Let's play pickleball!

Seaside, Oregon - September 14-15, 2012 - My first pickleball tournament!

We planned our time in Washington to get us to Seaside, OR in time for the tournament but when we arrived we found out it was pushed back a week.  Many of us (the group we met back in May in Cottonwood, AZ as well as new friends we just met in Seaside) had decided we would skip it and move on at our originally planned times.  However, as the weeks went by and we were all having so much fun playing together (and of course socializing over food and drinks) we all extended our stays and entered the tournament.  Unfortunately, Tom was suffering from a leg/hip pain (and saving himself for the Saint Helens climb) so he was unable to play but was a great coach, supporter and photographer!  

Friday, September 14 - Tournament Kick-off - Ladies & Mens Doubles 

Georgetta Smith and I teamed up and entered the Intermediate Level.  Although I just started playing in January, I was told I am not a beginner and had to play at the Intermediate Level.  I kept telling myself this is just for fun and it's like any other day...just going out and playing with a bunch of people.  Ok, so that's not really the case.  I was nervous for our first set of games (best out of 3) until we got out there, won our first game (now we're warmed up) and then won our second game.  Next we had to play our good friends Sandy & Rita in another best out of 3. Before we started we all agreed that we still love each other no matter what happens.  :-)   Let's just say these were very tough games.  We won the first game (playing a full game with a score of 12-10 - you play to 11 but need to win by 2 points).  They won the second game (again with a score of 12-10 - long games!) and then we came back and won the third game (AGAIN with a score of 12-10).  Phew!  By this time we were pretty tired but still had many games to play.  We ended up playing a total of 12 games that day and came out with a Silver Medal!  Woo hoo!  Not bad for my first tournament.

Georgetta

Sandy

Rita

I look a little too serious!

Our friends all got medals as well.  A good day for the gang!  Congratulations, everyone!

Alan & Ed

Matt & Jim

John (Georgetta's hubby) & Rick

Sue & Trudy

Sandy & Rita

Becky & Georgetta

Saturday, September 15 - Mixed Doubles
I woke up a little sore after 12 games the previous day!  But now it's time to play with Alan Gugin in the Intermediate Level Mixed Doubles.  We both agreed that if we were eliminated in the first 2 matches (4 or 6 games) we wouldn't be upset as he was a bit tired from his games the day before as well.  Well...it didn't work quite as planned.  We ended up playing 8 games and came out with a Bronze Medal!  Another great day but boy were we happy to be finished.

Next tournament?  Who knows!

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Climb to the top of Mount Saint Helens!

September 19, 2012

6:20am start at Climbers' Bivouac - 3,700ft.

The first 2 miles are through the beautiful forest and only climbing gradually 1,000 feet (which you know the entire time you're going straight up as soon as you come out of the trees into the boulders).  We started with our headlamps on but only needed them for 15 minutes as the sun was gradually shining over the trees.  The temperatures were incredible for this time of year and we were quickly down to shorts and tank tops by 6:35am.

the end of the trees and the start of the boulder climbing

The next 2 miles climb 2,500ft. through boulder fields, boulders, boulders and more boulders.

The last mile and the final 1,000+ft. to the top is through ash and small rocks (meaning - a few steps forward and 1/2 a step/slide back).

it's a little dusty in the ash

Tom's heading to the top in the deepest part of the ash section 

a false summit

the final stretch over to the top - approx. 15 more minutes

11:00am - summit Mount Saint Helens - 8,365ft. - 45 minutes lounging in the 60 degree sunny day on the top enjoying the views of the crater and Mount Rainier in the distance.

We made it!

looking down into the crater with Spirit Lake int he background and Mount Rainier in the distance 

a great place for a siesta!

3:00pm - back at Climbers' Bivouac - 3,700ft.

4 hours 45 minutes up...45 minutes on the summit...3 hours down.

Although not the highest peak in the state (Mount Rainier is and we've accomplished that one), it's another summit to add to our list.  What a fantastic climb!

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Statistics

Since I've always been a numbers person, and a baseball statistician in high school, I thought it would be fun to run some numbers on our travels.

The following are stats since we started full-time RVing July 2, 2012...

