Weekly Mileage

the turkey was trying to impress me

Last week was another busy one. I have the feeling things won't calm down until after Christmas, though even then, it may not. I'm hopeful though. I don't like having this many different things going on.

Wednesday we drove to Gettysburg NMP in Pennsylvania (I'll post more later). We explored Wednesday and Thursday, then drove home Friday morning, arriving home just in time to get Sunshine to her co-op classes. Then we put on our costumes, gathered our stuff, and went to the Chili Cook-off and Trunk or Treat at church. After we returned home from that, Mr M still had to gather his stuff and go to drill for the weekend.

We hadn't planned on things being that crazy busy, but I got my wires crossed on the Montpelier trip we did the week before. I thought it was supposed to be a week later than it was, so we'd planned the Gettysburg trip for the week we ended up doing the Montpelier trip. If it had been that week things would have been slightly less crazy, or maybe just as crazy, but in a different way.

Saturday I helped our neighbor cull her turkey (shown at the top of the post), one of her geese, and her rooster. She free ranges her birds, but the turkey was being aggressive with her kids and ours, so even though she'd hoped to wait until closer to Thanksgiving, it was time. The goose was a different breed from the matched pair she kept, and while she'd planned on keeping it, it just wasn't growing as it should have. She thinks it was hatched from a first year goose, rather than a more mature goose, which affected its size. And the rooster was crowing more than she was comfortable with. We're not zoned for roosters, so if someone complained she could lose her birds. So, better safe than sorry, though it was sad to kill such a good looking bird.

We plucked the goose by hand so she could save the down, but scalded the rooster and turkey. The plucker made short work of the rooster, but couldn't quite handle the turkey. It mostly fit in the plucker (the legs stuck out), but it's weight drastically slowed the movement of the barrel. I hadn't realized that would be an issue, so that was a good learning moment. It did remove a lot of the feathers, so there weren't too many that we had to remove by hand.

We raised turkeys a time or two when I was in elementary school, but that was a really long time ago,  and all I really remember is my older brother hanging on to a turkey for dear life as it flapped around the yard after Dad cut its head off. That and plucking a turkey by hand, which took forever. So killing and gutting this turkey was a new experience for both of us, as was butchering the goose.

We did a couple ducks last time we culled birds, so now we've done lots of chickens, a couple ducks, a goose, and a turkey. It's interesting to see the different shapes of their bodies and to compare which birds are easier to get your hand into for gutting (that would be the turkey). The rooster was super fast to pluck and the skin seemed to hold up better in the plucker than the Cornish Cross we raised last year and this year did. When we have the space to free range our chickens on pasture (we don't here) we might give this breed (Ameraucana) a try.

So, it was another busy week and the only mileage I logged was when we explored the Soldier's National Cemetery in Gettysburg. Hopefully this week is a little calmer and I'm able to squeeze in more miles.

Weekly Mileage
Thursday- 2.00 miles
       total mileage- 2.0 miles

hike #43 towards #52hikechallenge
462.59 miles towards #365milechallenge

Sunday Funny

The other day Ocean showed me some artwork he did. Pretty impressive for not being able to see what he was doing. Thankfully it was dry erase markers, which wash off skin much easier than sharpies do.

Montpelier Field Trip

Last week we went to Montpelier with our homeschool history club. We've been a time or two before,  but it's been a few years since we last visited.

Sunshine toured the house with the other older kids while Mr M and I took the boys on a tour of the house aimed at the younger kids in the group. Our guide did a good job of simplifying things and keeping them engaged.

After the house tours we ate lunch and the kids ran around and got some of their wiggles out. After lunch we headed out for a hike through the forest behind the house.

view from the front porch

After the hike we went to the archeology building, where they organize the digs done on the property. The boys dug for pottery shards and such in the "sand box" outside while Sunshine and Mr M went inside for a presentation on items that have been found on the estate. Sunshine really enjoyed this portion.

looking down the path the bisects the walled garden

Then we headed to the Annie duPont Formal Garden, which is a walled garden with quite the variety of plants that were brought in about a hundred years ago. River proved to be very observant and was able to find the different architectural details in the scavenger hunt we did in the enclosed garden.

the garden beds are lined with hashtags- long before hashtags were a thing

House tours aren't cheap (though not as expensive as Monticello), but most of the grounds are open for free. Since our last visit they've marked and opened up a number of hiking trails that intersect the grounds and the forests, so we'll be back to do some hiking and exploring.

loved the detail on the back gate

we left via the back gate in the center of the brick wall. 

the round thing looked like an old, out-of-commission fountain.

