Dracoclava or perhaps a Cthulluclava for next year's Tour de Fat festivities. (For those not on Ravelry, clicky clicky) I ask you, would that not be totally awesome?
Several weeks ago, Josh and I engaged in a regional 'touristy' activity, taking a scenic train ride along the Thunder Mountain Express. This was something we had talked about doing for a long time and we finally made it happen.
We chose to sit in the open-air wagon, which afforded the better views and an opportunity to snuggle to stay warm. The train did not travel the route which we had expected, but it was nice anyway. The train took us to someplace west of Horseshoe Bend where there was a 'North Pole' scene set up to entertain the kids. As Josh and I are greatly entertained by anything that is supposed to be far below our maturity level, we had fun.
While all of the parents were photographing their children at the 'North Pole,' Josh and I decided to participate as well. I wanted to get a shot of Josh sitting on Santa's lap, but unfortunately, the line for Santa was much too long. Isn't he such a cutie?
This past weekend proved to be a most excellent three-day weekend. Clearly, three day weekends are far superior to two day weekends.
I'll begin by highlighting Saturday evening's fun, a BBQ chez Amy. In spite of the good company (Amy, Elizabeth, Leah, David, Josh, and Eric), the good atmosphere (the backyard lawn), the good food (chorizos, potato salad, fruit salad, roasted veggies), and the beverages (beer), no one had a very good time. In fact, it was so terrible, that we have decided never to have a BBQ ever again. What made the experience pretty much unbearable was this puppy-dog who was running around trying to swindle everyone's beer. Note, that below photo was a shot from the gods - - it appears as though David was giving the puppy beer, when in fact the puppy was the perpetrator, having suddenly lunged at the beer bottle. Through the course of the evening, so much beer was spilled as a result of puppy (and subsequently licked up by puppy) that we surmised he had become rather tipsy. Photos of the horrendous evening are available here.
Saturday was also the day when Josh and I had yet another adventure in the Owyhees. Unfortunately, it's been a while since we were down there - - but we decided to do a refined version of the Sage Creek Loop that we did in June. We've been out there enough that we're really getting to know our way around. This was the first time in the Sage Creek zone when we didn't have to spend time figuring out where we were going and back-tracking because we went the wrong way. We did a perfect loop that I approximate was 2.5 hours. Ultimately, I bet Josh and I could make some money by developing a mountain biking Owyhees book - - Josh was even talking about opening a bike shop in Marsing (maybe not the best idea in today's economy). Anyway, the loop took us over lots of ups and downs, some unridable ups that we had to hike-a-bike, and some pretty challengingly technical downhills that I felt very accomplished after riding successfully. I've developed a lot more confidence on the more technical downhills - - the Owyhees are great for that. The Boise foothills, all groomed and smooth, are wonderful but can hold a person back from developing confidence on not-groomed and not-smooth trails. I love the Owyhees - - so much potential adventure. Photos from this ride may be viewed here.
I've been getting a good amount of riding in, which adds to my feeling good on the bike. On Sunday, Josh and I rode Sidewinder, which is a nice fun quickie ride. Funny story about that ride... I had been having a bit of trouble with the shifting on my bike. On the ride in the Owyhees, the front gears were very malaligned - - Josh did a complete gear adjustment on the trail, but they wouldn't function properly. I took the bike into the shop to have the mechanics fix it. Got the bike back on Sunday and Josh and I rode Sidewinder. The front gears were working, but the back gears were not. Josh spent more time trail-side trying to adjust them, to no avail. We rode anyway. As I was grunting up one of the climbs, the chain broke. Josh was the mechanical hero, as he was able to fix the chain with his semi-broken chain tool and we were able to finish the ride. That night, we hung out at the bike shop drinking beers, Josh fixing my bike for good, and me knitting.
As summer comes to a close and the window into fall begins to open, there is one final celebration which represents the Holy Trinity of Fun (bikes, beer, ballyhoo), the annual Tour de Fat.
