tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52873490346212908172024-03-13T15:03:56.588-04:00Life Less OrdinarySometimes the road less traveled isn't a road at all ...The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.comBlogger858125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-71569870161540936942017-09-21T22:29:00.002-04:002017-09-21T22:45:30.951-04:00BLOG MOVES TO NEW WEBSITE!!!!<div style="text-align: center;">
We have moved everything over to .com!!! More specifically, <a href="http://www.wanderinglavignes.com/">www.wanderinglavignes.com</a></div>
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I've been wanting to do this FOREVER, and finally committed to making it happen. This blog site will eventually disappear ... so please migrate your bookmark over to <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.com/blog/">http://wanderinglavignes.com/blog/</a> to keep following this blog. And if you are on Bloglovin, follow my blog <a href="https://www.blogger.com/a%20href=%22https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19098239/?claim=vvk9khhvhyk%22" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Thank you!!!</div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-13687848971859918022017-09-11T10:04:00.001-04:002017-09-11T10:04:54.607-04:00Highpoints #41, 42 and 43: Wisconsin, Michigan and MinnesotaThis post is way overdue and out of chronological order, but I never blogged about the state high points we knocked off this summer! Besides <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2017/05/exploring-oregon-mt-hood-and-beyond.html" target="_blank">my successful summit of Oregon's Mt. Hood paired with Justin's not-so-sucessful second attempt to summit Hood</a>, we checked off 3 more high points, bringing us to a grand total of 43/50!<br />
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We actually hit Wisconsin's high point, Timms Hill, way early in our road trip on our way eastbound. We squeezed it in between events because it was "on the way." At 1,051.5 feet, it's just a mere 1/2 mile from the car with a fantastic wooden tower you can climb to look out onto the hills of Wisconsin and smell the cheese. I'm kidding, you don't actually smell cheese.<br />
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As for Michigan and Minnesota, they were part of the latter end of our road trip when we skimmed the border of Canada. Those 2 high points rank up there with the list of "most out of the way." But, that upper peninsula of Michigan as well as northern Minnesota blew us away with beauty, again really reminding us of northern Maine. </div>
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Michigan's Mt. Arvon (1,979 feet) was the easiest of the 3, although we had to drive miles of dirt roads that could be treacherous when muddy to get there. Otherwise, we popped out of the car and walked maybe 200 yards to the signpost. There was even a picnic table for resting once we got there. </div>
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Minnesota's Eagle Mountain (2,301 feet) was more of a hike (7 miles round trip), but the trail is flat, well-marked and has very little elevation gain. In fact, the hardest part of the trail were the mosquitos and black flies. I'm pretty sure we ran most of the miles with our impeccable timing of late July, the height of bug season. But, the highpoint is in the beautiful Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with an amazing clearing overlooking the Boundary Waters when you reach the summit and with the right amount of wind, it makes for a great picnic spot. </div>
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Our last 7 high points will most likely be the most challenging for one reason or another, but hopefully next summer we'll tick off a few more! </div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-15252485007870992052017-08-31T16:42:00.001-04:002017-08-31T16:45:33.137-04:00Currently: August<div style="font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; color: white;"><b>Currently living/working in: </b>We are back to caretaking Fenton Ranch in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico and teaching kids (5th, 4th & 2nd graders) environmental education! The fall session of teaching will run through mid-October, while the caretaking role will be all winter. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Current mood: </b>Really excited to be settled down again for a bit and to get to teach these private school kiddos again. This is our 4th “semester” of teaching! There is just something we love about this job and this place that makes us want to keep returning. We’re meeting more and more wonderful people in this tiny community (I’m talking 25 houses, mostly seasonal) and it just keeps affirming our decision to stay on as long as we can. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><i>Why yes those are goats. Our friend/neighbor Jeff has 2 goats and we went hiking with them.</i><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently excited about: </b>Football season! Justin is the true fan and fantasy football expert, but there is just something I love about Sunday football watching. Now, with that being said, we still need to jimmy our old-school antenna to see if we can get NBC, ABC, FOX & CBS in order to watch at home. Last year, we were able to get FOX and a static-filled NBC is you sat on the east side of the cabin. So wishful thinking I know. If no stations come in, we will be relying on our neighbor friends for their cable and the pub that is 30 miles away with a crack through the single 13-inch TV screen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: white;"><b>Currently not excited about: </b>Mrs. Gibbles’ gifts. Just to recap, there’s this cat that adopted us here at Fenton last fall. We fell in love with her and took care of her all winter. We left her to fend for herself with other Fenton Ranch staff this summer while we traversed the country in a van. We reunited two weeks ago and she is ecstatic. We know this because she has brought us not 1, not 2, but TWENTY-FIVE mice, birds & chipmunks as welcome back gifts. </span><span style="color: #212121;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><i>She looks innocent, but is far from it.</i><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently worried about:</b> Logistics for making a few upcoming doctor appointments. We created these inconveniences by living 2 hours from the closest city … but that is the tradeoff we choose for the life we have. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently thankful for: </b>Pretty unique bear sighting! The day we returned to Fenton Ranch, a bear decided to visit our yard (YIKES!!). He actually broke our gate open to get to some birdseed I had out to fill the feeders (OOPS!), putting him just inches from our front door (DOUBLE YIKES!!) before we scared him off (PHEW!!). We are all for respecting wildlife and their space, so I understand this could have been an unsafe situation, but it was darn cool. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently proud of: </b>Updates to our website. Stay tuned … </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently regretting: </b>Damn storage unit confusion. We moved one box to another and forgot to bring it to New Mexico, where we wanted it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently amazed by: </b>We were in New Mexico for the solar eclipse. J thought it was “meh,” but I was pretty amazed by the event even if we weren’t in the path of totality. And the fact that it fell on my birthday! How memorable. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Current confession: </b>I have been avoiding talking about updates on my book. Maybe I'll talk about it next month. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Current guilty pleasure: </b>We have a few weddings coming up this year and are planning travel around them! We just finished planning out a fall trip to South Carolina. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently reading: </b>80% done with <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Envelope-Life-Changing-Journey-Around/dp/1492635383/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">The Yellow Envelope</a> </i>by Kim Dinan. I was really excited for this book because it’s a memoir about world travels and I sort of “know” the author through cyber connections. However, I’ve been a little disappointed. I LOVE Kim’s blog, but I don’t know, the book isn’t quite doing it for me. It is a quick and easy read, and maybe I’ll love it by the end. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; color: white;"><b>Currently watching on Netflix: </b>Back to the Netflix DVD plan, so we get to watch 2 movies/week. We are still on the search for a TV series that is completely over and available via Netflix. We are currently watching “Freaks and Geeks” (it’s awesome). Future contenders are “Longmire” & “Bloodline.” Taking suggestions!</span></div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-23022319136181783092017-08-21T05:34:00.000-04:002017-08-21T11:27:59.718-04:00Birthday Reflections at 39<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I turned 39 today at 3:37am EST. And while I truly stand by the fact that age is just a number, I have a hard time believing this will be my last year in my 30s! </span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Birthdays are one of those days I’d rather just ignore and treat as another day, but that does not happen in J’s family. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We celebrated my birthday earlier this month before we left Denver. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last time I did a <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2014/08/birthday-reflections-at-36.html" target="_blank">birthday reflection was when I turned 36</a>, and I feel like I’ve lived a hundred lives since then. Heck, I lived a hundred lives this year alone: the writer, the educator, the caretaker, the road tripper, the motivational speaker, the caregiver, the secretary, the good wife, the bad wife, the homebody, the cat woman, the list goes on. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But if there is one common theme and lesson I learned during my 38th year of life, it is this quote a friend said to me recently. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I age (cough), I hone my idea that nothing can equal that of an open mind and a patient heart. Sure it pays to prepare for the worst, but when everything goes against plans, it’s like a cold shower. Refreshing. Okay, maybe a little shocking. But that’s also when the real adventure begins. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I continue to be surprised in life. Life doesn’t get easier and I am constantly humbled by that fact. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And while I am not a big fan of birthdays, I am a big fan of celebrating life. We have one precious life and it should never be taken for granted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So here’s to the last of my fourth decade! </span></span></div>
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<i>What is it about birthdays?? Even Google recognizes it!</i></div>
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-25694280664302392192017-08-18T20:03:00.001-04:002017-08-18T20:03:38.108-04:00National Park 42/59: Black Canyon of the GunnisonOver the years, we've spent A LOT of time in Colorado, but only I had been to <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2016/07/southwest-colorado-spring-adventures.html" target="_blank">Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park</a>. And in our quest to visit all 59 of the national parks, it doesn't count until we've been there together!<br />
