It was worth getting up at the crack of dawn to be there at 7am..
Great Scots! (*wink*wink*)
Even the incoming storm did not deter us from trekking that day..
Monday, February 27, 2006
I wanna go back............
It was worth getting up at the crack of dawn to be there at 7am..
Great Scots! (*wink*wink*)
Even the incoming storm did not deter us from trekking that day..
Saturday, February 25, 2006
where were you?
I was watching a documentary about the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption on Discovery Channel earlier. It got me thinking about the major news and world events that has happened during my lifetime. Frankly, I don't remember the eruption at all. It probably didn't help my memory because I had lived on the other side of the world at the time and was would only turn 3 yrs old later that year. Although, since many of the people I know now had grown up in the Northwest, they all seem to remember exactly where he/she was and what he/she was doing at the time.
So it got me thinking about the major events in world history that had occured so far during my lifetime. I think I will make a list of the "I do remembers" and the "I don't remembers" and add on if I remember more.
The I don't Remembers:
So it got me thinking about the major events in world history that had occured so far during my lifetime. I think I will make a list of the "I do remembers" and the "I don't remembers" and add on if I remember more.
The I don't Remembers:
- Mt. St. Helens eruption - May 18, 1980 ( I just watched the documentary, so the date is in my head)
- Challenger explosion - January 28, 1986 (had to look this date up - later that same year, I would have moved to the US and turned 9 yrs old)
- Fall of the Berlin Wall (I had this piece of concrete encased in a plastic polymer for a long time. Don't know where I got it, but my recollection is that it supposedly was a piece of the Berlin Wall)
- L.A. Riots/Rodney King (my sister reminded me of this one. It was listed in the yearbook my sophomore year in high school)
- Gulf War (I was in my typing class in junior high when they made the announcement over the intercom that President Bush had made the decision to invade Bagdad at 1pm that day. Oh yea, and I always seem to remember the cartoon I saw of Saddam watching CNN and the camera showed a missile coming down at him, live. Remember the green flashing lights and the talk about patriot missiles?)
- Waco, Texas (David Koresh and the smoke coming plumes from their cult compound)
- 9/11 (My roommate knocked on my door asking me to go watch the TV broadcast. It was showing the jumbo jets plummeting into the World Trade Center. It looked so unreal, like a movie. I did end up going into work that day, but was told to go home)
- Oakland hills firestorm (I lived across the Bay. You could see the black smoke in the sky. Years later, while living in Oregon, I would hear a story from one of my friends who had lived through it. )
- Thurston High School shooting - May 1998 (Vase majority of the population would remember Columbine. I don't remember Columbine, but I do remember the Thurston shootings. I was a junior at the University of Oregon. Heard what had happened and I drove down to the school after a few days. Flowers and notes adorned the school's fence. It made me sad.)
- Tianemen Square, China (saw the student protestor run over by a military tank on TV.)
- Invasion of Panama (I only kind of remember this. Something about Noriega being a bad guy.)
- SF Earthquake - October 17, 1989 (game 4 of the World Series at Candlestick Park. Pieces of the ballpark fell on people. I was living in Sacramento at the time, but wrote something in school about it)
- Princess Diana's passing - August 1997 (Jen & I were on a roadtrip back from somewhere. We were staying in a motel room. She was sleeping and I was watching TV broadcast of the funeral.)
Sunday, February 19, 2006
2 degrees farhenheit
So said the ski bus guy. It was the warmest spot on the mountain that day - between Mt. Bachelor, Hoodoo, and Willamette Pass. We were headed for the warmest of the three. Bachelor was at 2 below and Hoodoo at 1 below. Maybe it's a good thing that I hadn't waxed my snowboard since my last ride.
I am not an early morning person, most of the time. But if it involves some sort of fun activity, like hiking on a sunny day, playing in an all day softball tournament, or, in this case, snowboarding, I don't have too much trouble getting my lazy self out of bed.
The hour-long ride seemed short since I didn't have to do the driving. Not much snow on the road side until about 15 minutes from the Pass. Even then, there were signs that ice had taken over the mountain, so catching an edge and falling could be quite painful. I wished that I had brought my sunglasses though as the bright sun was beaming through the bus windows and striking my eyes at odd angles. So much for catching some zzz's en route.
Stepping off the bus was like walking into a one of those giant freezers. A slight wind was blowing around what little snow had fallen that morning. Albeit, no fear - once I get going, some of the layers that I've got on are coming off anyway.
I managed to convince Cody to head for Duck Soup instead of the bunny hill to get started. The lift ride up the slope only reminded me of how awesome the outdoors can be, even in 1 degree weather. Although slightly obscured by the lift, the view of Diamond Peak and the surrounding area was magnificent! The sky was that bright blue, with a few clouds passing by here and there, and white glistening now all around. I wished that I had brought my camera. Man, it's gonna be a great boarding day!
It took a few moments for us to get going as Cody has only been boarding one other time. Man, if I was not impressed with his ability to keep plugging away at it despite all the tumbles and falls he kept on taking trying to balance himself. He even managed to accidentally tumble into a side-to-side 360! My stumbling highlights came a few short moments later, when I caught an edge while turning, went airborne, and landed about 6 feet from where I had started. From Cody's recap, it looked like I was skydiving sideways, with my feet in the air and face plant in the snow. We now call it a "downward facing dog - snowboarding style". Aside from one other tumble onto my noggin (trying to avoid an indecisive skiier), the rest of my runs were smooth and comfortable. I felt like I was gliding across the snow - a sharp contrast from my Silver Star trip a couple of weekends ago. I was even passing other boarders and skiiers with ease!