This year's fun began at 9:45 when the group met at Ann Morrison Park. In previous years, "the group" has gone bananas with costuming - - this year, however, we failed to costume. Although, Josh and I donned some big straw hats which were loads of crazy fun. Hats! At 10:00 the bike parade commenced, with an estimated 2,000 pedalers, and the group jockeyed for position. Throughout the parade, the group failed to stay together. There were just so many people on so many bikes, I have concluded, that it was near to impossible for the group to remain intact. Not to worry, however, this is precisely why God invented cell phones.
The parade is one's chance to see all of the many many wonderful costumes - - more wonderful even, than big straw hats! Unfortunately, I failed you, my dear readers, as I was unable to photograph the truly awe-inspiring costumes. There was a fantastic dragon, Mr. and Mrs. Potatoheads, garden gnomes, Jesus, etc., etc. I will go ahead and mention the guy with whom I attended public school from elementary thru high school who constructed a two-high bike and rode it through the parade with impressive balance and agility. The parade is about an hour in length and concludes with a critical mass through downtown which is very exciting with all of the bike bells ringing and the bystanders cheering (for bikes & ballyhoo!) and the total absence of automobiles. It is, in fact, a promotion of the bicycle-pedaling lifestyle.
After the parade, the group went for lunch. And after lunch, we returned to the park, where we acquired wristbands and tokens to exchange for beer. I'd like to take this moment to articulate my excitement for the Greenness of this particular festival, as the organizers seek for it to have a relatively low carbon impact on the environment. Which is awesome. The beer cups are corn and 100% compostable, and there were recycling and composting stations set up throughout the venue. Anyway.
Before the first beer was drunk, several of us decided to stand in line to partake in the wonky bike riding which is an incredible amount of fun, especially if you've consumed a few brewskies. Though, someof thebikes I attempted the impossible and was defeated, even after multiple try-and-try-agains. Everyone took turns riding the wonky bikes, some of us went at it several times.
As it was hot that day - - and after several hours of drinking lots of beer and overexerting ourselves with sillyness in the direct rays of the sun, the group was rather consumed by the heat. We trotted to the nearby river and employed the cold water to our advantage. After that, the group parted ways for much-needed naps. There must be something about being really really silly, smiling and laughing until you hurt, and being both hyper-active and somewhat intoxicated in the sun and around bikes for an extended amount of time that is exhausting. Several individuals had attempted to make some sort of plan with me that evening, but I declined in advance, saying "Oh, that's the day of the Tour de Fat." And when they respond, confused, "But it gets over at 4:00" I have to explain that a person is quite incapable of doing anything of consequence after engaging in the Holy Trinity of Fun. Though, that evening, the group reconvened for a viewing of Ironman at the dollar theater.
More photos are available on my flickr photoset. Also, I would like to direct external parties to David'sphotos which are substantially better than mine.
Life has been rather eventful the last several days.
On Friday, Josh, Josh's Mom, Carla, and I went to the YMCA after I got off work and played some basketball. It was quite hot outside, so some athletic recreation in the airconditioning was lovely. We played some game called "knockout" - - I'm not sure if this is a pre-existing b-ball game or if they made it up, but it was a lot of fun. I, however, was not very good at it - - that whole "hand-eye-ball-hoop coordination" thing. I did arbitrarily win - - at some point, someone decided that the next person to get a shot would be the winner - - and that was me, the winner, even though I was well behind everyone else in terms of total shots.
Afterwards, we all made the trek over to someplace south of Nampa to attend a Mormon singles dance. Occasionally, I have noted that sometimes a person can have unrealistic expectations of a particular situation. On this particular occasion, Josh's Mom was rather consumed with the notion of meeting a Mormon cowboy...specifically, a Mormon Sam Elliott. I'm not prone to bursting anyone's bubble, so I went along with the scheme as though meeting the Mormon version of Sam Elliott was a realistic endeavor. When we arrived, we were all disappointed. I am at a loss as to how to describe the scene without coming off as an ass, but since I normally come off as an ass and since I don't care if you think I'm an ass for how I felt about the attendees at the Mormon singles dance, I'll just spit it out. Ugly, everyone was butt ass ugly. Even Josh's Mom, who I have the sense is not someone to riducule someone else's appearance, pointed out an ugly person with a terrible haircut. Another problem with the dance was that it was misleading as a dance. By "dance" everyone has assumed that WE would be the ones dancing. Instead, they had two Hawaiian women dancing and everyone else watching them dance. It was odd. We hung out long enough to watch a full Hawaiian dance and for the women to introduce their children and tell everyone what ward they belong to, and then we began our escape to the car. We did sit in the car in the parking lot for several minutes just in case Sam Elliott were to swagger by. Eventually, we left and went to a motorcycle bar in Melba.
