Let it snow…

I have been itching to get back out to Colorado and do some skiing. Like so many things I love to do… I am no expert in the Alpine/Nordic sports… but I sure have fun trying! And while I still enjoy these activities here in Michigan… things are on a whole different level in the Rockies. It did not take me long to get reminded of just how vastly different they are.

Of course, it took a little while just to get out there. I was surprised to find some pretty reasonable flights online… but I really wanted to take all my own gear for both downhill (alpine) and cross-country (Nordic) skiing. So, I made the decision to drive out. I think I actually spent more than the airfare on gas and accommodations to drive. I suspect that would have balanced out with bag check fees (taking my gear) or rental fees (without my gear)… but I would rather be rolling than sitting in the terminal… well sometimes.

Drive Out Day 1 (Saturday February 8, 2025):

The trip out was pretty uneventful. Roads were clear. A little snow as I headed across Michigan. I stopped to visit my daughter Amie and her husband James in Portage… then got down to business driving. Since I got a little bit of a later start… and took a dinner pitstop in Potage… I drove on through Michigan, the corner of Indiana, across Illinois, and into Iowa… till about 11PM and finally stopped near Des Moines, Iowa. I considered just hitting a rest area and sleeping in my truck… but it was only about 9 F the next morning… so a warm bed in a hotel was a wiser choice.

Drive Out Day 2 (Sunday February 9, 2025 - arrival):

The next morning I was refreshed and ready to go. Hot coffee… and a breakfast sandwich got me rolling. Then I found the Gospel Train program on the Sirus Bluegrass Junction station and that got me rocking. So I rocked and rolled my way over the Missouri River between Iowa and Nebraska… crossed into Colorado about mid-day… and decided I had enough energy and daylight left to head into the mountains… over the continental divide… and over to New Castle, Colorado.

Have you ever driven across the plains… watched the mountains grow on the horizon… then headed up, over, into them? I still find this to be a spiritually invigorating experience!

Since brother Howard “forgot” to give me a key to his place in Silt… since I got out early… I headed to my cousin Jackie and Alvie’s place. I was a little worried they would vacate once I texted to let them know I was coming… but they graciously put up with me for a couple of days. If you look close on that last picture… there is a bald eagle flying through… just over the house… just in line with the peak of the hill on the left.

It was so great to see them again. Their place, right on the Colorado River, is really nice. The next day I decided to take some time to enjoy coffee and to visit most of the morning before heading out. Jackie and Alvie are great hosts and made me feel right at home. Then I decided to try out the cross-country trails (Babbish Gulch) at the base of Sunlight Mountain in Glenwood Springs.

Ski Day 3 (Monday February 10, 2025):

Babbish Gulch Map

It is hard to gauge the slope in pictures. But I stopped in a relatively flat spot to take pictures where I would not slide down the trail. The first one is looking down slope… the second looking up slope… there really were no flat spots. You are either working to climb… or working to control speed heading down. After about a mile of pretty steady up… I did find a nice place to rest and snack! I also took some time to consider options from here. I came up what was called Old 4 Mile Road. There were trails going on up the mountain. But I was rather tired from the climb up to this point. I could head back the way I came… but even though it was nice and wide… it was a very steady… sometimes fairly steep downhill run. That had me a little nervous. The other option was a “sister” trail that roughly paralleled Old 4 Mile Road… but it (Sunshine Trail) appeared to have a little more variety and wondered through the woods a bit more. So, I decided on that option. I had not contemplated what the trail name might imply.

I immediately started wondering about my choice… when I realized just how narrow this trail was in places. There was often not enough room to snowplow… so other ways were needed to keep downward momentum under control… or you just had to let it go and hope you could use step turns to stay on the trail… and out of the trees. I ended up on my rump a few times trying to make turns and avoid trees near the trail. Then I came to a bare spot (tall grass and weeds… no snow). That is when the significance of the trail name came to light. This patch was not too long… so I decided to leave my skis on and slowly traverse down to where there was snow again.

What I failed to recognize… was that in some places… the snow had not completely become liquid and soaked into the ground. What appeared to be dirt… was sometimes a rather transparent sheet of ice under the grass. As I neared the bottom of this patch… I stepped onto one of these sheets of ice… and before I knew it… I was flat on my back in a patch of mud.

 I rolled over onto the snow… and tried to rub some of the mud off… but not very successfully. I think I left more of my pride on the trail… than the mud I could rub off. Shortly after getting back on my feet and a little ways further down the trail… I ran into a couple that had looked up the Old 4 Mile Road… and opted for Sunshine trail to avoid the long steep climb.

Like me… they did not seem real pleased with this alternative. We both warned each other about bare patches and narrow spots. I snapped some pictures for them… then we headed off in opposite directions. I got to one spot where the trail headed down a rather steep hill… then headed around a corner where I could not see what lay beyond. The trail was just wide enough at the curve I figured I could turn hard and stop. Just below were a couple of the extended bare patches the couple had warned me about.

I was so glad I stopped instead of rounding the corner at speed. That allowed me to pop the skis off this time and walk down carefully. Once back on the snow below… I started stepping back into the skis… and heard voices. The couple I met had given up and were right behind me… skis in hand. They knew we were just about to merge back onto the lower Old 4 Mile Road… and did not want to navigate the steeper trail with skis on.

I on the other hand… decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised on the wider trail… at my ability to use the snowplow to keep my speed down… and to stop if I wanted to reassess the trail ahead. I was a little nervous at the steepest stretch near the bottom as it was packed pretty hard… but I managed to keep the skis under me… and get stopped before the road.

It would be fun to try this again sometime and give myself a little more time to explore the trails further up the gulch. I need to get in better shape to help with both types of skiing. I tend to get really winded easily… requiring a lot of stops to catch my breath. But I have already improved some… and it is good to have motivation to keep that trend going.

I threw the gear in the truck and headed back for Jackie and Alvie’s. Howard and Aaron were supposed to be flying into Aspen tomorrow. Since conditions were less than ideal in the gulch… I decided to check out the downhill runs the following day. I wanted to see if we even should come back to Sunlight… unless they got a lot more snow.

Ski Day 4 (Tuesday February 11, 2025):

Sunlight really is a nice place to ski. The lifts are getting old… but we saw evidence this trip the two oldest may get updated soon. There have been discussions about adding lifts… but the immediate focus seems to be on updating the old two-man center bar lifts… to newer three or four man lifts. This would be a significant improvement.

The variety of runs is nice. There is a large center area for beginners… with several green (easier) runs available to get down from the top. There are a nice selection of blue (medium/advanced) runs. Along with several black (difficult) and double black (expert) runs.

This particular day… conditions were poor because the temperatures had been rather warm… condensing the snow base into a slush… that as the temps dropped again… froze into solid block of ice. There was some new snow on top of the ice. So flatter runs were not as bad… but on steeper runs that snow was all shaved back down to the icy base.

I had forgotten how long it had been since I had skied in the mountains. Riding up the lift I looked around at the options. I watched some people carving down a nice wide blue run (Sun King) and thought it looked like a good one to see where my abilities lie. I was feeling pretty good as I headed down to the top of the run. Practicing my wide carving turns. Then I got to the top and looked down the run… having forgotten how much steeper runs seem when you look down them… compared to looking up at them from the lift! I think I muttered only one way down… forgetting that was not necessarily true. I think I made a couple of turns… but got myself rather nervous as it got steeper… and started rushing my turns.

Next thing I knew… I was sliding down on my back… rather than carving down on my skis. Now I just needed to remember how to get up. Eventually I did… and laughed that I had sure gotten myself off to a stelar start. I let my fear of heights tighten me up and I dragged my inside ski trying to rush/force a turn. I took a few deep breaths… tried to relax… and headed on down the slope. I did ok… but still found myself a little too tight/timid. It was a somewhat awkward run as I remembered how much different it is skiing on the more extended and steeper slopes. I focused on making my turns and cutting back across the run… trying to keep my speed down. I also had to stop frequently to catch my breath. I am not sure how much the altitude… versus my anxiety contributed to this. But I found I did better if I would stop… catch my breath… and let the blood and oxygen get back in my legs. I eventually made it down… deciding a green run might have been a better warm up… and opted for one of those next.

I skied a number of the greens and blues. But as I said… on the steeper slopes you really could not ski so much as slide… until you got over to the sides of runs where not all of the snow had been scrapped off. But I had to convince myself I could navigate the steeper blues. I just did not venture on to any of the blacks… as I wanted to boost confidence.

These conditions were disappointing… but I had anticipated this might be the case. So, I was not too surprised… and made the best of what was there. I really had set out to assess the conditions to provide some insight for decisions in coming days on where to go.

Even though I typically really like Sunlight… I had to tell others we should probably avoid it until it got at least a foot of snow. There were signs of hope as snow seemed to be falling on surrounding peaks… but the surrounding hills catching much sun were bare.

