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SOB snow day

Posted by julie on Thursday, 14 July 2011, 0:16

The plan had included a van, two preschoolers, a fast boy, and another family. The reality looked like this:

Julie is an SOB (finisher). You can't see my tiger-striped mini-gaiters, but you can see my awesome Run Pretty Far shirt. (really, go buy their stuff; it's beautiful)

I almost didn’t go. Chris couldn’t run, Ashland is 200 miles away (that’s $40 of gas, round-trip, even in my mini french fry-mobile), and the Siskiyou Outback 15K and 50K courses had been altered to be longer with much more climbing because there was too much snow on the regular courses (so I wouldn’t be able to compare my time to last year’s time–and beat it!). Yes, too much snow. For you folks suffering through a heat index of 109, I’m sure that’s unthinkable.

But then I recognized the potential: sleeping under the stars in the Mount Ashland ski area parking lot, bundled in my sleeping bag; hours and hours of Fresh Air podcasts; writing in my journal; seeing how well I could do on a 16-kilometer, 1800-foot elevation gain course; drinking a well-earned milkshake after the race–all this without arbitrating any feuds about magic markers or board books.

At 2 a.m., the stars made sleeping without a tent worthwhile. I ate dinner to hermit thrush song and awoke to nuthatch calls. Thrush (hermit, wood, and Swainson’s) are my favorite avian singers, and nuthatch, while their song isn’t particularly lovely, always remind me of the mountains. A well-behaved but curious border collie woke me up at 5:24 by coming to lie down next to my pillow (I should say I was parked only twenty or so feet from the next nearest runners). When I whispered to him to go home, he slunk back and lay on his mat.

Usually, the 15K heads south-ish on the Pacific Crest Trail before returning to the ski area, largely on dirt roads. The course is rolling, with only one serious, short climb. Not this time. As my quads made clear on Monday, I ran downhill from the start, downhill for 1800 feet. And do you know how I got back up to the start? I ran there. Except when I walked. Chris has tried to tell me for a few years now that I have to learn how to walk up the hills. Usually, I don’t buy it: I’m not as fast as people with longer legs on the downhills, so I have to make up time on the uphills. This time, though, with 1200 feet of climbing in 2 1/2 miles, I found I couldn’t run the whole thing (and the 50K’ers, besides running for 31 miles, had a much worse hill between miles 23 and 26).

The 15K race was fun and fast, and I felt great throughout it. I didn’t go out too fast; I averaged 9:11 per mile for the first 7.4 miles. Then I hit the hill, and I averaged 14:35 for the last 2.4 miles. I finished in 1:43, three minutes behind last year’s time (my goal had been 1:33 on the regular course). In any other age group, I would have finished in the top 4, but I had no such luck among the 30-something women. Darn fast 30s (you can click “15K by class” to see how fast the women 30-39 were).

This trail race was my first after which I thought, “Hmmm, maybe ultramarathons aren’t so crazy.” I need something to do for my 40th birthday, right?

Posted in the categories Julie, Oregon, outdoors, Running by julie on Thursday, 14 July 2011, 0:16 | 3 Comments »

Some Things to Do Before I Go

Posted by julie on Sunday, 17 April 2011, 1:17

I’m in no rush, because I plan to last a century, but I might as well get started. My ongoing “bucket list” has some overlap with the Top Ten Natural Places I Want to Visit. In brainstorming order, my undoubtedly incomplete list:

