Here is the Nebraska/Northwestern jersey I made for my husband. He was born in Nebraska and graduated from Northwestern. He wore it to the game yesterday in Nebraska and it was quite a hit! I purchased 2 official jerseys with no numbers or name on them. Then I cut them in half and sewed them together again so they were mixed. After some great advice from users on the Make-the-Cut forum, I purchased heat transfer vinyl and cut out numbers and lettersand attached to the jersey. He went to the game with a group of fraternity brothers, one of which is also a Nebraska native so I made the other jersey for him.

See the pictures below. My husband loved it! Doesn't he look happy?

Old Fashioned Sunday

Our church is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year and we've had some fun events. On September 21st, we had an Old Fashioned Sunday filled with old time hymns and a picnic afterwards with old fashioned games and home made ice cream. Everyone was encouraged to dress according to their favorite time period over the last 200 years. Scott and I found these groovy outfits at a vintage clothing store here in town. We won 1st prize for the best costumes. Can you blame the judges?

While Scott was trekking across Oregon and Washington, I was running in the Charlottesville Women's Four Miler on August 30th. This race raises money for the Breast Care Program at UVA and this is my second year. The weather the week before was so lovely, cool and rainy. But, when the morning of the race arrived, the temperature shot up to over 85 degrees and the sun was blazing. They took at least 3 runners away in ambulances. I had hoped to finish the race in under 45 minutes this year but finished at 46:02. I'm satisfied with that considering the heat.

Vanessa shot this video of me sprinting across the finish line. The lady with me gave me the encouragement I needed to keep running and even pass a couple of runners there are the end when all I wanted to do was stop. I don't know her name but I thank her from the bottom of my running shoes!

More Backpacking Photos

Here are some more pictures and memories from Scott.

This was Day 10, our second day out with Chad and Rich. Started out cold and frosty, but got sunny quick as we got up onto Snowgrass Flats at about 6600 feet. Then some clouds moved in as we crossed some screen slopes and onto the knife edge ridge trail that the Goat Rocks wilderness is famous for.




Chad & Scott crossing a snowfield with Mt. Adams in the background. We're still smiling at this point, because we have no idea what's coming.


Still Sunny, looking toward Mt. Rainier (not in the picture), not noticing the knife edge there that we'd be going over shortly. Doesn't look that bad from this angle and distance.


Crossing the snow-dusted screen slope as the clouds move in.


Tim out there on the snow-dusted scree slope. This was about the point I realized it wasn't all fun anymore. Had to take it slow, step carefully, and concentrate.


And then starting across the knife edge, at which point I was pretty well freaked, and just focusing on the 5 yards in front of me, for the next hour and a half. See if you can zoom in and follow the trail ahead of us. Chad & I took it slow, but Rich and Tim didn't seem to mind. It was a long rocky way down on either side. Near the end we got passed by 2 old ladies and their little dog. Nice.

Trip of a Lifetime!

In August & September, Scott went on a trip of a lifetime! He and several of his fraternity brothers turned 40 this year and celebrated with a 180-mile backpacking trip. They started just outside of Portland, Oregon and ended at Mount Rainier in Washington.

Here are some photos and memories from his trip in his own words prompted by a question as to whether they saw any bears or had to carry a gun for protection.



No, we didn't see any bears, but we saw their poop on the trail (along with racoon poop, deer poop, elk poop, and lots and lots of horse poop). And we saw bear tracks and cat tracks (small, probably lynx or bobcat) within yards of our tents on the third morning. The tracks weren't there the night before, and it had rained hard in the night.

On the last night, high on Rainier, Chad says he heard something "pad" through our campsite, something that was definitely not a small critter. Since several hikers and the park ranger had made a point to alert us that a mama bear and her cubs, and a great big papa bear, had been frequenting the meadow for several days, I'm happy to let Chad think it was whatever he thinks it was. But the rest of us were fast asleep and heard nothing, and nothing is what I think it was. Or it could have been one of the elk that we saw up on the hill, which we heard bugling all evening. Or it could have been a camper from another site, trying to find the pit toilet in the dark. Best view from any toilet you've ever sat on, by the way.

We did not carry firearms, although we considered it. We didn't even carry bear spray (pepper spray), although we bought some and then left it at home to save weight and because a frequent hunter in our group assured us we wouldn't need it. But then on that last night, the park ranger was carrying HIS bear spray, so there you go.

We did not see any weirdos, unless you count thru-hikers. But they were all perfectly friendly, and pretty busy making their 20-30 miles a day. They were all happy to chat about their experiences on the trail, and encouraging to us for doing a trip as long as two weeks. These people spend 5 straight months hiking!

Like on the Appalachian Trail, they spend the summer hiking from south to north, Mexico to Canada. And they take on "trail names" for the length of their trek. We met Ridgewalker and Accent (she spoke with an accent), Irish (he was Irish), and Overdose, and Milk Jug (because he carried his water in a milk jug).

We took on trail names, too, just to get in the spirit, and the thru-hikers thought that was cool. Mike was Turtle, because he was slow but persistent. Ken was Epic, for reasons that can't be described here. Chad from Tampa was Six, because as we were hiking on his first day from 4000 feet up to 6000 feet, Tim asked him "What's the elevation of Tampa, 12?" and Chad replied "Six". I was Pusher, as in Gorp Pusher, because in an effort to reduce the weight of my pack, I insisted everyone eat plenty of gorp trail mix every time we rested.

Here are a few more pix I hope you'll enjoy!



Tim's henna ink "tattoo" (it's painted on, no needles, fades completely in about 2 weeks), as we gazed for the first time on Mt. Adams, a 12,000 foot peak we could hike the shoulder of at about 6,000 feet a few days hence.



Ken's huckleberries. We ate lots and lots of these during the first week. Very tasty!


Supper on Day 9. It was about 30 degrees, had just finished snowing/sleeting lightly. Note that our excellent meal consists of peanut butter, whole wheat pita, apple, and large chunks of summer sausage and pepper jack cheed. Yum! We ate hot meals most of the time.


Mount Adams again, several days after passing it, looking back at it from this lovely alpine meadow, where we got water from a spring.


And our first view of Mt. Rainier that same day, just a few minutes later. Looks cold, doesn't it! Elevation about 7,000 feet!

Catch of the Day

This past Saturday, I went with Dad on a guided fly fishing trip as a Christmas/Birthday/Father's Day event. What a great day! The weather was perfect. We had a bet going in that who ever caught the first fish got a milkshake purchased by the other. I must say, I didn't stand a chance. Gordon, our guide, put the fly on Dad's line first and he dropped it in the water. Before he could finish with mine, Dad already caught a fish! Hmph, not exactly fair but that's okay. Dad caught the first fish but I caught the most; 3 to 7.


Neither of us caught the biggest fish though. Take a look at the photographic proof.



Here is the boat. The James River was a bit low and Gordon had to get out into the water to pull us over rocks many times.




Dad casting his line.





The normal size fish that we saw most of the day.





What is on the end of that line?





That is the biggest catfish I've ever seen. We let him go figuring he's lived long enough to earn it.

Orioles Game and Ice Cream

Scott and I spent last weekend visiting Lynda in Fredericksburg. This included the obligatory trip to Carl's for the best ice cream in the US!

On Sunday we drove up to Baltimore for an Orioles game. We got a little wet during the rain in the first couple of innings. That's my excuse for the bad hair but the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 so it was worth it. I'm always excited about pall park food until I eat it. And pay for it.

The Orioles managed to load the bases twice.