Older....

Well, I am officially a quarter of a century old... sheesh... that doesn't sound so good! For my birthday this past week we went to Qdoba, one of my favorite faster-food places to eat. I always get their three-cheese nachos with pulled pork...mmm! If that wasn't enough, we also went out to Cold Stone for ice cream. Needless to say, I wasn't very hungry for breakfast the next day.

Justin got me a cordless mouse for my laptop. I've been wanting one for a while and it definitely helps! I like my laptop but the scroll pad can definitely get annoying at times. He also ordered Sandlot for me. It's such a classic childhood movie and I'm glad we have it in our collection now.  We don't buy too many DVD's but this one was definitely one that we wanted to have. Grandma Heinrich knows me well too- she was out and saw this super cute blue paisley serving tray with a matching napkin/silverware holder. I don't have anything like that so it will be really nice to have for entertaining.

This weekend Justin and I are going on our first overnight backpacking trip. Well, his first. I have hiked on the Appalachian Trail. But it is our first together. It should be a good time.... I'm really hoping we don't run into any bears. :) I'll be sure to give a full report when we get back.

Besides that, I've been working in my room at school some this week. It came together I think, though yellow was the only paper color I had so it is pretty bright in there. Hey, I gotta keep the kids awake, right? I'm not sure if I am ready to go back though.... sigh...love my summers....

I've also been doing a study on Ecclesiastes with a girl from church. It's a pretty deep book. I'll have to go into more details later on.

Well... that's all for now. Gotta finished packing the bags for the hike!

Boulder Creek Hike in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness

We loved our hike to Boulder Lake along Boulder Creek from the Clark Fork trail head. The first 2.5 miles was nice an easy, with only one sustained climb of well-made switchbacks. After the sign for the meadow and Boulder Lake, things went up hill quite a bit...around 1,500 feet I believe for the last 1.5 miles to the lake. (Definitely got our workout in from that one!)  On the first portion, you can hear and see the creek almost the whole way, and a little later in the season it would be great to jump in the creek too- there are lots of sandy patches. Right now though, the streams are still very full and, of course, cold. We also saw many wildflowers. My favorite was a section of purple ground cover in a small meadow- just beautiful! After a climb up past those, we arrived at the lake. We actually weren't sure if it was Boulder Lake- it was so shallow- but we were tired and rested in this great clearing to eat. It was super quiet and very peaceful- sigh. Wish I could live up there sometimes....

Here's some pictures from the hike.

The Iceberg

 View from the trail on the way up to Boulder Lake....

Boulder Creek Wildflowers

I know I've been bad the last few days about blogging, and I'm not giving a full post today. But I thought I would share some of the wildflowers that Justin and I passed on our hike alongside Boulder Creek this weekend. Nice, aye? 

Waterhouse Lake Hike, Emigrant Wilderness

I was super excited that Herring Creek Road was finally open and I could get up to the Waterhouse Lake trail head. I've been eyeing it all summer. Since I drove my Honda Fit, I stopped about a mile and a half out from the trail head when the ruts on the unpaved road got too severe for my comfort. Selena and I walked up to the trail head and went from there. Round trip from the trail head is about 4 miles. Our total trip with the extra walk was probably around 8 miles.



The first mile of the trail was great- easy to see, pretty flowers, great pine smell in the air. After that, we arrived at the granite valley. (see pic below) At this point, it's off trail to the lake.... and we never quite got there. Total bummer, even though the views were great. We followed the right side stream (and rock cairns) too much and never got to the lake, which was more to the right. You can't see the lake from the top of the valley, and I hadn't looked closely enough at my map. (Plus, my guidebook told me to follow the cairns... and I did... grrr...) All in all, I really should have looked a little closer. I probably would have tried to go find it again, but I didn't want to explore too much with just us girls, and Selena was looking pretty tired on the way back. When we passed the Summit Ranger Station on our way home, I stopped to ask about it and the very helpful lady in there pointed out the error of my ways on the map.

Gotta love the auto-timed snapshots at the end of the hike. This meadow at the trail head is really so pretty, pictures don't do it justice!
I do plan on taking a higher-clearance car up there to shorten the hike and spend my energy finding the lake sometime, because I think it would be pretty secluded. We only passed two hikers on the whole trip, and two at the trail head. (By the way, I should probably call them kayakers because there were carrying boats) I'm sure it's a great place, so next time I'm dragging my husband with me and we're gonna find Waterhouse Lake!

Captain America

I love me a good patriotic movie. And I love dressing up too. Hence, date night to watch Captain America. Here we are:

Justin had his shirt for awhile. I, however, made mine the night before. Pretty cool, aye?

I haven't actually read the comic books, but I did like the movie. While there is some violence (it's set during WWII), it was very clean compared to most movies today. I thought it was really entertaining to watch and had some good values too. Besides the patriotic bend, which I appreciated, it also showed true friendship and caring about others. Another theme that was very clear was how power can total warp a person if they use it for evil. I would definitely recommend the movie.

Being so patriotic, I wonder how it will do in international markets?

Payless Coupon Surprise

I stopped in Payless yesterday, and I walked out with this (see below) for $6.43.

So here's how it worked. I first was going to buy only the black sandals for $6. Pretty cheap, right? But then the friendly sales associate came and gave me a one-day only coupon for $5 off two pairs of shoes that total over $10 together, OR $10 off three pairs of shoes that total over $15 dollars together. Got that? 