  1. Learn to surf (someplace warm, without sharks)
  2. Learn to play at least a dozen songs on the guitar and participate in a campfire sing-along
  3. Learn to skateboard (maybe from my daughter or son) Update 2021: I’m no expert, but, since having kids, I am better than pathetic on a skateboard. No tricks. No drop-ins.
  4. Visit Machu Picchu
  5. Get a nice digital SLR and be proud of my photographs again Accomplished with a Sony Nex5, August 2011. No one paid me anything to say, “Get this camera. You won’t regret it.”
  6. Publish some of my writing in a real magazine February 2016: “Mountains to Climb” in Brain, Child magazine
  7. Dance with Ghanaians in Ghana
  8. Make a video that is good enough to give away
  9. See elephants and lions where they live
  10. Spend more than two weeks enjoying/relaxing in Bali (or someplace equally buoyant, warm, and surrounded by ocean)
  11. Climb to the highest point in each of the 50 states (continental 48?): Gannett Peak in WY, Mt. Washington in NH, Mt. Marcy in NY down; that leaves 47! (Oh, gosh, does this really mean I have to go back to Florida?) November 2011 update: Frissell in CT, Graylock in MA, Ebright Azimuth in DE, Jerimoth Hill in RI (This one doesn’t really count, since I only made it to the highway near the high point, which is a couple of feet higher and a few hundred feet from the road. We arrived at 4:45, and it closes at 4.). June 2013: Hood in Oregon. August 2014: Mansfield in Vermont.
  12. Visit each of the 50 states: only Michigan, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Nebraska left
  13. Become a better listener
  14. Live in the Dolomites for at least a school year August 2019: Done! We lived in Bolzano from August-June, the kids went to an Italian school, and we all did our share of skiing and trail running.
  15. Hike the Continental Divide Trail
  16. Live near the beach for a year and spend each morning walking with the waves
  17. Climb in Yosemite
  18. Finish a quilt
  19. Catch fireflies with my grandchildren (or someone else’s grandchildren)
  20. Learn another language well enough to have a conversation on the phone August 2019: I had more than one phone conversation in Italian this past year. I didn’t enjoy any of them, and I’m not particularly fluent. But I did it.
  21. Hike the 52-mile Torres del Paine circuit in Patagonia
  22. Go on an epic bike trip, maybe in Sweden Update: I think maybe I’d prefer Nova Scotia.
  23. Lead a multi-pitch, maybe the Beckey route on Liberty Bell
  24. Visit Rocky Mountain National Park. August 2014: The cousins reunion was just outside RMNP this August, so we hiked there nearly every day. I’ll have to go back to climb Longs Peak, though. Anyone interested?
  25. Backpack in the Brooks Range
  26. Run a marathon in under 4 hours November 2011 update: I’m signed up for the Eugene Marathon in April. This is the one!; April 2012 update: 3:58:46 at April 30, 2012 Eugene Marathon
  27. Read Moby-Dick
  28. Take my kids to a drive-in, maybe at the Spud in Driggs. August 2014: Mom and I took the kids to see Popeye, in honor of Robin Williams, at the new and decidedly awesome drive-in in Amenia, just blocks from where I went to elementary school (my kids particularly liked how the bathrooms were designated with a moustache and some pouty lips). We also passed three(!) working drive-ins on the drive back from Washington last week—one somewhere north of Coupeville on Whidbey Island, one south of Port Townsend, and one northwest of Olympia. So many possibilities…
  29. Introduce my children to drinking milk through a Tim Tam (I learned it with red wine, but that’s a few years down the road)
  30. Teach my nephew something naughty but benign
  31. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
  32. Go horsepacking
  33. Visit Walden Pond
  34. Ride a rollercoaster with my children and eventually with my grandchildren (my Gram set a high standard) August 2019: We’ve been our fair share of roller coasters. The whole family loves them.
  35. Go on a women’s only yoga/canyoneering retreat (or meditation/surfing, or some equally active and calm combo)
  36. Write every day for a year
  37. Draw every day for a year
  38. Take my children to see a meteor shower in Arizona, Montana, Kiribati, or someplace equally dark. Lie in the road and see 60 or more shooting stars in an hour. 2021 update: We’ve definitely enjoyed some meteor showers. Last year’s Perseids, which we spent at McKenzie Pass, was quite spectacular.
  39. Go to the top of the Rifle Tower (okay, Eiffel, but Sylvan said this the other day and it made me smile) August 2019: We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower last March, when we met friends from Eugene in Paris for the weekend (that sounds so sophisticated and cosmopolitan).
  40. Climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty
  41. Take a Valium and take my kids to Disney Land. No Valium required. I couldn’t believe how much fun I had, and, at 6 and 9, the kids were really great ages to both take in the magic and appreciate the thrill rides. After Space Mountain, Elena said, “Let’s go again!” When it’s not even 9 a.m., and there’s not much of a line, we could say, “Why not?” Halloween 2014.
  42. Take my Mom and daughter to a fancy tea somewhere
  43. Sell my silkscreened stuff
  44. Learn to play chess from Sylvan April 2012 update: Sylvan’s taught me how to play, and he reminds me every time we play of how each piece can move. We are currently similarly matched; he will be beating me in just a few months.
  45. Sing karaoke in front of people (this one scares me more than any other, I think)

