Continueing Education....or something like that

I'm chilling alone on a Friday night here in Portland. I woke up at 3:00 this morning to catch a flight out of Boise to Portland. I'm attending a conference on low back pain starting tomorrow. I'll fly home late Sunday night. The flight early this morning was the cheapest I could find, and it worked great because it gave me a day to play a little bit. I was very excited to head back up the gorge and look around a little more than we were able to do at the end of December. I ended up running one of the most scenic stretch of trail I've ever seen, all while Lori was putting in a good day at work back at home. I highly recommend the Eagle Creek Trail if any of you ever have a chance. It was snowing last time we were in the gorge, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when it snowed today for several hours.

Multnomah Falls, pretty impressive and you don't even have to hike to it.

It was so green, I felt like I was running through the jungle.

This was looking down from one of the footbridges. The picture doesn't do the place justice, the bridge is actually about 100 feet above the river and the canyon is very narrow right there. I had to lean out over the bridge a bit in order to capture the amazing shot you see above; that's right, I'm Mr. Dangerman.

This is Tunnel Falls, my turnaround point. I'm guessing the name comes from the tunnel you can go through behind the falls.
After the run, I came back to Portland and drove around for over an hour trying to find my hotel. The streets around here are a mess. Anyway, I'm planning on heading out to the coast and I'll have to post more pictures later. I love the conineuing education thing; if only all my education could have had these kind of perks.

updates

So I hear that we are supposed to keep up on these blog pages. Given that Jon has done all the blogs (as you have read these..., see what I live with....), I figure it is my turn to learn how to do this crazy thing. Since we have last written we have gone snow shoeing and ran some races.




When we got our dog many of our friends (Sarah!) said we would not be able to take him with us to do the outdoor things we like. Although our dog is 5lbs dripping wet he can still run with me up to 4 miles (and still beat me), go hiking/camping, and now we know he can snowshoe.



We just recently spent our Easter weekend running ourselves into the ground. I, with the encouragement of my crazy husband, ran my first trail race, a 25K run. My goal was not to be last and overall I was not; however, in my age group I was 6th out of 7, wahoo (that was a close one). Now a 25K (15 miles) sounds like alot (and IT WAS!!!) I cannot feel too bad for myself jon ran 50 miles he left 3 hours before me and came in 2 1/2 after me. All in all, it was a fun race, beautiful scenery, and we were not charged by the buffalo. The best part of the race is watching jon try to run, let alone walk, the day after.
Hope all is going well with everyone else.

Gambling.....a confession

I know there are a lot of people who are hooked on gambling for money. They think that a fortune awaits them with the next lottery ticket, roll of the dice, or pull of that lever thing on the slot machine. I'm actually not tempted to gamble for money, not since the Flaming Gorge trip of '98 at least. I felt good about losing money there because I knew my buddies were going to put it towards good causes.....suits, white shirts, ties, etc.
My problem is laying my dignity on the line. I'm not sure when it began, I believe it was at Bear Lake when Randy had to spend the night shivering on the cold ground without a blanket, pillow, or shirt. Since then, the gambling has been an ongoing theme whenever I get together some of the fellow bobcats. The gambling has taken Justin for a night jog in sub-zero temperatures down main street in Logan....twice. It has taken me skiing down the longest run at Beaver Mountain in just my swimsuit. It has also sent me into a convenience store in tight pink jeans and cowboy boots for a hot chocolate. Some other honorable mentions include Justin's climb of shame, Randy's swimming attire at raging waters, and Bruce having to sleep the night on a 3x5 coffee table up at Ricks.
I could go on about the other good times but my main purpose in writing the post is to get a list of some of the bets that haven't been cleared up as of yet. None of us would feel good about not paying up after losing a bet.
Here's the ones I can think of right away:
1. I've got to wear a handlebar mustache for 5 days. (that will have to wait until a vacation)
2. My Gateway Race for Humiliation run.
3. Justin and Randy have got to ski down Harry's dream in shorts and no shirt on a powder day.
4. Justin has got to ride the lift with a stranger without a shirt.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some....let me know.