Weekly Mileage

you can see the dry, cracked reservoir bed that we were able to walk out quite a ways on

Last week proved to be a busy, stressful one.

We moved our usual Thursday morning hike to Wednesday morning and did a group hike with some of our homeschool friends. We hiked at one of our usual spots and did a loop we haven’t done since sometime last spring, when the water was a lot higher. We haven’t gotten much rain lately, so the reservoir levels are super low. This allowed us to walk out a ways on the dried mud and do a bit of exploring, which the kids all enjoyed.

Sunshine was pleased to find these large freshwater clam shells- much bigger than what she's found other places

Thursday morning we went to Montpelier for a field trip with our history club. We’ve visited in the past, but it’s been a few years since our last visit, so it was fun to go back and do some more exploring. I'll do a post with some more pictures in a few days. I forgot my Garmin, but we did lots of walking, including a hike through the old growth forest that’s part of the estate.  I’m guessing we walked at least 2 miles total.

Friday evening we had pack meeting. Mr M's a bear den leader and I'm now the pack trainer/primary presidency member over Cub Scouts, so we're still very much involved with the pack. We talked about being thrifty and recycling, and then the boys (and everyone else there) had a blast taking apart old electronics. 

We brought my old clock radio with tape deck that I bought in junior high and have used ever since. I finally had to retire it last month because it couldn't keep accurate time anymore and the radio had stopped working. We also brought my dinosaur of a college laptop. The kids were amazed at how thick and heavy it was, and they totally didn't understand the little port that slid out to plug a phone cord into for internet access. Lots of fun was had by all.

that's my clock in pieces above, and my laptop below

Saturday Mr M and I had Cub Scout University, and I taught one of the classes, which was a bit nerve wracking. It went well and we had some good questions and discussions about what was working for different units. I don’t love getting up in front of people, but it’s good to get out of my comfort zone. I’ve already been asked to teach the same class next year, and I’ve been able to make some changes to my notes based on what was brought up in the discussion and questions, so it should be more informative (and better organized) next time.

And then Sunday was our ward's Primary program. We have a large Primary and had to squeeze in a bunch of extra chairs on the dais, but the kids did well and the Spirit was felt. It was a bit stressful, but it was a good learning experience and I'm glad it's over. Until next year, anyway.

Work tasks and illness (we all have colds again) are working against me and I always feel a few steps behind my to-do list. I'm more than a few steps behind on my exercise plans, and while I keep trying to increase my mileage, it's still not happening.

Weekly Mileage

Wed- 1.91miles

Thurs- 2.0 miles

     total miles- 3.91 miles

hikes #41 and 42 towards #52hikechallenge

460.59 miles towards #365milechallenge 

Sunday Funny

Since finishing the beds and rearranging the sleeping situation, the boys are now sharing a room. I'm not sure if getting away from Ocean is a contributing factor, or if River just does it because he can (he couldn't before because we were storing something under his bed). In any case, on more than one occasion I have found him either sleeping or hiding under his bed. It freaked me out the first time I went into their room and couldn't find him in his bed, but it didn't take long to find him and now anytime I can't find him it's one of the first places I look.

Personally, I don't think it would be that comfortable- the rug isn't very thick :)

Weekly Mileage

looking upriver from the swimming hole

I spent the first half of the week recovering from being ill, but I managed to walk on the treadmill Wednesday. The kids and I went hiking on Thursday, but I was too busy Friday and Saturday to put any mileage in. The struggle is real- there is just too much to do and not enough hours in the day.

Ocean insisted on walking to the swimming hole, but I carried him on the way back

River decided to wear his jacket rather than his trail suit, and he ended up the coldest and wettest

Our hike was notable though, in that it rained the entire time. We've gone on hikes where it rained part of the time, but this was the entire time. And it wasn't drizzly, misty rain, it was full-on rain. We got wet.

That's not a face plant- Ocean was trying to pick up rocks. He then tried to walk upstream, rather than across the stream to the rest of the trail, and had to be picked up and carried out of the water and to the trail.

looking upstream at the crossing

The hike itself was a new one for us that a friend took us on, and we will definitely be adding it to our list of regular hike locations. The trail was fairly flat (that's relative, of course, since there's very few places around here that are truly flat) and not difficult- perfect for the kiddos. We hiked about a mile in to a swimming hole that would have been a lot more fun to explore if it wasn't cold and raining. It wasn't super cold, but once you added the rain to the chill, it certainly wasn't warm. The kids braved the water and waded in, but we headed back once everyone was pretty well soaked.

