Outdoor & Recreation Blog

I am a huge Lance Armstrong fan - been following his Tour de France career since the days of his cancer battles. I've read his great book, It's Not About the Bike. After seven wins at the Tour, he's proven his prowess as a top athlete. Now he's decided to be a runner.

It makes sense. This man has an incredible capacity to handle pain and process built-up lactic acid. Plus, a good run releases the kind of endorphins that an elite athlete like Armstrong surely craves.

So I was interested in reading this article on ESPN about training for the NY Marathon. Keep in mind that running is a very different sport than cycling. In fact, just because he was a great road cyclist didn't automatically make him a super mountain biker - his past results in off-road races like the Mercury Tour were never very impressive. Different muscles, different strategies. Remember, this is a man that trained for one specific race during his Tour career.

That doesn't mean he won't become a fantastic runner, with time and his legendary dedication. It's wonderful to see an athlete branch out in to new areas and new passions. Keep on eye on Lance!

Here are some fast facts about this old stretch of highway:

Rt 66 was 2,448 miles long

Crosses 8 states and 3 time zones

Starts in Chicago, ends on the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles

Current maps do not include this route, which was officially decommissioned in 1985. Sections of interstates replaced much of Rt 66 far earlier, however.

Interstates I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15 and I-10 have replaced most of the old road.

There are some really great sections, mostly in Arizona, that are still drivable in a car. Some people even plan multi-day road biking trips along these remaining stretches of our American history, staying at hotels in Holbrook, Winslow, Williams, Flagstaff, Seligman, Peach Springs and Oatman.

In 1926 only 800 of its miles were paved. By 1937 the entire road got the asphalt treatment.

Some of the major towns the old road passed through: Chicago, Springfield, St. Louis, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Winslow, Flagstaff, Williams, Quartzite and Los Angeles.

Facts gleaned from the Museum of New Mexico website.

Last year I bought this very nice tooth whitening set by GoSmile. I haven't used it yet, since I figure an actual teeth cleaning at a dentist is due first (to get the lovely, lovely plaque off). I do so much traveling and typically forget to floss when I do. Bad me.

So this year I want to make a point of taking better dental care when I hit the road. My husband, who has perfect teeth, surprised me with a mini-gift of a portable plaque scraper to take on my travels. Called the Traveler, it's intended to clear out food particles, stimulate the gums and remove both tartar and plaque.

It's got a little keychain attachment, so there's no excuse not to use the thing. It has a cap so it won't stab me in transit. It's pretty cute.

What's "cuter" is watching me learn to scrape my own teeth. I am not entirely sure I am doing it right (ie - not making things worse). I think I will take the tool to my dental hygenist for a lesson when I get my teeth cleaned professionally.

I had my first non-conventional Christmas in my 20s, working at a rustic lodge in Colorado, teaching children to cross-country ski. It was a sorry case of the blind leading the blind, since I had never been on skis before that job.

On that Christmas day, I experienced my first day of downhill skiing. I snowplowed every run and tripped over moguls all day. I also fell off the ski lift every time, while everyone else smoothly exited around me. I learned a few things - mainly that skiing wasn't really my sport. It was a nice Christmas day anyway and everyone there basically had the mountain to themselves.

On another Christmas I tried my hand ice skating on a frozen lake in Minnesota. That was a very, very cold experience. I enjoyed the post-ski sauna the most.

I spent less holiday time in the snow in my 30s. By then my Christmas days involved backpacking the Grand Canyon and rock climbing at Joshua Tree. As recently as last year, I spent a week, including Christmas day, car camping in that lovely high desert park, leading the easy climbs up Intersection Rock, Cyclops and The Blob.

This year? Well, it's my first winter in the Pacific Northwest. I've discovered one can still enjoy a hike in the rain (or at least take a long, scenic loop drive through the mountains).

We're going to get out and hike along a woodsy creek, and eat Christmas dinner at Salish Lodge (overlooking Snowqualmie Falls). The reservations are set and we are excited to have a quiet evening together, in a beautiful scenic place, on this often hectic holiday.

Merry Christmas!

This article in the Suite101 Technology section has a nice run-down of the best built-in GPS systems in cars: Top Navigation Systems. The best systems have voice-activation, good graphics and a user-friendly format.

It seems the best on-board systems are generally from luxury models (ie - Lexus, Land Rover, Mercedes Benz), but the article also mentions some more affordable runners up, like the Honda and Saab.