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We finally visited it together last weekend, making it number 42.<br />
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We were returning to work at Fenton Ranch in New Mexico (teaching and caretaking) and decided to include a detour to see the park on our drive.<br />
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There are 2 entrances and I had previously been to the north entrance (less visited), so we explored the south side.<br />
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There are less than 5 miles of established trails on the south side, and we made sure to do them all. The Oak Flat Loop and Warner Point trails give you the best views of the deep and sheer canyon walls. Early settlers found the canyon to be foreboding given how dark and narrow it was. Back in the early 1900s when they finally surveyed the canyon via the Gunnison River, the expedition took 9 days to travel 33 miles!!<br />
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And while you can follow one of the unmaintained trails to get to the bottom, we took the easy way to see the Gunnison River. We drove down, down, down the 16% grade to get to the East Portal. This historic community developed because the surrounding areas of western Colorado needed a more reliable water source. However, to bridge the Gunnison River to the people and land, they needed to dig a tunnel through the mountain. While the East Portal community eventually dissolved, the tunnel thrived. Completed in 1909, this 5.8-mile long by 12-foot high tunnel still delivers river water for irrigation today. <br />
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The canyon is not the only sight to be seen while in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It is known for its stargazing and is labeled as one of the "International Dark Sky Parks." We camped on a clear night and the park even had a volunteer astronomer set up with his telescope. In addition to viewing 15,000+ stars and the Milky Way, he showed us Saturn and Jupiter through the telescope! </div>
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We are hoping to hit one more National Park before the end of 2017, but we are certainly pleased with how many we've hit this summer alone. </div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-53663087111744276832017-08-09T18:21:00.000-04:002017-08-15T16:26:42.242-04:00Summer 2017 Speaking Tour Road Trip Statistics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JHXhiHw0e-g/WYjeneuL58I/AAAAAAAAMps/pAK8JXLL8V0m5hvKQp89L9M43novarz9ACLcBGAs/s1600/NV%2Broute%2B50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="131" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JHXhiHw0e-g/WYjeneuL58I/AAAAAAAAMps/pAK8JXLL8V0m5hvKQp89L9M43novarz9ACLcBGAs/s200/NV%2Broute%2B50.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Dates: </b>May 1- July 25</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Distance Traveled:</b> 14,240 miles </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> *12,328 miles on the Superfeet Van </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> *1,912 miles on our own car</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">***Our friend Alexis put together this REALLY AWESOME video of the Superfeet van. Check it out on our <a href="https://youtu.be/AAPxi44gfMU" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>. Gracias Alexis!***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Longest Drive: </b>922 miles on 7/23/17 from Moorehead, MN to Denver, CO</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Days: </b>116 days </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> *roughly 100 days in the van</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>States Driven Through: </b>31</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Presentations: </b>31</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Favorite Presentation:</b> Hopkinton Town Library in New Hampshire, mostly because we knew more than half the audience and hadn’t seen some of these people in several years! In fact, there were only 9 events where we didn’t know at least 1 person in the audience. And of the gear companies that sponsored the tour, all but 2 companies had representatives come out to watch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Friends Visited: </b>Approximately 140+</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I certainly DID NOT get a picture of everyone we stayed with and everyone we visited/stayed with. But I sure did try. And even if we didn't see YOU on this trip, I'm sure we'll get you on another trip. Or another trip. Or another trip. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Miles Hiked: </b>150.2 miles (each)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Favorite Day Hike: </b>Chaos Crags in Lassen Volcanic National Park</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Favorite Backpacking Trip:</b> Channel Islands National Park from one end of the island to the other (Prisoners Cove to Scorpion Cove)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>High Points Attempted: </b>4</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>High Points Achieved: </b>3.5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>National Parks:</b> 11 (9 were ones we hadn't been to before)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Favorite NP from this trip: </b>Channel Islands NP</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>National Monuments:</b> 2 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Most expensive diesel gas price paid: </b>$3.09/gallon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of times the gas warning light went on:</b> 4 nerve-wracking times</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of breakdowns/flat tires/speeding tickets/accidents:</b> ZERO</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Nights sleeping inside/outside friends’ or families’ houses (we sometimes slept in the van in someone's driveway):</b> 36</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Simply put, this tour would not have been what it was without our friends and families opening their homes. Thank you for all of your modern conveniences, comfy beds, flushing/non-public toilets, full-pressure hot showers, fresh towels, non-coin operated washing machines, full-size sink, dishwasher, unlimited electricity, unlimited Internet ... I feel like I am forgetting something ... oh, companionship!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Nights sleeping in the van at rest areas:</b> 12 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Best kept secret: </b>The wayside on Route 6 along the Wilson River between Portland and Tillamook in Oregon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Nights sleeping in a Walmart parking lot:</b> 10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Best Walmart on this trip:</b> Houghton, MI. We found quite a few Walmarts this trip that were tucked back and off the main road, including this one. We also found a bunch of Walmarts that apparently DO NOT allow overnight parking and can make for an unpleasant 2AM wakeup call (SLC, I'm looking at you). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Nights sleeping in an RV Park/Campground:</b> 5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Best Campground: </b>Wheeler Peak Campground in Great Basin National Park </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AyvmNcRBh5k/WYjgpN9AD9I/AAAAAAAAMqA/KR4r8Jkr4xUUJ7iHBAuGh_LbkA4ta1WcgCLcBGAs/s1600/Van%2Bat%2Bcampsite4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="131" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AyvmNcRBh5k/WYjgpN9AD9I/AAAAAAAAMqA/KR4r8Jkr4xUUJ7iHBAuGh_LbkA4ta1WcgCLcBGAs/s200/Van%2Bat%2Bcampsite4.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Nights sleeping at a trailhead in van:</b> 3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Best trailhead campsite: </b>Ross Dam Trail in North Cascades NP (this was actually our very first night in the van!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uxImCAQLa9Q/WYjhBkaYrbI/AAAAAAAAMqE/opMmROJAi0QTbtsSw6hJ3S-zxJ48N0AfgCLcBGAs/s1600/N%2BCascades%2Bcamp%2Bnight%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1488" height="143" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uxImCAQLa9Q/WYjhBkaYrbI/AAAAAAAAMqE/opMmROJAi0QTbtsSw6hJ3S-zxJ48N0AfgCLcBGAs/s200/N%2BCascades%2Bcamp%2Bnight%2B1.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Nights in our tent: </b>6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Best backcountry campsite:</b> Del Norte Backcountry Campground in Channel Islands</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQgHHhK-1LM/WYjhWkVCjiI/AAAAAAAAMqI/cFClyYMeExQe1UKBm69X1hHqJAPVSeSSgCLcBGAs/s1600/P%2Bcamp%2Bview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1600" height="128" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQgHHhK-1LM/WYjhWkVCjiI/AAAAAAAAMqI/cFClyYMeExQe1UKBm69X1hHqJAPVSeSSgCLcBGAs/s320/P%2Bcamp%2Bview.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Nights in a hotel/rental condo/cabin/B&B: </b>16</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>*Best paid accommodation: </b>Government Camp condo we rented with Bobby & Tammy for Mt. Hood climbing in Oregon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Wildlife Spottings:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;">Bear, Whales, Moose, Bald Eagles, Owls</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Radio, iTunes Library, Podcasts or Books on Tape? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For this trip, we actually listened to the radio a lot. We only remembered to bring one of our iPods with us until we had the other 2 sent to us. Plus, often we were relying on my phone for navigation, especially on the shorter trips, so radio made the most sense. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Card Game of Choice: </b>Sushi Go</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Concerts:</b> 3 (U2, Dead & Company, Redwings Roots Festival)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Theater shows:</b> Beatles Love in Vegas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Favorite Road Snack: </b>Hummus (particularly carmelized onion flavor) and tortilla chips/cucumbers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Favorite Fast Food: </b>Chick-fil-A </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> *Unfortunately, we ate more Chick-fil-A this summer than I'd like to admit. It was highly convenient that it’s open until 10pm because we almost always finished cleaning up from presentations and packing the car by 9:01pm when most other fast food establishments were closed for the night!</span></div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-59906632991684301032017-08-05T18:30:00.002-04:002017-08-05T18:31:36.530-04:00Outdoor RetailerOur summer nationwide speaking tour truly culminated when we turned the Sprinter van back over to <a href="https://www.superfeet.com/" target="_blank">Superfeet</a>, which conveniently happened while we were at <a href="http://www.outdoorretailer.com/" target="_blank">Outdoor Retailer</a> in Salt Lake City.<br />
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Outdoor Retailer. Let me take this opportunity to write an ode to OR.<br />
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When people ask us what this semi-annual trade show is all about, we have a hard time explaining it. Simply put, it is the opportunity for 1000+ outdoor gear exhibitors to showcase their newest products, some of which won't even hit the market until the following summer. Everyone who works within the outdoor industry comes out--manufacturers, retail store buyers, PR reps, media, non profits ...<br />