River is carrying his jacket at this point, and while Ocean has his trail suit on, he's not wearing boots (the kids all wore sandals), so water got into his suit. He was a lot dryer than the rest of us though.

The trail continued past the swimming hole, and there was another trail that branched off before the swimming hole, so there's potential for exploring unfamiliar trails. And this is the time of year to do it. We weren't looking at the trees too much because of the rain, but we did glance around a few times and notice that the leaves are starting to change.

Ocean loves the water!

Weekly Mileage 
Wed- 2.31 miles walked on the treadmill
Thurs- 2.27 miles hiked with the kiddos
     total miles- 4.58 miles

hike#40 towards #52hikechallenge
456.68 miles toward #365milechallenge

Ocean lagged behind everyone, but he did a pretty good job and hiked more than a mile

Sunday Funny

The boys were playing on this bouncy thing at the park, and River hopped off the brown horse and climbed on the white horse. I asked him why, and he said because that one was scary.

I can see his point- those yellow eyes are a bit freaky.

October Trail 5k

Last week my workouts were better, except the timing was a bit off on when I did them.

Our hikes have been shorter than I'd like lately, but we finally managed a longer hike on Thursday, and I followed that with a bike workout Friday (the first in about 5 years), and a trail race on Saturday.

love finding old stonework on our hikes- this is the corner of an old house that used to be here

Yeah, I should have spaced them out better, but I just didn't have time.

Part of our hike was on a trail we haven't been on before, so it was nice to do a bit of exploring. There were some hills, so I got a decent workout.

Friday I finally got on my bike, but it was at a harder gear than I should have been doing with a race the next day. I didn't think about that until the end of my workout though. Oops. I was just enjoying being back on my bike. Well, my bum didn't enjoy it, but the rest of me did.

Saturday I ran my race with tight calf muscles from the bike riding. This was a race I haven't run before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The first two miles were pretty flat, but the third mile had a couple hills that were steep. If I hadn't had such tight calf muscles, this would have been a great race. It's not easy with the hills at the end, but I liked the course. I could see myself doing this one again.

I ran 3.23 miles in 41:08. Like most trail runs, it was a bit slower, but unlike trail runs I've done in the past, I didn't trip and fall! There were lots of roots and rocks, but I managed to keep my balance. Maybe our regular hikes are improving my balance and spatial awareness?

I ran the first mile and a half, but had to stop and walk for a bit after that because of my tight calves, and from there it was run, walk, run for the rest of the race.

1st mile- 11:12
2nd mile- 12:47
3rd mile- 14:17
last .23 mile- 12:27 pace

After the race I went home and tried to convince myself it was fall (it was 80+ degrees, so while it's looking more and more like fall, it doesn't feel like it) by doing some yard work. I dislike working outside in the heat and humidity, so I've been putting off the outdoor projects on my list. While it was hot, the humidity wasn't the worst it's ever been, so it was a lot more bearable than when I built the chicken coop last year.

I finally finished the trim on the windows and door of the chicken coop, and it looks much better. I need to fix some drainage issues still, but part of that will involve a load of gravel, so there's only so much I can do for now. My next outdoor projects are to build a gate for the expanded run (you can see it on the left side of the coop) and then tear out the garden boxes and rebuild them in a different configuration that makes better use of the space.

I did a lot of walking back and forth as I measured, cut, and attached the trim, but I didn't have my Garmin on, so I don't know how far I walked. On the plus side, while my foot hurt that day, it didn't hurt too badly on Sunday. I'm hoping that means the bike riding was helpful with what's going on in my feet and calves (i.e., good physical therapy).

While I was working on the chicken coop, Mr M was taking down a dead tree in our woods. It was a little too close to our house for our comfort, and it was small enough that Mr M felt confident that he could take it down without too many problems. We have some other dead trees that we're still debating whether he will take them down or if we'll hire somebody to do it. We love the privacy of the trees all around our house, but there are definitely hazards to having them so close to the house.

We didn't plant a garden this year since we had our big road trip in the middle of the summer, and it's a big over-grown mess right now. We'll be changing that soon. 

bonus: can you spot two little boys in the picture?

