Beat the Heat

Our first weekend at home in almost a month. We spent Saturday in Boo & Bet's pool--we've told them they can never move. Sunday we headed to church at Faith United Methodist in Issaquah, where Levi's childhood pastor recently moved to. This afternoon the heat must have gone to our heads because we worked like crazy, painting our stairwell & cleaning the house. We did find time to enjoy a new fruit, yellow watermelon. Very juicy & yummy!

Motmot

Chris & I spent a great day at the zoo last week.

I really liked the African Wild Dogs, also called Painted Dogs.










The emus were pretty cool also. Especially their feet--they look just like dinosaur feet.










Chris checking out the wolf den.











And her glasses were popular with one of the birds we got to feed in the enclosure.











Big highlight of the day was the butterfly exhibit. The sun was just starting to come out when we went inside, so the butterflies were beginning to fly around more.

STP

We finally headed out from the start line near UW a little after 730am on Saturday morning, after sitting in traffic for over an hour. We split the 204 miles into two days, making it 127 miles to Vadar the first day. Mike (Joy's husband) provided exceptional ride support & met us in Vadar with their huge trailor & a dinner that definitely made the top five list of best meals ever.

There was a few hiccups on the first day. Near mile 25 Jerry broke a spoke & we had to wait for the support vehicle to take him to the nearest repair. And what would a big event like this be without Liza taking a tumble!? Around mile 70, I hit the lip of the trail wrong & went head over bike. Thanks to my experience with mountain bike tumbles, I executed a very nice tuck & roll. I only have a few bruises to show off & my wonderful husband fixed my bent handlebars.

The weather was gorgeous with very little wind. The best riding of the entire trip was late Saturday. We were all tired & had another 20 miles to go, but we left behind the crowds in Centralia & we were riding through rolling countryside. The evening sun was so beautiful on the grass fields & I got to moo at cows. :)
Getting on our bikes Sunday morning was painful for all of us--thank God for Advil. We crossed the Columbia River into Oregon on the Lewis & Clark Bridge. The southbound lane was shutdown as a seemingly endless stream of cyclists crested the bridge & joined the highway on the other side. I wish I could have gotten a photo of it.

We crossed the finish line just after 1pm, 30 hours after leaving Seattle. We had spent over 13 hours in the saddle & averaged about 15 miles an hour. Amazingly enough, not one of us got a flat tire on the entire trip!
Jerry, Joy, Levi & I all agreed it was a great trip, but if we were to ever do it again we'll hammer it out in one day on tandems!

As I was riding to raise money for Heifer International, I attached a sign to my bike & received some cheers & encouragement along the way. There was a few times when I was tired & pained, but I kept thinking how my struggle was nothing compared to the struggles of the families that Heifer is seeking to help. And thanks to my family, friends & co-workers, more of these poor families will receive help! I am still collected pledges, but so far my ride has raised over $2,000 to support Heifer's important work! Thanks to all for your pledges & encouragement.

Mission accomplished

We did it! Got home late last night, after crossing the finish line in Portland. Details & photos to follow.

Family reunion in Helena

After our Glacier trip, we headed to Helena for a family reunion (all the spouses & descendants of the three Bigelow girls, my Grandma Linda, Aunt Billie, & Aunt Una). My second cousin Rene & his wife Colleen hosted all of us on their beautiful 80 acre ranch near the shores of Canyon Ferry Lake. We toured the ranch, hit some balls on the 9-hole course, boated, sailed, jet-skied, sunbathed, biked, ate lots of good food, & spent time talking about family history & memories. It was great to meet/see everyone.

Minor league baseball game in Helena.

Cousins

Mountain Goat David running up the hill on Cemetary Island-MG!

Taking Carolyn on her first ride on a waverunner.

Ems & her growing belly. I got to feel the baby kick for the first time!

Papa Don & Dad.

The Cousin Coral, with special guest Aunt Mel.

Daddy on the boat.

Mere & her awesome hat.

Auntie Mel

Brokeback Bet!

Boo & Bet showing their country side.

Wildlife in Glacier

Definitely one, if not the best, moment of my trip to Glacier was the grey wolf we saw. We were just heading out of the backcountry, driving on a dirt road, & we drove around a car pulled off to the side. Knowing they must be looking at wildlife, we slowed down & spotted the wolf. He was trotting up the hill, in full view, maybe 20 yards away! He stopped, looked back at us, & then continued over the hill. He/she was so beautiful (& skinny!). Boo was able to get a couple great photos.

Also tons of butterflies! I have had a hard time trying to identify this kind, but I think they might be poplar admirals.

Western Toad.

Also saw lots of deer, squirrels & chipmunks. An adorable snowshoe hare that visited us after dinner at Upper Kintla Lake. And...we saw two bears! One on a hike--a black rump high-tailing it in the other direction, probably attempting to escape our singing, which we were doing to avoid surprising any bears, so I guess it worked well. And Levi & I saw a bear down in the lagoon when we were hiking on Boulder Pass, but it was so far away we couldn't tell what kind it was. We did see grizzly poop!

More Glacier...

A few more favorite photos from the trip. The first four are Boo's. Sorry about the poor quality--they are great photos, but the scanner didn't do them justice!

Rinsing in Kintla.

Ah, Polebridge--how we miss you!

First aid on the trail.

Practicing our bear spray quick draws.

Self-portrait on Boulder Pass

Sun & mountain worshippers.

Forging ahead through the brush.

Mountain from Boulder Pass.

4th of July celebrations at Lake Kintla--glow sticks & a parade!

Glacier is....

Here are the first pictures from the Glacier trip. Here is a link to many more.