I’m a bit distressed by the amount of fossil fuel that the travel on my list would consume. I have considered biking to the base of the highest points in each of the 50 states, then hiking…

A Few Things I’ve Already Done That Would Be On My Bucket List Otherwise

  1. Hot air ballooned (a stroke of absolute genius on my Mom’s part; this was the world’s best high school graduation present)
  2. SCUBA dived at the Great Barrier Reef
  3. Swum with dolphins in New Zealand
  4. Become a NOLS instructor
  5. Danced in a semi-professional company
  6. Studied abroad
  7. Fallen in love, more than once (More than once wasn’t on my list, but those people have made my life richer.)
  8. Run into a grizzly. Or two. (This wasn’t on my list either, but I’m glad it happened.)
  9. Run a marathon. Or three. Four actually, as of April 2012.
  10. Ridden in a helicopter. Or two.
  11. Been to a concert at Carnegie Hall
  12. Been on TV (a few times)
  13. Climbed at least 10 of Oregon’s volcanoes: South Sister, Bachelor, McLoughlin, Bailey, Cowhorn, Diamond Peak, Washington, Maiden Peak, Lava Butte, Mt. Scott November 2011 update: Thielsen. Summer 2012: Three-Fingered Jack, Broken Top. Summer 2013: Hood, Black Crater, Little Belknap.

Posted in the categories Julie, Music, Oregon, outdoors, Parents and Kids, Running, Travel by julie on Sunday, 17 April 2011, 1:17 | 2 Comments »

Two for two!

Posted by jonesey on Sunday, 27 February 2011, 22:46

Julie and I won two (two!) awards at Chandra and Eric’s always highly anticipated and enjoyable Oscar party tonight.

I was the male winner of the award for best costume, with my interpretation of listless Oscar co-host James Franco’s interpretation of Aron Ralston, the guy who (spoiler alert!) cut off his arm after being trapped under a rock for a few days. And if you think that’s on the wrong side of tasteful, do I have to remind you of my Steve Irwin Halloween costume, donned just weeks after his unfortunate incident with the ray? Oy!

P.S. Don’t ask what’s in the Nalgene bottle.

Julie just missed with her spot-on Holly Golightly outfit (note Cat and cigarette holder), but she won the prize for most awards guessed correctly (14 out of 24). Cat is holding her trophy.

Aron and Holly

Aron Ralston and Holly Golightly at the Academy Awards, Feb 27, 2011

Posted in the categories Chris, Friends, Gay and Lesbian, Julie, Movies by jonesey on Sunday, 27 February 2011, 22:46 | 1 Comment »

Good News: CPR really can help

Posted by julie on Sunday, 20 February 2011, 23:20

The good news: The young woman who had a heart attack while we were at Bounce last week is alive and recovering. CPR really does perfuse bodily tissues with oxygen. When definitive care is close, it can buy you enough time. It bought her enough time.

More good news: A woman, a first grade teacher, retired after 30 years, told me the other day at the pool that she appreciated the way I was speaking to my children. I smiled and thanked her. “No, thank YOU,” she said. I have my naturopath, Dr. Bove, to thank for my newly discovered calm.

Even more good news: My goal for the 25K Hagg Lake mud run today was between 2:43-3 hours and to place within the top half of my age group and gender. My time? 2:42. I placed 8th of 32 women aged 35-39, and 117 of 267 overall. Can I tell you how much ankle-deep mud can slow a person down? I should have run in cleats. Or crampons. I only fell three times. The winner fell five. See, he was going for it more than I.

I didn't lose my shoes! Good gaiters.

And, finally, 1974. My love and I went to Rita Honka’s 50th! birthday party on Friday. We decided that 70s attire wasn’t optional.

Polyester Couple

Posted in the categories Julie, Running by julie on Sunday, 20 February 2011, 23:20 | Comments Off on Good News: CPR really can help

Dear World: Can we please take a break from the life lessons for a while?

Posted by julie on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, 20:53

For the second time in a little over a week, death—or its proximity—has convinced me that I need to make some simple changes in my life. This morning, while toddlers and preschoolers bounced on trampolines, spilled water on themselves at the fountain, and twisted themselves up on the rings, a dad and the owner of this kids’ gym performed CPR on a mom nobody knew whose heart had stopped by the time she hit the ground. Her two-year-old son was carried away so he could try to focus on something other than his unresponsive mom with people pushing on her chest. Later, someone realized that the smiling 11-month-old baby in the carseat was his little sister.