On Saturday, we all piled into the car (with the addition of Eric, so it was a very full car) and went to Blue Lake. Blue Lake has become the standard place to take out-of-towners to show off the wilderness glory of Idaho. Even though the water in the lake was freezing (indeed, we later learned that a week ago, there was still ice on the lake), Josh was determined to get his swimming on. Now, when opting to go swimming in freezing water, some people employ the tactic of jumping in the water immediately to get it over with. Not Josh. Josh prefers to slowly inch is way into the freezing water, to really prolong what would be a relatively short freezing shock to the system into about a half hour ordeal of shocking his body one inch at a time. Me, I waded in the water a bit, and then just relaxed on the shore.
One point worth noting about the trip was that I had failed to bring appropriate footwear for the quarter mile hike down to the lake and back. As you all know, that hike, while short, is decently steep and has lots of rocks and loose sand. And I hiked up and down it in my flip flops.
Incidentally, I've been wanting to update everyone on my flip flop situation. Several months ago, I mentioned that I had opted to purchase a rather expensive pair of Ugg flip flips, only because the salesperson assured me over and over that they "would last forever." You may recall that I was skeptical but gullible. So, this was back in April, which is not exactly flip flop wearing weather. For roughly one month, I had barely worn them at all. And then one warm day, I wore them to my place of employment, and at some point during the course of the day, they broke. So much for "lasting forever." Lucky for me they broke before the month was up and I was able to return them for a full refund. I then procured a much more affordable pair of flip flops that I have been wearing ragged, have held up remarkably, and that have proven to be the best pair of flops I have ever had the privilege of wearing under my feet.
It was this pair of flip flops in which I hiked over the weekend. I was very impressed with their performance as hiking flops. The only drawback to them was that after I had tromped across the various streams and they were all wet, the material under my feet became ridiculously slippery and it was a bit problemmatic to hike back up to the car in my slippery flops.
That evening, Josh, Carla, and I got really smashed and went dancing at a local club.
~ Hiking the 8th Street Interpretive Trail, Drinking and Riding to Wineries, and costumed parties ~
This past Saturday was a great day for me. On Friday after I got off of work, Josh and I hiked the 8th Street Interpretive Trail. It was a beautiful fall evening. We spent the majority of the hike brainstorming what we wanted to be for halloween. A few months ago, I came up with the idea of being an activist for planetary rights, protesting the demotion of Pluto to less than full planet status. I thought I'd wear a garbage bag fashioned into a dark orb, spraypainted gray, with leggings and a protest sign proclaiming "Pluto is a planet, dammit!" No one seemed to think this as brilliant as I and the idea withered along with the fame and fortune of the once glorious Pluto. At about the time that I had this flash of brilliance, Josh decided that we should go dressed in Mormon temple garments which are not all that attractive. The plan went so far as to investigate the distributor of these elusive underpants, but we discovered that one needs one's Mormon identification numbers to even register one's garment size, so that idea was out the window. On our hike, we threw out hundreds of ideas. We were focusing on couple costumes, like Thomas Jefferson & Benjamin Franklin, Pamela Anderson & Kid Rock, and once he came up with the idea, Josh simply would not let go of the idea of going as Mr. Rogers and the Cat. And I found his manner of persuasion most unconvincing; he kept turning to me and articulating several "mew, mew, mew"s. I dunno, I feel very OVER the whole "going as a cat" thing, even if it's the Mr. Rogers cat. Me, I was obsessed about going as our pre-cool selves. By the end of the hike, we disagreed on the matter as though we were disagreeing over the quantity of some lifesaving elixir to administer to a dying person. Which was kind of ridiculous. Here's some photos of the hike.
And then there came Saturday.