Sunlight Trail Map

An advanced skier going hard could probably cover all the runs at Sunlight in a day. But I do not think that is the primary audience for this smaller… family friendly (affordable) place. I think their intent is to provide a less crowded and more affordable option… with enough variety to keep both locals and travelers coming back year after year.

Some of the beginner runs coming off the top appear to be old access roads that cut across the hill face… sometimes even using switchbacks to keep the descent rate low enough for the less experienced skier. As a result you do have to pay attention as it is possible to veer off onto an intermediate… or even advanced run. But in many cases there are opportunities to bail out of these steeper runs back onto a beginner trail. So if you venture onto a steeper section by accident… you can escape before too long typically. Making this a nice place for those gaining in confidence to give some steeper sections a go. It is nice to be able to give it a try with the assurance/confidence they can opt out if it is a bit much. Beginners can also stay on the easier trail while some in the party can test their improving skills on short steeper sections… and still meet up at the bottom. I took advantage of this later in the week.

 Instead of getting in Tuesday night as expected… Howard and Aaron got delayed in Dallas… as conditions in Aspen were not allowing planes to land. So many flights had already been re-routed to neighboring airports in Rifle and Grand Junction… that they quit sending any more toward the area. So, I begged cousin Jackie to put up with me another night.

Miscellaneous Day 5 (Wednesday February 12, 2025):

Not being sure what might happen or when it might happen today… I did not plan to try skiing. I hung out with Jackie, Alvie, and their grandkids all morning. It is funny how quickly kids go from looking at you like “who is he? And what is he doing here?” To “hey… check this out buddy”.  I wish the world’s harder lessons did not have to be learned… and we could all continue to have the innocent trust of a young child.

 Howard got into Aspen that morning… but Aaron was not due in until that afternoon. Howard had a rental reserved… so he decided to run errands… and picked me up at Jackie’s. We grabbed some lunch and headed back toward Aspen to pick up Aaron.

We started to worry as the afternoon drug on as the clouds seemed to continue to gather… got heavier, thicker, lower. Flights were still coming in and leaving… but they would emerge from the clouds just above the rim of the mountains… then quickly descend into the Aspen valley. Then on the way out disappear into the clouds just as they were getting to the mountain tops. His flight was delayed almost an hour… but still due around three… so we hoped it would arrive before things got too socked in. Just about three we saw another plane drop out of the clouds… quickly descend… and we were pretty sure it was his flight. Pretty soon we got a text… on the ground in Aspen… waiting for a gate. It started snowing about then.

Before long we picked him up… and decided to get dinner on the way back to Howard’s. I still remember when Aspen was primarily ranch country… that happened to have some nice ski hills. I doubt a rancher can afford taxes anywhere near Aspen anymore. Even our cousins down in New Castle complain the ultra-rich in Aspen… drove the mega rich to Glenwood… driving the really rich from there to New Castle. Luckily they got themselves established decades ago… but the cost of living just keeps climbing. Wish I had been able to invest in real estate in that area over the years.

We talked about where to go the following day. I explained how sparse things were at the local hills. The forecasts looked promising… but we opted to take advantage of a pre-weekend special at Copper Mountain where we knew they had more snow at that higher elevation. Then we would see how accurate the weather forecasts were for coming days.

Ski Day 6 (Thursday February 13, 2025):

The snow we had seen up on the peaks around our base in Silt… made the roads a little slick as we headed up through Vail pass on I70 toward Wheeler Junction (Frisco) where we got off near the entrance to the Copper Mountain complex. We found a spot in a lot not too far from the Central Village. We donned our gear and walked over to get lift tickets.

Over the years I have really not been able to ski out west very many times. Probably half a dozen times in all. And I had only been to the smaller hills… I had never been to any of the larger places out there. While Copper Mountain may not be one of the largest… it was certainly larger than anywhere I have been before.

Copper Mountain Trail Map

We hopped on the lift nearest the ticket windows (American Eagle) which took us up and dropped us off just about at the tree line. Howard mentioned hitting one of the lifts to head up onto the peak… but Aaron and I both said we preferred to take a nice relaxing warm up run to get things started. I can’t begin to recall all the runs and lifts we took throughout the day. But I know we only covered maybe a third of this place. Howard probably would have gone higher/farther… but I tended to serve as the governor on our engine. I could not ski too far… or too fast. I had to stop and catch my breath rather frequently. Aaron probably could have kept up with Howard early on… but by afternoon he did not mind taking breaks with me more often.

We stuck pretty close to the center/western area where there were plenty of blue and green runs. Aaron and I both avoided the mogul runs. Those were some very long runs covered with big bumps… requiring a level of skill/discipline we were not prepared to master. I really enjoyed the long and wide runs we stuck to where I could carve/cruise with plenty of room to maneuver. We cut through one terrain park so Howard could play. I carved my way around all the features opting to maintain my low/slow… skis on the snow approach.

One thing I have learned over the years… is that I have little to no coordination in the air. The people that know how to retain their form… even performing tricks while in the air amaze me. But I am not one of them. Seems that as soon as my skis leave the snow… I get wonky. I might handle a very short time in the air… and land back on the skis. But if I get too high… or am airborne too long… it is never a pretty landing. So I take care to avoid those situations. I let Howard seek them out. Aaron may have played some too… but I played it safe.

Given a choice… I am not sure Howard would stop all day. Aaron and I were ready to hit the little grill (T-Rex) they had near the Timberline Express lift by early afternoon. The hot cider and a brat tasted good… but to me… the opportunity to sit/rest and enjoy the scenery was heaven. The sky, the mountains, the trees… even the people were nice to take in from a comfy perch.

 Conditions were great here. Nothing sticking up out of the snow…. and it was all snow… no ice. I think I was the three legged dog in our pack… not quite able to keep up… but very happy to be there to run the best I could. But by mid-afternoon… my best was not enough. I realized my breaks to breath… and get blood back to my legs… just were not allowing my legs to recover. I was getting jelly legged… and was worried if I tried to push it today… I would struggle even worse tomorrow. So, I told the big dogs to go make their last few runs… while I found a bar stool to hold down. I even had a friend join me!

I am not sure how many more runs they got in. They texted at one point to see if I wanted to try one more… but I was done. Aaron admitted later he too was getting worn out… but just did not want to quit. They probably could have caught one more… Howard pointed toward the lift still running… but Aaron pointed at me in my chair. I think we all felt it had been a great first day together. I was just happy to realize after my break… I could muster the energy to walk back to the truck!

The ride home had some slick spots… but it was not too bad. I think we all got warm and comfy in the cab of the truck. But you should have heard the groans as we all tried to jump out of the truck after the long ride back… then get our legs moving to walk into the Miner’s Claim to eat. I was stiff, sore, dragging… but happy I could still move.

I had to laugh when we discussed an after dinner cocktail… and a drink was not what popped into my mind.

Ski Day 7 (Friday February 14, 2025):

I think we were all a little surprised when we opened the blinds the next morning.

We were even more surprised when we went out to shovel thinking maybe 3 inches had fallen… and realized we already had at least 6-7 inches. We decided God was showing us HIS love for Valentine’s Day. We had to do a little work before we could get going. Then Howard had to really work driving in all that. But I think we were all pretty excited the area was getting the snow it needed so badly.

Looking at the snow reports… we decided to head for Powderhorn Resort up on the Grand Mesa. We were hoping conditions there would be good… while we hoped Sunlight would continue to get more before tomorrow. We were not disappointed!

The drive was pretty sloppy. As we headed down river the elevation steadily decreased. Soon it was alternating between snow and rain. But as we headed up out of the river valley and onto the higher elevation of the mesa… it switched back to a steady snow.

The parking lots were already full… so we had to park on the road… but the hike to the lodge was not really any further than yesterday. Getting geared up to ski is always a guessing game. How warm/cold? How windy? How wet? And you have to consider the order in which you layer up. Then comes the walk in all that gear carrying skis and poles. But before long...

Lift tickets are purchased… last minute gear checks done… click into the skis… and push off with the poles to glide into the lift line… and wheeeeeeee!

Powderhorn Trail Map

We had quite a variety of weather this day. It snowed off and on all day… sometimes light… sometimes quite heavy. Sometimes the wind was blowing… sometimes it was pretty still. But everywhere we went… we had great snow. We focused mainly on the blue runs on the east side in the morning. I opted to head in a run early to see if I could find us a table for lunch. Then in the afternoon we cut across to the west… but still focused on the blue runs. None of us were really paying attention to time… until we got on the lift and realized they were just about to shut the west side down. You have to be careful here… because if you ski down to the west side lift after they shut it down… you have to hike over to the lodge. We were one of the last on. So we had no choice at this point to head back to the east side. By the time we got over there… that lift was shut down too. So it was time to go home. I don’t think any of us realized the afternoon was wrapping up as quick as it did. I took that as a sign it had been another great day!    

