Inside the “No Humidity Tour ‘22”

See that sweatshirt I’m wearing in the picture to the right? I had to buy it four days into my trip to Washington and Oregon. Instead of showing off my cool running t-shirts, I wore it until the final two days of this vacation. While my friends in Iowa were basting under record heat indexes, the weather in the Pacific Northwest was cold and rainy. That meant running with tights and layers on top. But it was not the humidity we experience in the Midwest. Hence, the unofficial title of this summer visit to the West Coast.

But I had another mission in mind as well. Since we were going to stay in five different locations, I was going to have the opportunity to run in some places that I hadn’t run in years – decades in some cases. At some early point in that venture, while under the influence of strong caffeine following a run, the phrase “No Humidity Tour” popped into my head and just like pitch off a Ponderosa Pine – it stuck. What follows is more background as to why each location has such a significant resonance with me.

The ”tour” – if we can call it that – started in Kent, Washington. We stayed with two close friends of mine. One was someone I met back in 1988 and who moved into the same career I have now as did his wife a few years later. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with both for several years and still miss having them so close. As they're now retired, I can’t help wondering how the years moved by so quickly. I am ashamed to say this is my first time visiting their home in over a decade. Also have to confess that last time I was there, my running was limited to a tough couple of miles where, being horribly out of shape and heavier, I struggled with the hills. But that was then. This time, the hills around their home weren’t an issue and with everyone else sleeping in, I had plenty of time to scope out the area, going past schools, parks and various shopping centers. Best of all, even though we could hear the rain pounding the roof the entire night before, the weather behaved itself for all of my run and our day in Seattle. (That said, thanks to low clouds and fog, my views of Kent were definitely nothing like what you see in that picture!)

The second stop on the “tour” took place at Minto-Brown Park in Salem, Oregon. While my wife stayed at a B&B near McMinnville, I had dinner in Salem with two former teammates from my days at Western Oregon. After a great meal with a tasty Scotch ale, I stayed in what I would politely call “quaint” accommodations at a Motel 6 so I could make the short drive to Minto-Brown Park the following morning. Located on the edge of the Willamette River, this park is encircled by a paved 10K trail with a myriad of other trails crisscrossing the island. Way back when I used to live in Salem, several of us (including one of them from the previous night’s dinner) would meet to put in somewhere between 10-12 miles on those trails. Afterwards, we’d treat ourselves to a post-workout feast at Dunkin’ Donuts where we’d devour enough of their sugary confections to even give Homer Simpson pause. This year was different and not because I skipped out on donuts afterwards. Due to heavy rains a few days earlier, several parts of the 10K trail were submerged under a couple feet of water. That translated into some creativity on my part to finish up with a five-mile run. But regardless of all that, it still felt great to finally enjoy the beauty of Minto-Brown’s shaded trails and views of the Willamette River.

Next up was a drive from our B&B to Western Oregon University. Given how much I refer to this school, one would think that the years there were perhaps the best of my life. That’s not the case. Truth is, it was at this small campus in Monmouth where I faced adversity and failures unlike any I’d known up to that point in my life. Without going into too much of it, with the support of family and friends, I prevailed over those challenges. It’s really those lessons of life that I learned at Western Oregon that make it that a true touchstone in my life. As for the run itself, for the first time in almost forty years, I ran the “old” 5K loop that we’d used as a warmup in cross country and track. I added to the mileage by running around the campus and track for a brisk five miler under an obnoxious drizzle. After that, I stopped by the Union Block Coffee Shop in McMinnville for perhaps the world’s finest Mexican Mocha before returning to the B&B just as my wife was waking up.

The following day had me back in McMinnville for both the next run on the “No Humidity' tour and that killer Mexican Mocha. Hands down, McMinnville is one of my favorite places to visit. Absolutely love a couple of their restaurants as well as that beloved coffee shop - to say nothing of it being the hub to some incredible wineries! McMinnville is also home to Linfield College. I bring this up because my run included several laps around their track. The reason for doing so was not only to avoid hostile morning traffic on busy streets, but to reminisce that this was where I’d run my first track meet for Western Oregon State way back in that brief period of time when Joan ("I Love Rock-n-Roll") Jet ruled the world. Following the guidance of a nasal-voiced, grouchy old coach who told me to shorten my stride, I ran a 15:30 5K, beating my previous best by over 40 seconds. During the night of that same day at a college dance, I met my first serious college girlfriend. So yeah, it was a decent day.

The next stop on the “tour” was my hometown of Sutherlin. My route was a loop that incorporated the small downtown, lumber mill and nice overview of the east end of town (see the picture to the right). I did add a couple laps around my old high school track - now all-weather instead of the cinder that I experienced when I used to run it in high school. (Oddly enough, both my high school and Western Oregon State had cinder tracks when I attended them only to have all-weather later. Clearly another reason Track is my “Not So Much” Sport.) This run took on a greater significance as I had learned from my parents the previous day that they are selling their house and moving to a neighboring community. That means this trip will be the last time I’ll stay in the house that I’d called home since 1974. All of that provided ample thought during my next two morning runs in Sutherlin. (Where I was still wearing tights and layers on top in the middle of June!)

The “tour” moved from there for a brief overnight stay in Jacksonville, a historic mining town not far from Medford in Southern Oregon. We were there because my wife and I took a wine-tasting trip through the Rogue Valley - an area where I spent two years back in the mid-eighties. Jacksonville is a fun town, filled with a number of cute shops, quality wineries and gorgeous homes. Although it rained the entire day we drove down there, the storms behaved long enough for me to squeeze in a six-mile run that gave me an opportunity to savor one of my favorite places in Oregon without having to worry about traffic on some of those narrow two-lane highways.

The “No Humidity” Tour ‘22 ended in Sutherlin where I did variations of that same course, finally being able to shed the tights for shorts. As I ran past the homes where grandparents and friends used to live, my mind continually drifted back to the realization that my parents were selling a home they'd lived in since 1974. Although I’m not what you’d consider a sentimental person, it was and remains difficult to fully grasp that I stayed my last night in that old ranch-style house from the picture to the left.

No question that nostalgia played a strong role with this “tour.” However, it wasn’t so much “reliving” as touching base with the past and being grateful about the life I have now. I may not be able to devour multiple donuts after a long run these days, but I am fortunate enough to still be friends with those same people. Likewise, I can now afford a nice evening in Jacksonville - something that would have been way outside my budget when I lived in that area before. Or that I’ve put the challenges I faced at Western Oregon State into the proper perspective. This trip also brought home the reality that life is about change as I think of what the future will bring to my parents. I also fully realize how fortunate I am to have someone in my life with whom I can share all this and who will be there for me with future challenges as I hope to be for her.

I may not have t-shirts or other merchandise to memorialize this year’s “No Humidity” tour but the memories and realizations that came from it are more than enough. And if last December’s visit to my home state was any guide, I’m guessing this year’s winter tour will be called the “Will It Ever Stop Raining” tour.