(The lack of empathy that preschoolers and toddlers exhibit was perfect for this situation, by the way. They played, largely unaware of the drama unfolding before them. It wasn’t until the paramedics came that either of my children noticed something was wrong.)

After some deduction and asking the little boy where his shoes were in the hopes of finding his mom’s purse, the very responsible woman in charge found the patient’s phone and managed to call her husband. After the ambulance left, the rest of us moms and dads followed our children around, our eyes glazed and our minds on other things. The patient’s husband and mother or mother-in-law arrived, and, as with my realization that I had met the high school student who drowned in a rogue wave last week, I was taken by the smallness of this world. This shell-shocked young dad had been my respectful, questioning, adventurous student at the University a decade ago. I smiled at him and then took care of my daughter’s nosebleed–something I knew I could actually fix.

Other than hoping that the AED did more for this woman than CPR (which did help, a little; twice she came back and took big gulps of air before disappearing again), here’s what I was thinking:

  • My kids need to know how to dial 911. If something happens to me when I’m alone with them, they’ll have to be my heroes (but don’t tell them that they failed if they can’t be).
  • They also need to know their own names, my full name, Chris’s full name and where he works, and another emergency contact’s full name. Both kids had this when I quizzed them on the way home. I just heard Elena saying “Mama, Mama, Julie, Mama” as she fell asleep.
  • I need to amend my purse a little. It should have:
    • My small CPR mask (which easily fits in my pocket)
    • Emergency numbers in my wallet
    • Contacts in my iPod

I don’t want to be a downer, just a realist. But to end on a happier note, remember that my lesson for last week was that the single most important thing I can give my children is a childhood filled with laughter and love. Laughter and love: ultimately, nothing’s more important.

Posted in the categories Julie by julie on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, 20:53 | 2 Comments »

A Weekend’s Productivity

Posted by julie on Monday, 14 February 2011, 8:04

Apparently constitutionally incapable of buying Dora valentines at the drugstore, I helped Sylvan with his rockets (look how small he wrote his name; those are glitter gluesticks) and Elena with her collage valentines.

Sylvan's new "book"shelf. This took a painfully long time to paint. My husband is very patient with my endless in-process projects. He only mentions them every couple of weeks or so.

I felt productive this weekend. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted in the categories Holidays, House, Julie by julie on Monday, 14 February 2011, 8:04 | 1 Comment »

Top 10 Natural Places I Want to Visit

Posted by julie on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, 22:52

My friend Melynda at YourWildChild.com posted a list of “Top Ten Nature Sights [sic; some are sites] (I want to visit).” Before looking at hers, I decided to compile my own. Now, if you’re wondering what to give me for Christmas, I’ll take those frequent flier miles for a trip to the southern hemisphere.

  1. Torres del Paine National Park, Chile: backpacking the “Circuit”  around the granite towers of Paine, climbing some mountains if they’re not too scary, chatting up the guanaco.
  2. Sweden: biking from town to town, sea kayaking from skerry to skerry, skiing from hut to hut, picking up my diesel Volvo. I also recently took a quiz that recommended I live in Stockholm, so I wouldn’t mind visiting some populated places, too.
  3. Alaska’s Brooks Range: hiking, canoeing, avoiding grizzly bears (okay, admiring them from a distance)
  4. Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: This mountain is attractive to me for many reasons. I’ve never visited Africa; Tanzania is home to elephants, hippos, hyenas, zebras, lions, chimpanzees, and giraffes; and Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa. Although its altitude regularly spanks climbers, Kilimanjaro is a walk-up. And, like I felt I needed to see some of Glacier National Park’s eponymous glaciers before they’re gone, I’d like to see the snows of Kilimanjaro before they’re gone.
  5. Isle Royale, Michigan: I want to hear the wolves, and I’ve never been to Michigan.
  6. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado: I’ve never spent time in Colorado, other than a night in Boulder on my westward drive. The density of high peaks, aspen, and John Denver’s inspiration holds some appeal.
  7. Newfoundland, Canada: biking and hiking
  8. Puszcza Bialowieza, Belarus and Poland: This is apparently the largest remaining old-growth forest in Europe. It has reintroduced wisent (European bison) and  konik (wild horses), as well as enormous oaks.
  9. My cop-out “places in the southwest” answer: Arches National Park, Monument Valley, Havasu Falls. Havasu Falls would probably win, if I had to choose.
  10. Na Pali Coast State Park, Hawaii