 The weather continued to shift and change as we popped skis off and headed for the truck. We had seen strange cloud formations all day. At times the clouds seemed to be below us hugging the valley floor. Then we seemed to be skiing in the clouds. And at other times the clouds were overhead often dumping snow. As we left the clouds seemed to be hugging the mesa rim. We headed back taking the De Beque Cutoff. A rather curvy, winding road... through some interesting spires and rock formations. We saw quite a few mule deer… and the strange colors of some of the sediment layers in the bluffs along this road really made a cool contrast with all the bright white snow.

Once again I was beat… but feeling pretty good. I had even stayed on the skis all day (well most of the day). This kind of tired is always a really good kind of tired. We stopped in Rifle for dinner to see if we could get into Rib City on Valentines. We all got something different… and all seemed to enjoy what we got. The food is always good here… but as hungry as we were… it tasted extra special!  

We all checked ski reports to see how much snow Sunlight got. It sounded like they got nearly 15 inches… and expected more overnight. That seemed to make the decision easy for the next day. Sunlight got what I figured they needed and then some. We were all excited about even more fresh snow to ski in tomorrow!

Ski Day 8 (Saturday February 15, 2025):

In the morning… we only shoveled a couple inches off the drive in Silt. But it sounded like Sunlight got quite a bit overnight… with more coming today. We were all anxious to get there… so we decided to grab some breakfast sandwiches on the way. If in Glenwood Springs… Sweet Coloradough makes some great stuff.

Sunlight Mountain was hoping on a weekend with fresh snow. We ended up parking way down in a lower lot that I had never parked in before. But they had an old Toyota Jeep with wheel chains… pulling a flat bed trailer with old lift chairs mounted on it… to serve as a shuttle. We opted to take advantage of this over walking up too many flights of stairs.

We rode up to the lodge… got our lift tickets… hopped on the lift… and headed up the hill. It kept snowing most of the day. Things kind of started to run together by the weekend. But I think this was the day I seemed to struggle a fair bit. I tend to do that when the snow gets really deep. I still had a good time… but I kept finding myself on my back… instead of on my skis.

I don’t think I can blame it on the runs. They were really not any steeper. I just think I let myself get freaked out by the deep snow and the big piles of it. Confident/disciplined skiers pick a path through the piles… using the piles to make good turns to manage their speed… and they don’t let themselves get freaked out by a little speed. I on the other hand would try to pick a path… but often would not make the turns I intended. As soon as I started picking up much speed I got nervous… and would end up cutting across the run… and over/through those big piles. Then I would either try to force/rush a turn and drag an inside ski tip (spinning then tumbling)… or get my weight too far back as I bounced over one of the big bumps (ending up with my butt in the snow and skis in the air). I did get some good practice getting up!

Some runs I stayed cool and did OK. Other runs I got uptight… then found myself having to get back up. I think it was a run called Dawson where I fell at least 5-6 times. By noon I had nearly worn myself out. My last run of the morning we headed out to Beaujolais. The top is steep and narrow and I got nervous… tied myself up… and fell before I even got a good start. So I got up… sucked it up… and took my time making my turns… one turn at a time. The run got wider the further down we went… which helped me not rush the turns. But there were a lot of spots the snow was at or over my knees… and I could not see my skis. But I kept going… stopping to catch my breath as needed. As we neared the bottom of the upper half of this run… Howard reminded me Grizzly Road (green run) cut across just below where we were… and I could take it if I did not want to do the lower half… then meet them at the Primo lift. I took the chance to tell him and Aaron to hit the lift… and I would hit the lodge and find us a table for lunch by the time they made another run or two.  

As I got down and headed toward the lift… I saw Howard’s sweater getting on the chair… so I stopped to snap a couple pics as they soared over. Then I headed into the lodge to see if I could grab a table as another group got up. On this particular day I found a spot at a table with a young couple. Once I caught my breath and relaxed a bit… of course I started talking. They mentioned they lived in New Castle… so I asked if they knew any Mc Neels. She said “You mean like Bud?”. I said yes… Bud is my cousin. I asked if she knew Annie (Bud and Carrol’s daughter). She said yes… they were good friends… and mentioned how nice Annie and Grant’s wedding was. I agreed and mentioned I was there too. About that time Howard and Aaron walked in. Howard recognized her maiden name (Talbott) as a family that had owned the hardware store in town for decades. She mentioned they sold it and her folks had retired on a ranch up one of the creeks above New Castle. She ended up texting Annie to tell her who she was having lunch with. Small World!

After lunch I seemed to do better… not great… but a little better at least. One thing I can say I struggled with on this day… was my glasses fogging up. I think the deeper snow made me work a little harder… and breath a little harder… so if I did not keep moving to have air flow… my glasses would fog inside my googles. Once I realized it was just my glasses… and not my googles… I decided I had to try my contacts instead of glasses for my last day.

 We met my cousin Bud and his wife Carroll for dinner in New Castle that night. We’d hopped Jackie and Alvie would join us too. But they said they were celebrating a late Valentines day… since none of the grandkids were there. We joked about stopping by their place to honk horns… and flash lights. But then we recalled Alvie is pretty well armed. Bud said he would worry more about the fact he is a really good shot. We opted not to bother them. Then we learned later Bud had called Alvie to warn him we might come by. So Alvie apparently had a welcome surprise waiting for us… and we failed to show. After learning that I think we all kind of regretted not stopping by to see the show.

When we got back to Howard’s… I noticed the moon coming up.  

Ski Day 9 (Sunday February 16, 2025):

The next morning the sun came up almost the same place.

I cannot imagine a better chapel/sanctuary in which to worship and glorify God!

His amazing creation simply cannot be illustrated any better than by the snow covered mountains and valleys of Colorado. That is Mount Sopris in the background. It is not one of the taller mountains… but it is one of the more majestic.

We got more snow… and had more fun on this… my last day. I couldn’t help but be thankful and appreciative for the blessing of family and friends… the most incredible setting… and some of the best conditions I have ever experienced. Maybe that helped me settle down as I seemed to do better than the day before.

As I recall I did take one pretty good tumble. I dragged a tip coming over the lip of a fairly steep drop. So I fell forward and found myself sliding head first… trying to figure out how to get stopped. I nearly stopped once… but was still head first… and when I tried to wriggle around to get my skis under me… I started sliding again. Eventually I did get spun around… and was able to dig my skis in to stop the slide… and position myself to get up. Howard and Aaron were kind enough to point out the idea is to stay on the skis… and to keep the skis on the snow. And that it was rarely a good idea to end up using your helmet as a snow plow. What would we do without the loving advice of friends?

We talked somebody into snaping this picture at the top of the mountain… one of my last runs on my last day. What a great time!  

I think Howard and Aaron caught the lift on more time after this… but if they had waited for me the lift would have been closed. So, I snapped a pic sitting at the bottom of the hill… trying to recover enough energy to get back to the truck to head for dinner.

Aaron had ridden the chair up with a guy that is a manger at a restaurant in Glenwood Springs called the Pullman. He talked it up enough we decided we had to try it. We called to see if reservations were needed… and they said not if we were OK sitting at the bar if seats were available… otherwise we could get reservations for 8:30. We did not want to wait that long… so Howard dropped Aaron and I at the door to see if there were any spots open at the bar… and wouldn’t you know it… there were three. We sat down and there was a nice young couple next to us… but they had reservations and were soon seated at a table. Another young couple came and sat down… and Aaron apologized ahead of time and said we had run the previous couple off… and he was sorry if we ran them off two. The guy looked back at Aaron and said… I accept the challenge. Then his girl friend leaned over and said yeah… let’s just see who runs who off! We had a lot of fun with them! The food really was great. The staff took great care of us. And since we had our food and were already eating when they sat down… we finished and said goodbye. She leaned over again and said see… we win… we ran you off! And so they did.

I hated to leave in the morning… but I eventually had to get back to earning a living. So I tried to get cleaned up and packed up after dinner. Howard was a little nervous about the forecast for the next day. He and Aaron were planning to run to Breckenridge to meet one of Howard’s old co-workers. And I had to drive right by there headed up to the tunnel under the continental divide. And they were forecasting a lot of snow for the area.

Drive Back Day 10 (Monday February 17, 2025):

In the morning I pulled out just ahead of them. Except I headed to Jackie’s to have coffee and to say bye and thanks… while giving the road crews a little time to get the roads plowed. Howard sent some rather ominous observations about the conditions they were experiencing in route east to Breckenridge. It sounded like his friend Don was having a similar sloppy experience heading west from Denver toward Breckenridge to meet them. As I was figuring they should be getting a handle on the roads… and getting ready to head east… Howard texted to say if they had not arranged to meet Don… he probably would turn around. But I figured they were on roads ahead of the plows… and surely by the time I got there the plows would have things improved.

