Back from Jeju

All four of us made it back from Jeju, safe and sound. We had a fantastic road trip and hope to enjoy the second week of our trip as much as the first. Yestereday we went to the Folk Village and saw what Korea was like before it became Americanized. Ashley and I are off for our first venture into Seoul proper in a few minutes. Details to come . . .

Made it to Korea

Ashley and I have been here for a day and a half now. Our first day we went on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the border of North and South Korea. Pretty neat experience that I'll elaborate on at some time in the future. We're leaving in a few minutes to road trip in Pedro (the van) to the island of Jeju. Should prove to be a crazy good time. Graham and Gretta were here when we arrived and will head home tomorrow. Details to come.

Graduation!?

I think I graduated again on Friday. I went to a party on Friday night with Ashley's friends. When I learned that the party was for the recent graduates in her department/lab, it occured to me that I probably graduated as well.

My next posting will probably be upon returning from South Korea!

Runnin' Maniac

Ashley's bout of intense running training is now over after the culminating event that took place this weekend. She put together a stellar performance, running 25 trail miles in 4 hours and 42 minutes. Ten minutes faster and she would have had third place in her age category. Her friend, Whitney, also completed the run, finishing shortly after Ashley. The run was held in Buena Vista, CO, at 8000 feet (that was the low point on the trail). I went along for emotional support and was told I would have about 6 hours while they ran to do my thing. I loaded up a small pack and rode my mountain bike 10 miles up one of the many valleys in the area to the Mt. Yale trailhead. Stashing the bike in the woods, I charged uphill in my biking shoes. Initially, I had aspirations of summiting, but I underestimated the time it would take me to ride up the canyon with a pack on. I hiked up to about 11,500 feet before turning around. I wanted to get back to Buena Vista in time to see Ashley finish the run. I made it back at the 5 hour mark and couldn't find the key I had hidden under the car. I was convinced somebody had taken it. After looking in the same spot about three times, as I was sure I remembered where I put it, I thought there was a slight chance that Ashley had already finished by the time I got back. Sure enough, she completed the run about 20 minutes before I returned. In conclusion, I traveled about the same distance (25 miles) and gained about the same amount of elevation (3500 feet) as Ashley, but I rode a bike for 19 of my miles and still finished 20 minutes after her.

Ashley Goes Backcountry

On Saturday Ashley and I went backcountry skiing in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Courtesy of some generous birthday gifts from her family, she recently acquired all the backcountry travel essentials. We actually had some fresh snow and got to ski powder on April 29th! Ashley seemed to thoroughly appreciate the ease and convenience of traveling on skis compared to other snow travel methods. This was evidenced when she stopped to look at someone else's post hole in the trail and kind of chuckled/giggled. We got back to the Katmandu Restaurant in Nederland in time for the lunch buffet - great deal on Nepalese food.

Sunday consisted of driving up to Longmont to purchase a washer and dryer from a guy who reconditions used appliances. Managed to fit both units in the back of the 4-Runner. After moving them into the basement and plugging the washer in, we found out that it didn't work. The guy we bought it from offers a 1-year warranty, so we'll see what happens.

Also had time for a short road ride on Sunday. It was pretty windy. I got hit by a tumbleweed, but managed to stay on my bike. Struggled to pedal downhill in my small chainring into the wind. When I got home, I made beer.

Ski Rack

Well . . . . it works. Doesn't look half bad either. It's definatley not perfect, but hopefully you can't tell that from the picture.