Little Spokane River Loop

Erik is headed out next week with the Scouts on a 50 mile backpack trip through the Selkirks. To get in another little training hike for him, we packed up the baby and joined the INH group for a fast seven mile jaunt up some steep sections to an incredible viewpoint looking down on the Spokane River. We came down and followed the meandering Little Spokane through one of the most scenic little valleys I have ever seen. I love squeezing in these evening hikes!

Liberty Lake Loop

Hiking in the Spokane area is quite a dramatic difference from our previous home in Utah. The Wasatch provided us with rocky terrain, dramatic views and massive mountain ranges as far as the eye can see. While I miss that very much, hiking in Northeastern Washington has proved to be just as impressive and beautiful in it's own way. Because the area is so forested, most of the hikes here are cool, quit retreats first through cottonwoods and ponderosa pines, then climbing through Douglas firs and cedars. The highly timbered mountains aren't as dramatic, but when the trees do break the views are spectacular.

One hike I have been trying to get to all summer is the 9 mile Liberty Lake Loop. The hiking group I am in seems to always do this one on a Sunday or something so I always miss it, but I recently joined a women's outdoor club called "Ms Adventures of the Inland Northwest."  Ha ha, get it?  This was my first hike with the active ladies. My sister in law Melanie joined me and my hiking group for the whole loop. Mel and the kids are spending their summer up here, trying to beat the heat of Fresno, and it has been great to spend some time with them. I don't think Melanie and I had ever hung out, just the two of us, so this was really fun to chat with her while we burned up hills and enjoyed the cascading waterfalls on this shaded hike.

With all the business lately of remodeling, packing, moving, and finishing the thesis, I hadn't hiked in quite a while. I think my soul desperately needed this one.  This hike tied Tate's record for miles in the pack, she has done nine miles one other time before, but since she has been so wiggly lately I was worried she would not want to sit still for that long. With Mel's help, lots of homemade crackers, and a nice sippy cup, she did amazing.

When we made it back to the trail head I wanted Tate to run around and get some exercise before we strapped her in the car seat, so we stripped her down and we took our shoes off and swam in Liberty Lake. There is an incredible beach there and Tate had a great time chasing ducks, splashing in the water and running up and down the fishing pier. There is nothing greater in the world than soaking your feet in cold water after a hard nine miles!

ACSM Indianapolis

The American College of Sports Medicine recently accepted my thesis abstract for publication at their conference in Indianapolis. BYU paid for me to travel out there and present my research. It was an incredible opportunity, but I was extremely nervous about leaving Tate for three whole days. She is still nursing and has never taken a bottle well and I had never been away from her for more than a few hours. Plus, I would be missing her first birthday. Luckily Erik's parents came up from California to stay with him and help watch Tate and help us with a few projects at the new house. That helped ease my worries a little bit, I knew Tate loved her grandma.

I am so glad I decided to go. Indianapolis was one of the coolest cities I have ever been in. I had a great view from my hotel of the river front and the NCAA national headquarters. I saw tons of old friends from BYU. I learned so much from all of the sessions at the conference. Most importantly, my presentation went really well. I was nervous leading up to it because sometimes at these conferences people hash into each other and are extremely critical, but my presentation went smooth and everyone had great feedback and interest in the results.

I spent most of my time with Mike and Justin, friends from the Y who were working in the bio-chem and physiology labs the same time I was. I also met up with Merill and Rob, some of my best friends, and favorite people from our masters cohort. We ate at some great restaurants, walked around the city, got up extremely early one morning and ran a 5k through the downtown canal.

Even with being busy I got extremely homesick by the last day. I had never missed anyone as much as I missed Tate on this trip. I had to pump every few hours, which I hate, and I got a clogged duct which made everything painful. I missed her birthday, and she was learning to walk when I left, and had mastered it by the time I got home ans was running laps around the kitchen. The last day of the conference I could not pay attention at all. I went to classes, but all I could think about was going home. I was so grateful to be back to my little wiggles.

I have been trying to teach Tate how to hug basically since day one. She is not a cuddly baby and won't ever let you hold her tight. Her idea of a hug is to lock her arms out into your chest and violently turn her head away. But ever since I have come home from the trip she will run into my arms, squeeze me tight and rest her head on my shoulder. Everytime! So I guess she missed me too. She will not hug ANYONE else, including her dad, and she is totally a daddy's girl. If I would have known the key to teaching her to hug was to leave a few days I would have done it sooner!