Then as I was heading up Vail pass… I get a text I-70 is closed at Silverthorn (just below the climb up to the tunnel). Now I begin to wonder. But surely I-70 can’t remain closed for too long? I knew in reality… rock slides or avalanches can keep it closed for days. But surely this was just a temporary closer due to an accident in the snowy conditions? So I continued on… watching the traffic reports. I saw reports the Loveland pass was closed so no one could go up over the top… but nothing said the tunnel under it was closed. So I opted to keep rolling. The roads were not great… but they were better than Howard had described. So road crews were making progress.

But the closer I got to Silverthorne… the more nervous I got. Both the conditions and the traffic seemed to be getting worse. I went past Copper Mountain… Frisco (the turn off for Breckenridge)… and things slowed steadily… I could see congestion ahead as I hit Silverthorne. There was an accident in the west bound lanes that had that side blocked. They were routing traffic off and around that section of road. East bound still seemed open… but I soon found myself stopped as the road started to climb to the tunnel. Luckily the halt was not long… but this was now bumper to bumper… stop and go traffic. And looking up the valley… it was clear this was going to take a while. At least it appeared I would get through eventually.

I got more worried about half way up to the tunnel… as our east bound lanes slowed to a stop. Pretty soon I noticed there was no traffic west bound. Had they closed the road? Then  I saw a whole bunch of fuel/tanker trucks headed west bound. It finally dawned on me the pass was closed so hazardous material trucks could not go up and over as usual. They were having to share the tunnel. So they appeared to be holding them in a parking lot… then periodically stopping the regular traffic and letting them clear the tunnel. Then the allowed the trucks with hazardous materials to pass through the tunnel… while the rest of us waited. Once all the hazardous material trucks had made it through… and the tunnel was opened back up to normal traffic. As our lanes started moving… I saw a lot of jostling… and realized one of the cars in our lane was not able to get going again. But people were good about letting us get over and around.

Eventually… I saw the tunnel. Traffic seemed to pick up after merging and entering the tunnel. The steep downhill on the other side got us rolling along pretty good… but conditions were still messy… causing some vehicles to slow way down with flashers on. Some of them nearly got run over… especially if they did that in the left lane. Luckily there was no vehicle pinball and we all managed to move along pretty good most of the way to Denver.

As excited as I get when I see the mountains heading into them… all the opposite emotions well up as I top that last ridge and look out over Denver and the plains beyond. I respect the plains and all they offer. They are our nations bread basket… and I have lived a good life on them. But I have always felt a draw toward the majesty and mystique of the rockies.  Unfortunately, they disappear from the rearview mirror as I headed out… just as fast as they appeared on the horizon when headed in.

Maybe this transition into and out of the mountains is one of the reasons I would almost rather drive than fly. If it just weren’t for the long hours through eastern Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and finally Michigan… it wouldn’t be so bad! Honestly, every corner of God’s creation has it own charms. Unfortunately, I delt with a lot more slick, snowy conditions headed home… than I did on the way out. Plus the temperature just kept dropping the further I went into the plains. Eventually it dipped below 0 (Fahrenheit, -18 C)… and just kept dropping.

I decided to stop for the night after getting through Omaha, Nebraska and on to Avoca, Iowa. As I climbed out of the truck it was -4F.

Drive Back Day 11 (Tuesday February 18, 2025):

The next morning as I climber in the truck it was -12F (that’s -24C). I was sure glad my heater worked! As I drove, Howard and Aaron were sending me pictures of their last day skiing… just to rub it in. Karma got them back though as more flight delays Wednesday had them spend another night in Dallas.

I still had to be careful as there was still snow blowing across the road. At least it was not blowing as hard as the night before. I found a good station on the radio… and sang and played my harmonica to help the hours pass (I stink on both accounts… but who cares when nobody else can hear you? Loud and Proud!!).

I stopped to visit my sister Melody and brother in-law Dewey in Joliet, Illinois. Then stopped to have dinner with Amie and James again in Portage, Michigan. There was a little lake effect snow on the east side of Lake Michigan… but it was not bad. Jesse called me to get an ETA… and asked me to hit Taco Bell for him as I came through Holly. Man did it feel good to pull in the drive… and know a friendly face… and warm familiar bed waited inside.

I sent a text to let everybody know I was tucked in safe. Told everyone thanks for putting up with me. And said a little prayer of thanks for such a blessed adventure!    

Reunion Formula…

Reunion Formula (Beens + Brews + Bites + Babes + Blues = Till Next Time)

I got to spend an evening with two of my oldest friends recently. I went through so much with these two during the earlier years of our lives. What a blessing to see them again after so long. We shared so many… interesting experiences growing up. That I cannot begin to share them.

But the reunion was so special I thought I might share just a few observations about such reunions in general. Of course there is no way to make up for years of separation in such a short time. But we always have to find a place to start.

Thing usually start with the “beens”… How have you been? Where have you been? How long has it been? Has it really been that long? What have you been doin? Who have you been doin it with? How have they been?

The beens can go on and on… and often tend to spread or feed on another. I have been great! How have you been? I’ve been in Michigan. Have you been round here? Oh wow… you’ve been there?!?

I don’t think the beens ever really end. They seem to run on and resurface throughout the night!

The beens are never through when the next part of the formula is typically introduced. Brews…

Would you like something to drink? Some feel the brews must be alcoholic… but that certainly does not have to be the case. One can always brew some tea or brew some coffee. It is truly hard to beat a glass of iced tea with some good company. I find most of the time the libations are primarily just to keep the mouth from drying out too much from talking and laughing.

And Brews are often followed very closely with Bites…

Want a bite to eat? Oh you have got to try this… (fill in the blank). Food is certainly not required… but like the brews they tend to get introduced to the mix at some point.

The next element comes in more flavors than the previous two. Babes…

For guys… the first Babe thrown into the mix is usually the wife/wives/significant others. Of course the order changes significantly if the Babes are physically present in the mix. But either way… both men and women end up talking a great deal about partners on such occasions.

The next flavor of Babes to be brought into the mix… is usually the kids. How is your son? How is your daughter? Do you have… how many do you have? How old are they? What are they up to? This can tend to dominate conversations for some time. Our kids are such an important part of our lives that we often share extensively about our journey as parents… grandparents.

And then there are the more adventurous flavors of babes from the past… that can sometimes also be babes of the current/future as well. Hey… “do you remember that chick that used to dance a lot? Every night she’d be shaken what she’s got. Man… when I tell you she was cool… she was red hot… I mean she was steamin”… Thin Lizzy… The Boys Are Back In Town.

It is hard to talk about old times… without old flames coming up in the mix. This can especially be the case for widowers and divorcees. But let’s face it… first loves… or just early subjects of adoration… create some strong memories. And talking about old times… with old friends… has a tendency to bring those memories back to mind. This does not need to be dirty or dangerous in any way. We all have those “memories” or “what-ifs” that typically remain as just that. But it sure can be fun to go back and visit. And with all the social media options… it can be fun to do a little “Where are they… what are they…how do they look…Now”?

And of course Babes… often lead to Blues…

Of course… there are many flavors of the blues as well. Sometimes the blues simply takes the form of reminiscing… or may even evolve into some happy/pleasant romanticizing! Of course there are also the more traditional blues… focusing on hard times… or difficult memories.

These can even become emotional for many. Again those emotions can be happy… just as they can be sad. And for most… THEY ARE BOTH! As a divorcee… I still share some very happy stories… although there is also a mix of others as well. I think for the widower…the swings can be even more extreme.

It is often really hard to look back on something that was so wonderful… that is no more… and can never be again (at least not in this life). These emotional scars are often as deep… or deeper than any physical injury can cause.

We all just pray we find ways to learn to live with this mix… somehow holding onto and celebrating the positive! While also accepting and dealing with the negative… in a positive way. Anybody got the magic balm for this? My personal poultice… is to apply a healthy dose of Faith… to feel the Trust and Hope that emanate from that faith.

Our evening… like so many blues tunes… helped us explore those difficult memories/times… while casting the warm light of love and friendship upon them… helping things to wrap up on a positive note!

There were so many wonderful times we have shared together. And even though we all face the physical/mental challenges of growing old. I think the consensus was… we still have some good times ahead.

Eventually the “beens” had been mixed with too many brews…and the bite of the babes and blues were shared/exchanged. We all transitioned back into the here and now… to look ahead at tomorrow… and Until Next Time!

I wouldn’t trade a night reminiscing with those dear friends for anything. Catching up on the Good the Bad and the Ugly… does a lot for my soul.

I regret not being able to catch up with more of my old friends… but what a blessing to catch up with those I could.

