Cattle Point, San Juan Island, WA. USA
OUT THERE
With Todd Elsworth
Violet TV: Soup Chef
Violet has been schooled in the use of sharp things. It’s all about RESPECT. Here she is as our Sous Chef getting the peppers ready for our VeggieBeef Soup. #MarthaWatchOUT
Slug Running through the Fairhaven Forest
I was out for a walk (admittedly admiring our new trail) in Fairhaven and took the time to catch this creature strolling by.
Sticking the Landing at Larrabee
Our day started with an attempted summit of the Oyster Dome. It was quickly thwarted by Violet’s fear of heights. The trail up to the dome drops off straight down to Chuckanut Drive. She was freaked out, so we turned around and went to a more approachable landscape. Funny thing was that we were actually climbing and the relative danger was higher than walking on the trail. But that didn’t matter. We’re about being safe and having fun. Across the board.
This was a test that FAILED. I used the SLO-MO settings on my camera and they didn’t transfer when I uploaded them.
#Bummer. Not quite the same effect in real time…
oh well, what the hell.
The Jump
The Daddy
More climbing photos.
The finale
A Sacred Cycle – recycled.
Water. Water. Water. Water.
A Sacred Cycle by Malcolm Johnson.
“From molecule to mountain, it’s the everything of our existence. Water. Dive into the liquid of high peaks and the deep sea, following water’s ceaseless journey through one of its favourite playgrounds: the Pacific Northwest.”
Bellingham KAPOW 2015
We were fortunate enough to be invited to be a part of MM’s Big Chair presentation.
Team RRAD – 2015 Kulshan Quest AR, Bellingham, WA
DRAFT CPOY. 😉
I’ll fill in this page as time allows.
Kulshan Quest AR 2015
Bellingham, WA
Team RRAD* – Chris Mellick, Sonja Max and Todd Elsworth
Kulshan Quest AR 2015. We are Team RRAD-Run, Ride and DIG.
Team RRAD – Chris Mellick, Sonja Max and Todd Elsworth
Our objective for Quest was to go out and see how many checkpoints we could get in the allotted time of 12 hours and have the most fun doing it. We were up for the challenge.
Side note: These were not a scripted videos. You’ll hear me say repeatedly, “see you at the next checkpoint”, but I never actually record anything while we’re at a checkpoint, because that is what we were focused on- not the huge royalties that we get from our spawnsors**. It was something that I had in my head that I just had to get out, I guess.
Pre Race Meeting with Brent
Wait for it.
April keeping an eye on things!
The Maps!
There is some very serious competition OUT THERE. Here’s Evil Eye Annie from Team Sin Daaawgs making sure we weren’t trying to listen in on their strategy.
We went back to our compound (tent, table and lounge chairs) and plotted out our route.
Getting oriented.
On the water
Tip of Clarks Point with seal greeting!
Seeking the Statue.
HOWDY Todd – Thanks T.Eastman for being a safety boat on the water.
Heading Home!
First Transition.
“How was the paddle?”
“It was awesome…I gotta do more of this” – CM.
On the Bike
Ride ON.
Checkpoint Chris
Fuel Stops & Safety Breaks
S.MAX Burritos! Sonja made us power bars with beans, rice, avocado and other secret ingredients to fuel the fire to keep the motors running.
CM enjoys a mushroom free snack.
Plotting the course is an ongoing Endeavor.
CM touts the benefits of Red Peppers as espoused by S.MAX while searching for the next checkpoint.
“Please, Sonja, please. May I have another carrot?” – CM
Adventure Racing in the Chuckanuts.
Hike-a-Bike
Pushin’ Through
CM advice, “more Captain Crunch!”
I spy S.MAX
We’re all winners
Winning Smile
Hawaiian Punch
Coasting through the Chuckanuts.
Story Time
Snack Break
On Foot
Customer Recommendations
“He took us out to the edges.” – CM
“He’s a masochist” – Dude on trail as repeated by SM
Running through the Rock Trail
The camera was getting tired and we were on our last legs.
Fortunately, we got to get on our bikes to make the way back to the finish (of the TREK leg).
HOWDY!
TEAM Manny’s Aged Stout. They got all their checkpoints.
Searching at the bottom of the falls for a missing CP.
Where’s S.MAX?
We were greeted by cheering fans with a Cowbell Finish!
We finished with a time of 11:44. We took 7th place with 24 correct checkpoints. In the end we won. We’re better friends and know ourselves and the landscape a lot better.
When I saw Brent, I said, “Thank you sir, may I have another.”
I will have that chance again in September with Island Quest.
Unfortunately, Kulshan Quest will take a break next year to return in 2017.
*RRAD – Run, Ride and DIG
** I used to be able to use the word spelled that way until I got a cease and desist message from the organization that “owns” it. LAME. They wouldn’t even respond to my inquiry if we could share.