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Organized chaos is a better way to describe it.<br />
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The first time J & I attended OR was in the summer of 2013. We were on a nationwide speaking tour for <i><a href="https://www.backpacker.com/" target="_blank">Backpacker Magazine</a></i> and our role at OR was to meet with the brands supporting the tour and just be there. We basically walked around aimlessly with smiles created equally from confusion and admiration.<br />
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At OR, there's always a lot of tech talk, gear envy, schmoozing at daily happy hours and pure exhaustion. If you are an introvert, wear uncomfortable shoes and don't drink water, you'll likely drown in the sea of flannel.<br />
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I don't remember much from our first show, but I do remember drooling and pinching ourselves a lot. How did we get to be so lucky to be among all these outdoor enthusiasts and geek out over all the gear?<br />
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We've gotten a much better handle on things since that first show and now we go with more of a purpose. Under <i>Backpacker's</i> media tags, we are walking the floor to see what jumps out that potentially can be tested for the magazine. Now that Justin is the category manager for knives and multitools, he had meetings set up pretty much from beginning to end. We haven't been able to master the strategy of scheduling appointments according to the floor plan, so we each walk a freakin lot. The showroom floor something like 50,000 square feet, so J & I estimate we inevitably walk at least 6-10 miles everyday.<br />
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Appointments or no appointments, because brands are either looking to snag orders from retailers or good press from media, our press tags get a lot of attention.<br />
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At OR, I feel a comforting happiness to be among so many like-minded people. And not just the shared camaraderie, but these are some of our personal idols and heroes. This time around, I got to chat with <a href="http://jenniferpharrdavis.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer Pharr Davis</a>, while Justin got to shake hands with <a href="http://conradanker.com/" target="_blank">Conrad Anker</a>. <br />
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<i> Starstruck? Just a little.</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">I also thoroughly enjoyed getting to catch a few minutes of the presentations this year from all-stars like Conrad, <a href="http://www.alexhonnold.com/" target="_blank">Alex Honnold</a>, <a href="http://www.cedarwright.com/" target="_blank">Cedar Wright</a> (all big climbers) and Bethany Hamilton (surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack). Our <i>Backpacker</i> friend, <a href="http://www.justacoloradogal.com/" target="_blank">Heather</a>, was on a women's panel and it was lovely to see the spotlight on so many powerful females in the outdoor industry. </span><br />
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You just never know what you are going to get with OR. There are so many pleasant surprises. This year, I saw a small flyer announcing that Keenfest would include a performance by the "Head and the Heart" for just 3,000 people. If you didn't know, this is a band who sells out venues with 10,000 people. We ended up with a front and center spot, all because of our OR pass!<br />
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This year's show was the last time it will be hosted in Salt Lake City. Instead, the show will take place in Denver for the foreseeable future. OR's been around for 30 years, and 22 of them have been in SLC. However, the outdoor industry decided to look for other options after Utah expressed a strong stand about how to treat public lands. OR brings in roughly $45 million/year to the city, and the industry just couldn't see pouring that kind of money into a place that didn't support their core values and playground. It was a bittersweet departure, but ultimately, the industry's commitment to public lands weighed out its loyalty. Nearly 3,000 people (including us) marched to Utah's state capitol building to show our support for public lands and to say a heartfelt goodbye to Salt Lake City.<br />
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As draining as OR is, we love it and am so grateful every chance we get to go.<br />
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-56978956822603414612017-07-31T22:10:00.004-04:002017-08-08T18:32:45.869-04:00Currently: July<div style="font-family: Times; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently living/working in: </b>Just last week, we reluctantly turned over the keys to the Superfeet Supervan! As for our living situation going forward, we’ll be in Denver through mid August, then head back to New Mexico to teach environmental education for our fourth session at Fenton Ranch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Current mood: </b>Post-trail blues … our epic summer adventure is over and it has finally sunk in. I think of that 1989 Soul II Soul song, “Back to life, back to reality ...” </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-koAfh751SRQ/WX_gy6lH51I/AAAAAAAAMl0/4xiF0g5z8AMw5GLWMwLO3qNArNQ0j--1QCLcBGAs/s1600/Van%2BNevada%2Broad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="131" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-koAfh751SRQ/WX_gy6lH51I/AAAAAAAAMl0/4xiF0g5z8AMw5GLWMwLO3qNArNQ0j--1QCLcBGAs/s200/Van%2BNevada%2Broad.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>Nevada, you so pretty.</i></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently excited about: </b>Though we are disappointed our nomad travels have ceased, we are excited about getting back to our tiny cabin in the woods at Fenton Ranch, teaching the kids again and re-domesticating the Fenton cat (can’t really call her our cat since she’s everyone’s cat now). </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently not excited about: </b>Adulting. These next 12 days in Denver will be filled with all those tedious life logistics you people probably deal with on a weekly basis, but Justin & I try to avoid until it catches up to us! Plus, we are in a perpetual state of unpacking and packing again, and frankly, that is never fun, but a byproduct of being nomadic. At least there are cute faces in Denver to distract us. </span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Times; text-align: center;">Passing on our love for cool gear ... </i></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently amazed by: </b>Justin is officially the “category manager” of knives and multitools for <i>Backpacker Magazine</i>. We’ve been testing gear for BP since 2013, but Justin always wanted to step it up into a category manager position. His persistence and hard work has paid off!!!! I am pretty proud of how he is handling his new role. </span></div>
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<i>J filled in as knife category manager at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2016 </i></div>
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<i>and his hard work paid off.</i></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently proud of: </b>Storage Wars. I’ve complained plenty of times on the blog about our storage unit in Danville; in fact, <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2017/07/virginia-family-friends-and-storage.html" target="_blank">just recently in this post</a>. But, I truly think we made a dent in our main storage unit and are continuing to go through stuff while we are in Denver. I’m always the one who yells “DONATE!” and Justin yells “KEEP!” However, I am quite impressed at J’s recent attempts to prove he is not a full-on hoarder. It's hard to simplify when you are a gear junkie. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently worried about: </b>You know, the things adults worry about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently thankful for: </b>Well, I can finally say it. We put 13,000 miles on the Supervan and there were no speeding tickets or accidents. We (Justin) got pulled over once, we got one parking ticket and we allegedly missed a few tolls, but overall, pretty great track record. Phew!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently regretting: </b>Spending way too much energy tracking our mail around the country. Most people don’t get a lot of mail, but we seem to get more than others because of product testing and shipments from our gear sponsors. We spent an unnecessary amount of time this summer tracking down packages and mail that were supposed to arrive well before we did. Another byproduct of being gypsies … </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Current confession: </b>We’ve spent our whole summer conserving our 5GB phone data plan (that we had to upgrade from 2GB) for Google Maps and emergencies only, stealing moments of Internet when asking every friend/family for their WiFi password and spending too much $$ on Starbucks coffees to cram in computer time in between driving. The point is, while we love unplugging and being disconnected, it is not recommended when trying to run a mobile marketing tour funded by sponsors. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Current guilty pleasure: </b>Unlimited Internet and private restrooms while we are in Denver. We’ve used more public restrooms in the past 3 months than all of you combined. Guaranteed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently reading: </b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Travels-Charley-Search-America-Steinbeck/dp/0140053204" target="_blank">Travels With Charley</a> by John Steinbeck. J & I have been listening to this book about Steinbeck’s 1960 road trip across America with his dog in his camper. It had us shaking our heads often in agreement even though it took place in a completely different decade! We still have a few hours left on the book, but I’d like to finish it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently watching on Netflix: </b>Still trying to polish off Season 5 of “House of Cards.” </span></div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-52708485035983175742017-07-23T20:16:00.002-04:002017-07-23T20:17:37.663-04:00Exploring Minnesota: Voyageurs National ParkAfter our backpacking trip in Michigan, we continued to hug the Canadian line to drive into Minnesota. Another national park lies in this far-reaching section of America: <a href="https://www.nps.gov/voya/index.htm" target="_blank">Voyageurs National Park</a>.<br />
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Voyageurs is a HUGE park, something like 200,000 acres. It has 3 (maybe even 4?) visitor centers/entrances. We knew we wouldn't be able to spend a whole lot of time here, so we picked the Rainy Lake Visitor Center and entrance as a focus.<br />
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The park showcases the interconnected water routes used by several generations of Native Americans to make trades with French Canadians. Using birchbark canoes, the adventuresome voyagers traveled hundreds of miles back and forth trading things like fur (particularly from beavers) and wild rice.<br />
