The Hayes Family Goes to the Beach

There's nothing like those hot, hazy, stifling days of summer to make you pack up the furry kid and some gin and tonic materials, and head for the coast. That, and a massive family reunion. We made a stop over in Portland first, to eat delicious Thai food, watch the mania of the Timbers' Army cheering on their soccer team, and provide cheap labor for my mother's dessert factory. Then it was up Hwy 217 and west out 26 to the northern Oregon coast. I'm not sure who was responsible for booking this family madness during the busiest weekend of the year in Seaside, but our clan joined the 50,000 other folks descending on this town of 6,188 for the culmination of the Hood to Coast Relay. Like the name says, the "biggest relay in the world" starts at Mt. Hood and winds up in downtown Seaside 200 miles later.

We managed to avoid most of the people, even when we visited Cannon Beach to fulfill Carl's dream of recreating "The Goonies". That man has a mean truffle shuffle. We found plenty of kelp to fling for Bubba, who probably ran his own equivalent of the Hood to Coast over the course of the weekend.
My Aunt Ruth found a rental to hold most of our immediate clan, and there was an amazing view off the back porch. It was just the place for sipping cool drinks, soaking up the sun, and keeping track of Hurricane Irene's path of destruction up the East Coast. Just another reason why the West Coast is the best coast.
The house was built in the 40's and had a funky floor plan with lots of unnecessary stairs.
At the reunion, shaking hands with relatives I haven't laid eyes on in years, I was bombarded with the consistent greeting, "Nice to see you! So how are the chickens?" To fulfill everyone's curiosity, here's the latest on the little feathered cluckers:

At five months old, the ladies are fully feathered and starting to figure out their purpose of producing eggs. The Fury and Erica are both laying the cutest little eggs you ever did see, while Brendina seems to be a bit slower to catch on. I did find an egg without a shell this morning, so maybe she's getting it; part of it, anyway. Carl still enjoys communing with the girls. I believe that's Erica on his lap, in time-out for trying to peck his toes.
Here they are in all their chicky glory: Erica, Brendina, and the Fury.
And us? Oh, we're just fine.

Whew...

...it's been one heck of a week. On Monday I got the go-ahead for Lasik surgery to fix my eyes, Wednesday I went under the laser, then Friday we headed over to Union Creek for the night before I ran a half marathon at Crater Lake on Saturday. It's no wonder I slept in this morning.

The Lasik is something I've been thinking about for a while but never really had the guts to go through with. It finally seemed like the right time and the right place. The surgery itself only took about 20 minutes and I was awake the whole time. Carl even got to watch the procedure through the large viewing windows and TV screen on the wall. He said it was pretty crazy watching the surgeon carefully pull aside the flaps created in my corneas, and then squeegee them back down afterwards. I got a front row seat for all that. I just pretended I was watching a trippy movie with lots of intense lights and weird sounds; the Valium helped with the disassociation. The next day I was able to drive myself to my post-op appointment.

Having worn contacts for the past 14 years, being able to see without anything on my face doesn't feel that foreign. But then I realize that I'm not even wearing contacts, that there's nothing between me and the world, and I start grinning like an idiot. It's a pretty amazing experience.

Surgery on Wednesday was no hindrance to running a race on Saturday. Since Crater Lake is a two hour drive away, we opted to spend the night at Union Creek Resort, nestled in the thick dark woods by the upper Rogue River. Before dinner we went to check out the Natural Bridge, which is a section of river that flows through an old lava tube, and the Rogue River Gorge, a chasm formed when the roof of that lava tube collapsed. This is the outlet of the river from running underground.

I thought this sign was particularly hilarious. Oh please feed the animals, we're just worried about their cholesterol. As long as it's not salty it's okay.
Looking up into the Rogue River Gorge, all basalt rock covered in ferns and moss.
Next morning we were up before the sun to make the trek up to Crater Lake. The race day instructions were rather vague so I wanted to be there in plenty of time. We were. It did give us the opportunity to watch the sun rise over the crater rim.
Carl and Bubba were the best support team ever. There was one lane of traffic open so they could position themselves for cheering and photographic opportunities, then race ahead again to find another spot. Bubba acted as the lookout.
Still smiling at mile 5 as I dump a layer.
Stopping by later on for some Bubba lovin'.

It's funny how small this world is. While milling around at the starting area I ran into two guys I went to college with who live up in Portland, Nick Benjamin and Dan Dunning. Funny enough, they were also there to do some running. Nick is an athletic freak of nature and disappeared way out front, but I caught up with Dan and his friend Adrian, and ran with them for a stretch before leaving them behind on the hill. I didn't get the memo about a pink shirt.
Running with the gorgeous lake in the background, more than halfway through.
Coming in to the finish line - I caught that girl in the last 20 feet or so after a four mile uphill climb. Mt. Thielsen is in the background.
Finished! I was blown away by my time of 2:09:19, averaging just under a 10 minute mile on a course that ran between 5800 ft and 7800 ft above sea level with several big climbs. I was 6th in my age bracket (20-29), and 54th out of 141 runners. All that training really paid off. Special thanks to my support team - I couldn't have done it without you guys!
On our arrival back home we found another treat waiting for us - our very first egg! One of those silly chickens finally figured out what it was meant for. Now we just need the rest of them to catch on.
...yup, one heck of a week.

Down One Day, Up the Next

It was another adventure-filled weekend down here in the Rogue Valley, and we started it out by meeting up with our friends Chad and Heather for an excursion down the Rogue River. Armed with life jackets, snacks, and some rented rafts, we put in at Hog Creek for a 14 mile paddle to Grave Creek. Here we are heading into Hellgate Canyon. Even Bubba gets a life jacket.Chad and Heather blazing trail down the river.
Getting my raft on after a long hiatus.
Me and the Bubba. Poor Carl was stuck on camera duty all day, except when he got to put it down to haul Bubba back in the boat. That dog loves the water.
Needless to say the boy was pooped by the end of the day.
Next day Carl and I went on an exploratory mission to the rim road of Crater Lake, previewing where I'll be running next weekend. I'm glad I did, because now I know the last three miles are entirely uphill. What have I gotten myself into?
Wizard Island in the blue, blue waters.
Mystery flower straight out of Dr. Seuss.
That's Mt. Thielsen in the background - we'll be climbing that someday.
Phantom Ship Island.
Carl risked life and limb to get a picture of these incredibly pink flowers. It was worth the effort.
After we got back I still had to go for a run, so I waited until the sun and temperatures were dropping before heading up to a Forest Service road behind town. As I neared the last curve before the two-mile marker, huffing and puffing, I heard something bolt through the trees up above the cutbank to my right. I turned my head in time to catch a glimpse of a little black bear cub rocketing off, which made me wonder where mama bear was. Turning a little further I found her on the hillside directly above me, ears up and body tense. She was a beautiful cinnamon color, unlike her inky offspring. Since I was planning to head back at two miles anyway, I had no problem saying "hi" to the bears and then backing down the trail the way I came. It's good to know there are still wild things up in them thar hills.