Look at that Old Woman Go!

I flew up hills and down hills. I walked some of the time, but rode most of the time.

I saw deer, bobcats (including a mama with 2 babes...see photo), and birds of all sorts.

I rocked out on my i-pod to The Flaming Lips, Blackalicious, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Brother Ali.

I jumped a creek on my bike! Woo-hoo! I got wet and muddy!

I found a geocache (Pick Your Fortune).

I hid 2 caches. ("Gold-on-a-Rope" and "Lost My Wallet!")

I rode more than 23 miles today...and I am TIRED!

My bike, a 1994 Trek Mountain Track, still runs like that day I bought it! I maintain it myself and even built my own GPS holder for the handle bars, using plastic and duct tape. Even my son was impressed!

I ran out of water near Jackson Creek Road, but thought I'd be fine for the rest of the ride home.

Now, I'm home with a pounding headache, from lack of water, no doubt. That last 7 miles was a doozy!

I came home to find all of the doors open and the dogs resting in the middle of the street. When I left, 4 hours ago, I told the kids to be sure and put the dogs in the backyard and lock the house if they went anywahere. My kids are flipping me out.

I passed a dude walking his dog way up on the peak of Vineyard Mountain today. As I rode by, I swear I heard him say to the Black Lab, "Look at that (old) woman go!" I bet he didn't say "old" but I heard it anyway. Now, I'm sipping possibly the BEST brew I've ever tasted, getting ready to go out and see a movie with my friend. It's from Spanich Peaks Brewing in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. It's called "Honey Raspberry Ale" and it ROCKS! I bought it at Safeway, while shopping with Handsome Husband. He picked out Moose Droul, as we visited that brewery in Montana a few years ago. I pretty much love my husband more than anyone could imagine right now...and he's out of town. :(

Who remembers FREE WILLY?

I got a full-face memory zapped at me today while geocaching after getting off our boat in Hammond, Oregon. There is was- the man-made jetty that Ol' Silly himself jumped over in order to escape the evil humans and become, finally, a free whale! (Cue in Michael Jackson's song at this point) http://www.keiko.com/

The geocache was AWESOME! One of the toughest and most creative yet! Hubby and I took only about 4 minutes to make the find, while my mother paced back-and-forth, thinking this was really dumb. When I picked it up, however, and showed Hubby and Mom, her eyes actually did light up. "How odd," she said. I guess, from my perspective, since we've driven a total of 14 hours in 2 weekends to catch a damn sturgeon, and have come home empty-handed again, at least I caught a few caches!

It was odd! Very, very odd. Would've never thought of it, myself. However, I plan to make use of the idea soon for a Corvallis-area cache! TNLNSL

Ooo! What if it's in my eyes now?!

Poison Oak! P.O. I now call it FPO (YOU can figure out the "F" part!)

I spent a few bucks on Technu and can only hope it works!

I'm not kidding! We were in the midst of an FPO Ocean! I kept saying, "We'll be fine. The cache is only a few hundred feet away. We can make it. Just be careful. This shouldn't be a problem When people see poison oak (FPO) on our legs, they'll think it's cool, cause we can say we got it while out geocaching! Don't turn back, Carnivorous Hippy. We're almost there. Here, just push this big bush of oak (FPO) aside with your shoe. No problems. Oops. I just rubbed my eyes. Oh no! I saw you just pull up your sock! Shit!"

Arrgghh! A good day ended quickly. Ended up in the shower, stripping off everything and throwing it into the washer with DISHSOAP, hoping to salvage my favorite shorts. I scrubbed so hard on my arms and legs with Technu that I'm a little raw now. I just HOPE, HOPE, HOPE no blisters arise! I'm leaving on a trip with Handsome Husband tomorrow to the San Juan Islands! No FPO, please!