Adventure of the Week

This week’s adventure winner went above and beyond the typical by literally climbing his way around the world. Eric and friend Matt attempted a 500 day rock climbing journey, stopping just shy at 481 days. The submission we received was a video journal entry from their climb of the “Totem Pole”.

Here are a few other photos from their journey.

Absolutely beautiful. Nice work gentlemen!

High kicks

Enthusiasm may be Dave’s middle name. That’s all there is to it. As a fearless leader and an occasional goofball we typically end the day with a good high kick. Rebecca at Concord captured on of these moments and emailed the picture to our adventure email. Too funny. Thanks Rebecca!

Biking San Fran

Dave and Erin set out to tackle some of the (smaller) San Francisco hills with a road ride through Marin, Sausalito and over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dave got excessively overjoyed when he saw seals "in real life" by the fishing docks, but they were a little too camera shy to get a good shot.

Erin got nearly as excited when she discovered Planet Granite, the climbing gym at the base of the bridge. San francisco = love. More pictures here.

Our future

Out on the trails, we met this 80 year old hiker from British Columbia. She is a little hard to see, but somehow it is fitting that she blend in with the trees.

I guess it is true what they say...you are only as old as you think you are! With of course a few blessings in the world of genetics, may we all be so lucky and work so hard toward good health! You are an inspiration to us all!

Puppies!

Oh man...they are always so cute and snuggly. Sometimes it is hard to say goodbye to our fury friends that stop by and hang out while their owners shop around REI.

How can you say no to a kiss from this guy?

Or these three?! How well behaved!

Baby blue eye.

Oh Canada, Oh Canada...

Megan and Brandon took a little break from tour to celebrate a HUGE birthday (somebody's 30 *cough*Brandon*cough*). They explored all over: starting in the North Cascades, moving along to Nelson B.C., Golden, Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff and the Canadian half of Glacier (Waterton Lakes National Park). Here's a few photos from along the way.

A 360 degree view from Mt 7 in Golden. Hiking and bike riding are plenty in this incredible terrain.

Subaru, the official vehicle for backpacking in the North Cascades

When's the last time you frolicked through the valley of the 10 peaks? Amazing.

And yes, we do USE all the products we demo. How do you think we know so much about them? Good stuff...tried and true.

Oregon summers

Megan, Brandon and Erin retreated back to Oregon after a beautiful week in the bay area to work at the Portland SkiFever and Snowboard Show. Full of excitement about another ski season yet to come, it was also a little hard to adjust to the change in light that the great northwest experiences every year. With daylight savings and winter solstice rolling in hot, it's only 5 o'clock before the darkness sets in.

Missing Oregon summers ever so slightly, Erin started reminiscing with friends about a few adventures from summers past. Here's a few pictures from Eagle Creek. Just a hop, skip and jump from Portland, it is a great place to take friends new to the NW. Bright green trees and waterfalls for days...I dare you to sleep without your rain fly now!

Now it is onward and upward from here! Embracing winter with open arms, you can visit Megan, Brandon and Adam at the Seattle SkiFever and Snowboard Show. As for Erin, she retreated back to California to enjoy the sunshine just a little longer.

Another day at the office

Getting ready for a busy day at REI, Megan and Erin pause for the camera. Love that California sunshine!

It runs in the family

When Megan says her family likes Subarus, she's not exaggerating. This photo recently surfaced demonstrating just how much...that's 3 Subarus in the same family. (Megan's in the little pink snow suit on the right)

Practice makes perfect

Brandon and Megan wanted to get acquainted with the new shipment of tents. The obvious solution would of course be to set them ALL up at the same time. Unfortunately, what goes up, must also come down...at least for a while. Next stop: backcountry for a real trial.

How to pass the time on a long drive

We have become experts at driving 9-14 hours consecutively. It's part of the job and in a 2010 Outback it is actually quite comfortable. Unfortunately, it CAN be a little boring. For all of you about to embark on a road trip, the team decided we should share with you some of the ways that we pass the time:

It almost always comes down to competitions and games! Here's our top 10...
1. Who can select the best gas station souvenir for their loved ones at home? Contrary to popular belief, your mom WILL appreciate a gift from the truck stop. A pair of socks, disco hat...
2. Who can speak in a chosen accent the longest?
3. Slack-jawed car dance off
4. Who can NOT speak the longest. Erin's really good at this one.
5. Sing everything. Every conversation is a little better when it has a tune.
6. I spy with my little eye...
7. The anal car game (this one may not be appropriate for passengers under 18). Add the word "anal" to the front of the model name on the car in front of you, replacing the make (or brand). Try it out...you just got passed by a Ford Explorer...
8. Dave likes to look for the faces in the reflective lights of semi trucks and then come up with the voice that accompanies the face. This is the "talking trucks" game.
9. Make up the life story of the driver next to you.
10. DO sing along with the radio. Or better yet, "meow" along to your favorite tune. More fun than you would think.

And a bonus: Create a crossword for the rest of the team. This is harder than you would think...we'll call it a work in progress.

All the kiddos

Sometimes the adults aren't the only ones who enjoy checking out the display. May all of us continue to love life and play pretend once in a while...just like these kiddos.

Halloween

Vanessa was not the only REI employee to get decked out. Check out the styling Concord staff...Back at the homestead, the Go Love team was not to be left out, putting the costumes they bought in Astoria to good use.

Adventure of the Week

The winner of this week's adventure is a lovely REI employee who went all out on her Halloween costume. What can we say? She deserves some credit for the time that went into this amazing Archaeopteryx! That's right, she's the dinosaur best known as the fossil in the Arcteryx logo. Nice work girl! Vanessa, you can expect a care package with your name on it!

Do you want to win a Go Love care package? Submit your stories and pictures to our weekly contest!