After dinner on Saturday I started feeling nauseous, and I ended up hugging the porcelain throne into the wee small hours. I haven't been that sick in years, and I've got the sore abdominal muscles to show for it. (I won't share the gory details. You're welcome.) River was sick Friday, so I wasn't particularly surprised to get sick myself (the boys are firmly convinced that what's mine is theirs, especially my water bottles), and now we're waiting to see if anyone else gets sick.

I felt awful most of Sunday and had the first truly do-nothing day in forever. Seriously. Even when I've been sick in the past I've managed to feed the kiddos and get them dressed, but that did not happen this time. I was just too sick. I feel a lot better today, but that's mostly in comparison to how I felt yesterday, because in reality, I don't actually feel that great. Better, but not 100% yet.

it was a beautiful morning- perfect weather for a run

Weekly Mileage
Thursday- 2.82 miles hiked with kids
Friday- 3.87 miles on my bike
Saturday- 3.23 miles in race
       total miles: 9.92 miles

hike #39 towards #52hikechallenge
452.10 miles towards #365milechallenge

Sunday Funny

Ocean wanted to go down this slide, so he climbed up the ladder all by himself.

He pulled himself into position and got ready to slide down, and then realized it was further than he thought.

But he did it anyway.

I didn't get a picture of him at the bottom because I was helping him up, but despite the obvious trepidation, he loved it and immediately ran around to go again. When I looked at the pictures later, I couldn't help but laugh at his expressions :)

September Mileage

we love looking for natural steps from tree roots as we hike

My mileage is continuing to {slowly} go back up, though it’s still a struggle to find the time to squeeze in good workouts. This is unfortunate, as I can really tell the difference in how out of shape I feel.

Recognizing that my health is suffering and my weight is going up because of the lack of exercise has motivated me to be more mindful about my exercise, and finally having a good run on the treadmill has taken a lot of the dread out of my treadmill workouts, which makes it easier to actually spend some time on it. 

Bringing in my bike sets me up for some good cross-training opportunities this winter, which I have been neglecting for far too long. 

Cooler weather is finally back, hopefully to stay, and I’m trying to figure out how to schedule at least one outdoor run a week. I’d love to do more, but I just don’t have the time (treadmill workouts are quicker since I don’t have to drive anywhere) and our schedule is crowded enough that it’s just not an option.

September's mileage:

7 treadmill workouts + 4 hikes + 2 outside walk/run + 1 race = 40.42 miles

52 hike challenge: 38 hikes

365 mile challenge: 442.18 miles

August's mileage:

5 treadmill workouts + 6 hikes +1 outside walk + 1 race = 36.66 miles

52 hike challenge: 34 hikes

365 mile challenge: 401.76 miles

July's mileage: 

3 treadmill workouts + 1 hike + 0 outside runs + 1 race = 13.65 miles
52 hike challenge: 28 hikes
365 mile challenge: 365.1 miles

June's mileage:

0 treadmill workouts + 10 hikes + 3 outside runs + 3 races (1, 2, half) + 2 walks = 81.25 miles

52 hike challenge: 27 hikes

365 mile challenge: 351.45 miles

40 by 40 goal: 50 races

May's mileage:

11 treadmill workouts + 3 hikes + 1 outside run + 2 races (1, 2) + 1 field trip = 94.37 miles

52 hike challenge: 17 hikes

365 mile challenge: 270.2 miles

40 by 40 goal: 47 races

April's mileage:

15 treadmill workouts + 4 hikes + 0 outside runs + 1 race = 73.58 miles

52 hike challenge: 14 hikes

365 mile challenge: 175.83 miles

40 by 40 goal: 45 races

March's mileage:

3 treadmill workouts + 3 hikes + 2 outside runs + 1 race = 25.45 miles

52 hike challenge: 10 hikes

365 mile challenge: 102.25 miles

40 by 40 goal: 44 races

February's mileage:

12 treadmill workouts + 3 hikes + 3 outside runs + 0 races = 54.70 miles

52 hike challenge: 7 hikes

365 mile challenge: 76.80 miles

January's mileage:

4 treadmill workouts + 6 hikes + 1 outside run + 0 races = 22.10 miles total
52 hike challenge: 4 hikes
365 mile challenge: 22.10 miles

Random Bits from Our Road Trip

I've finally posted all the road trip posts, so I only have one last post to round up some of the random bits. We'll see how frequent my posts are from here on out- I still have a super busy schedule, but I'll try to make sure I take the time to write about what we're doing. 

