Once again we hoped to have a family outing in the snow to support our cause, the fight against breast cancer. Once again, Amy was sidelined with illness. This time it was Henry, though, not her. Maybe she's just not destined to get to Romp or Stomp.
And once again, Team Moosefish had an impressive showing including participants covering ages from five years to however old I am. Even if I didn't know half the people on the team it was bigger than last year.
Unfortunately, the weather was lousy this time. And it was at Steven's Pass. And there was limited parking. And I could whine for months and months, but then you'll just look at the pictures. (Yeah, like you're even reading this anyway.)
We did try to leave early, but a two hour drive and a stop at the potty (and... um... Starbucks) got us to the Nordic Center just too late to get parking there. So we returned to the overflow lot and got a good spot, but then had to wait for the bus. And since we were on the bus we couldn't bring the sled. (Yeah, I said, "sled," not "pulk" because the Incredible Pulk and I are still feuding after a difference of opinions on Mazama Ridge.) Even without the pulk Clara, Lilly, and I took up two rows on the bus.
We met up with the team at the starting line, but since we were late and they were nice it meant we were all about the last Rompers to leave. Couple that with short and tired legs and we were falling way behind. I should have been smart like Daryl and turned at the 3K mark, but seriously, how hard could an additional 2K be?
Oh, except it'd start raining. Hard.
And they miscalculated the distance so the 3K was short and the 5K was long. Closer to 7K.
So while we could have had a nice relaxing play in the snow, free hot dogs, and a chance to get in on the prizes (cuz we didn't win enough last year) we were instead fighting a losing battle with fatigue, crabbiness, and sore feet. Bleah. But we did the whole thing and they didn't send the snowmobile for us like they did for others who overestimated their ability.
They were just about breaking down the tents when we finally rolled across the finish line. Then it was a challenge to get back on the bus and home. All on a Sunday meaning we missed naps and not properly preparing for school the next day. Poor Amy, she was gonna be in for it.
Oh well. At least we raised a little money, right?
Oh yeah, and we tallied 4.5 miles and 670 feet of gain.
(More pics from Josie.)
