森のカボチャ

On Saturday afternoon I went to visit some old friends and their four month old baby boy. With less than a week before Halloween, we decided to carve one of the pumpkins on their front porch into a jack-o-lantern. While I do not have artistic impulses often, I wanted to do something besides the traditional triangle-toothed face. My friend and his son share the same first name Forrest, so I decided to attempt carving the Japanese kanji for "forest": 森, or "mori". Below is the result...

Wakeboarding in Autumn

My oldest brother Danny bought a boat earlier this summer--I had been eager to get home so I could go out and play before it got too cold. Monday it was just warm enough in the afternoon for a final trip down to Lake James before the boat gets winterized until next year.

The water was almost pleasant (though you'll notice, I am a wimp and wore a wetsuit!) and we were one of the only boats on the lake so we had plenty of fun. I had not wakeboarded in over a year so it was awesome to get up again and my brother, who usually skis, got up for the first (and 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th) time on the wakeboard, which I suspect was due to my impeccable driving.


Me, cruising


Danny up on the board, but terrified



Riding confidently, or, at least pretending

The Woodards--October 18, 2008

Great to have the whole family together again in Gurley Holler, we even made it through the photo shoot with relative ease!

A Life Together

This past weekend, my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary. I feel blessed to have such wonderful and cool parents. As a kid, you never think your parents could be cool, but now as an adult, it is great to see them still enjoying what they do, and getting so much out of life and from each other. It is now plain to see that I am who I am because of who they are and how they live.

Bike to Bandana

Having revived my interest in cycling in Cambodia last year and with Backroads again this summer, I finally bought a bicycle and some sexy bike shorts. I picked an ideal autumn day for my first solo ride in NC in many years--cool and crisp and clear. The leaves were just hitting peak, and the road from my house to Bandana was empty of traffic...perfect for riding, and luckily I remember my camera.



Hwy 80N, near Kona, with sunglasses filter






Silver Chapel Steeple, amongst the jetstreams







"Yes, it most definitely is an enchanting place in these so very old mountains."

You're not from Texas.

Well, I'm not from Texas anyway, but my friends Aaron and Sarah are sort-of, and they kindly offered me a week of hospitality at their home in Grand Prairie, capped off by an evening with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, who apparently, like to play Rock 'n' Roll.



Before the show: a ridiculous wonderful shirt, a ridiculous wonderful face, and Don.

Heartland

In September, I had the opportunity to do a trip (expedition is perhaps a better word) with Backroads in Wisconsin. A company hired us to organize a 5-day bike/camping trip across part of Wisconsin for 300 of their employees. After several days of packing and organizing and more packing in Salt Lake City, 14 vans and 10 trailers headed east across Wyoming, South Dakota (making a brief stops at Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, and Wall Drug of course), Minnesota, before arriving in New London, Wisconsin, just in time for a Sausage and Cheese festival (Mmmmmmmm, brats and cheese curds!).

It was a truly awesome trip, as our crew set up and broke down 140 tents everyday, packed and unpacked 300 sleeping bags, loaded and unloaded countless pieces of luggage, managed 300 bikes and riders everyday, and cooked the majority of the meals as well. Long 18 hour workdays, but we had beautiful weather for most of the week and I got to see an area of the country I had never visited before--Door County and Sturgeon Bay were especially impressive in September, as was my tour of Lambeau Field (even got to walk out the players' tunnel!).



The drive back across the endless farms of Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming was not noteworthy, but enjoyable nonetheless, due mostly to good company and open roads.

Oregon

After finishing up my season in the Canyons, I flew up to Portland to visit some friends from Japan and explore a bit in NW Oregon. It is an absolutely gorgeous area, especially in the summer, and I am quickly growing fond of the city--so much so that I am considering moving there at some point next year. Lush, beautiful neighborhoods, great parks and riverside boardwalks, progressive, uncrowded, super-bike friendly, hip and weird, excellent music and food, and wonderful access to everything I enjoy outside...hiking, cycling, fishing, snowboarding, kiteboarding, the coast, even some great hot springs within an hour or two drive.

Below are some photos



The Hawthorne Bridge, spanning the Willamette River



Mountain wildflower in a meadow, below Mt. Hood




Mt. Hood, peering down on our afternoon alpine idyll



Afternoon on the Oregon coast



On Eagle Creek, a rainbow beneath the dripping rocks



Old Man's Beard in the sunlight and evergreens

Home Again

I've been back in Gurley Holler just over a week now, and finally finding a bit of time to catch up with my blog. Apologies to all of my readers for the long hiatus, there have been several complaints about having to reread Rim to Rim to Rim for the umpteenth time.

I picked an absolutely gorgeous time to be home, October being my 2nd favorite month in the NC mountains. The leaves were at peak all last week, especially the maples, and the air has been perfect and crisp during the day--beautiful to be outside cycling, running, chainsawing firewood, etc. I am hoping to soak up as much of autumn as possible, before heading back to sultry Cambodia for the winter.

But first, I must backtrack a bit, and try to recount some of the past two months...