Racing our way through the last few weeks

Wildlife Safari Campground.  Just steps from the
Park entrance!

Time is flying by.  I can't  believe that this weekend marks the 10th and final race of the Oregon XC Mtn bike season.  If everything goes as planned, I will have done all 10 races!  In a little over 3 months we have traveled the state and raced like crazy.  Though we have had much fun, we now are feeling the effects of operating at this high level of exertion and are ready for a little reprieve.   Its time to watch the garden grow and sit around our patio table enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

Our favorite camp breakfast!  Crepes filled with
Yogurt, strawberries and Walnuts, YUM!

The first weekend in June, we trekked South to Grants Pass.  We stopped in Winston at the Wildlife Safari and spent the day enjoying the warmth of Southern Oregon while taking in the beauty of the Safari Animals.

The drive-through portion of the park was really relaxing and fun.

Many of the animals were very close to our van as we drove by.
Sometimes it felt a bit too close!

Are these just the cutest Safari animals EVER?




The Campground at Sam Brown Horse camp was
perfect for our group.  The kids had a blast exploring the
river for wildlife!

The Team Dirt Crew enjoys the after race burritos and hot tea

We then ventured to the race site, up in the mountains outside of Grants Pass and connected with our Corvallis racing community.  We have had so much fun this year sharing this experience with these fabulous folks, and at this event 8 of us made the Podium!  The Return on the Jedi Race course might just be my favorite.  30 miles of amazing single track and the views were spectacular.  Both Trevor and I finished in First place in our categories!

The Corvallis Contingent.  Racing strong all year!

Last year at this race I won the grand prize of a 1 nights stay at the Riverside Lodge in Grants Pass.  We indulged in this stay after the race and really lived it up.  We lounged around poolside while the boys swam, enjoyed a wine and cheese hour in the lobby, cookies and milk after dinner, and spent the evening watching television all snuggled in together on the beds. 

With all the traveling that we have done as a family, this was the first time the boys had stayed in a hotel.  We are campers, and have spent their entire life vacationing at campgrounds.  A couple of times we have rented houses or condos but never before a hotel.  It was so cute to hear their reactions at finding toiletries in the bathroom, linens on the beds and even bathrobes in the closet!  Keller exclaimed "lets all put on the robes and watch a movie".  What the room did not have however was a kitchenette, and we had come prepared with our own food.  Luckily for us, the patio area was large enough that we could set up our camp stove and coolers.  We tried to be tidy about this though, as I can only imagine what the staff thought of us dirty cyclists coming through their upscale lodge setting up our camp kitchen outside of our room.  It really was quite comical!

Right outside of the hotel was the dock for the Rogue River Excursions jet boat rides.  We splurged on a tour of the river that left that afternoon.  As we pulled into the parking lot the rain turned to hail the size of green peas!  As much as I tried to convince the boys that it might not be such a good idea to go on the river in this weather, they were not at all convinced.  We had our rain gear, so off we went.  This is not something that we would usually choose to do, but it turned out to be REALLY COOL!  Our tour guide, entirely impressed by the hardiness of our group gave us a great tour of the Rogue.  Being a wildlife biologist, he offered a lot of knowledge of the land and of the wildlife.  We came upon a bathing deer and quite a few bald eagles.  What we were not expecting was the speed at which these boats can achieve.  50 miles per hour at some points kept the adrenaline junkies happy.  We were able to explore more than 30 miles of the Rogue.

10 minutes before our boat was about to depart from the dock!

On June 16th, Mudslinger Events Race director Mike Ripley and his family put together another great race with the Test of Endurance 50 mile Mtn bike race.  The weather was perfect and the trails in great condition.  Although this was a tough event for both Trevor and I, we were really happy to have participated.

This guy behind me was in it for the long haul. 
100 miles in 4 laps.  I was glad to be done
after 2 laps and 50 miles.

The start of the Test of Endurance 50mile race

I beat my last years time by about 50 minutes and came in 3rd overall and 1st in the Cat 1 category with a time of 5hrs 3 minutes. Trevor, still nursing a shoulder injury had a hard race and came in 4th with a time of 4hrs 24minutes.

The boys arrived just in time to help cheer on some of our friends.

The boys stayed with a sitter at home and met us at the race later in the day.  Unfortunately, we could not attend the awards, as we had our end of the year pot-luck to attend at Allecks school Philomath Montessori.  It was nice to relax in the shade while enjoying good food and conversation with the Montessori community that we have been a part of for 6 years. 

This week marks the end of many things and the beginning of summer.  Both of the boys finished school, and  we finally planted our garden.  We left it small this year, in hopes that we can stay on top of it and actually grow something from it. Our 2 cherry trees are bursting, and we will be busy picking within the next week or so.

Off to Bend we go for the Pickett's Charge race and the last of the series.  Then we have a couple weeks of home time before I begin the Xterra Series.  Many memories behind and many more still to come!