Hope this finds you spending time with those dear to you! I pray the spirit helps you appreciate that time… regardless of any difficult exchanges… knowing what a blessing we truly can be to one another! And if you do find yourself no longer able to be physically present with those dear to you… remember there will be a glorious reunion… somewhere in the days to come! See if my formula can be proven… or correct as you see fit!

Winter Whining (Blues and Beauty… or maybe… Johnny’s Rant!)

Sorry Folks… this post is as volatile as wind… and long as a northern winter… so if you dare…

I have been working on some projects around the house… and found myself… conflicted… a bit by things. As usual for me… nothing major… but I went through some rather different experiences that had me wondering. Winter weather often adds to challenges.

One… I am working on making a cargo area cover for my canoe. We are seriously considering some extended paddling trips next year and beyond. So, I decided having a way to keep rain/splash/sun off all the gear we would need stowed in the canoe during each day’s jaunt… would be nice to have. There are some nice options for this available on the market… but they are expensive. So, I decided to see if I could make one tailored more to my desire… at a cost better tailored to my budget.

The whining started when my outdoor project… was interrupted by the weather. The cover was not too tough to move inside to work and stay warm. Getting my 17’ canoe inside was a bit more challenging… but doable!

As I am working on my old canoe… I again get curious regarding who made this thing and when. I bought it used in I think 1986 in the Detroit metro area. I had an apartment on a little lake… in an area full of lakes and rivers… and I always enjoyed paddling. So, when I saw a canoe that seemed to align to my desire and budget… I bought it. I remember looking the thing over and finding it to be well built. But there were no brand markings on it. I asked the seller if he knew the history. He said it was second hand to him… so he was not sure… but he thought it was originally purchased from Sears… but he was not sure when. I figured I could find out more if I ever really wanted to from the serial number and model listed on a plate that provided the only label of any kind on the thing.

So here I am almost 40 years later… still a little curious about who manufactured this thing and when. I went online and was surprised at the number of threads I found in various places with the same question I had.

• I have this canoe with the only identifying label being…

• Can anyone help me figure out who made this thing?   

Followed by a flurry of responses… full of speculation… but no concrete resolution.

Many of the threads mentioned Sears… and how they had most things they sold manufactured by different companies over the years. One referenced a website (https://christmas.musetechnical.com/) where you can view old Sears catalogs. I found catalog entries that convinced me my canoe was indeed marketed by Sears… and even helped me narrow the time frame of purchase to somewhere in the late 60’s… probably early 70’s… based on entries like…

And from 1970… https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1970-Sears-Spring-Summer-Catalog/0522

But I still was not sure who made it or when.

Most of the threads referenced using the hull number (like a vin for boats) to determine the manufacturer and further details on when/where it was made. Problem is… if my boat ever had a hull id number on it… it was long gone before I bought it. So I speculate it may have been made before the current hull id requirements came to be. But I also know the way the hull id is affixed to the kayaks I have purchased… they can come off and be lost all to easily. So the model and serial number are still all I have to go on.

A few of the threads also referenced websites where you could look up product serial numbers from various manufacturers to get a definitive answer on where/when it was made. Problem is… you need to know who made it to check their listings. I started checking some and was able to rule out a number of possible manufacturers based on the physical characteristics from images they had on these sites… that differed significantly from the boat I have. The webbed seats being a significant differentiator.

• I even found one website with a form you could fill out… and they will help you try to pin down the details I was curious about (https://www.mydealeredge.com/de/boat-identification-request). Turns out this site is provided by Starcraft… a very popular boat manufacturer. Turns out most of their canoes were made/marketed as Smoker Craft brand. They were extremely helpful… going above and beyond to try and help me. But in the end… all they could do was confirm they did not make my boat… and suggest it was most likely made by AeroCraft. AeroCraft was one of the few manufacturers using webbed seats like the ones in my boat.

• Problem is the AeroCraft site I found (https://www.aerocraft-boats.org/specs_by_model.html) … shows serial numbers following a different pattern than the one on my boat. So I suspect the site only covers those made to be marketed as AeroCraft… and not necessarily those made to be marketed by others (like Sears). I am pretty confident this company made my boat… but without being able to decipher/find the serial number… I cannot be sure if or when.

 So, while I gained some additional insights from my inquiries… in the end the trail grew as cold as the weather outside.

It was nice to see some companies (like Starcraft/Smoker Craft) still provide these types of customer service to look into the history… and take time to answer customer (even potential customer) questions! Very few companies are willing to provide that kind of service/support these days. I would sure like more companies to recognize there is real value in providing that type of service.

At least I was able to complete the work I needed to without freezing. Of course… once I was done… it started warming back up a bit outside. Not that it got warm… but at least warm enough to hang some Christmas lights. How many people love doing that? I have to admit… I do love the result! The task it’s self… not so much.

And speaking of products… and customer service… (pull out the soap box)… when did we transition from a society that takes pride in what we produce (like my canoe… quality, durability, useability, service)… to considering everything as disposable??? Christmas lights are a prime example of the shift!

Some might blame Sam Walton (Wal-Mart guy)… or others like him. But in the end… in our society… it is the consumer that drives the market. And I have to admit I do let the price affect my choices. I used to look for the “Made in USA” label… and was willing to pay a little more for it. But when that became almost impossible to find… deciding if the higher price translated into a better product became difficult. Even the brand name has come to be a rather undependable quality indicator in many industries.

Last year I had some of my old light strings finally showing their age. While they are not all that old… it seemed each year I would plug them in… one section would light… another would not. Or the whole thing would be dead. But it seemed I could usually assume… if the whole thing is dead… the fuse was blown. Replace the fuse. Then if only part of thing string was working… shake the hell out of it… and half the time the rest would come on. The other half… other sections would go out. And sometimes I spent way too much time replacing bulbs until I found the one that was blown… or just not seated right… and Walla… lights! But last year I bought a couple new strands to patch/fill where I could not get some of the old strings to work.

This year I pull them out… plug them in. Most of the old strands are still “partially” working. None of the new strands were working. So check fuses. Each plug now has two tiny little fuses. They are harder than hell to get out… and nearly impossible to look at and see if they work. So pull out the conductivity tester. Fuses appear fine. Now try getting those tiny little fuses shoved back into the plug… praying you are getting them to seat right… plug it back in… and NOTHIN!!! This is the down side to “price” shopping… Who can make it the cheapest… the fastest? Nobody cares how long they last. Nobody cares if they are serviceable. No body services anything anyway! Throw them away and go buy MORE… of the cheapest… fastest made crap!

I finally realize it is time to give up on the old… lights. Even though I really liked their warm incandescent light effect. Of course… now all you can find are these harsh… glaring… LEDs. As if my Christmas lights are really contributing to global warming! Thanks all you “Climate Action Now” people! Actually… as an Eagle Scout… I do care greatly about the earth and climate. But I do think so many have jumped on this renewable/sustainable… cow fart filtering … pendulum… that it has swung way too far… and the technology is just not quite there to back some of it up. While this movement is pushing some of those technologies ahead… I fear we are not giving adequate time to shake them all out. And I worry about the ultimate cost of trying to push them ahead… before even really knowing the long-term cost of doing so?!?  

OK… OK… take a breath… innn…. outttt…. innnn…. outtttt (put the soap box away).

Pay no attention to the old man wondering around… talking to himself… grumbling and fretting under his breath. He is of no real danger to anyone. He is just lost in this new “disposable” culture. Having spent his entire life working in a “service” based industry… He feels rather like the prairie cowboy near the beginning of the 19th century. Old… out of place… wondering how these new fangled automobiles can ever take the place of a good horse!?!?

So… I go buy all new lights for the gutters… and the tree… ignore the price… and resign myself to adjusting to the LED glare… instead of the incandescent glow. And I appreciate the day with a little sunshine… and no biting wind to get some decorations out. Ahhhh…..

Even the poor old angel just could not bring herself to light up after bout 30 some years of service (sigh). So even she is new this year. I don’t even want to think about how much of all this will work next year?!? For now… it’s all shiny and bright!

Of course the day after I got the lights hung… it started turning cold again. I love winter… but single digit Fahrenheit… is a little chilly even for my blood. But there is something beautiful about the crisp cold nights. The almost eerie silence… (until you get near a lake with migrating water fowl). Watching your breath and every other drop of moisture freeze and fall from the air. The way snow seems to muffle and absorb sound making things so still and silent… other than the crisp crunch of the snow beneath your feet. The way the ice in the air seems to filter and scatter the light… much like the sound. Winter has a rather stark beauty all it’s own…. kind of like a barren dessert landscape. It may not be for everyone… but the discerning eye and other senses… see it just the same.