Miles hiked - 410.2 in 12 states (PA, NJ, ME, NH, NC, GA, SC, FL, AZ, CA, WA, OR)

Miles hike in Washington state in 7 weeks - 150.4 (another 10 to come on 9/19 when we climb Mount Saint Helens)

Miles Biked - 389.7 (we need to step it up a bit in this area!) in 7 states (DE, PA, MA, SC, FL, AZ, WA) plus Canada

Hours of Pickleball played - A LOT!  I wish I knew how many in total but it has been 17 hours since we arrived at this campground in Oregon on Aug. 29th

Miles driven in the RV (the 40ft Class A we purchased in Sept. 2011) - 6,164

Miles driven in the Jeep - 32, 487

Gas & Diesel purchases - not even calculating!

States we've traveled through or stayed in - 25 (PA, NJ, NY, MA, RI, CT, VT, VA, WV, MD, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, LA, MS, TX, AZ, NM, CA, NV, OR, WA) plus Canada and Mexico

Wal-Mart parking lots we've slept in - 6 (Middletown, CT; Tifton, GA; Quincy, FL; Fort Stockton, TX; Deming, NM; Medford, OR)

Campgrounds we've stayed in - 25

Other places we have stayed in the RV - New Hampshire Welcome Center, Campers Inn Parking Lot (when we purchased the RV), Service area on the Garden State Parkway, rest area near Harrisonburg, VA, Cummins parking lot (while having service done on the RV)

National Parks visited - 7 (Olympic, North Cascades, Mt. Rainier, Channel Islands, Saguaro, Everglades, Acadia) along with several National Seashores and Monuments (Cape Cod, DE Water Gap, Big Cypress, Blue Ridge Parkway, Casa Grande Ruins, Organ Pipe Cactus, Tuzigoot, Walnut Canyon, Pinnacles, Mount Saint Helens)

Friends we've met and good times we've had - far too many to count!  We are thankful every day for this wonderful experience we are living!

End of the Lewis & Clark Trail

Til next time...happy trails!

Mount St. Helens

Prior to May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens was 9,677 ft.  Today it stands at 8,364 ft.  It's hard to imagine the eruption but the damage can still clearly be seen over 30 years later.  We took a drive to see the mountain and to spend some time hiking nearby trails offering several varied views.

Spirit Lake - still filled with logs from 30 years ago

a herd of bull elk - 22 of them!

logging equipment blown off the neighboring mountain (and buried) almost 7 miles away

We have our permits to attempt to summit Mount St. Helens on September 19th.  We hear the view down into the crater is amazing and we hope to see it soon!

We sadly left the state of Washington and are now in Seaside, Oregon back with our pickleball buddies (Alan & Trudy and Sue & Jack and others to join us next week) and on the court again.  We'll be here for 2 weeks then onto Welches, Oregon (very close to Mt. Hood) which will take us closer to Mount St. Helens for our climb.

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Mount Rainier - Then and Now

Mount Rainier - Then - 6 years ago in August, 2006 when we summited!

a view of Mount Adams (and Ethan in the background :-) ) - on our way up

Tom & Becky - on the summit of Rainier - 14, 410 ft. - August, 2006

on the way down

Alex (our guide) and Becky - a must deserved rest on the way down below the crevasses

hiking to the right of this craziness!  but isn't it beautiful!

Tom - he looks like a true mountaineer!

Mount Rainier - Now - We didn't plan it this way but we ended up back at this magnificent mountain almost 6 years to the day!  When we first arrived in the area we took a drive to check her out again.  She's still a beauty!

spring flowers in full bloom!

After we quickly decided we had no interest in summiting again, we opted for a 3 day backpacking trip on the north and northwest sides of the mountain (opposite of the side we climbed, for a different view) to a maximum elevation of approx. 5,400 instead of 14, 410!  We hiked along the Wonderland Trail which is 93 miles long and encircles Mount Rainier.  How fun it would be to do the entire trail but we only had time for a small portion of it totaling approx. 27 miles in 3 days.  There is no road leading up to these views!

I was a little nervous on this bridge!

Carbon Glacier

a room with a view (looking out our tent)

where else do you get a view like this from the commode?! (overlooking Carbon Glacier)

Til next time...Happy Trails!