As I was deciding, I realized that I had a few places that were both natural and cultural, so I get to add a few more to my list, because, really, it’s a new list:

  1. Machu Picchu, Peru
  2. Cappadocia, Turkey
  3. Pompeii, Italy
  4. Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

Posted in the categories Julie, outdoors, Travel by julie on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, 22:52 | 5 Comments »

Volcanoes 2 1/2 and 3

Posted by julie on Monday, 11 October 2010, 23:34

Mt. Scott from across Crater Lake

Mission: accomplished! Summer might already be over, but I finally climbed three volcanoes this climbing season: Mt. Bailey, Diamond Peak, and Mt. Scott.

Volcano 2 1/2: Leslie and I attempted Mt. St. Helens on a rainy weekend in September. We chatted, I ate nearly all of her homemade cookies spiked with coffee, and we read for hours as the rain pattered the roof of the van the night before the climb. The mountain remained socked in. After reaching about 6000 feet and having a difficult time seeing from one trail-marking post to the next, we decided to go down, get dry, and go to Powells. Good choice.

If it's not obvious, yes, that is a stream running down the trail. Wet, wet, wet.

Volcano 3: I decided I needed to find a sure thing before the snows come. Mt. Scott, on the edge of Crater Lake, seemed like my sure thing: 5 miles round-trip, 1300 feet of elevation gain, great views if the weather gods smiled, and an easy walk-up I could do alone. At 8926, it’s the highest point in Crater Lake National Park, and it’s higher than I’ve climbed in a while.

I drove into the park last night at 7 p.m., 2 hours and 20 minutes after leaving Eugene. The sign at the entrance read “Lost Creek Campground will close on October 11, 2010 at 2 p.m.” I still had 19 hours! As much as I’ve avoided this reality, autumn has truly set in; my drive through the park was dark and foggy, and I feared driving off the edge of Rim Drive. An hour later, I reached the campground, precisely on the opposite side of the lake from where I’d entered the park.

If you’re a parent, a writer, a lover of the outdoors, or a soul with simply too little time, you’ll understand how I relished the hour and a half I then spent journaling while the winds pushed the treetops around. Then I read. As the clouds blew off and the stars gave the sky its depth, I slept. I found out later that the temperature dipped down to 27° F.

I awoke at 6:30, and I was on the trail at 7:05, after driving 6 miles to the trailhead. It was fully light, although the sun hadn’t yet risen over the shoulder of Mt. Scott. I set off alone over the gravelly cinders, through a forest of whitebark pine, mountain hemlock, and Shasta red fir (which may have been subalpine fir; I’m not a fir girl, a connoisseur of Abies). After some photos, wind, switchbacks, and talking to myself, I was at the top in an hour. From the ridge near the summit, one can peer west to Crater Lake or east to Klamath Marsh, irrigated and channeled into straight lines. At the top of this ancient “satellite volcano” that sits on the flank of of the much larger and younger Mt. Mazama—the beast that erupted to form Crater Lake over 7000 years ago—a solar-powered fire tower is perched.

I walked along the ridge, seeking a sunny breakfast nook. I found it, and I also met a friend, a marten who was not really afraid of me but who was eager to move past my verbal greetings. This marten was about 12 feet from me when I snapped the photo.

Marten atop Mt. Scott

After 30 minutes on the summit ridge, I’d finished my hard-boiled eggs and self portraits, so I donned my gloves and walked back down.

In another 45 minutes, I’d reached the van. I stopped a couple of times to enjoy the view, then I headed back to Eugene, where I picked up the kids at 3 p.m. and brought them to my rehearsal at 4. Thanks, family, for indulging my mountain madness.

Phantom Ship in Crater Lake

Posted in the categories Julie, Oregon, outdoors by julie on Monday, 11 October 2010, 23:34 | 1 Comment »

Mt. Bailey – My first volcano of the season

Posted by julie on Friday, 16 July 2010, 23:15

My friend Chandra, with whom I spend far too little time, asked me to join her for a reconnaissance climb of Mt. Bailey, an old volcano north of Crater Lake. She’s leading a hike up Bailey in a few weeks, and I need to climb volcanoes – perfect fit!