If you did bother to read this… and were never worried about me before… I bet you are now! But don’t be. I have been blessed with a sense of peace that… while it can get tossed in the air like leaves… it quickly settles too. It is founded in a trust and faith that cannot be blown away by even the strongest winter breeze. I pray all of you… my friends and family… can say the same!!!

Fall Invigoration… inspiration!

I am not sure why I have always loved fall so much? Maybe it is the cooler temperatures… or the vibrant colors? They do seem to stimulate… invigorate me. Or maybe it is a sense of urgency… excitement… to get to all those things I have not yet done… that I cannot do during winter… that I do not want to put off to next year. Whatever it is (cider and donuts?)… there is something about fall that gets me… maybe just a bit more/differently than the other seasons. I do love all four… but Fall has always been a bit special to me.

At the same time… Fall is also a season that seems prime for reflection. Looking back on a great spring/summer! Getting adjusted to the idea of those brisk winter days just around the corner! Sometimes I may experience a little melancholy during such reflection. But overall… I tend to find them inspirational… uplifting!

I have so many memories of driving, walking, peddling, paddling through the tunnels of brilliant colors… over the carpet of fallen leaves… having them stirred up and flying around in the breeze like glitter! Add to that the backdrop of a huge harvest moon rising… punctuated by the smell of a campfire… not to mention the aroma of a little cinnamon schnapps or fireball whisky in that aforementioned cider or coffee… warmed by that fire. The feel of your favorite old flannel shirt… sweatshirt… sweater… as you cuddle up by that fire in the cooling evening air.

The parallel of the seasons of the year… to the seasons of life… just cannot seem to be missed during such reflection. The irony of dealing with all the change… at the same time you recognize the patterns and consistency… that provide a strong anchor or stabilizing effect. Watching the dippers spin in the northern sky… as the summer constellations slip over the Western horizon… and the winter constellations start to rise in the East. Today… I cannot help but see God’s hand in HIS spectacular creation!

Hiking in Colorado this summer reminded me of a time… where I struggled some with my faith. I was raised in the church and taught of God and HIS ways throughout my life. But like so many I went through those rebellious teenage years… looking for excuses to cast aside what I saw then as the shackles of such beliefs. I wanted to be free… and in control.

Most of my Sunday School teachers had what I would call an open interpretation of the Bible… meaning they did not claim to have all the answers… and suggested we needed to let the Holy Spirit guide/direct our interpretations.

However, I recall one that had what I call a more literal interpretation approach. Meaning he did not feel we should try to interpret… only accept what it says… as it says it. Along these lines of interpretation… he believed we can tell almost exactly how old the earth is… through the timelines laid out in the Bible. Six days of creation… plus the years of who begat who… and the earth is clearly only about 5K year old.

Even at that time… I could see so many potential flaws in this “young earth” perspective. I knew of Bible passages that indicated the short sightedness of this outlook. Not that I doubt it could have been done in that time… but my experience tells me God tends to work within the natural laws at the foundation of this creation. He tends to plant the seeds… rather than conjure plants.

Yet I tried to use this teachers outlook… along with my desire to dismiss much of what I had been taught. Trying to rationalize that the Bible and it’s teachings are clearly not in line with the geology and other sciences evidence that the earth is much older. I tried to extrapolate that to convince myself the Bible cannot be trusted.

I am so glad our God is a loving, caring, forgiving God. I tried to dismiss HIM that easily… but HE would not let me go. I spent years trying to convince myself… I had come to see the flaws in this archaic system of beliefs. I even tried to convince myself I was only looking further… to find more clear evidence to support my realization… as God patiently drew me into HIS word. Only to find (like so many others) the harder you look… the better you get to know this word… the more the gaps in understanding evaporate… as the clarity of wisdom and truth seep through. Like the brilliance of a sunset or sunrise beaming under, around and through the clouds. Even illuminating the very clouds trying to shadow the light… bringing them into the beauty that is.   

I hope if you have doubts… you never stop trying to find the faults of the Word. But do not be satisfied with hearing what others say. Dig into the word for yourself… so you can uncover the flaws… and you will. Just not where you expect them to be!

If you’d rather not… that’s OK. But at least enjoy the beauty of this season as it is. Appreciate the invigoration… inspiration… it provides. Hold on to the peace… our little piece of the cosmos provides!

Colorado Hiking - Mud and Memories

Someone recently suggested I rename this… the grinning goober(s) page. Where did they get that?!?!

Howard and I wanted to do some more hiking this year (2024). We talked about it while exploring Pictured Rocks in Michigan last year.

We considered a number of options… but kept leaning toward something out West. We have family in Colorado (Glenwood Springs, New Castle, Silt, Rifle… area). Howard has done some of the 14’ers out there… but we both had doubts I was ready for something like that.

We talked about a variety of trail options but kept wondering about how well I might acclimate to the altitude we would hit on some of them… especially carrying much gear. So we opted for a variety of day hikes… just to see how I might do.

If you are curious to find out… I cover it in what some might find to be excruciating detail in the linked pdf below. But… you can always skim… and there are lots of pictures.

Read More about Colorado - Mud and Memories

I noticed the video file… I had in the original… does not seem to work from the pdf… so I added it here also.

Fortune in a cookie?

I do enjoy… seeing what pre-printed… mass distributed… little words of wisdom… are randomly selected and thrown in with my Chinese Dinner. Not to mention there is a 50/50 chance on what I get… vs what Jesse gets! I took this one as a challenge. Something fun… singular?… we’ll see about that!

I got off on a bit of a rocky start as the Friday night weather was not the best. A storm rolled through and cooled things down considerably. So… I took a typical walk…but in the cool evening air… and was glad I slipped on another thin layer over my t-shirt and shorts. So now the pressure was on for real fun!

Maybe it wasn’t fun… but I sure enjoyed sleeping in Saturday morning. I was up once… but the cool air convinced me to curl back up under the covers… and I guess I needed the sleep. So… when I finally did get up… I fixed up a mess of biscuits and gravy. Again… not necessarily fun… but very enjoyable! But after some chores… it was time to have some fun… what to do… what to do?

It was quite cool (high of 60 F… slight breeze making it feel even cooler… but no rain)… perfect day for a good hike! So I tossed a few things in my day pack… filled my water bladder… and was off to the Holly Recreation Area. There is a series of trails through the park that make a nice 10 mile jaunt when combined right. I parked in a lot off the road between marker 24 and 19… then headed to 19, 18, 17, 16, 11, 10, then took a left 14, 15, 1… back around to 10, 11, 12, and back down to 19, 20, and on around past 24 and finished where I parked the truck.

To say the weather was nice… is a major understatement! After the hotter summer temps we have been having… these cooler temps were a blessing doing a more vigorous hike. I had messed around the house long enough to put myself in a bit of a crunch to finish my hike before dark. So I tried keeping a pretty good pace going. Normally the water drawn out of my water bladder… into the drinking tube gets warm before I take another sip. On this day… the cooler air chilled the water in the tube… making each sip that much more refreshing. This was especially nice as the sun was headed down fast as I rounded the lower loop. This is when I would normally be getting tired and slowing down. I did slow some… but could not slow much as it would be getting dark before long. I averaged about 2.5 mph… finishing at sunset. Perfect timing!

I headed home for dinner to enjoy the result of one chore… which was to stick a roast in the slow cooker to have shredded beef and potatoes ready when I got home. As I was finishing dinner… I heard a racket outside… sounding like fireworks. I stuck my head out the door… and sure enough. There was a little fireworks show going on downtown for Holly Days. And about the time they stopped… I heard a band crank back up downtown… playing some old rock and roll. A beer tent… with live music… what’s more fun than that?

So… slip on some boots, jeans and a shirt… and walk downtown to catch the last part of the show! I am honestly not sure which was more fun. The band was pretty good… and played some tunes I really liked. But I think the real show was on the dance floor. Seems there were a number of people around feeling the need to cut loose (wonder if some of them had Chinese… and got the same fortune?). I decided to keep a safe distance… and enjoy the scene as a casual observer. After my hike I did not have the energy to jump in. Which was probably a good thing… as there was some trouble dancing around I did not need to be part of! A couple drinks and laughs later… the band and fun were ramping down… so I headed home.

I did not sleep in as long Sunday so I could get cleaned up for church. Always nice to hear the good Word… see friendly faces… and sing praises! After church I ran home to get a couple more chores done… then figure out how to have some more fun! The high was supposed to be about 70F… not too much breeze… perfect paddling weather.

I set my sights on a stretch of the river I have not been on in some time. I dropped in at Shiatown Park… which used to be the location of the Shiatown Dam and reservoir. The first time I covered this stretch… all the maps and photos still showed the dam and reservoir intact. To my surprise… I arrived to a fairly recently blown dam… and instead of a flat pond to paddle up through… I faced a fairly steady drop where the river had freshly cut a new path through layers of silt that had built up in the pond over the decades. The river now drops steadily… about the height of the old dam… between where the river used to flow into the reservoir… and then exit at the dams spillway.

