We opted to try sleeping indoors again and were pretty comfortable this time - maybe a little warm, but it was nice to have indoor plumbing nearby! So our host, Trevor gets into making stuff, I'm definitely inspired to resume and try some new diy stuff when we get home. Homemade treats included his own roasted coffee (made into a latte by his espresso machine), yogurt, and bread, plus there was honey from his dad that I got to sample in my oatmeal. Karlene has a regular job, so had to head to work, but Trevor didn't have any appointments for the day so he and Rudy spent the morning constructing a sauna.
After lunch, we headed to Watson Lake, where the guys biked some excessively technical trails, and I jogged/hiked on more technical stuff than I was expecting! I was planning on more of a run, but most of the trail around the lake not runnable!
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| Watson Lake |
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| Yeah, there's 'trail' through there |
But there were also a few miles of rail trail at the end to get in some jogging. On the way 'home' we stopped at the store for cheesecake ingredients - tee-hee-hee! It got pretty late making the cake since the oven needed to be shared with fantastic pizza from scratch! So had to save eating the dessert for another day - we did get another treat testing out the sauna - pretty nice.
December 13
I got to start my day with a little espresso machine lesson from Trevor - I made a little bit of a mess, but still tasty results.
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| Not my doing |
Trevor had a little work in the morning, so Rudy and I entertained ourselves. We went to the Sundog and Badger Mountain trails for some not too steep and not at all technical climbing and descending - great way to spend a couple hours on a lovely December day (as in 50s and sunny!) Trevor was home when we returned, awaiting the appliance repairman to check out a stove issue. The three of them didn't end up solving the problem, but seemed to enjoy trying to figure it out. As the stove troubleshooting was getting wrapped up, Trevor's buddy Johno stopped by and more vehicle and home projects commenced. I did some yoga on the deck - sun was getting low and fairly breezy, but still awesome! Nobody had taken charge of dinner planning for the evening, but some got the impression earlier in the day I was making goulash...we didn't have all the ingredients on-hand or the patience to go shopping, and ended up with a goulash concoction of macaroni, ground beef, corn, tomatoes, and various seasonings - pretty much a good carrier for hot sauce :) We finally got to enjoy some cheesecake though - sooooo delicious!
December 14
I tried espresso making again - slightly better, but still a little messy...tastes good! I got in a nice little run from the house Thumb Butte area - a pretty popular spot, even on a weekday! Certainly not too crowded though. The guys also got a ride in. I relished the sunny day with chilling on the deck, and getting in a little chat with another Rocky Raccoon entrant from Duluth. Shortly after the guys returned from their ride, I went out for a little biking on the same trails (plus a little more) - some pretty technical stuff, but mostly fun, I even got to see a couple javelinas while on the Javelina trail! I spent some more time on the deck with a little yoga session while Rudy was productive with cleaning up the trench to the sauna and Trevor was out for a business meeting. We made up some veggie stir fry for dinner - yay for vegetables! Made us feel healthy enough to indulge in more cheesecake.
December 15
Espresso making still getting slightly better. After a couple servings of that and a good breakfast, I went out for a long run on trails and the guys took on the Prescott Circle route. My run included trails at North Thumb Butte up to Granite Mountain - beautiful forest and some nice vistas.
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| Granite Mountain |
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| Thumb Butte from the north |
My shoulders and arches of my feet were bugging me more than I would like, but I felt good otherwise, enjoyed the trails I got on, and managed to make a marathon of it in just under five hours! The guys completed the big ride of nearly 60 miles just as the afternoon light was fading. The nice sunny morning turned into clouds and wind as the weather comes in - supposed to be cold and rainy soon. The evening eating was sporadic with Trevor meeting up with friends, while Karlene, Rudy and I cleaned up some leftovers - small servings of cheesecake were had as well...a mellow night, early to bed with everyone pretty tuckered out!
December 16
Icky, rainy, blustery day - good for recovery I guess - no formal exercise for the day. So my espresso making did not continue to improve, I may just leave it to the pros! Trevor whipped up some great pancakes, sans recipe. The rest of the morning was spent with Rudy and Trevor working on some tax stuff, I did a little yoga, but mostly lazed around and puzzled. Some bread was made, Trevor took care of some errands, and Rudy did some bike shopping and maintenance. We got to witness Sous Vide for the first time as Trevor used that method to cook salmon for fish tacos - also seared them after cooking for some texture. Seemed to turn out well! We also cooked up calico beans, and Karlene made some Oreo truffles, for the local mountain biking club's party the following day. Oh, and some sauna happened, and the cheesecake was polished off.
December 17
A mellow Saturday morning for the working folks! I got to tag along with Karlene and her friend Andrea on a bike ride that covered more of the North Thumb Butte trails. It was great fun and I was surprised at how well drained the trails were - most of it was not any wetter than pre-rainy day. Rudy started out with us too, but was having tire issues and headed back to do some bike maintenance. Trevor got out on a long gravel road ride with another buddy training for triathlons - sounded like soft roads and a good, punishing workout. After everyone cleaned up and rested we all headed to the party. It was a pretty cool place of a family really into to biking!
Lots of people and good food - the small house was a little crowded on the chilly day, but heaters and a fire were available too for people to hang around outside. One big topic of conversation was a morning trip to Sedona - but as the night wore on and reports of too-wet trails circulated, it seemed more people were planning to stick close to home. Trevor and Rudy did a great job of making sure an inebriated friend did not drive away - we ended up taking his truck into town with plans of retrieving the car we left behind the next day. We didn't stay too late so we could also stop by Johno's going away get together at a local establishment. A little smaller group to socialize with for that! Even though it seemed like we weren't out long at all, it had been a pretty long time since we have been up until midnight (and we barely made that!)
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