Where we stayed while traveling

Our 5 week road trip meant we were away from home for 35 nights. During that time, we did a LOT of driving, so there were only certain periods where we were in the same place more than one night in a row.

• 9 nights at campgrounds (4 in national parks)
• 8 nights for two family reunions
• 6 nights of driveway surfing (friends and family)
• 5 nights at truck stops
• 3 nights in WalMart parking lots
• 3 nights in Cabela’s parking lots
• 1 night of BLM camping

Out of the 35 nights, we paid for 9 nights of camping, not counting the 8 reunion nights (those were paid for separately).

• most expensive paid night: $50 at Waterton Lakes
• least expensive paid night: $16.67 at the race campground

We drove 7000 miles as we hit all the stops along the way, but we drove more miles for side trips away from where we were staying (no idea on that number). The map at the top of the post shows our route.

What we ate

Sunshine and I have celiac disease, so we have to be very careful about what and where we eat. This was also a major factor in our decision to get our first travel trailer (and now our RV). Having a refrigerator/freezer and cooking facilities at hand takes a lot of worry out of our travel experiences. We do eat out occasionally, but on this trip, I made it my mission to go the whole time without eating out once. And we succeeded! Well, technically Mr M did purchase some pulled pork from a food truck once, but that was research for the food truck we’ll have in a few years, so it doesn’t count.

this trailer had an open air section at the back with two smokers, which we thought was a pretty neat idea, especially in a cold climate

We have a basic menu of foods we eat that are quick and easy, though our travel menu was affected by the location of our stove. We could only use the stove if the main slide was out, which wasn’t always convenient to do. We like to have substantial breakfasts that we cook, but since our stove wasn’t always easily accessible, we ate a lot of gluten free Chex and yogurt while on our trip. Not my preferred breakfast, but it was what worked.

We don’t do much specialty food shopping normally. Our weekly grocery trips revolve around Costco and Kroger, with the occasional stop at Whole Foods. We can do this since we don’t eat a lot of packaged gluten free items; we focus instead on naturally gluten free foods. 

We do purchase gluten free bread, though, and that was the one item that we had problems sourcing. We normally purchase Udi’s gluten free bread at Costco (cheapest source we've found so far), but several Costcos we visited in the west didn’t carry that brand. We tried the brand they carried (I’m blanking on the name right now), but I found the bread to be a bit moist and gummy, which was very off-putting. Sunshine liked it, but I did not. While on our trip, we shopped at Costco, WalMart, and the random grocery stores that are always found in small towns.

with the slide in, there's just enough room for that trash can, but the microwave and stove/oven are blocked and unusable

Strangest experience

One night while driving through Wisconsin, we were looking for a gas station at Fort McCoy. It had cheap gas, so we thought it was worth the slight detour, but it ended up being quite the experience. It was about 11 pm and dark, and there wasn’t much traffic, and we were driving back roads, trying to find the main gate to the base. We found it, only to be told we couldn’t enter there, but had to go around to the truck entrance.

So we did some more back roads driving (still dark and deserted country roads), skirting the base until we found the truck entrance. The guard there looked at us like we were crazy when we told him why we were there, and said the other guard should have let us in the front gate. Yeah, we figured that was the case and he was just being a jerk. We then drove on base, and back across almost to the main gate. The gas station was within sight of the main gate. After getting gas, we drove out the main gate, looking for the jerk guard as we went (we didn’t see him).

good thing the RV wasn't on...

Gotta have some mishaps along the way

We left the sewer hose (with the connectors) and the cap to the bumper storage at the dump station at a gas station in Helena MT. There was a line, so I pulled forward while Mr M rinsed everything. He hung everything to dry and went in to wash his hands. He then climbed in the RV and we drove away. We didn’t remember about the hose until we were trying to dump the gray water at Glacier NP. Hope somebody appreciates the hose and attachments- they weren’t the cheap ones.

The RV doesn’t have an extendable step, so before our trip we bought a step stool to make it easier to get in and out. However, our step stool either got left at St Mary campground in Glacier NP or it walked away there or at the race campground in Browning. It’s a toss up as to what happened. We just know that the morning after we got to the race campground, we couldn’t find the step stool, but we knew we had it when we arrived at St Mary campground.

We also learned to double check the house door. One time we started driving and the door flew open as we went around a corner. Luckily we weren’t going too fast, but I sure hopped up quick to shut the door. Not only was the door not locked, it wasn’t even latched shut. Big oops.

Have you had any mishaps or funny or strange experiences on a road trip?