I had been looking forward to the possibility of sleeping in on Saturday morning as a person wandering the Sahara would crave an oasis...my bed, the warm little nook tucked away from the street and city noise, where I have all my sweet little dreams and snuggle in my bundly pillows...yet there was to be none of that on Saturday morning. Somehow, the chi wasn't there. I couldn't find that spot of amazingness that I get lost in every morning when I need to get out of bed to go to work. It was something of a travesty. So I just got up and got ready for my big day.
At 9:30, I picked up Josh and we drove out to Nampa for a coffee at the Flying M coffee garage, which is a very quality place for a morning coffee experience. What makes it super satisfying are the TWO wonderful yarn stores and the THREE great used book stores within walking distance. That downtown Nampa, seriously, people need to appreciate it.
From there, we drove out to the St. Chappelle winery and had a good sampling of their wine selection. I didn't say anything at the time, but I felt that the wine pourer was being much more generous with Josh than with me. Neverthehoo, it was fantastic. Once imbibed, we changed into our cycling gear and set out on a bike ride. I have no sense of direction and didn't consult the map, so I don't have a clue what our route was. I know that we rode for a good distance. After maybe ten miles, we turned onto a dirt road that was difficult for me to ride my road bike on. This led us to the Sawtooth Winery, where we bumped into some folks that we had had an interaction with back at St. Chappelle (they took our photo) and they said that they had been cheering and toasting our cycling up the dirt road. At this winery, the wine pourer was extremely generous, pouring us a third of a glass of each wine...and I think we may have had about seven wines??? Granted, that is not all THAT much wine, but since we were on a bike ride, I feel that my blood stream had opened itself up to all liquids that I delivered to it, in the hopes of remaining hydrated. So the wine quickly made me tipsy. Speaking of tipsy, somehow I fell in love with this silly wine bag with a woman named Tipsy, described as a happy lush. I dunno, had to have been there. We spent some time at this winery outside, where there were some lovely roses that we stopped to smell.
As we mounted our trusty steeds, I was giggly and smily, clearly drinking and riding. We set out down the road and I found it quite a challenge to direct my bicycle straightly. At least it was a vacant farmroad. Oh yes, the scenery! It was beautiful. Farmland, but near to the Owhyees it was stunning, as is evidenced in my photos. At some point, we pulled over for a bio break and I became extremely alarmed when I realized that there was a bunch of idiots on the cliff above us firing shotguns. A dude in a truck pulled over and we all had a conversation about how horrid that was, but yawhatever free country bit, so they assured me that we were too far away for the bullets to hit us, but I was totally freaked. I mean, they were SHOOTING GUNS IN OUR DIRECTION!!!! Yea, I had something of a cow.
As we were driving back into town, we remembered having seen a sign at K-Mart for 40% off on Halloween costumes. We stopped at the K-Mart in Nampa and selected two cheap standard costumes. We then spent some time seperately resting up and then united once more to get ready for the evening. We donned our costumes and makeup and hit the Balcony Dance Club for hours and hours of dancing. I became utterly intoxicated over my vodka redbulls and was a dancing feind.