Tagged with: Adventure Racing, Bellingham, Big Fun, Chris Mellick, Go Team, Kulshan Quest, Sonja Max, Team RRAD, Todd Elsworth
Tandem Kayak Camping – Maiden Voyage to Lummi
We have spent plenty of time in kayaks, but never kayak camped. Violet and I headed out to Lummi Island from Wildcat Cove in Larrabee State Park- just south of Bellingham, WA. for our maiden overnight voyage. It was awesome.
Leaving the shore behind. My favorite paddling hat has seen some wear and is finally in need of repair. Thank you Freemont Hemp Company (RIP).
She paddled for a bit, then just enjoyed the ride across the bay. We were finally in the shadows of the campsite. “It’s your job to choose which site we should take. Since there’s nobody here you have a lot to pick from!,” I exclaimed. She was happy to have that news.
We enjoyed an afternoon and evening of hanging out at the Lummi DNR site and went out for a paddle the next day. We sat below a BIG Bald Eagle and watched him/her (I can’t tell) eat breakfast in the tree above.
Here’s the Big Bird on the branch above.
We continued south to the southern tip of Lummi, where the wind was raging and the rollers were flowing in. So, we turned around and went back to the shelter of the east side of the island and enjoyed the herons, eagles, vultures and other shorebirds flying around above.
Heading home it was so calm (and “The V” is so comfortable in a boat) that she chose to sit on top of the middle hatch and just hang out so we could talk and sing songs as I paddled us home. This photo is looking north to Portage Island off the port bow. We changed our course to the east and headed for the north tip of Eliza Island and Larrabee on shore.
She’s my trooper!
Birthday Bash on the Beach
Let’s get this party started.
“The V” is turning 7! We invite you to come join us for a couple hours at Lake Padden on Saturday, June 13th from 1-3pm. Look for us south (to the left when you’re facing the water) of the swimming beach/bath house. We’ll have a big white tent and some balloons. There is excellent access to the water for swimming and plenty of grass.
There will be Cupcakes!
Join the Facebook Event or RSVP via email.
Lake Padden – South end Swimming Beach
Saturday, June 13th
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
1:00 – show up and have fun
2:00 – Magic with Cousin Joey Pancakes
2:30 – Cupcakes and Presents
3:00 – Thank you for coming.
If you want to stay longer, bring it! We’re going to roll into a picnic/potluck and stay until we feel like leaving- we’ve got THE FAMILY in town for this.
Please Bring:
Swimsuit
Lifejacket
Any floaty thing you want- Inflatables.
Towels
Blankets
a clean pair of underware… you know the drill.
If you really want to make a day out of it do the Girls on the Run 5K in the morning!
Myrtis in Memoriam
Yesterday was our maternal grandmother’s birthday. This is what our “sweet” mother wrote about her mom:
“Your Grandmother Mildred Myrtis Hooper Mancuso was born, along with her twin brother Curtis, on May 19, 1911 in Chillicothe, Texas. Her parents, Isadora and Gustavas had a large,Texas-size ranch and a big Texas size family with 8 kids. They went to a one room school house, dodged tornadoes, rode horses, shot rattlers, ate watermelon and kept the parlor for entertaining guests. They could roam wild and free but when home proper etiquette and manners were strictly enforced by their Mother. When I look back on my childhood, my brothers and I were raised the same way!
Soon after the banks crashed, the family moved in 1920 to Ilwaco Washington where they brought another ranch and raised cattle. Their Texas accent was a novelty and a source of teasing. Mom rarely spoke in school for a couple years. She always maintained a bit of that southern drawl and eventually became proud of her roots. Mom’s childhood dream was to be a nurse. When kids played cowboys and Indians..there always had to be a part for the nurse! She did fulfill that dream, becoming an RN and having a career that took her from Washington to California and on to DC. She specialized in surgery and then pediatrics. While she was working at providence hospital in Seattle she got engaged to a doctor who tragically died 3 days before their wedding.
Getting away from these memories, she left for a nursing position at Georgetown University Hospital in DC where she became a private duty nurse. Through one of her patients she met and married the quintessential city slicker…my Dad, Joseph Mancuso. He was the total opposite of her in most every way. Their black hair and dark eyes were their only similarity. She was considered an “American Girl” by his family, who was opposed to any non Italian marrying into the family. This may have been a factor in my parents leaving DC for the west coast and eventually back to the other Washington.
She was an incredible woman who had the strongest fortitude and the gentlest of hearts We were cared for with the tenderness of a nurse and the strength of a ranch hand. She could grow an acre of vegetables, fix anything,……do carpentry, plumbing, electrical work…and oh could she cook!!! We were a family that didn’t have financial wealth but we were rich in an abundance of love and devotion from both parents. There is so much of my Mother in my being. and II feel blessed. The Yellow Rose of Texas is in my heart and soul. I love you Mom.” ~ Frances Marie Mancuso Elsworth
Rest in Peace Grandma!
Mildred Myrtis Hooper Mancuso
b: Chillicothe, Texas May 19, 1911
d: Redmond, WA