Here's Bruce turning in for the night at Justin's place at Ricks. The card's just didn't care for him that night.

This was the attire (minus the shirt) I had to wear into a convenience store after the Utes lost a close one to BYU last year in overtime. I couldn't believe the looks I got, it was like nobody had seen a guy with pink pants go into a crowded gas station for a hot chocolate without a shirt in freezing-cold weather. Some lucky girls even got pictures of me as they drove off, I'm sure it was because I was looking just plain sexy.

What makes a guy tough as nails?

I had an epiphany while shaving this evening. Guys that look tough don't just always have handlebar mustaches, but rather handlebar mustaches always can make guys look tough. It only just dawned on me tonight. I was going through the normal routine with the MACH 3 and the Barry Manilow's "Mandy" blasting in the background, when that thought came to me. I consider myself a very tough guy, those that are close to me know that I basically live in the weight room, but I had no idea what a few strokes of the the mach 3 could do for me. I scared myself just looking in the mirror, needless to say I didn't leave it on. I work with kids and figured the over-the-top tough look isn't appropriate for my current line of work. The only question that remains is whether the glasses made me look even tougher or not. Either way, we're talking a level of toughness that nobody has ever seen in me as of yet.

Less Effective Parenting Styles

Lori and I are not parents as of yet; however, we do have opportunities often to observe how parents care for their children. In our jobs, we are exposed to a wide spectrum of parenting competency. Recently, we had some family visit us for the weekend and Lori's brother demonstrated some parenting styles that we have discussed and have determined to be less effective. See the pictures below.

Here is Nate's daughter Ellie exploring the cliffs around Shoshone Falls. We told him she could possibly hurt herself, his only remark was "I'm hungry, when are we going to eat?"


So then we are over at the bridge and the little guy crawls up over the safety wall. When we pointed it out to him that it didn't seem safe that she was that close to the canyon, he only replied, "ya whatever but let me explain to you the engineering principles that go into throwing together a bridge like that."
So next thing we know.......

You can't see her very well, but that's little Ellie shortly after her first base jump off the bridge. She cried when he tossed her, but he said she'd thank him for the killer rush. Surprisingly, she stuck the landing like a pro.
So....I know it's not our place to say what's the best way to raise a child but when the kids come we're going to implement the "what wouldn't Nate do approach." In his own defense, I think he may have not shown such poor judgment if his wife had come for the weekend so we can hope she doesn't trust him with his daughter often.
Anybody who wants to comment about his parenting can call him directly. His name is Nate Porter and is in the phonebook in Tremonton, Utah.

Running Foolishness

It all started when I decided to try to get ready for a marathon a little over a year ago. I was talking to a friend up at school who has a real passion for running crazy distances, like 100 miles. I got him talking about his runs every chance I could get, it was incredibly fascinating for me. He suggested I try a 50k that he and his wife were going to do down in Goblin Valley in October. He said that I would probably do fine in it, given the mileage I was already putting in for the marathon thing. Well, I finished it and have done several others since. I'm still planning on doing a road marathon but I'm all about getting out on the trails these days. The ultra crowd consists of some of the greatest people. Each run ends up being a very different and distinct adventure. I would almost call it an addiction; of course my wife has no problem calling it an addiction. She's incredibly supportive. I hit incredible lows as well as highs with each long run. I ask myself why I do it when I'm hurting, but then I'm already excited for the next race just minutes after coming across the finish line. I'm looking forward to doing several more races this year. I'm shooting for the Bear 100, back in my old stomping grounds in September, we'll see what happens.

More Seattle

Chilling out in front of the Pike's Place Market

More chilling, this time with the dog, along the waterfront.


A mess of a meal at The Crab Pot. It was an incredible meal.

Lori got weak but I was able to stay strong and finish the meal for the both of us.

Precious sunset on The Puget Sound

Enjoying the nightlife in Seattle.

The crowds in the street watching the fireworks were impressive. Fireworks were great
We loved Seattle and hope to make it back soon to see more.