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The main way to explore the park is via the extensive water highway. There are more than 500 islands within the 56-mile stretch of the historic water route within the park! We did a short 1.7-mile hike near the Rainy Day Visitor Center, mainly to see if the bugs were still just as bad as they were in the rest of the North Country (they were). Then we hopped on a tour boat to take us to around some of the islands.<br />
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It was gorgeous, as expected, but the best part was all the eagle sightings! Many just had their babies and we caught a few bringing food back to the nests.<br />
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<i>Mama (or Daddy) bringing food back to the nest</i></div>
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<i>Baby eagle waiting in the tree. Fun fact: their head doesn't turn white for a few years! </i></div>
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<i>Skimming for fish! They can actually spot them from a mile away!</i></div>
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We have a few more northern adventures to chronicle here, but for now, we need to focus on our LAST presentation of our tour in Denver Monday night (and the 17-hour drive that is getting us there ...).<br />
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<i>Pssst ... we just arrived. But hot damn, we don't recommend anyone drive 900+ miles in one day. Ever. </i></div>
<br />The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-55305578959138456602017-07-21T11:53:00.001-04:002017-07-21T11:53:37.797-04:00Backpacking Michigan: Isle Royale National Park<div>
There's a reason <a href="https://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm" target="_blank">Isle Royale National Park</a> is the least visited park in the lower 48. It has nothing to do with its beauty. It has to do with the fact that it is WAAAAAAAAAAAY up north in the middle of nowhere. </div>
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Allow us to entertain you with details about our 45.3-mile backpacking trip across Isle Royale National Park. </div>
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When we were planning our return western route for our summer speaking tour, we thought, oh hey, we have a full week, let's go hit some parks and highpoints that are out of the way while we have this time. "Out of the way" is a relative term and for most people, it doesn't mean a 2-day drive to get there. </div>
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But, we're committed to seeing all we can about America, so to the north we went. </div>
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Isle Royale NP is an island off the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. People seriously understate Michigan. When you meet someone from Michigan, they hold up their left hand (because that's the shape of the state) and point to where they live. But then there's the whole Upper Peninsula, across the 5-mile Mackinac Suspension Bridge (the longest in the western hemisphere). The "UP" is a forested region of Michigan bordering 3 of the Great Lakes. </div>
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As you reach the northern side of the UP and peer across Lake Superior to Canada, there sits several islands, one of which is Isle Royale NP. It's actually a chain of islands totally 850 square miles, but 75% of it is under water. </div>
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You can either take a 3-6-hour boat (depending on the departure/arrival port) or a 45-minute seaplane ride to the island. After much debate and detailed planning of our tight itinerary, we opted for the seaplane ride. </div>
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We used <a href="https://isleroyaleseaplanes.com/" target="_blank">Isle Royale Seaplanes</a> (the only vendor currently allowed to land at the NP) and it was smooth flying with our pilot Tomas both directions. It was also a wonderful way to see the whole island!!!</div>
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<i>This picture really shows the island underwater. </i></div>
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We landed on Monday morning at the Windigo side of Isle Royale. We went in without a real itinerary, just knew we had 3.5 days to get to the other side of the island at Rock Harbor.</div>
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<i>Windigo Harbor</i></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkHu9PXKGJY/WXIjEg_6yKI/AAAAAAAAMjY/3zLZmQRpSNwuMkLhexi51Ok62H0z7HgrwCLcBGAs/s1600/Rock%2BHarbor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1600" height="110" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkHu9PXKGJY/WXIjEg_6yKI/AAAAAAAAMjY/3zLZmQRpSNwuMkLhexi51Ok62H0z7HgrwCLcBGAs/s200/Rock%2BHarbor.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>Rock Harbor: much more crowded & built up</i></div>
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There are 165 miles of trails that meander around the island, so the options are really endless. Backcountry permits for camping at the established sites are free and operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. So while you discuss and plan your itinerary with the ranger, you don't need to stick to it. </div>
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After talking to the ranger and some others, we opted to take the Greenstone Ridge. It is the most popular route across the island, and most direct. </div>
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Day 1: 12.6 miles to South Lake Desor Camp </div>
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Day 2: 16 miles to West Chickenbone Lake Camp</div>
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Day 3: 13 miles to Threemile Camp (on Lake Superior)</div>
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Day 4: 3.7 miles to Rock Harbor to meet our afternoon seaplane ride</div>
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Total mileage: 45.3 miles</div>
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All of our camp spots were beautiful, on one of the many island lakes.</div>
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<i>South Lake Desor</i></div>
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<i>West Chickenbone Lake</i></div>
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<i>Threemile Camp overlooking Lake Superior</i></div>
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The Greenstone Ridge is almost entirely forested with birch, balsam fir and spruce trees. Given that, the Greenstone Ridge affords fewer views, but when you get them, they are worth it! Besides being surrounded by Lake Superior, there are tons of smaller lakes on the island.</div>
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<i>That's Canada in the distance!</i></div>
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There's a very cool history about the island. At one time, there was a community of 130 people living on the isolated island. Now, the NPS operates it seasonally, closing during the winter to give the animals a chance to run nature's course. </div>
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Speaking of animals, that's another neat piece of history for Isle Royale. The island's distance from the mainland has limited the diversity of species; only those who able to make the crossing of Lake Superior have called it home. Wolves crossed via ice bridges on Lake Superior from Canada years ago (though there are only 2 wolves left right now!). Moose swam to the island and are still thriving. And no one knows how the red squirrels got there. It's pretty unusual to think about a place where wildlife is ever-changing! We saw no wolves (but maybe wolf poop?), only 1 moose, but plenty of other goodies, like hearing the loons every night, lots of cool snakes and the most beautiful fox I've ever seen.</div>
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<i>Unconfirmed wolf scat. </i></div>
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<i>Sorry, I really need to work on my wildlife photography!</i></div>
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<i>Two snakes intertwined ... we'll leave you be ... </i></div>
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Our verdict about Isle Royale is that it is gorgeous. It really reminds us of hiking in northern Maine. With just as much mud! </div>
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-5376042357673782272017-07-15T17:29:00.001-04:002017-07-15T17:29:18.799-04:00Virginia: Family, Friends and Storage UnitsWe're making our way West after 3 very full weeks on the East Coast. We only had 5 events in the East, but if you've been reading my previous posts, you'd already know our road trip was more about seeing the people. Not all the people we could possibly see, but many of the people.<br />
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Our last eastern stop was Virginia, where we spent a full week. First, we headed to Virginia Beach for our 30th speaking tour event. We purposely planned an event in VA Beach because J's Grandma lives there (along with a few other extended family members). Though she can't hear a dang thing, she really enjoyed watching our mouths move.<br />
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From VA Beach, we visited our storage unit, err, friends, in Danville. </div>
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Excuse me while I take this opportunity to lament about our the storage unit. A big "what should we do?" in our life. Basically, the bane of our existence. </div>
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When we <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2015/07/sold.html" target="_blank">sold our house/rental property in Danville in 2015</a>, we threw everything from it into a 10x10 storage unit. We hoarded in that 2000-square-foot house and for the first 10 years of our relationship, so it amounted to a lot of stuff, even after a few recent years of purging. At the time of the storage unit rental, we didn't know if we'd ever have a house for furniture again, so we kept it all. Though we still don't know if we'll ever have a house for furniture again, we can't seem to part with our big pieces of furniture that we spent our hard-earned money to buy once upon a time and can't sell for a fraction of what we paid. Soooo ... we complain to anyone who listens about our ongoing debate and paying storage unit fees (albeit very reasonable in Danville). Ultimately, we keep saying, "one more year" for the storage unit. </div>
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I am happy to report progress during this visit!! We purged at least 2 dozen boxes of STUFF. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KCRwTuNIsOc/WWp6EAI4LUI/AAAAAAAAMfw/MRimsj4vONAoR_yw6QptkocB-odbqNXmgCLcBGAs/s1600/storage%2Bunit%2B2015v17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KCRwTuNIsOc/WWp6EAI4LUI/AAAAAAAAMfw/MRimsj4vONAoR_yw6QptkocB-odbqNXmgCLcBGAs/s200/storage%2Bunit%2B2015v17.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>If you look really closely, use a magnifying glass and squint, you can see a difference. </i></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uu9zy2A0KO8/WWp7XqLzsxI/AAAAAAAAMf4/o73aWOHK7F8FfFmvITyNZUWaCwi2lptMwCLcBGAs/s1600/Storage%2BUnit3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uu9zy2A0KO8/WWp7XqLzsxI/AAAAAAAAMf4/o73aWOHK7F8FfFmvITyNZUWaCwi2lptMwCLcBGAs/s200/Storage%2BUnit3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>By the way, spending all day in a metal, exposed box while the mercury rises to 98 degrees is a grand idea, in case you wondered. </i></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HbVi8uiNLtU/WWp6rXXtm3I/AAAAAAAAMf0/MCiDp2y-bzsXu-cslndaawN1ANc8MDWbACLcBGAs/s1600/Storage%2BUnit%2BUs%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="1280" height="147" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HbVi8uiNLtU/WWp6rXXtm3I/AAAAAAAAMf0/MCiDp2y-bzsXu-cslndaawN1ANc8MDWbACLcBGAs/s200/Storage%2BUnit%2BUs%2B2017.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>The point is, we see a difference, and that's all that matters!</i></div>