We saw one great horned owl; one sign warning of a blue-green algae bloom in Diamond Lake; maybe one hairy woodpecker, just glanced through the trees; countless mountains in our 360 degree view from the summit, including the Three Sisters, Jefferson, Washington, Diamond Peak, Mount Scott, the remains of Mount Mazama, and also Mount McLoughlin, Mount Shasta, and probably Mount Ashland; lupine, paintbrush, pasqueflower, bleeding heart, blooming manzanita, mountain dandelion, tiny yellow mountain violets, their blooms the size of my thumbnail, and grouse whortleberry.

Chandra was bitten by 207 mosquitoes (okay, that’s a guess), and we were both driven nearly mad by many thousands of other bloodsuckers. She taught me about roadless areas and the poisoning of Diamond Lake. Last night, we saw oodles of stars from our tent’s skylight. We were awoken by many fishermen at 5 a.m., after they’d finally gone to bed at 11 p.m., following quite a bit of discussion about “franks.” I only threw one snowball at Chandra; I missed on purpose.

Here are a few photos from our trip:

Our first peek at Bailey from the trail. The summit is the bare area in the middle along the horizon.

Chandra not swatting at mosquitoes for a moment, with Diamond Lake and Mt. Thielsen beyond.

Looking through the summit ridge's window to Thielsen.

Cinder saddle, rock wall, talus slopes, then easy walk to summit.

Mount Bailey across Diamond Lake. I found this photo at a thrift store. It looks like it might have been taken a little earlier in the season than now - maybe May or June.

Posted in the categories Friends, Julie, outdoors by julie on Friday, 16 July 2010, 23:15 | 3 Comments »

Van Smackdown, Part II

Posted by julie on Friday, 19 February 2010, 10:53

Really? A Volkswagen camper-van is a minivan? Okay, “unibody construction,” “V6 engine,” “I read too much Car and Driver.” I understand data; I am a trained scientist under the façade of diaper bags and dirty dishes, but would you call these vehicles minivans?

2campers

From VW Camper - The Inside Story by David Eccles

There are vans, there are minivans, then there are Volkswagens. I suppose VW vans have always occupied a separate category in my brain’s filing system, whether they have pop-tops or not. I don’t claim to be a car aficionado, and I suppose VW vans, even if their tops pop to reveal sleeping space, might be categorized as minivans (if your world is black and white). But let’s look at another picture, more evidence for you. Would you say this interior is in a minivan? Or would you instead say the vehicle is more like a “mini RV”?

1970_VW_Camper_interior

From aaronx's flickr photos (CC BY 2.0)

All mini-vans have tables and cabinets and curtains, right?

I realized that in making a big deal out of this, I must be somehow admitting that “The Analyst” is right, that this is a minivan. But I sort of have a lot riding on this: I have been known to say that I’ll never drive a minivan. Chris has, more than once, admonished, “Never say never.” And you might know that I don’t like being wrong (but I often am).

For me, this argument comes down to intention. I intended to buy a camper. The main reasons we got this van are:

  1. We live in Oregon, and we like to camp. We had a very soggy experience in the Wallowas last June, while camping in tents out of our diminutive vehicle with a 3-year-old and a baby. It was less than pleasant. That planted the seed.
  2. Chris, the man who never wants anything other than used books for Christmas, said, “I’ve wanted a camper-van since I was seven.”

Additional supporting arguments in favor of a larger vehicle included:

  1. I would like to go for a hike with another parent and his or her kids without having to caravan two hours to get there. Wouldn’t company be nice?
  2. After setting up appointments to buy trees last fall, I canceled because I couldn’t manage to find a time when: I wouldn’t have the kids, the nursery was open, and I had someone else’s pick-up truck that would fit the trees. Now, the kids AND the trees will fit in the van. It will be nice to occasionally have a little cargo space.
  3. When our parents visit, we either have to rent an extra or bigger vehicle or decide not to go anywhere beyond walking distance. I’m glad my parents like the coffee shop around the corner.

I understand that these last three arguments also support buying a minivan, but we didn’t need a minivan – or even a second vehicle, really. We wanted a camper with some nice side benefits. I feel guilty tooling around town in my 40 mpg recycled cooking oil- and canola-powered car. It’s still a car. I don’t intend to pick up the groceries or the kids at soccer practice in the camper-van.

That said, if you see me in the Market of Choice parking lot with the camper, and we’re not on our way to the trailhead, you may hurl the slings and arrows.

Posted in the categories Julie, outdoors, Travel by julie on Friday, 19 February 2010, 10:53 | 4 Comments »

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