Cartagena

Arrived in Cartagena this morning. 

Hot and humid. 

Visited the castle

Tunnels 

Wonderful food 

Columbia river gorge trip day 1

From some drop off point near troutdale we mainly climbed into elevation all the way to snow flurries in government camp on mount hood. 

It was slow going with lots of rest stops to snack on things.

Oregon bike trip continued: dufur-the dalles-hood river- cascade locks

This bike trip has been full of long slow clbs and amazing descents. 

We clbed 6 miles out of tigh valley on our way to The Dalles. 

The downhill was amazing with views of snow covered Mount Hood to our left and Mount Adams straight ahead. 

Lunch in The Dalles was awesome. 

A Thai curry chicken sandwich with peanut sauce and crunchy fried wonton paper inside. 

We continued on toward hood river pushing through a strong headwind, pushing our bikes up the hill in hood river and onto dinner. 

Our only warm showers host this trip were in hood river. 

They have a restaurant and bakery in town where we enjoyed 3 meals during our time there. 

Meg and Clint, such gracious hosts!!

"Walking"down the stairs in Hood River to get to the center of town. 

When your knee is sore, take the rail down. 

Oregon mt hood bike trip

Two days: one post. 

Day 2 bike trip. Government camp to maupin. Started in the snow and ended near the deschutes river. 

Another two clad and a lot of descending. 

We lost ~3,000 ft total. 

So nice to coast for a while.

Today was day three. We left maupin and biked along the deschutes river for 10 miles. 

Then started climbing out of the valley. We Coasted a ways and then climbed another steep climb coasting again downhill into Dufur. 

Staying at the beautiful, historic, dufur hotel. 

Headed home

Guaymas,October 2015 was another very productive trip with "Los medicos voladores"

When we arrived, Guaymas had a whole new glow to it. Recent rain helped to make the plants happy and green. 

The views from the plane were beautiful as we landed. 

After getting through customs and doing all the paperwork, I hopped in a car with bill Harrison (our gracious host in Guaymas) to "help out" with set up at the clinic. 

When we arrived, almost everything was already set up. 

Two other volunteers with "Los medicos voladores"(LMV) we already there and a local volunteer dentist, Silvia, had done all the work. 

The clinic was to be held in the same building as in March,2014. The difference was that they added windows, AC, and a second story. 

After a brief exploration in the town center, we headed for San Carlos. San Carlos is where bill H. Has a house in the beach and his wife, Minerva, is quite the host!

San Carlos seems to be a town where many People go for weekend trips. 

The are many retired gringos there there too.  

The first evening was a nice time to get to know everyone who would be volunteering during the clinic. We had 2 dentists and oral surgeon, an acupuncturist, a chiropractor, and many other volunteers would would lend a hand with many services including translating and keeping the equipment clean. 

Once clinic started, I was shy to get started with PT. instead, I interpreted for mark while he did acupuncture and lily, while she chiropracted. 

I enjoyed doing some pre test and post tests: I ised my own ways to measure before and after the treatments to be able to measure the difference before and after. I was amazed to see the quick progress with both interventions. 

We had a full day of treating, went back home, rested up, to be ready for clinic the next day. 

On day two, we were much busier in the "wellness center". Word of mouth spread!!

People brough friends and families!!

We set up more chairs for mark to work and people lined the little narrow hallway. 

No hippa concerns here. No privacy regulations needed.

We just asked people what was wrong in front of the whole line up. 

PT was much busier in day 2! 

It was nonstop.

Lots of knee, shoulder, and back issues. 

 here. 

I'm learning to treat a little more specifically at times and a little more generally at other times. 

Sometimes, just a little hands in can make a world of difference. 

I did a lot of manual resisted stuff on the shoulders. Lots of education about disc issues. Gave simple exs. 

It was quite fun! A good experience to make work more playful and less work like. 

I think being able to work with lily and mark did me a world of good. Learning from a wellness approach vs. and impairment approach made the practice feel different even though it was mostly the same. 

It was also helpful because she would really be able to get people into alignment and I could give them ways to maintain it. I could educate them about their bodies. 

Guaymas

Trip to guaymas Octo 2015

As I look out the airplane window I see a thick blanket of clouds below me. 

I feel a surge of motivation. Inspired to write, and to ponder what will become of this weekend ahead. 

I'm on my way to guaymas, Mexico with a volunteer group called  Los medicos voladores- the flying doctors.  

I didn't think I wanted to go. I thought I wanted to stay home to rest. To go climbing, running, and mountain biking. I wanted to organize and plan some projects for the house. 

I was afraid to fly.  I was worried about the weather, or the plane malfunctioning. I was making things up. I was trying to envision this trip but all I could see was a hole. It was a dark hole and it was all I could see. 

While I had all those feelings, I started preparing for the trip. I bought some tools on the list I had compiled the last time I volunteered as a PT.  

I didn't get everything, but I'm glad I was able to get a few things. 

Another pilot, bill, had to cancel. Something was wrong with his plane and he couldn't go. 

I realized I could offer my spot to someone in his plane. Maybe this wast chance to stay home and bail without being a flake. 

It turned out, everyone had already made alternate plans. 

After all of that, I sit on this plane feeling exciting. As I start to anticipate the trip, the black hole is gone. 

Instead, I think envision the patients I might see. I question, How might I help? I day dream about the past time I was there. 

I wonder, Should I have them announce that I can treat certain cases of vertigo?? 

If there are people with bppv, I could really help them significantly!!

This trip help me learn and pushes me to think. It more work than it is fun. It's not relaxing. But, when it's done, I now know that it will be worth my while. 

I'm still sad not to be staying home. But, I'm excited to learn and meet to people. I look forward to prioritizing home time in November. 

Free bonus vaca day

When we arrived in Fairbanks, the leaves on the trees were changing into a sweet yellow color. The views were stunning! While mountain biking, I would look out into a clearing of bunches of aspen trees glowing in the distance interspersed with patches of still green spruce trees. After a 2 days it was noticeable there there were even more yellow trees. A beautiful, bright, schoolbus yellow. From there they turned golden, giving off a warm glow as you would round a corner and catch the vista of all the lovely trees grouped together. 

The winds started to blow and the leaves fall gently to the ground in layers on tops of each other. I was told that in the next week the trees will be bare and fall would be over. 

I was lucky to be here during this lovely weekend. Arriving on Thursday and leaving on Wednesday, I was able to see the progression of the season before my eyes. 

On Tuesday, I got up early!!!  My flight was supposed to leave at 6 which meant getting up at 4 to be able to leave for the airport at 4:30. 

I had slept outside to catch whatever glimpse of the northern lights that I might see. 

It was quite cold getting ready standing out there as I reluctantly got in the car to head to the airport. it was winter weather for this gal who grew up in San Diego. 

It ended up that the flight was so delayed that I wouldn't make my connections. 

Lucky for me, I gained another day of vacation. What a treat! It allowed me to catch one more day mountain biking amidst the gorgeous trees!

I make my way home and I am thankful for such a wonderful adventure spending time with wonderful old friends and making new ones along the way. It was a treat to explore such beautiful places!!!