At least this time I knew I would have a fairly long steady paddle up through the mile or so of old reservoir bottom… then on up the 5 miles of river channel to my destination Geeck Rd Park (about 6 river miles each way). Going up river did not offer many breaks on this stretch. But this is sometimes better than periods of slower current… broken up by stretches of faster water and steeper climbs that can nearly exhaust you. So… slow and steady was the game.  At first I did not realize the recent storm had the river up a foot or more. But after not encountering many real shallow spots… I began to suspect that was the case. I remember a few spots I had to speed up paddling to get up through… but I only remember one where I nearly stalled at the cusp of the climb.

I cannot explain the physics… or if my observation is maybe a complete illusion. But I swear you can come up through a stretch where the river is dropping… and progress pretty steadily… but the cusp at the very top of that drop… seems to be where the water is moving the fastest. Maybe it is just the effect of getting tired from the sustained push. But I have regularly observed a significant need to boost the power… just where the flat above… transitions to the fall below. I seem to regularly experience a stall in forward progress at that point… even when continuing to paddle steadily… requiring an extra boost of energy to get up through that last bit… and safely into the flat above. If you pause and rest too soon… you can quickly be sucked back over that cusp. So you have to put in that final push until you feel your forward momentum accelerate indicating you are beyond that point where the water tension gives way… and the drop really begins.

Anyway… my suspicion the water was up… was confirmed when I got to the Geeck Rd launch. Most of it  was under water now. Last time I put in here… most of the ramp was above water and dry. I think the cooler temps had river traffic down… as I only saw a couple of fisherman early in my up river run… and a family pulling out at the Geeck Rd launch as I arrived. I have to admit… I was getting pretty tired when I finally got to that launch. I must have looked it to… as the father of the family said… you chose the wrong direction to paddle. To which I responded yeah… I finally figured that out… so I guess I’ll turn around and head back.

I did take a moment to rest… have a snack… and hydrate. I didn’t even bother to get out and stretch my legs. I just sat there and watched the poor fellow drag his daughter, then wife, then mother (in-law)? up the ramp to where they could get out on dry ground. I was afraid to say anything suggesting age as I have gotten myself in trouble there before. But the daughter jumped out and was doing cartwheels… while the older woman struggled to get out of her kayak like I do. I suggested she just stay there and see if he would load her in the truck as is. She did chuckle… as she built up the energy to crawl out. And she smiled instead of hitting me with her paddle once she did… so I don’t think I crossed any of the lines I sometimes do.   

I had started out a little before 4 pm… got here just after 6pm. The chart shows this as a 1 hr and 45 minute down river run. I had taken a little over 2… maybe 2.5 hrs to cover it against the current so I was pretty sure I had plenty of daylight to make it back. I rested maybe 20-30 minutes… then pushed back into the river. Just over an hour later I pulled the boat out and loaded it up back at Shiatown. About 2.4 mph against the current… and about 4.8 mph with the current.

The trip back was pretty uneventful. Sometimes I really have to scout things out on the way up… to avoid obstacles… that can be hard to see in fading light. But with plenty of water and not too many trees down, big rocks, or sand/gravel bars to avoid… I made it look easy… though I was feeling the workout. Along with the cooler temps… some of the trees along the river were already showing a hint of fall color.

Some trees showed more color than this… and even this was brighter earlier with more direct light. But fall is nearly here.

We had some pizza for dinner… but the fall like weather had me hankering for something else… so I found an oatmeal cookie recipe I had most of the ingredients for. I substituted some blueberries from the fridge for raisins. The recipe called for both baking powder and baking soda… which made them more cake like than cookie. But with blueberries in them… they were more like muffin tops than cookies. Anyway… one last bit of fun for the weekend.

Here's hoping all your fortunes are good. I have to admit I am more of the mind we make them… rather than just take them. But when I see one like I just got… I aim to make it come true. So if you are challenged with your fortunes currently… print the one above out… cut it out… and make it yours. Have (make) some real fun during the week and weekend ahead!   

Wringing hands… Wedding bells… Wonderful Memories…

It really is hard to say when wedding plans actually begin. I would submit they start even before the bride/groom are born. Parents cannot help but wonder and dream about the future they can help make for their child. Of course those are all hopes/dreams at that point. But those may still influence the expectations of the parents even decades later when the real planning begins.

And while we say time and again… it is your wedding… you do what you want. In almost every instance that was preceded… and likely followed up with… “but if it were me….”. As removed as I remained from some of the fine details… I still found myself doing that in the cases where I was consulted. And I heard it done… or echoed countless other times in discussions leading up to “The Event”. For the most part I just wrote checks. But I saw enough of what went into the planning to be glad I was not sucked into too many of the details… and to understand completely when all sides of the debates reached out in frustration.  Thus the Wringing Hands portion of the title.

Leading up to the wedding I found myself reflecting heavily on the last 20 some years… watching my little girl grow into her own woman. I think I even stated during my remarks at the reception… I am still not sure how I went from “daddy”… to Father of the Bride… Father in-law. This was Jesse’s Birthday party (2010)…with James in orange shirt (then white)… and Amie reacting to the pie fight before escaping. I would not trade all the excitement and memories for anything! The memories I hold in my heart are truly precious to me. The wedding has simply added to those. In the end… the plans came together!

Now comes “The Event”! How often do things go according to plan? I am pleased to say in this case… things fell into place pretty well. Then again… I do not know just how many cowboys we had wrangling that herd… but the fact they all seemed to drive things in pretty much the same direction… says a lot for those making and communicating the plans.

The closest thing I saw to a disaster was a heavy downpour we (bride’s party) got caught in trying to get some pictures outside before the event. We knew the risk was high as people had grabbed umbrellas. I remember saying before it got bad “Hey ya’ll… I think it is about to rain. Should we move under cover?”. No body moved… Next thing I know people are huddled under umbrellas trying to scurry into covered doorways. I tried to herd the group to a large covered patio next to the reception hall… but couldn’t get them out of the doorway they found. So when I heard… “Get the Truck!!! …” with a few explanative statements regarding my intelligence and reaction time … I ran and got the truck. I drove it over as close to the doorway as I could get... when I hollered “jump in!” … I got a few looks that… equated to visual  explanative statements regarding my intelligence and reaction time. But soon we were all in the vehicles… drip drying our way to the Chapel.

At that moment… it did not seem too funny… but in the long run I expect we can spin that one into all sorts of stories of our choosing. We were soon drip drying in the basement of the chapel… trying to recover some of the curls and fluff. Honestly… the downpour simply could not dampen the beauty of the Bride or the Maid of Honor. They both continued to glow!

I ran upstairs and got the Live Stream going for those who could not physically attend. Then also made the rounds saying hi… and telling everyone about the fun we had dodging raindrops. When all seemed in order topside… I ran back downstairs to see how the recovery measures were going there. Before I knew it… they were telling us to line up to get the show on the road! And what a show it was!!!

Amie was as nervous… as anyone would expect a young bride to be. I tried to lighten the moment by saying… “Hey… the doors right there if you wanna run…”? I don’t think she even heard me. Next thing was getting her up the stairs at the back of the chapel without her tripping over her train. Between three or four of us we got’er done. Next thing I know they are throwing open the doors… and there are all these faces staring at us (most smiling). I would honestly love to see a picture of the look on Amie’s and my faces… as those doors first swung open. How does one’s face convey about a million and one emotions? I think we both put on our best parade smiles as quickly as possible… but I am curious just how much of the emotional swirl that initial picture might convey?   

It all seemed like a blur from there to me. I kept trying to recall my advice to her… “take a deep breath every once in a while… then take a good look around… making sure to appreciate and soak up as many of the moments as you can”! But that is not always easy to do.

I felt the ceremony went extremely well! I was thrilled with the job our home church pastor (Cliff Schroeder) did with keeping things happy, serious, and moving! And I was every bit as proud of how Amie and James did… wrangling their emotions and following the pastor’s lead. The Best Man and Maid of Honor were flawless in their parts. I guess I would say that… it all went perfectly… according to script… with just the right amount of human emotion and character sprinkled in to make it real, fun and memorable!

I heard there were pools on when/if various wedding party members would cry. People asked me if I hadn’t teared up during their favorite parts. I think I was just so happy to be sharing in those moments with dear friends and family… that I stayed on the happy side of the emotions all day. Of course… I am one that tends to tear up more for the happy/warm moments… more so than others. But I think I made it through that day without a one. Then days later heard my daughter (who also held together extremely well that day) say something about how special some of the moments were that night… and how after the ceremony some of them caught up with her finally contributing to an emotional spill. Then it caught up with me too!