I've never had a top-of-the-line vehicle: always been a Beater Truck Person. And now, with gas prices so high, I am more like a Beater Subaru Person. If I ever bought a new car, it would probably be a hybrid or a smart car. Something that uses smidgens of gasoline and is nicer for the environment. That would become our 'town car" and the second car would be suitable for camping (like our current 1993 Toyota Pathfinder). There's no reason we couldn't install a top-model GPS unit ourselves in any old car, and we might do it for Christmas this year.

This article by the Suite101 RV Travel writer suggests such a radical thing, and provides easy-to-follow ideas for making your vehicle GPS navigation system a reality: Perhaps A GPS For Christmas.

The leaves are turning deep red and gold right now in Seattle. It's pretty amazing. I lived in the American Southwest and California for so long that I forgot how profound the fall colors can get. With the colors, comes also the typical Pacific Northwest rains. Everything is moody as all get out - not a bad thing. The rains do make the sunny days so very clean, which is also a great benefit.

If the trees are changing in your area, remember to get out there and kick the fallen leaves around, smell the duff and absorb the beauty. Or plan a trip into the country and see lots of trees, in all their glory, in their proper setting. Go for a long hike in the woods. Take pictures and roll in the leaves. It's okay to get a little dirty. Interact with nature a bit more closely before winter sets in.

You can even visit a bed and breakfast cabin, sit on your porch wrapped in quilts, look out at the trees and crack open a nice bottle of red wine. Find your own way to celebrate the turning of the seasons and turn it into a ritual.

I just opened and used my little vacuum-sealed bag of Salish Lodge huckleberry flavored coffee today - absolute yum. I loved the smell and taste of the brew, and, best of all, it brought me back to a recent visit to the Salish Lodge.

The lodge sits on the very tippy edge of Snowqualmie Falls, a high, wide, beauty of a drop less than 30 miles east of downtown Seattle. The lodge grounds drip with greenery - pines covered with dripping moss, underbrush dripping with dew - and huckleberry bushes, dripping with berries. It was a treat to finally break into my hoarded Salish coffee, bringing me right back to my summertime visit to the lodge. I bought the coffee in the gift shop, for a mere three bucks. My family was with me. It was a sunny day. I could even smell the pines in my mind, hear the thundering falls.

Food will do that. A good scent, a rich aroma, an exotic taste - and poof! You are traveling back through time to distant places.

All this talk is just a way to present our new Culinary Travel topic at Suite101. Sue Bryant knows how to really get you excited to try new tastes in new places. Just don't read her articles on an empty stomach! :)

With chill fall temperatures settling in to Seattle, I just spent a few dozen minutes sifting through a Territory Ahead catalogue. I notice they are calling this time of year "leather weather" - a cool appelation. I've already broken out the bomber jackets and my Matrix-style black pleather duster. My "puffy" jacket - my dodgy down quilted thing by The North Face - hangs at the ready in my coat closet. I finally packed up the flip flops and sandals and stored them in the back of my closet, for next summer. That's a sad thing. I'm a sandals kind of gal.

My consolation is the shopping. Stores like Territory Ahead, Patagonia and REI are fun places to shop for outdoorsy folks. Lots of leather jackets, fleece hoodies and boiled wool sweaters to fondle, thick new suede boots and chenille scarves. This isn't exactly the gear I need for cold weather camping, but stuff like this is fun for daily use and cozy besides. Plus, wearing a fleece from Patagonia at least makes me LOOK as if I might take off any minute and climb a mountain.

In the meantime, I'll be the one sipping tea by the fire, flipping through clothing magazines.

Last chance! Only four topics out of Outdoor & Adventure's total of 20 still need a professional, weekly columnist/blogger.

Read about the advantages of writing for Suite101, plus, think about how you would develop an adventure travel or outdoorsy topic. What would be your main five or seven subcategories in that topic? Send me a list of the first 10 article titles you have in mind.

Our section also offers a lively O&A Forum with helpful co-writers and lots of one-on-one experiences. Tell me why you'd like to be a part of it!

You'd think as a outdoor and adventure travel editor I'd care about more things in life than how nice my hotel soaps are. but maybe I can't help it - it's hard wired in my brain to get all impressed about upscale shampoos, especially upscale shampoos that are free.

If you, like me, dig hotel freebies - whether or not you will ACTUALLY USE the provided lotions and whatnot - then add your two cents to Luxury Travel writer Jen Miner's discussion on the subject:

luxuryresorttravel.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/3787

Or just read the article attached the the discussion thread...if you don't feel up to sharing. We do like it here when you share, though. :)