An Unexpected Trip to Oregon

I took a trip to Oregon so that I could take care of my niece Brandy's animals while she was away at a dog show in Ohio. I enjoyed the time there with the exception of one incident where two Saint Bernard's decided to tear down the fence between them and when I went to move them they got into a fight. Blood everywhere but happily when I finally got them separated and put in new kennels none of it was mine and neither dog was seriously injured. Other than that it was simply a matter of caring for 15 dogs, 2 cats, 2 pigs and two goats. Feeding, watering and cleaning up after.

Even though the weather was starting to turn to the rainy fall it was still nice and I found that the weather didn't bother me at all as long as I made the effort to get out and do something every day. While I did quite a bit I was never gone more than two hours at a time there were just to many animals to keep an eye on. I particularly felt that way after the fight.

I got to revisit a few places that I enjoyed visiting in Eugene and Creswell as well as some new places but the biggest change is that I spent a lot of time in the small town of Cottage Grove. I got to meet Smitty for lunch at Creswell Coffee and for breakfast at Joe's Diner. I can't say enough about the food at Joe's and Creswell had a really good panini sandwich. And while it wan't about the food as much as about the time spent with a friend, good food makes the whole experience better.

Eugene

Some of the highlights in Eugene were time spent on Pre's Trail and going back to Smith Family Bookstore. As a matter of fact I found out that Smith Family had two locations and I visited both of them when I went downtown one day. Book selection is great. Location other than parking is good. The only negative is that I haven't found the staff to be friendly in any of my visits. I enjoy talking books and visiting in general when I go to a book store, particularly a used bookstore. It's part of the complete experience for me. One place that I wanted to visit in Eugene in the past but hadn't yet was Voodoo Donuts. This time I made it a point to go there for coffee and a Eugene donut, both were good.

Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove had a lot of the things that I enjoy seeing when I am on a trip. Bookstores, unique restaurant experiences and historical locations. While visiting CG I ate at Buster's Main Street Cafe which was in the building with the huge Buster Keaton Mural on the wall. A movie with Keaton was made back in the '20's. There are murals throughout the town depicting the history. Another historical aspect of the town is the covered bridges in the area and while I didn't visit all of them I did see the majority. I also spent time hiking along the Row (rhymes with cow) River Trail a couple of days.

One of the highlights of Cottage Grove for me was finding three unique bookstores all within a few buildings of each other downtown on Main Street. It's no secret that I love independent bookstores in particular those that have used books and a local flavor.

I wound up staying an extra day so that I could take Brandy for her shoulder surgery. While she was having her surgery done I went to grab something to eat and found a bookstore. Imagine that.

On the Road Again - Pt 4 - The Trip Home

As I have been trying to do on all of my recent trips I tried to make sure to stop and see things on the drive home from Colorado to Patterson. There are always multiple route options depending on who or what I can see on the drive as well as time. I am fortunate in that time isn't often a consideration. I decided that I wanted to see Mesa Verde and other things in southwestern Colorado so I went through the San Luis Valley and over Wolf Creek Pass. It was a beautiful drive and I stopped on the Continental Divide and at a pullout where I was able to take a short hike to Treasure Falls. I was thinking about how many people must just drive by without ever knowing it was there or stopping to see it.

I made another stop at Chimney Rock National Monument. Even though there wasn't much to see without going on a tour it was an interesting rock formation and there is a lot of interesting history associated with the area.

I drove to Mesa Verde National Park next and spent a few hours driving and hiking. The history of the area is remarkable. Once again I didn't sign up for any of the tours here either because I really enjoy getting out on my own. It is a place where you could certainly spend an entire day or even longer including tours.

I spent the night in Cortez and got an early start to Arizona where I planned to visit the Petrified National Forest and the Painted Desert. I couldn't believe how close the park is to the Interstate. As a matter of fact the Interstate actually crosses part of it and old Route 66 actually drove right through the park.

My last day on the road I stopped in Ludlow, California for breakfast. We had briefly lived in Ludlow when my Dad was doing pipeline construction and we were following jobs. We attended a one room schoolhouse while we were there and the school is still there as a private residence after all these years. Then I made one final stop at the Headquarters of the Mojave National Preserve for information with plans to spend more time there on future trips.

On the Road Again - Pt. 3 - Colorado

If you kept up with my last blog then you know that when I left Colorado Springs I wasn't sure when I would return. For some reason I really struggled last year with feeling that I still had a place in Colorado. This return trip couldn't have been more different. I had a great time especially catching up with people, some that I hadn't seen in years. I was actually driving into Colorado when I received a phone call from a coaching rival and friend, Jim Brady who offered me a chance to stay with him for the first few days that I was going to be in the Springs. We spent several days talking and catching up while still each going our own way at times. The first night there we went to a high school cross country meet and saw more coaching friends. It was a really uplifting experience.

Jim Brady and Larry Zaragoza

Ron Payton and Duane Roberson

The next morning Jim, Ron Payton and I met Brian and Kathy Sweeney at Western Omelette. It was cool bring together friends from the past to reconnect with some and introduce others. Both the day I got there and the second day I had some time to kill and of course I spent some of it visiting some of my favorite used book stores. Then I went to Bear Creek Park and hiked before meeting Luke for lunch and then Jim and I went to the UCCS cross country meet where we met up with Robert Spell and his daughter. Two meets two days in a row at Monument Valley Park brought back a flood of good memories.

The next morning I went to my third cross country meet in three days at the Widefield Invitational. I knew that some teams that I followed would be running and one of my former athletes might be there if her daughter was competing. It was another great experience. I saw a lot of coaching friends as well as some friends who were parents and meet officials. Not only was my athlete that I hoped to see there because her daughter ran for Widefield but another of my former athletes was there because her daughter ran for Sierra. It was so much fun catching up with them and listening to them talk about all their memories of running at Sierra.

Desiree & Sandy two of my former athletes who now have girls competing.

On Sunday Robert Spell and I had our first race of a two race weekend. We ran the Cheap 5K at the Flea Market. It was well supported and they had a nice pancake breakfast afterwards. Joe came out to watch and I ran into another coaching friend who was also racing, Gary Weston and then he and Joe and I had breakfast and again it was fun bring people from different parts of my life together.

The next day was one of the highlights of the time spent in Colorado Springs when we got together for our annual "Reunion Race". Robert, Joe, Walter, Gerald and I all ran races at the America Discovery Trail races. Even though we ran different distances it was a fun shared experience. When we were done we all eventually met up at North Monument Valley Park to picnic with Walter's and Robert's families. We've already scheduled our next "Reunion Race" for August 6th, 2017 in Castle Rock. Good friends and good times.

It was a really good trip to Colorado Springs this time catching up with so many old friends and spending so much time in the running world that I still love.