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Besides sweating our arses off at the storage unit, we visited our Danville friends. I can't say this enough, visiting all these places we've lived is like an out-of-body experience. I am instantaneously transported to a different period in my life. We lived in Danville from 2004-2007 during our dating/newlywed phase, so it feels like an eternity ago. And as usual, our friends welcome us with open arms! </div>
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We first spent time with Bobby (Bolt) and Tammy, exploring their new land purchase via 4-wheelers. I've only been on an ATV twice in my life and needed some instruction, which Bolt is always good for. But this was the first time Justin even got on one! He was nervous at first, but as with anything, he was a very quick learner. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zaBs1CaL6qg/WWp_L-CJZdI/AAAAAAAAMgA/susEtDDxMrEpm0Qy_v3Auy5vplbU9z0gwCLcBGAs/s1600/BobbyPatrice%2BATV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1135" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zaBs1CaL6qg/WWp_L-CJZdI/AAAAAAAAMgA/susEtDDxMrEpm0Qy_v3Auy5vplbU9z0gwCLcBGAs/s200/BobbyPatrice%2BATV.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
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<i>Bobby "Bolt" taught me how to rock climb, mountain bike and now to drive a 4-wheeler through the woods! What's next????</i></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Orih9ZAUAI/WWqBv7e8D0I/AAAAAAAAMgM/Vtn8oCJTgj4dUBtRXIodSBW72Tk7d0wdACLcBGAs/s1600/Justin%2BATV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="1600" height="174" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Orih9ZAUAI/WWqBv7e8D0I/AAAAAAAAMgM/Vtn8oCJTgj4dUBtRXIodSBW72Tk7d0wdACLcBGAs/s200/Justin%2BATV.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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We visited with our other group of friends the next night at our friend Rod's restaurant. He opened it in 2015, but we weren't able to go last time we were in town. </div>
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<i>The story behind this photo is that J plays fantasy football with these friends, and won this season. The trophy is passed from winner to winner (previous years' winners in the photo here), but we chose to leave the trophy in Danville. Doesn't quite fit in our van or NM cabin.</i></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XbvagLuGQTA/WWqFKKYvyzI/AAAAAAAAMgs/K-e3REs0ttQEAyyzDNBJJulSAj002w-LACLcBGAs/s1600/JustinJon%2Bsigned%2Bhat.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1202" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XbvagLuGQTA/WWqFKKYvyzI/AAAAAAAAMgs/K-e3REs0ttQEAyyzDNBJJulSAj002w-LACLcBGAs/s200/JustinJon%2Bsigned%2Bhat.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<i>The story behind this photo is that our friend Jon is "Johnny Fairplay," two-time Survivor contestant. Justin found a Survivor hat in our storage unit and had him autograph it! </i></div>
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Last Virginia stop was the Red Wing Roots Festival, where our <i>Backpacker</i> friend, Randy, was working. We thought it'd be a good chance to catch up and help out at the <i>Backpacker</i> booth, all while Justin could listen to music. We were a lot of help, I assure you. </div>
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We are heading off the grid for several days, so don't expect to hear from us anytime soon! </div>
<br />The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-45147666759548764472017-07-13T11:31:00.001-04:002017-07-13T11:31:32.030-04:00Pennsylvania/Maryland/DCIf it seems like we are doing more visiting than presenting these days, you hit the nail on the head. We've definitely slowed down on presentations as we are hitting the tail end of the tour. And it sure feels like we are just going from one friend's house to the next. Believe it or not, we are still not hitting everyone we could possibly visit!!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zI9SpsFaVMA/WWPaEHmc6WI/AAAAAAAAMd8/aAKmmm0j5mcX2uiuzCZwmCgIpGi5bEQlgCLcBGAs/s1600/Kids%2Bin%2BVan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="131" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zI9SpsFaVMA/WWPaEHmc6WI/AAAAAAAAMd8/aAKmmm0j5mcX2uiuzCZwmCgIpGi5bEQlgCLcBGAs/s200/Kids%2Bin%2BVan.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>We have prolific friends. </i></div>
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Making our way south from New Jersey, we visited friends from three different walks of our lives along the way.<br />
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First up, following a presentation at the King of Prussia PA REI last Thursday, we visited with 2 of my college roommates. I met these gals my freshman year of college and we stuck as friends all the way to the end, sharing an off-campus apartment for 2 years. I hadn't seen them since 2013, so it had been too long. And clearly, we still know how to make each other laugh until we cry!<br />
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Next up, we squeezed in a lunch visit with some post-college friends. I lived with Chris in Arizona for a year and now he and his family live in the DC area. Too quick, but we are hoping to plan a reunion with the rest of our roommates for next summer. </div>
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We spent the most weekend time with some of Justin's cronies from Seton Hall Prep (J's all boys' high school) at a mini-reunion at one of the guy's houses in Maryland. We just saw some of this crew up at a wedding in upstate New York. But there are a lot of people in this framily, so any chance to get some peeps together is welcomed, especially since we are just about the only ones who don't live within a few hours of everyone. </div>
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Though kids outnumber adults in this group, the parents took advantage of some teenage babysitters to enjoy a rare adult night. We bar hopped in DC and did an "escape room." I'm not surprised that J & I had no idea what an escape room is since we mostly live under a rock, but I have to say, I am hooked. What a fun way to hang out with friends and use our brains. Admittedly, I was no help in figuring out the clues that would aid us in unlocking the codes, but no one noticed. </div>
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I find it particularly amusing that most of our friends' kids only know as the "aunt and uncle with the van." Some of these kids have seen us with all three versions of our campers. Just call us <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh5arV2cut0" target="_blank">Matt Foley</a> (Chris Farley SNL character--if you've never seen the clip, you need to watch it!!). </div>
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We are now finishing up our time in Virginia and I'm hoping to get you another blog post on that before we unplug for the next week or so on a backpacking trip! </div>
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-70953834160963786622017-07-09T10:36:00.002-04:002017-07-09T10:36:26.146-04:00Family Time in Connecticut/New JerseyWe spent the long holiday weekend in the tristate area. Most of my family lives here, so there were PLENTY of people to visit, and we still can never see everyone.<br />
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We started with Connecticut, where my older sister lives. We purposely planned a presentation near her and her family ... they were not at all guilt tripped into attending.<br />
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With my sister, her husband, niece and nephew, we went mini golfing, tubing down Farmington River and watched a fantastic thunderstorm and the fireworks from the Danbury Airport, where we also took a nice plane ride.<br />
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We also celebrated our oldest nephew's birthday while we were in town. Not really sure how he is 15, but well, it's happened. Actually, this is a good chance to gush about him. This kid has had one obsession since birth. On second thought, since in utero. TRAINS.<br />
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Typically, childhood fixations stop. But Ryan's Thomas obsession has turned into real knowledge about trains and is on a direct path to going to Gateway College to become a railroad engineer. Right now, he regularly volunteers at the Danbury Railroad Museum, giving tours and restoring old rail cars. We visited him at the museum and watched proudly in action.<br />
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Next up, we spent a few days in New Jersey with my parents. We were able to squeeze in a few other visits, including me seeing my Nana, Justin seeing his childhood friend and us seeing his Uncle Pete. There's always so many more to visit, but so little time!<br />
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<i>Friends since childhood!</i></div>
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<i>Justin and Uncle Pete!</i></div>
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<i>My Nana just turned 91!</i></div>
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<i>My parents don't understand what a selfie is!</i></div>
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We are currently in Maryland for the weekend and making our way south to Virginia Beach for our 30th presentation!!!The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-29857304835686983022017-07-04T19:30:00.000-04:002017-07-04T19:42:14.527-04:00The 603From New York, we traveled back to one of our many homes: New Hampshire.<br />
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We lived in NH from 2007-2011. And really, it's the last place we "lived." My definition of "home" has certainly changed over the past few years, but NH was certainly the last place we lived for any length of time. Plus, we paid actual rent to an actual landlord and both had 40-hr-per-week jobs in NH. Seems very abnormal to me now!<br />
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While in NH, we visited and presented.<br />
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We first visited with our kindred spirits, Paul & Kristen, in Lebanon.<br />
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The 4 of us celebrated our reunion by climbing the 4,802-foot Mt. Moosilauke. Justin & I climbed this mountain while we thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2011, but it now has a greater significance to us. Our friend <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2014/09/life-is-qualitative.html" target="_blank">Chad died in 2014</a> while running on the AT up and down Moosilauke. While I trudged along on our 11.5-mile trail, I thought about one of Chad's favorite quotes: "Gotta have fun while working out, or else, why do it?" He was, and still is, an amazing inspiration to us.<br />
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From Paul & Kristen's, we made our way to Hopkinton. When we lived in NH, J was the director of parks & recreation of Hopkinton.<br />
