Reindog Parade Champions!

Another reason my life in D.C. is so great is because I am friends with Champions. Indomitable, imperial rulers of McLean parades.


My blogging this year would not be complete without a tribute page to the McLean Reindog Parade. Congratulations again to the Hoang's, who scored *another* first place win, this year in the large dog competition. A family effort, with Beckham and their friend Pete's dog, Bella, marching as the main attraction.

Photo: the winners!

Photo: bulldog with wreath

Photo: present dog

Photo: Three wisemen dogs + another dog

Kramerbooks

I often receive the question "WHY did you move from COLORADO to D.C.?" Lately, I've been telling people that D.C. is like an amusement park catered to my career and life. I'm not going to list a bunch of examples right now, and you can picture for yourself the options of running along the Potomac and up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, watching Presidential debates in local bars, and looking out my office window onto the Pentagon, the Jefferson, the Washington.

Mainly, I will re-post this illuminative photo of Kramerbooks. Great shot from DCist today.

Glad My Brother Lives in Denver...

...so that I can snowmobile during Thanksgiving week.

Trail to the Continental Divide. Winter Park Ski Resort in view. Colorado

Frames of the Day

Last week when I went biking, the bright ride through the Fall forest seemed in slow motion. Enhanced by my appreciation of setting, the surroundings came at me frame-by-frame.

I had a similar feeling this morning at Tryst coffee, a Sunday morning tradition. Teresa and Patrick are leaving for South Africa soon; they're leaving D.C. They came into Tryst and brought in slow-motion. Frame-by-frame appreciation for them, for IJM, for Sundays, and for our adventures together these last years.

I'm glad for their new adventures in Africa, though. Follow their blog here :)

Post title: Inspired by the Poers' Remains of the Day lunch box at the Teresa and Patrick's going away party.

Maryland in the Fall

Fall colors, rolling hills, carved singletrack, blue skies, bright light through the forest.

Perfect Autumn Saturday ride with a friend.

Illuminated path!

Diverse forest. New scenes and trees each section.

Could ride this 100x. Blurry SL was too fast for photo.

Patapsco State Park, Avalon area, outside Baltimore

D.C. in the Fall

Kansas City in the Fall

Home for 5 days - perfect timing for Kansas City Fall colors. Fun morning at Jacob's Well Church, Classic Cup on the Plaza for brunch with Kendra, and Nelson Sculpture Garden.

Photo: Nelson Sculpture Garden, Shuttlecocks by Claes Oldenburg

Photo: Nelson Sculpture Garden, Reclining Figure: Hand, 1979, Henry Moore



Photo: Nelson Sculpture Garden: Large Torso: Arch, 1963, Henry Moore

Photo: Nelson Sculpture Garden, Tom's Cubicle, 1967, Alexander Calder

Mt. Hood at Sunrise

Had the chance to visit Mt. Hood while in Oregon; here, RH took this sunrise photo from Portland. We traveled west of the city, through Columbia Gorge and stopping at Waclella Falls, Hood River and its Full Sail Brewery, and the lodge at Mt. Hood. It's not ready for ski season, yet, but soon!




Photo: Wahclella Falls, OR - Columbia Gorge!

Double Dutch

Wanted to post this totally fun photo of the First Lady jump roping.

Photo: CNN
Event: Healthy Kids Fair
http://tinyurl.com/yzwn97u

Fort to Sea Trail

Yesterday I hiked the Fort to Sea Trail, from Lewis and Clark's winter camp to the Oregon coast. An amazing forested 6 mile hike in the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.

Photo: Fort Clatsop, the winter fort

Photo: walking through forest with National Park Superintendent, mile 1

A Lewis and Clark historian accompanied us, as well as the Park Superintendent and other Park Service leads, which provided an enhanced tour of the history and ecology along the way.

Photo: Ridge, around mile 1 of trail.

Below: Ocean in view! (exclaimed by the Corps of Discovery, as recorded in their journals)


Sunset Beach, Oregon. End of the trail.

End of the Line

End of the Line. Well-done documentary about state of the world's oceans and the effects of overfishing. In a sense, 50% of fish we eat are stolen.

Premiered at Sundance Film Festival. I saw it last week when a Congressman held a screening at the Capitol Visitors Center.

http://endoftheline.com/

Apple Festival Season

Virginia is rife with apples and Apple Festivals in the Fall. We headed west this weekend to enjoy the life of the harvest around Charlottesville.

NO ONE wanted to go on the hayride - so that was sad. And we didn't pick our own apples. Mainly, we ate the apple donuts and drank the local wine. Pretty lazy all-around, which was fun.

Hart of the Hill

Sculpture: "Mountains and Clouds," Alexander Calder. Inside the Senate Hart Building.

Recess is over and I'm back on the Hill. These are the only mountains I see these days, though an enjoyable sight, I think.

Shepherdstown, West Virginia

Work week on the West Virginia section of the Potomac. Looking forward to the Fall colors.

The Interior

There was a live alligator at this Dept. of Interior party the other day. Just 'cuz.

*Well,* I'm realizing it was a celebration for the new Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so now it makes more sense.



Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar (speaking) and Sam Hamilton, Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nice view from the rooftop of the Interior.


There was also an African porcupine.

Boat House

Discovered a new boat house - a 3 mile bike ride from my house and in the District. Pretty nice. Glad to find another adventure spot on the Potomac.

Fletcher’s Boat House, Inc
4940 Canal Road, N.W.
Washington, DC 20007

DEMOLITION

Did I mention I went to a DEMOLITION DERBY when I was in Montana? So rad. The stunts were part of the Missoula County Fair, another treat.

This post isn't just for the cool cars and motorbike jumping --- it's mainly to tell the story of how the County Fair people put a *stamp* on 1-year-old Elsa's hand when she entered the arena. We agreed that there was probably a HUGE danger of Elsa leaving the stadium and trying to sneak back in, crawling, or some other manipulative antics, so we were glad the Fair staff patrolled this.

3 Years

I’ve been reading a lot about Lewis and Clark, lately – a compulsive part of spending most of my late summer in Montana. I am amazed at what they did and saw in three years. Trekked across a new country…and back. Trekked is an understatement. Surviving the new terrain was a lot of the accomplishment.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the “3 year” time period. Law school was three years, my knee injury was three years. I’ve been thinking about it in the sense that a lot can happen in three years. Lewis and Clark journeyed from St. Louis to Oregon and back. Sagajewa had a baby. Life in the West changed.

Soon, I will have lived in D.C. for one year. A quasi-one-year, as I've lived here off and on since 2006. I suppose I’m reaching around the three year mark for my transition to D.C. life. In terms of jobs, I never hit the 3 year mark in any of them. I’m ready to.

Something about Lewis and Clark has been motivating me lately. It's the hope that a lot can happen in three years.