July 27th -July 31st: White River 50 miler

July 27th we left our house (for good!) and made our way across the border.  Meggan and Rachel had to enter the USA as visitors, so they went with our friends Stacey and Kristen.  Imagine 3 women, a dog, a baby, and all sorts of gear crammed into the car to get us all down to Washington State.  Jason followed later in the Subaru Outback and successfully crossed the border and declared himself a US Citizen moving home.  Thankfully, these border crossings were very simple and we all had a great sleep at Stacey's cabin in Twisp, WA.  The best part of the day was having Rachel play with Dora the dog.  Rachel LOVES dogs!

July 28th - Meggan, Jason and Rachel continue on in the Outback to Seattle to pick up Susan Oliver who arrived from Sterling, VA to come cheer Jason on at his race.  We enjoyed the scenery along the way and had a happy reunion of Rachel with Grandma.

Check out the video of Rachel 'trail running'

Grandma!!

July 29th - The Olivers rent a Mazda 5 and drive this and the Outback to Crystal Mountain to get settled in and organized for the big day.  Rachel eats pickle for the first time and decides it's great to chomp on.

last ride in the Outback

view from top of 2nd climb

At the pre-race pasta dinner, athletes scare Susan with how much pasta they can devour.

Jason, Stacey, Kristen, Susan, Meggan, Rachel

pre-race pasta

July 30th - Jason starts his race very early in the morning.

We reconnect with Kristen, Stacey and Dora the dog as Stacey is also running in the White River 50 miler.  We spend the day trying to cheer on these two amazing runners as much as we can throughout the day, while playing with Rachel in between.

Stacey has an excellent day and finishes her first 50 miler in under 9 hours as the 4th female.  Jason has a tough time on the second climb and comes in at 10:44 - delighted to finish.

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One tired little gal waiting for Daddy

July 31st - After a slow start, Kristen takes her Outback and says goodbye.  Dora and Stacey return to Penticton.  Susan, Jason, Rachel and Meggan move on to sight seeing in the Mazda 5.  We spend the day exploring Mt Rainier National Park's beautiful waterfalls.

Rachel loved this bear skin

Mt Rainier shows itself for a few minutes