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Justin loved his P&R job and the community, so it was wonderful to return after all these years. We presented at the Hopkinton Town Library and of the 40-something people in attendance, there were only 10 we didn't know! Now, many of our the people in the audience had no interest in backpacking or New Zealand, and were just there to see us, so it was fun to hear their comments afterwards. Particularly, our non-hiking friend Sam had some gems: "I don't understand what a 20-degree sleeping bag is. Is it really 20 degrees inside the sleeping bag and how???" When referencing the lack of "amenities" (i.e., toilet) in our Superfeet Sprinter Van, he renamed the van the "Barbie Dream House Gone Broke." </div>
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<i>J's Recreation Committee reunites! Minus Vern, <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2016/04/rip-vernon-miller.html" target="_blank">who died in 2016</a> ... we sure miss you, Vern!</i></div>
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Overall, it's always so nice to return to a place we've lived, and feel as if we're coming home!</div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-11848130637164971512017-07-01T22:33:00.001-04:002017-07-01T22:33:53.816-04:00New York State of MindIf I waited to do an entire East Coast tour recap, it would be way too long with too many visits and happenings since we are on the East side for 3 weeks. So you get a few separate recaps.<br />
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When planning the tour, this latter end became a bit of an agenda because of a June 24 wedding for one of J's Seton Hall Prep boys. This is why we sort of blazed through the Midwest 2 weeks ago. <br />
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This was one of the prettiest settings for a wedding we've been to. The ceremony and reception were at the Inn at Glenora Wine Cellars overlooking Seneca Lake, the largest and deepest of the Finger Lakes in New York. The weather was perfect to boot!<br />
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<i>A true #vanlife moment: We left dressy clothes with our friends to bring us to the wedding rather than carrying them around the country with us!</i></div>
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These SHP weddings are always a gathering of many old friends since J's high school days. I like to think these male friendships are about helping each other through tough times, but they are really just about keeping each other's dirtiest secrets.<br />
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While we were in this new-to-us area of New York, we did a little exploring and ended up at Watkins Glen State Park for a 6-mile hike through the water-sculpted rock and 19 waterfalls. It's very popular, hence crowded on a Saturday, but was well worth it.<br />
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<i>Rainbow Falls</i></div>
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<i>Cavern Cascade</i></div>
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<i>Central Cascade - the tallest of the waterfalls at 60 feet!</i></div>
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<i>Baby's first hike! </i></div>
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Just so you know what to look forward to: a New Hampshire recap next, followed by Connecticut! </div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-15099187173131327172017-06-27T15:24:00.000-04:002017-06-27T15:24:18.666-04:00Currently: June<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently living/working in: </b>The Superfeet Supervan!!! Only 6 stops left on our NZ speaking tour and 4 weeks!! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Current mood: </b>I’m a little overwhelmed these days. Road life is blissfully chaotic and though we stay on top of most of it, being disconnected and on the go poses challenges. Road life is equally carefree, so while we have tour responsibilities, we seem to put everything else on the back burner. I’m getting to the point where my mind is starting to think about all the other life responsibilities waiting for us in the curtain ... hence, insomnia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently excited about: </b>Seeing my 2 college roomies! We’ve already visited so many friends and family through the country, and there are still so many more to see. But I think I am most excited about seeing my gals whom I haven’t seen in a few years. (My family will probably be mad I didn't say them, but that goes without saying?)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently not excited about: </b>The end of our tour. Another epic road trip in the books!!! But I don’t want it to end … </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently proud of: </b>There are lots of irons in the fire from this tour!!!! Can’t reveal anything yet, but we are excited about the old relationships we’ve sharpened and the new ones we’ve established. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently worried about: </b>We are going to visit our storage unit in Virginia in a few weeks. It is still full of stuff we probably don’t need, but we never seem to have enough time to go through and purge. The clutter gives me great anxiety. On the other hand, my husband has a little bit of a pack rat in him. It is an ongoing joke between us, yet I am not laughing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently thankful for: </b>Amazing hospitality across the country. This tour wouldn’t really be possible without our friends and family opening their homes! Not to mention, our friends have a lot of great advice and wisdom for us to absorb!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently regretting: </b>I’ve really been trying to practice taking better pictures with my fancy camera, but I wish I tried out some night photography shots, especially with the van. There’s still time, so maybe me admitting this online will hold me accountable … </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently amazed by: </b>The irons in the fire ... exciting prospects ahead! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Current confession: </b>I do not love Google Maps. It gets us from point A to point B, but I feel like there are some things the app could do better to cause less frustration. I actually almost wish we didn’t have that convenience and would just rely on paper maps again. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Current guilty pleasure: </b>Eating out! Our tour budget has 3 parts: lodging, food and gas. We hardly ever eat out during the other 9 months of the year, but boy are we making up for it now. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently reading: </b>We’ve had some longer stretches of driving requiring less navigation, so we finally got back into audiobooks. We finished Amy Poehler’s “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Yes-Please-Amy-Poehler/dp/006226835X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498590700&sr=1-1&keywords=amy+poehler+yes+please" target="_blank">Yes Please</a>” and Paulo Coelho’s “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0061122416" target="_blank">The Alchemist</a>.” We love Amy Poehler, but her book actually made us like her less. As for “The Alchemist,” it is not our typical genre—it’s kind of almost fantasy world—but we really liked it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Currently watching on Netflix: </b>We downloaded episodes of “House of Cards - Season 3” from Netflix to watch here and there. </span></span></div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-55265981873762708632017-06-26T07:57:00.001-04:002017-06-26T07:58:25.902-04:00Middle America Tour RecapJust in case you are wondering, it is NOT recommended to drive eastbound and jump 2 time zones in 2 days. I spent most of my last week jet lagged without ever stepping foot on a plane.<br />
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This is because we drove nearly 2500 miles across the United States in a week for our NZ Speaking Tour. We were in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 14 and 13 states later, we ended up in Glenora, New York on June 23.<br />
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Though it's been a whirlwind and we wake not knowing where we are, it's still been awesome as usual! We had 7 events in 6 different states.<br />
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The best part about all this travel has been visiting friends!! "Visiting" is a euphemism for using their bathroom, showering, giving our dishes a full wash in a big sink, doing laundry, using their WiFi ...<br />
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We also checked out Gregory's headquarters in Salt Lake City. It's always wonderful when we can connect with our marketing reps in person.<br />
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BTW, Vegas was also fun. And if by fun, I mean expensive. We did treat ourselves to the Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil show. It was recommended by friends and we had no idea what to expect. It was fantastic!!!!!<br />
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We are actually entering a "breather" period. We have 5 events up and down the East Coast, but they are spread across the next 15 days! We will be doing more visiting than presenting and it will feel weird to spend more than a few days in one place.The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-59555373423777707602017-06-19T12:44:00.000-04:002017-06-19T12:46:07.641-04:00Exploring Nevada: Great Basin National ParkOnce again, we realized we could take a "short" side trip, "not too far out of our way" on our drive from Vegas to Salt Lake City. So we visited Great Basin National Park in Eastern Nevada!<br />
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Great Basin is now our 7th national park of this summer's road trip. We certainly did not see all we wanted to see. Typically, we like to explore parks to the fullest—hike every trail, see every view—and we didn't get to do this with Great Basin since we were there less than 24 hours. But, this is a park we not only need to return to, but want to!<br />
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Great Basin has a mix of attractions above ground and below ground.<br />
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The underground world is Lehman Caves, a single cavern with a few rooms to explore. We took the 90-minute Grand Palace tour that gets you as far into the cave as you can go.<br />
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J & I seem to be cave junkies. If there is a cave, we must explore it. We've only been in 9 or so caves, which isn't really a lot considering there are 170+ commercial caves throughout the U.S. But they all seem to mesmerize us.<br />
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Typically, it's the same old thing--stalagmites, stalagtites, popcorn, draperies and a few other formations. But we learned a few new cave vocabulary words in Lehman. One is a shield, which is rare and unexplained in caves. It's almost like a flattened, circular plate. I found it to be particularly fascinating.<br />
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Besides cave exploring, there are high mountains to climb, alpine lakes to view and bristlecone pine trees (the oldest living trees!!) to marvel. We stayed overnight at the Wheeler Peak Campground, up at 9,886 feet and only did the 2.7-mile Alpine Lakes Trail. Justin really wanted to climb to the top of Wheeler Peak (13,063 feet), but in the interest of time, we couldn't (do you sense my disappointment?).<br />
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<i>The view from bed was not bad! </i></div>
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We're not at all disappointed that we need to return to Great Basin NP! </div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-87858221060044501682017-06-16T10:24:00.002-04:002017-06-16T12:31:05.504-04:00California Tour RecapAre you tired of hearing about California??? This is it ... the last post with a quick recap of our New Zealand Speaking Tour stops, I promise.<br />
