Early Morning Nature Time ---

After my extra long jaunt last week --- It did take a few days for my legs to return to normal from being jelly. Let’s just say that my legs worked a lot like C3PO’s from Star Wars! In fact, I’m laughing hysterically right now at that image, because it IS the perfect one for how it felt to move for about 3 days after that 12.5 mile walk/jog/crawl.

Thank you to those who chewed me out for going out alone! I did have my cell phone, a water bottle, car keys ---and there were park ranger types that were driving by about every 10 to 15 minutes. I did feel SAFE! But I thank you for worrying about me.

However, the buddy system does not always work while traveling, and I don’t know too many Quilters who are likely to drop what they are doing at 6:30 am and go walk/jog 6+ miles with me at a moment’s notice. And I’m not going to stop my life because I don’t have a buddy at my beckon call. Sometimes I just NEED my solitude with nature. I don’t always want someone with me. I don’t want to talk…I just want to “BE”. My independence over rides my fear, and I prefer to fill up my life with living, and be as safe as I can---singly---while doing it. I hope that doesn’t bite me back at some point in the future……but I need to LIVE.

SO This morning…live I did! I headed out to Salem Lake to see what was going on with the dam reconstruction there…

A huge storm rolled through last night..but this morning was clear. Not cool though…it was 75 degrees at 7am. And HUUUUU---MIIIIID! But look at this beautiful view. I love this lake in all seasons!

Our dirt here is about as red as it gets! You can tell where some of the road was quite muddy. I had to watch where I was running and not trip on roots, and not slide in the red clay mud still puddled with the remnants of rain. This was about mile 4!

Today there were all kinds of walkers/joggers/cyclists out. I guess we had the same idea…go while everything was rain-fresh!

Uphill is always the toughest! By the time I hit mile 5 I was only jogging the downhill bits…and walking the uphills….for a total of nearly 7 miles. It was a great morning to be out!

The rest of today was filled with getting caught up on book orders, leftover bits of laundry and computer work.

Do you remember when I went to TN and got that nasty malware that ate my pictures, etc? Well, other things needed reinstalling too…like Microsoft Word ((Why did the whole program disappear?!)) Blockbase was also gone, as was EQ --- so those are being reinstalled this evening so my laptop is ready to go with me in the morning to Oregon!

Dinner out at the Japanese steakhouse tonight…and early to bed! Tomorrow is going to be a big traveling day!