Now that school's out for the summer I've somehow lost track of the days. My sweetie's weekend is actually Wednesday and Thursday, while the rest of the world celebrates a more traditional respite, leaving my sense of time all topsy-turvy.
On Saturday I had the chance to attend the Siskiyou Folk and Bluegrass Festival over at Lake Selmac, about half an hour outside of Grants Pass. The incentive to leave the house was provided by Heidi, a Grants Pass resident and friend way back from my Seward, AK days. We've been living 45 minutes apart for the past eight months and finally, finally got the chance to spend some quality time together. It was a wonderfully small, relaxed venue for two such homebodies as ourselves. The stage was a semi-trailer set up at the lake's edge and Wild River Brewing Company had taken over the picnic shelter to dole out burgers and beer. Families with young kids and pairs of old fogeys populated the lawn and bobbed their heads along time with the surprisingly good music. The local talent in southern Oregon is pretty darn phenomenal.
Sunday was cool and misty as the day before. The plants are all a little confused because historically it's supposed to be in the 100s here. Personally, I have no problem with switching it up. It makes 11 mile runs so much more enjoyable. Come August I'll be running at elevations anywhere between 5,980 and 7,850 feet above sea level, so I figured I should probably start training up there. I headed up Mt. Ashland to the Pacific Crest Trail, which cuts across the mountain on its way from Mexico to Canada. I ran just a portion of that, hiking over a couple small snow banks and taking in the views of massive Mt. Shasta. While it never seems to get any easier, I'm starting to feel better afterwards, especially the long runs.
After all that I had to marshal my energy to gear up for my second musical adventure of the weekend. Carl and I packed a picnic dinner before heading over to the picturesque town of Jacksonville. The annual Britt Festival draws artists from all over the country, and we were there to see the Avett Brothers in all their exuberant glory. It was a gloriously diverse crowd, from death metal zombies and flannel-clad hipsters in skinny jeans to dread-locked hippies in organic hemp drapings. Needless to say the people watching was fantastic. As was the music; the venue is set on a hill radiating out from the stage so you can hear no matter where you're at. It was hard to sit still and luckily we didn't have to. We'll be back in September for the John Butler Trio!
It's almost enough to distract me from the fact that I'll be taking a very expensive practical exam in T-minus five days. I'm having a little trouble getting my head back in the game...what's a pectineus again?
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