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When we were planning our tour—which has been primarily West Coast-based—we debated how many stops to do in California. Do you guys realize how big of a state it is?? It has 29 REIs and countless other mom and pop stores, so the possibilities were actually endless.<br />
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We opted to schedule 7 stops across 2 weeks, with several adventures (including 4 national parks!) padding the events. Of the 4,000 miles we've driven so far, nearly 2000 miles ended up traversing California. It may be an expensive state (for us) and crowded, but it sure is pretty!<br />
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Our 7 events went well, but a few attendances were lower than expected. Turns out, our presentations coincided with the airing of the NBA finals, which in fact included a California team! A little tough to compete with that ...<br />
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But as with anything, it's quality, not quantity. Our audiences are truly the best!!<br />
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<i>I need to get better at this selfie-audience shot ... My big head is covering lots of people!</i></div>
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Again, it's always nice to see familiar faces of friends we probably wouldn't see otherwise and California was a lot of that. But one of the coolest things was having fellow Te Araroa hikers come out for events!! One guy hiked the year after us, and though we never met him, we communicated via social media often. Another guy was someone we met on the South Island, overlapping one night and staying in touch ever since. The last guy was more familiar. It's Kevin! The guy with whom we shared 50ish days on the South Island! It was great to reunite our hiking team again (though we all looked a little cleaner and better groomed).<br />
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<i>For a hot minute, Kevin almost joined us for our backpacking trip on the Channel Islands! Would have been great to go backpacking together again, but we settled for hanging in parking lots for several hours catching up ... </i></div>
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We are far from California now, making our way East. This tour is going way too fast!The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-7939998750360313302017-06-14T11:14:00.001-04:002017-06-16T02:05:17.387-04:00Exploring California: Pinnacles and Channel Islands National ParksAs I said in my <a href="http://wanderinglavignes.blogspot.com/2017/06/exploring-california-redwoods-and.html" target="_blank">last post</a>, we hit 2 national parks in northern California and 2 in southern California.<br />
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A visit to Pinnacles National Park was last minute when we noticed that it was "not too far out of our way" on our drive from San Jose to Fresno in between events. We cut it a little close on time to take showers before our Fresno presentation, but that's our modus operandi!<br />
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Pinnacles was first established as a national monument in 1908, but upgraded to a national park in 2013, marking it as the 59th and newest.<br />
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There are 2 entrances for Pinnacles (East and West) and while trails connect the 2 entrances, no road does. We chose the East entrance and opted for a 6-mile out-and-back hike to Balconies Cave. The talus cave route is short, fairly open and doesn't require a guide, but you do need a headlight.<br />
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With its large rock spires, crags and canyons, Pinnacles is a nesting area for the California condor, one of the largest birds in North America (weighing 20 lbs with a wingspan of 9.5 feet). I thought I may have spotted a condor in the distance perched on a treetop, but I'll never know for sure.<br />
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Then for the weekend, we had planned to be in southern California for a very special park we've been wanting to visit for YEARS! Channel Islands National Park is one of the off-the-beaten track parks. It may be accessible given its location not too far from LA (and 25 miles from the nearest coastal town of Ventura), but it is harder to get to because it requires booking a boat as well as a camping permit in advance (which sells out months in advance). Trips to the Channel Islands are also weather-dependent with the ferry service. I've heard about people being stranded on the islands for days!!<br />
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There are 5 islands that comprise the park and you can camp on all 5. We chose the largest—Santa Cruz Island. And although we watched the fog roll in and out often, we had perfect weather.<br />
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Santa Cruz is about 96 square miles and has two docking piers--Prisoners and Scorpion. The boat dropped us off at Prisoners Cove, where we hiked 4 miles in to a campsite (a gorgeous spot, I might add). There is no water at the backcountry site, so we had to pack it all in, making our packs unusually heavy for an overnight trip.<br />
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The next day, we hiked another 10 miles to Scorpion Cove to pick up the boat back to mainland California. One thing that struck me was the sweet smells of the wildflowers and grasslands, including fennel and sage.<br />
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We added a 1.5-mile bonus hike around Cavern Point before leaving, and it was a definite highpoint. <br />
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One specialty of Santa Cruz Island are the native plants and animals that you can find nowhere else in the world, including the island fox—the smallest in the world. They are less than 13 inches in height, 22-27 inches long and weight less than 4 lbs!!! Unfortunately, they are very conniving and comfortable with human contact.<br />
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On the return boat ride, we were treated to several pods of dolphins swimming around the boat!<br />
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We'd definitely like to return to explore the sea caves, pristine beaches, steep cliffs, rugged mountains and lonely canyons on the other Channel Islands. </div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-18120590582021247152017-06-11T22:24:00.000-04:002017-06-11T22:24:06.043-04:00Exploring California: Redwoods and Lassen Volcanic National ParksCalifornia has SO many national parks, and even though we've been to many, we have not visited all of them. For this summer's road trip, we made a point to hit Redwoods, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacle AND Channel Islands National Parks (in that order, but spread across 2 weeks). I'll spare you the overload and break this into 2 posts: Northern and Southern CA National Parks.<br />
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Redwoods NP is on the northern coast of California and is known for forests full of the world's tallest living tree: the redwood.<br />
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Redwoods can reach nearly 380 feet, standing taller than the Statue of Liberty (305 feet). Their bases are 22 feet in diameter, bigger than some bedrooms and living rooms! They can live up to 2000 years, so it's no longer they grow to be so massive.<br />
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We drove through the whole park, even the permit-only road (Tall Trees), stopping to do about 10 miles in hikes. Trillium Falls and Stout Grove were our favorite hikes.<br />
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We came for the plant life, but were treated to some wonderful wildlife sightings. Where else can you say you spotted a whale, a black bear cub and a Great Horned Owl in the same day? </div>
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<i>Justin is the best spotter in the world, even without binoculars!</i></div>
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From Redwoods, we made our way to Lassen Volcanic National Park. It was a little early in the season for exploring Lassen when we visited the last week of May. The road was still covered in snow, so you could only get 10 miles in or so from the North entrance (and the same from the South entrance). </div>
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There are tons of hydrothermal sites with bubbling mud pots and steaming fumaroles, but it was all inaccessible to us. Instead, we hiked among the lava rocks, exploring Manzanita Lake and Chaos Crag, totally about 6 miles. With the little we saw of the park, we already know we want to return!</div>
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Stay tuned for our account of Southern CA National Parks!</div>
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-77619350225939258982017-06-08T11:49:00.002-04:002017-06-08T11:52:46.634-04:00Exploring California: San FranciscoWe spent 5 days in the Bay Area. IF we were city people, San Francisco might be a good choice for us. We both have been a few times, and always have the same sentiments. But if traffic and mass amounts of people confirmed anything for us these last few weeks, it is that we are NOT city people. Still nice to be a tourist!<br />
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Luckily for us, we have friends in the Bay Area, allowing us to stay on the cheap!<br />
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<i>Justin has known the guy in the back since grade school! </i><br />
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<i>The tall bald guy in the back (Jason) hijacked J's Prep friends awhile back, but he's a keeper in that circle of friends!</i><br />
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Before visiting and catching up on laundry using an actual washing machine, we enjoyed some urban adventures.<br />
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The biggest adventure was biking the bridge! We biked about 10 miles from Fisherman's Wharf to Sausalito, enjoyed some grub and beverages, then took the ferry back to San Francisco.<br />
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This is something I've always wanted to do. I'm not the greatest biker, especially on city streets with people, but the rental companies have mapped out a route and make it very easy for anyone. Justin, on the other hand, is a great biker, but has a weird fear of bridges. He can traverse ladders across seemingly bottomless crevasses in crampons, but bridges across water? Worst nightmare ever.<br />
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We spent the bulk of our weekend south of San Francisco with our friends at their "resort" in Redwood City, which apparently has "climate best by government test." This is also in the "tech" district. I was totally geeking out being able to see Google & Facebook campuses. We visited Amy, Jason's wife, for lunch at her tech workplace (not Google) one of the days. Besides free lunches for employees and their guests, they have heated toilet seats!!! Justin also found another concert, but thankfully he had a buddy to drag instead of me. </div>