So, I decided to get the first two pairs- the black for $6 and the silver ones for $6 = $12 (total) - $5 (coupon) = $7 plus tax. And I'm sitting back saying, "Justin is gonna be proud of my savvy sale shopping." THEN, the associate helps me realize that if I "buy" the last pair of blue striped flip-flops for $3.99, it would bring my total to $15.99 and I would qualify for $10 off, thus making the entire purchase of three pairs of sandals..... $6.43. Nice. 

I've decided that they must really be trying to get rid of their summer stock of shoes, or else I was just lucky in finding cheap sale items that fit. Either way, that's about $2.14 per pair, so I was pretty pumped.

Check out their sales online www.payless.com

Stanislaus County Fair

There's just something about the fair... The colors or the rows of games booths and rides; the lights; the smells of corn dogs, cotton candy, cinnamon rolls, funnel cakes; the sounds of sheep, goats, cows, pigs, chickens and children; the atmosphere of good clean fun all around. I love it. Even though it really is getting expensive ($12 a ticket), I still like going for the experience. So Justin and I went last Friday night.

They actually had a discount on the ticket if you brought canned foods to donate, and rides were all $1. My deal-finding obsession felt a little better after this. We ate corn dogs and fries for dinner, with a funnel cake for dessert later on. We rode the Scrambler (a total kiddie ride) and the Ferris wheel, which was the first time I can remember going on one. I got some good pictures from up there.


The part I like best is seeing people I know. I saw a few of my students from the last two years, so it was nice to say hello to them. I remember when I went back to the fair in Ohio though, it was like you saw everyone in town. I suppose I would know more people if I grew up here...   All in all though, it was a great time and I'm glad we went!

Check out this roasting pig!!

Sunny Cove Beach

I love this beach!! I came here with family when I visited California in high school, and have returned several times since. Usually there are just a few people around, and you can get in the ocean and play around too. It's this great little cove that is protected somewhat from the wind. The only drawback is that there aren't any bathrooms, and it is unsigned. So if you have never been here before, it's hard to find. I actually don't want to tell about it on the blog, but it's such a great place I still will.

There is a hotel right at the top of the street called Sunny Cove Motel. Usually we park across the street in the shopping center by Dollar Tree. (And of course we always go in and spend a few bucks so our parking is legit.) I think you can park at the top of the hill in either side, but this was easier for us since Dollar Tree has restrooms anyways. The intersection is Cliff Drive and 17th Street in Santa Cruz. I know Santa Cruz sounds like mayhem, but this one is farther down from all the craziness. (By the way, we passed Twin Lakes State Beach and it looked like a good option too) There were more people there than I have seen before when we dropped by last Saturday, but it was still a great place to spend a few hours.

Normally that giant puddle isn't in the middle but there must have been a rain or something. The kids loved it!

Hike at Wilder Ranch State Park

The coastal hike at Wilder Ranch State Park was nice. First of all, it had clean restroom facilities and a big parking log- a sign that it is heavily used. But although we passed a few people, it didn't feel crowded at all, probably because of the great ocean views along the hike. We just went out 1.25 miles and back, so 2.5 total, this time around. You can hike out another 2.5 miles to make an 8 mile round trip, which I would like to do sometime in the future.I should note that this is a big biking area, but the trail is wide so everyone shares just fine!

Right past the parking lot is the historic buildings, where there were many helpful staff who knew lots of history about the place. While we didn't stay for a tour, we did walk around the buildings some. Then we headed out to the coast hike. I loved this beach, but it is a refuge and so of course no people were allowed down there.

Lots of other great views along the way.... we loved the wildlife.

 

I had read about the fern cave, and though it sounded pretty cool. And, I guess it was. It wasn't as big as I thought it might be, but it was cool to see ferns growing from the top of a cave. We ate lunch on this little beach, and I almost wish we would have stayed there for the afternoon.

I supposed I should mention that I saw a snake and Justin saw a snake along the way, but they weren't very big and they slithered out of the way quickly. (Those don't freak me out as much as hiking in the Sierras and worrying about rattlesnakes...)

4 miles

4 miles. That's how far I ran last night. I'm proud to say that I didn't stop to walk either! I haven't done that much at once in a while. Of course I have been hiking, and up to 13 miles, but its a different kind of endurance. It's not so strenuous for the most part, unless it is a really steep hike. But I did it!!! Yay! I am really trying to get myself back in shape, because I know that it's just too easy for a few pounds to get added and not be taken care of!

For the run, I cruised (and panted, and heaved) around our block. I'm in the country, you see, so the block is 4 miles total. I was actually cooler last night, so it was at a good condition. But the roads are so darn straight that four miles just seems like forever. It's funny too because when I hit about 3 miles the movement just became automatic. I wanted to stop and walk, but I kept telling myself I could do it. (Though I really didn't want to) It was good to push myself a little bit, and I think that I need to sign up for some 5-K's. The only problem is that so many of them are on Sundays now, and I don't want to miss church...

About the last 3/4ths of a mile it was getting dark really fast. I was happy when I saw Justin jogging toward me on the road, and he ran the last half of a mile back with me. That was nice, because even though we live in a really safe area, I don't want to run too close dark. But I made it back with him, then got some water and did quite a bit of stretching. I'm not too sore today, but usually it hits me a day after.

Hopefully I'm not too sore tomorrow, because we have a hike planned.... uh-oh!