In all, it was a great day to be boarding. Even the butterscotch flavored hot chocolate drinks at the lodge weren't so bad!
I am not an early morning person, most of the time. But if it involves some sort of fun activity, like hiking on a sunny day, playing in an all day softball tournament, or, in this case, snowboarding, I don't have too much trouble getting my lazy self out of bed.
The hour-long ride seemed short since I didn't have to do the driving. Not much snow on the road side until about 15 minutes from the Pass. Even then, there were signs that ice had taken over the mountain, so catching an edge and falling could be quite painful. I wished that I had brought my sunglasses though as the bright sun was beaming through the bus windows and striking my eyes at odd angles. So much for catching some zzz's en route.
Stepping off the bus was like walking into a one of those giant freezers. A slight wind was blowing around what little snow had fallen that morning. Albeit, no fear - once I get going, some of the layers that I've got on are coming off anyway.
I managed to convince Cody to head for Duck Soup instead of the bunny hill to get started. The lift ride up the slope only reminded me of how awesome the outdoors can be, even in 1 degree weather. Although slightly obscured by the lift, the view of Diamond Peak and the surrounding area was magnificent! The sky was that bright blue, with a few clouds passing by here and there, and white glistening now all around. I wished that I had brought my camera. Man, it's gonna be a great boarding day!
It took a few moments for us to get going as Cody has only been boarding one other time. Man, if I was not impressed with his ability to keep plugging away at it despite all the tumbles and falls he kept on taking trying to balance himself. He even managed to accidentally tumble into a side-to-side 360! My stumbling highlights came a few short moments later, when I caught an edge while turning, went airborne, and landed about 6 feet from where I had started. From Cody's recap, it looked like I was skydiving sideways, with my feet in the air and face plant in the snow. We now call it a "downward facing dog - snowboarding style". Aside from one other tumble onto my noggin (trying to avoid an indecisive skiier), the rest of my runs were smooth and comfortable. I felt like I was gliding across the snow - a sharp contrast from my Silver Star trip a couple of weekends ago. I was even passing other boarders and skiiers with ease!
In all, it was a great day to be boarding. Even the butterscotch flavored hot chocolate drinks at the lodge weren't so bad!
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Silverstar, BC
Well, why not.. while I'm at it, even though it's 1:24 am and I should actually be in bed... Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from my recent trip to Silver Star ski resort in British Columbia.
No, it was not lightning that struck me in the head. My mom and I took a backcountry snowshoeing tour @ sunset and we were wearing headlamps :-)
My very unsporty mom even managed to have a very good time skidding down some steep slopes on her backside!!!
I really like this picture of the resort at sunset. Sometimes, you just get lucky with the camera. This actually took place after we went to a "wine tasting" that turned out to be a "gathering" at town hall for the resort to sell you their products. My cuz Scott and uncle Mike got more foam than beer. Both the white and red wines tasted about the same...
No, it was not lightning that struck me in the head. My mom and I took a backcountry snowshoeing tour @ sunset and we were wearing headlamps :-)
My very unsporty mom even managed to have a very good time skidding down some steep slopes on her backside!!!
I really like this picture of the resort at sunset. Sometimes, you just get lucky with the camera. This actually took place after we went to a "wine tasting" that turned out to be a "gathering" at town hall for the resort to sell you their products. My cuz Scott and uncle Mike got more foam than beer. Both the white and red wines tasted about the same...
Falling is possible...
So Derek and I went X-country skiing on Saturday. It was my first attempt at a new snow sport since trying snowshoeing last year. Simple enough, it would seem. And for the most part it was. There was the occasional flailing of the arms and stabbing the snow in trying to keep my balance and the exhilaration of skiing down a gentle slope at a good speed and being able to stop at the bottom. Of course, being me.. Laura the Leper.. falling was only inevitable... It came somewhere between "hey, I think I've got this down" and "... uh.. maybe not...". Luckily, unlike my snowboarding excursions, there was none of the thunderous crashes that leave me lying motionless for several seconds as my mind slowly absorbs the shock of falling and crashing. I fell, only once (I think) when my skis caught an edge (or each other). I have to admit, it was helluva easier to get up than on downhill skis. My triceps got an awesome workout and my quads are slightly sore today, but it was a great time.
The skiing aside, weather was beautiful.. which the pictures here show. Aside from the occasional snomobiling "gangs" that passed us by, all was quiet around us most of the time. A serene scene it was as we skiied to the
family hideaway by the lake. We dug out the plywood board that covered the entrance to the cabin, a trickle jiggle here and there before the door was unlocked and we stopped in for lunch. Mom and dad had put in new carpet inthe cabin the summer before. I have to admit, I like it much better than the orange shag carpet that was there previously. It looked like they had begun putting up boards to cover up the sheetrock too. A work-in-progress, as always, but I love its "rustic" feel and how isolated I feel whenever I am up there. I snapped some pictures by the lake before we headed back down the road again.
The skiing aside, weather was beautiful.. which the pictures here show. Aside from the occasional snomobiling "gangs" that passed us by, all was quiet around us most of the time. A serene scene it was as we skiied to the
family hideaway by the lake. We dug out the plywood board that covered the entrance to the cabin, a trickle jiggle here and there before the door was unlocked and we stopped in for lunch. Mom and dad had put in new carpet inthe cabin the summer before. I have to admit, I like it much better than the orange shag carpet that was there previously. It looked like they had begun putting up boards to cover up the sheetrock too. A work-in-progress, as always, but I love its "rustic" feel and how isolated I feel whenever I am up there. I snapped some pictures by the lake before we headed back down the road again.
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