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-18318451426134000082017-06-04T22:25:00.002-04:002017-06-05T02:51:18.833-04:00Meet the SuperVan!!It is time to unveil the innards of our summer home on wheels. Reminder: this van is BORROWED and we have to return it to Superfeet in late July after our NZ speaking tour (sniff sniff). But I digress. We have traveled more than 2,000 miles in Superfeet's converted Sprinter van for since picking it up in Bellingham, Washington on May 12th. We covered lots of miles through 3 states, going from the mountains to the sea! Still more miles and states to come!!<br />
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This is the smallest camper we've lived in, as it is only about 18 feet long. The "living space" (kitchen, bed, storage) is about 50 square feet. Yes, that is right. FIFTY square feet. Most people can't fathom living in such a tiny home, but honestly, we dig it. Think of it this way, it is double the size of our tent square footage!<br />
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The van is more lifted off the ground because it is 4WD, so it's quite a big step to get into it, but the good news is even our tallest friends can totally stand up once inside with more than 6 feet in height.<br />
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I was a little worried we would be cramped with all our stuff. Besides the 6 duffel bags of personal possessions we packed to bring (climbing gear, clothing, grill, cookware, etc), our sponsors provided us with lots of giveaways for the 31 speaking events. But, the van is built specifically for gear storage. All of our boxes and duffels fit perfectly under the bed area. We also purchased a shower curtain rod to put under the bed to hang our nice presentation clothes to maintain some semblance of normalcy.<br />
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<i>No matter how organized you are, there's always a lot of packing, unpacking and tetris puzzle movements in a van!</i></div>
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We use the 4 over-the-head cabinets for food, clothing and other supplies. There's also a plastic container with drawers where we keep all our cookware.<br />
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We have a small fridge, 2-burner propane stove and small sink. There are 2 five-gallon water containers under the sink, as well as another 5-gallon container for dirty water. It's been pretty simple to fill and empty the containers, but to be honest, I let Justin do all that!<br />
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We love cooking in the van! It is super easy and great for us to have that option to stay healthy on the road. Plus, we brought our portable grill, so that opens even more doors.<br />
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Oh, and yes, there is something most people deem as necessary missing: a toilet & shower. I say this with utter seriousness: we don't feel we need either. In our minds, it's a waste of space. Personal preference!<br />
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The bed is 62 inches across, but the cabinets eliminate a little of that space, so we do have to cuddle a little more. We can sit up, but it is a little tight for that.<br />
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We typically eat at picnic tables, but sometimes we eat inside when it's too chilly. It's perfect because our camp chairs and camp table actually fit nicely in the "galley."<br />
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Anyway, that's the $2 tour!!! Many of you will see or have seen it in person. We love it! Maybe Superfeet will let us use it again in the future ... </div>
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-7203410546258376932017-05-31T19:04:00.000-04:002017-05-31T19:29:15.745-04:00Currently: May<div style="font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently living/working in: </b>The Superfeet Supervan!!! We are 1/3 of the way through our summer speaking tour around the US (2000+ miles) in our borrowed Sprinter van. The van is awesome and I can’t wait to share interior pictures! </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Current mood: </b>This road trip/speaking tour is totally our jam, so I would say happy everyday! </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently excited about: </b>Seeing America. Gosh, we’ve probably around/across the country 25 times. Maybe more! I’ve lost count. Even so, we continue to discover brand-new scenic routes and places to explore. How is that???? </span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Helvetica;">We </i><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><i>discovered this off-the-beaten path rest area in Oregon that was full of slugs! It was gorgeous (never thought I'd use the word "gorgeous" paired with slugs). </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><i>America the beautiful ... you got that right!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><i>Touring marble caves in Oregon!!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently not excited about: </b>California traffic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone keeps warning us as we move further south in the state, it will get worse. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently proud of: </b>Inspiring our audiences to get outside and make life a little less ordinary. </span></div>
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<i>Another podcast in the books!! Listen via <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jammed-up-podcast/id1185780116" target="_blank">iTunes here</a>. Episode 21 of JammedUp (also available via Stitcher & SoundCloud). </i></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently worried about: </b>Navigating California cities. So far, we’ve been getting from Point A to Point B easily with Justin as the driver and me as the navigator. But, California has way more people than anywhere we’ve been (population 38.3 million!!) and that is scary! GoogleMaps, please be on your best behavior. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently thankful for: </b>Seeing so many friends from all our walks of life. I just had lunch today with a friend who I met in Spain while studying abroad in 1999!!! We’re going to see one of Justin’s childhood friends this weekend. The visits may be short, but they sure are sweet. </span></div>
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<i>What a treat to see someone you haven’t seen in 15+ years!!</i></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently regretting: </b>So we’ve crammed in a bunch of micro adventures already, but frankly, there’s still so much to see and do! Just this past week, we rolled into Redding, California for a presentation and planned a work day. Turns out, Redding is a hotspot for outdoor opportunities. And while I really didn’t want to lumber up any more mountains, Mt. Shasta sat not too far away taunting us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently amazed by: </b>When Superfeet was converting their Sprinter van into a camper, they asked for our needs/wants/dreams. We told them a toilet/shower was the lowest priority, so they skipped it. I am that girl that can live without a bathroom, and well, that sort of amazes me. As my dad says shaking his head in disbelief, “I really don’t know who raised you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Current confession: </b>I worried we would need something while living on the road that we didn’t have … the truth is, you can just get by on what you have. It makes me want to go back to our storage units and clean house!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Current guilty pleasure: </b>Starbucks! Starbucks has been our HQ for Internet catch-up times. Sure, we have a hotel at least once a week, but we also have weekly work sessions at Starbucks where we spend 5 hours catching up on e-mails, blogging and whatnot! </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently reading: </b>Nada! I brought our Kindle in high hopes we might read. Hasn’t happened … yet.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently watching on Netflix: </b>We download a few Netflix movies here and there and are finishing up the last episodes of “Breaking Bad.” </span></div>
The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5287349034621290817.post-22613062574528054012017-05-30T16:39:00.000-04:002017-05-30T16:39:02.883-04:00Pacific Northwest Tour RecapFirst of all, can I just tell you how much I big puffy heart the Pacific Northwest? Our time in Washington & Oregon has been full of presenting and playing and almost immediately, I said to Justin, "we need to move back to the PNW one of these days." From the moss-covered hemlock and douglas fir forests to the lofty mountains to its gorgeous coastline, I love everything about it.<br />
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So back to a recap. These past 2 weeks leading up to Memorial Day weekend have been jam-packed. As I mentioned, we picked up the Superfeet van and are now traveling in style (I promise to blog about it soon!). We've only had 5 events in Washington and Oregon, but lots of climbing mountains (see previous posts), visiting friends/family, a concert (U2!!!) and tons of meetings. Many of the tour's sponsors are based in the PNW, so it was fun to have some face time one-on-one. <br />
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<i>As of 5/13/17, this was ours!!!</i></div>
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<i>Lunching with Austin, our sock guy!</i></div>
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<i>So many reps in one place at our Seattle presentation!</i></div>
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<i>Only Justin could find a concert in our route ...</i></div>
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<i>U2: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017</i></div>
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<i>Visiting REI corporate!! By the end of this tour, we will have presented at nearly 60 REIs in our lifetime. We had to stop at REI corporate!! </i></div>
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<i>Visiting pets and people! </i></div>
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The tour events have been fantastic! We are now 11 events in, making us 1/3 of the way through. One of the coolest things is that we've had friends/family come out for all 11 presentations, except for one (Tucson)! Just goes to show how many people we know around the country and how supportive they all are.<br />
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If I had to highlight a few events from the PNW, I would say Seattle & Eugene, OR. Seattle is always a biggie being a flagship REI and we were not disappointed in the turnout.<br />
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As for Eugene, we presented at <a href="http://www.beergardenme.com/" target="_blank">Beergarden Brewery</a>! We still scheduled the event through REI, but because of the store's Memorial Day Sale, they couldn't accommodate us in the retail space. So they partnered with a brewery to still make it happen! We were a little skeptical at first, and there were certainly spacing and sound challenges, but it all worked out and people loved it.</div>
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<i>Combining beer & gear in Eugene = success!</i></div>
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Anyway, the whole tour is going super lightening fast! We are now in California for 7 stops over the next 2 weeks. Everyone keeps warning us we are going to be sitting in a traffic jam from Sacramento south until we leave California. LOL! </div>
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The Former PKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08114457511867118261noreply@blogger.com1