The View at 10,000 Feet: Why I love Nevada

There are many reasons to love Northern Nevada, but one is the proximity to some of the most beautiful places on earth.  The Mount Rose trailhead is a mere 35-minute drive from the apartment where Steve and I live near the University of Nevada in Reno.  Here's all 5'3 of me (well, actually 5'2.75 of me) in front of 10,778' of it (no mention of inches necessary).

The first portion of the trail is easy - well-packed dirt, intermittent shade, relatively little gain in altitude.

Right around 2.5 miles, we crossed a sunny field full of bright purple flowers and bees.  And then the climb began. 

Steve captured me at about 5.1 miles.

And I captured him on the summit with Lake Tahoe in the background.

Pictured:  Steve and me at the summit.  Not Pictured:  The plump, chatty chipmunks begging for treats at our feet.

Fun Fact:  Steve carried the backpack the entire time.  We didn't actually consume any of the "emergency rations" I had packed but we drank a little water.

Going down the mountain was harder than climbing up the mountain.  The path starts out flat then plummets over the edge so that feet, hands, and bum are necessary for the descent.  In other words, I sort of slid down the first quarter mile.  The entire 10.6 mile hike took us just over three hours and we were back at home before noon.  Not a bad way to spend a weekend morning!

Mind up!

I've met many fantastic people in my first month as head coach of women's swimming and diving at the University of Nevada - Reno.  One such fantastic person is JoJo Mi, a 6-ft tall Chinese freestyler with a big smile and even bigger heart.  She showed up at a team-get-together with a plastic bag full of bizarre Chinese candy (including gummy egg which is thin, square, peach-colored candy with the consistency of Kraft cheese singles) and a pile of special golden stickers.  JoJo instructed us each to put one of the stickers on our cell phones to protect ourselves from radiation.  We did not question her about the efficacy of the stickers. 

The stickers came in a variety of designs:  There was a bear whose tummy read, "I Love You Houc."  There was a cat with baleen-like teeth waving a flag that shouted, "Keep Going!!"  There was a fist-pumping Asian toddler with a bowl-cut yelling, "Fighting!"  Then there was the sticker I chose -- an Asian girl doing one of those spastic cheerleading jumps as she tells the world, "Mind up!  Wow!"

I don't know what Mind up! means in Chinese, and neither does JoJo who grinned and said, "Mind up! means Mind up!"

So maybe it means Cheer up! or Stay Positive! or Be open-minded! or Focus! or Heads up, a golf ball is heading your way!  or Obey!

I've decided the important part is the presence of both mind and an exclamation point.  In other words, use your brain with enthusiasm.  And that's what this blog is about...