~ Marriage, Mishaps, and Mindlessness in Portland ~
I took a small sweet trip to Portland over the weekend to act as a witness to the marriage of Elizabeth and Edvin. While I was involved in the logistics of how this was going to work, I wondered why it was necessary for me to fly all the terribly long distance for this activity. After all, Elizabeth could have easily found some homeless person who, for five bucks, could have been her lady of honor. ...sigh... But apparently she preferred me over a random homeless person for the honor. And I am glad that I went. Not only did I have a fabulous time, but by last Thursday (the day that I left), I was feeling in need of a vacation. Work as been kind of, you know, unpleasant. Anyhoo, the marriage was great. We all got up at the asscrack of dawn to get ready for the big day. At some point, while I was rifling around in my suitcase and feeling inadequate, I said to Elizabeth "Hey, do you mind if I wear jeans to your marriage?" We then got into the automobile, bride groom and me, and drove into the downtown area during the morning rushhour traffic. Edvin appeared to be experiencing a certain amount of anxiety about arriving on time. And Elizabeth reassured him that we had plenty of time. After we parked, we walked to the courthouse where we met Miro, the other witness, who appeared to have just dragged himself out of bed. We then stood in a really long line to go through the security checkpoint at the courthouse. Then we walked around and paid various fees and filled out forms. Finally, we were able to sit outside of the judge's chambers where I sat around taking photos and Elizabeth and Edvin reviewed their vows. After gaining admittance to the judge's chambers, I continued to take photographs while the judge lectured everyone about marriage. It was weird. He was going on and on about how much he enjoys doing marriages because it's the only time during his day that he gets to see happy people. He also described the bureaucratic ordeal that is the marriage process in detail. At some point, he made a random comment about people being worried about terrorism, and I felt totally thrown for a loop, having no idea what terrorism had to do with anything. Granted, I wasn't really listening to what he had been blabbing about, but still. Call me simple and naive, but I am not one of those persons who obsess about terrorism day in and day out. So then they got married and I did not pay one ounce of attention to the ceremony because I was too busy taking photos. Snap, snap, snap. Then everyone sat down again after the judge pronounced Elizabeth and Edvin "man and wife" and he began to explain the importance of the marriage license. Then again, he felt it was necessary to include a random comment about what if Immigration Services come after Edvin. And it all became, for me, illuminated. The judge thought it was a green card marriage, despite the fact that Edvin is an American citizen. And the comment about terrorism... reflective of Edvin's atheist/muslim background, native language and crazy weird unAmerican name??? I dunno, it seemed to me the opposite of politically correct of the judge to make these comments. But I kept that opinion to myself and continue to snap, snap, snap photographs.
After that, we then took the marriage license to the county office building dealie where they paid yet another fee to become officially married. Then we got breakfast at this fantastic restaurant. I anticipated that an enitre breakfast entree would be too much food for me, so I persuaded Miro to share an order of eggs bennie with me. This proved wise, as our respective portions were the perfect size and so amazingly delicious. At that point, Elizabeth and I decided to spend the rest of the day together. We got onto some bikes and rode over the bridge to downtown and engaged in some enjoyable shopping. At a certain establishment, I found a great pair of Citizen jeans for a ridiculously low price. Which I found quite exciting. Elizabeth and I, upon becoming hungry for lunch, rode the bicycles out to another part of the city for some sushi. While the sushi was by no means the most impressive sushi, it was very good and was served on individual plates revolving on a conveyer belt. It was an exciting experience. I began by picking up a plate worth $1.50 and ate some amazing tuna sushi with spicy sauce. Then I picked up a plate for $2 with another kind of sushi. I had four plates in total and spent a mere $6. Whoever came up with the idea of conveyer belt sushi is a genius. Elizabeth and I then proceeded to ride bikes to her home, and I had a blast. We stopped by a yarn store with attached coffee shop and spent quite a while knitting. Yet again, another example of pure genius: a coffee shop attached to a yarn store. I experienced something akin to being in heaven.
Later that evening, there was something of an ordeal to gather everyone up for dinner. I attempted to play as little part in the organizing process as I could. Sheesh, trying to navigate around everyone's schedules and getting them to sit down for dinner together! Anyhoo, after much of the craziness had happened, Elizabeth and I picked up Lorry and then went to one Mississippi Pizza establishment, where we met Edvin and Miro, and Miro's brother and sister-in-law for dinner. I drank several glasses of wine and ate several slices of pizza. It was fun. At some point, as I was yawning over my senior citizen bedtime, Lorry and I became aware that everyone else intended to stay out much later than we wanted. Thus, we said our goodbyes and went to locate a bus to take us home. It was funny, hahahaha, I was loopy from the wine and had no sense of where I was, and Lorry also did not seem to know where to catch the bus. So we walked around a lot. Eventually, we loaded onto the bus and I experienced a delirious public transportation thing.
On Saturday, I got up early and wandered several blocks and blocks away for a coffee and food item. And I knitted a lot. At some point, a guy sat at the table nearest to mine (which was still two feet or so away from me) and proceeded to make an elaborate gem stone display on the table. He had a crap load of gem stones which he meticulously arranged and he also propped up a couple of books on gem stones. Once he got this to his satisfaction, he sat back and appeared to be waiting around for people to ask him questions about gem stones. I found it odd and he seemed, to me, off somehow. Then I did some shopping in that part of the city, locating some amazing shoes, and then met up with Elizabeth and Edvin for lunch. That afternoon, Elizabeth and I went on a long hike in Washington Park, which was fantastic. I felt very lucky to have experienced Portland under such good weather circumstances. We also did a bit of browsing at some shops along a hipster type street. That evening, after discussing all that we felt like doing, we decided to spend the evening making dinner at their home and watching Six Feet Under. While we were making diner, Edvin came home and surprised us with some Cherry Fudge ice cream. So it was a perfect restfull evening. The next day, we had coffee and an exciting pastry item at Grand Central Bakery before I caught my flight home. I certainly love fabulous weekend trips!
It had been a long time since I had gone dancing, by the time that I went dancing this Friday night. Honey Bear and Poopy were in town for the three-day weekend, and I had prepared myself for a party-fun-night. Honey Bear and Poopy never came out, so fuck'em, I went dancing alone. (And by "alone", I mean "with Josh"). We went to what has been voted as "best dance club in Boise", The Balcony, but my hypothesis is that the vote is by default, as there is a dearth of quality dancing opportunities in the city of trees. Actually, the Balcony happens to be my favorite place to go dancing, but considering that I basically loathe all of the other dancing opportunities in town, I am growing tired of always going to the same place.
Additionally, I have some complaints about the place. Firstly, one of the Balcony's strong points is its hightened acceptance of all individuals. Gone to an extreme, however, this can lead to the establishment being packed with annoyingness. For example, the Balcony is located a mere two blocks from the Qwest Arena which can overwhelm the downtown area with the opposite of downtowners when hosting such activities as hockey games, Styxx concerts, and as what was taking place on Friday, the "Raw Wrestle Mania Revenge Tour". What I find rather interesting is the fact that the Balcony is a gay club, yet on Friday when the "Raw Wrestle Mania Revenge Tour" was over, it became the party venue for the wrestling fans. Secondly, while the Balcony can play a lot of good music that I want to dance to, such as nasty hip hop, it has a tendency to play Miscellaneous Techno Song way too many times. AND, while I love Madonna and Cher, I am of the opinion that their music is played too much at the Balcony. For example, on Friday while I was there, I heard the exact same remix of that one Madonna song I don't know the name of three times. Therefore, because of both the crowd and the music, this was my response at about 1:15 in the morning.
Upon our arrival at the establishment, Josh and I were awestruck by the older gentleman who was dancing. He was probably about 75 and was wearing a silk button-up shirt with brightly colored fish. And he was dancing his soul out. It was amazing.
We ordered drinks and sat down to drink them until we felt like shaking our bottoms. Here are some exciting photographs of myself during this period.
The dancing started when the song which we have informally named "The San Francisco Song" projected from the speakers. Everytime that "The San Francisco Song" comes on, it is necessary for us to dance in an almost-slow motion affected-theatrical/flamoyant/overly-dramatic manner. Which is fun! "And it made our hearts ache for San Fransisco" (--Josh, 2006).
Once the dancing started, it wasn't about to be contained. Yet, it wasn't what I would call a packed venue, that evening. Nor was it attractive. This is my observation grounded in typecasting and mistrust... it seems that many people who are obsessed with watching sporting events are themselves very out of shape who wear nothing but sports fitness attire and sneakers. This is ironic, I find. So all of the wrestling fans were taking over the dance floor with their poorly-navigated and rigid dancing.
During the songs which I didn't particularly care for, such as "Miscellaneous Techno Song", I took some photos of our shoes and of Josh's hands.
At some point, I went to utilize the ladies' loo, and when I returned, I found that my favorite nasty rap song was playing. So I went onto the dance floor myself and danced and danced. Fortunately, there was plenty of space for me to get my dance moves on. And behind me some wrestling fans decided to emulate their non-wrestling-fans homosexual counterparts, by taking off their shirts and dancing. Josh opted to photograph this.
As is evidenced from the photos, I enjoy dancing in a somewhat silly manner.
So we danced and danced, and imbibed. Then we left and walked to my place. On our way, Josh opted to rest on the soft grass of the Idaho State Legislature grounds and later relaxed in my new large red comfy chair. The next morning, I didn't feel so good and spent time relaxing myself in my comfy chair.