I would have to say the reception was a SMASH! Crack of the bat… HOME RUN… all the way! Maybe I am a little bias. The only thing that may have approximated a screw up… was the poor Father of the Bride spiel. Yes… that would be me. They gave me a pretty simple set of instructions. Welcome everyone, thank them for coming, say a few things (if you really feel you must… but keep it short), and say Grace before the meal. I had prepared… I had rehearsed… but got caught up and cut out where I shouldn’t have… embellished where I shouldn’t have… maybe wrapped it up with a passable prayer? I suspect God laughed some like others and said…”OK… I’ll cut you some slack”. All except for my son Jesse who was holding up a “WRAP IT UP!” banner scrolling on his phone!     

But that was all soon forgotten after some good food and fun! They did some wonderful activities… that have me anxious to see the photos once they are ready. For one… they forewarned us all the bride and groom would be running around to each table to get a picture with us… so to get ready for a very quick pose as they passed by. Some of the tables nailed this with some very creative ideas! They also did a shoe game… where the bride and groom sat back to back… each with one of their shoes… and one of the other’s shoes. Then they asked questions… and they had to answer by holding up the shoe of whoever that was most applicable to. Like who is the most decisive?… James immediately held up his shoe… meanwhile Amie starts alternating, then finally holds up James’s shoe also.

Then came the dances. We nailed the daddy/daughter dance… meaning we did not fall or trip… and I did not run her into anyone or anything. It was nice to have a moment with her smiling and laughing and ignoring everyone else. I was so happy with how it was all going I think I was beaming… but couldn’t hold a candle to that beautiful bride! Don’t tell me there is anyone more sweet or beautiful in this whole world because I know better! I know I was my old clumsy self… but I felt just like I was floating… just like walking down the isle.

Before long everyone was dancing (that could) and the rest of us could relax and enjoy. One of the highlights was the twist. My Aunt got up and was showing all the young people how it was supposed to be done. Then one of the young guys twisted his way down… and my Aunt tried to show him she could keep up… and she did… until he got back up. And she couldn’t… well she eventually did with a little help. But when she did… she struck a pose like a gymnast  at the end of their floor routine… and the whole place applauded!

Another highlight was having all the married couples come up. Then he started eliminating them… who’s been married less than 12 hours… 6 months… 1 year… 5 years… 10 years… eventually it was down to my brother Howard and sister in-law Beth vs my brother in-law Neel and sister in-law Charlea. Howard and Beth lost out by a couple of years. Then he asked Neel and Charlea the “secret” to a happy marriage … and Neel said… “I’d rather be happy… than right.”. Nobody could argue with that!

Before we knew it… it was time for the send off. They sent James and Amie out one way… we all headed out another and lined up with some glow stick, fiber optic, light saber things. Somebody mentioned it looked like we were all lined up to flog them on their way through… somebody else said “only verbally, not physically”! So we all wished them well on their way through… and they jumped in a decorated vehicle… completed with cans clanging along behind… and just like that… it was all said and done!

This is when I figured I would break down. Sometimes that relief from emotion… comes along with a release of emotion… but I was still floating. About then I realized I had been floating all night… with very few trips to the bar. I was running on a true emotional high… and haven’t really come down. I felt no sense of loss… just the sense we gained in family… and even more so in precious memories.

Wow… What a ride life can be!

Hold the salt… Shake a hand…

I used to tease friends with posts about their trips to Florida/Carolinas/etc… talking about how they love the beach. I would tell them… reduce your drive… come see me in Michigan… we have as much coastline as just about any other state. And it’s all fresh water! No salt on the rim of this margarita. And while I can see the appeal of the “Salt Life”… I also love my saline free alternatives within a few hours in just about any direction.

I had a special reason to enjoy the West Coast this weekend. A old buddy called and said they were headed to his brother in-laws house near Saugatuck… and asked if I could meet them there. How could I pass that up? Free room and board… they wouldn’t even let me buy dinner! Visit with an old from back home… and meet a friend from my home town I never knew I had!

 John’s family had found a very nice cape cod house… in a lakeside community (in Glenn, Michigan)… not too far a drive from their homes near Chicago. He was able to purchase it a few years ago… and I fell in love with it just like he had. This John… going to visit his friend John… visiting his brother in-law John. So we had John (Johnny) B, I and W.  

 Michigan’s West Coast has a lot of wonderful areas where you can kick back and enjoy the wind, waves and water… along the mile after endless mile of sandy beach. Or you can visit local vineyards… orchards… farmers markets. They grow just about everything over there… and have found very tasty ways to ferment a lot of it! Not to mention the great restaurants and pubs scattered about. We opted to not be picky… and just try all of the options we could hit.

What made it fun was the entire time we were telling old stories… mixed in with new… and  somebody was constantly mentioning names I (we) had not heard in years. At least between the three of us… we could usually come up with names of the people/places from our past. Half the stories started… oh you remember___ … no it’s been too long… come on they were (brother/sister/cousin/friend) of ____ … OH Yeah… now I remember them from ____. Which would trigger another story!

A lot of those stories are not for mixed company… so I’ll just say it was great to catch up! You can watch the video below to watch and hear the waves… but be forewarned my version of the “Yes Michigan” jingle slipped out… and might kill the mood. Hope this finds you happy with life… filled with magical memories… and knowing you are loved by family and friends!

For the dog lovers…

I had to clean the seat of my truck before hoping in to go to church this morning. And at first... I could not figure out how the seat got so dirty. Then I remembered Cooper...

Cooper was a very friendly, very happy, very wet German shepherd that was playing in the river as I pulled up to unload my kayak yesterday afternoon. Apparently Cooper loves going for a ride and when he saw I left my door open... jumped in and took his place... ready to go. I had forgotten how his people had really begged to get him out... as he must have decided my truck was just right for him.

Guess after a long hard paddle… I had not noticed/cared in my wet swim trunks. It gave me a good chuckle this morning as I recalled… looking over and seeing him, tongue hanging out, sitting there with that… “Come On… Let’s Go!” look!

Eh… a little river silt never hurt nobody. Here’s hoping you find a reason to giggle and grin today!

Wild Friday Night…?

Anybody remember the days when you lived for Friday/Saturday night? Maybe you still do? I remember how I couldn’t stand the idea of a weekend night going to waste. In high school/college… it was all about getting invited to the best parties. Or even helping pull one together. In my 20’s or 30’s it was about getting into the best bars to hear a band… or hang with the crew.

But somewhere along the line… things began to change. I guess weekends are still precious as a working man.  But over time priorities seemed to change. Suddenly the biggest, best party or club didn’t really matter. It started coming down to spending time with those dearest to me… or just doing something I enjoy. At some point I stopped looking for an event… and really just started to appreciate the simple pleasures.

Even when the kids were younger… it was no longer about parties… but it was still about finding a way to “entertain”! Now days it is even more simple… just being happy to be able to relax. I still enjoy the nights I have something special to do. Tonight was NOT one of those nights.

I finished up my work for the week. It was kind of a busy day dealing with the side effects of the whole CrowdStrike fiasco. Computers/systems/networks down all over… kind of like what everybody thought Y2K might be like. I found myself not able to get my computer to boot the night before. Luckily our IT technicians were on the ball and had my PC working as expected early the next morning… so I could start supporting our users since our system was affected. In the end we managed to recover fairly gracefully. There was a day this would have required a “happy hour” or two… or…

Instead… I grabbed a long screw driver… a five gallon bucket… a big glass of iced tea… and sat in the front yard pulling weeds all night. Not what I would call fun… certainly not entertaining. Yet relaxing and satisfying. The poor yard kind of got neglected for decades. And when mowing with the tractor… it cut anything/everything off without issue. However, when I started mowing with the reel mower to use that time to also get exercise… those tall weeds that seem to grow six inches in a day… started to become more noticeable as they would just bend over flat, avoid the rotating blades and spring back up after the mower passed. They took extra time and positioning to get them to stand up enough to get cut. Over time I started to look at theses things as a nemesis… and decided to start a mission to eliminate them.

So now I have a new “hobby” for a while. As a result… I spent a Friday night crawling around the yard… seeking out my annoying little nemesis… loosening the dirt around them… and pulling them out by the roots. Cause if you hear the snap of those long roots breaking… it is like hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger… “I’ll be Back”! There is no way to get them all in one pass… but I can be patient… and just get the majority now… and get those that do pop back up again then. This time it’s the narrow leaf plantain I seek. Maybe next time it will be the dandelions and/or broad leaf plantain.

It is strangely satisfying doing such a simple, earthly task. And I think this goes hand in hand with my plan to build a front porch on the house. Get a lawn worth protecting… a porch to sit on… and when I retire… I can sit out there and yell “Get Off My Lawn” like an old man is supposed to! But for now… once it is too dark to see the weeds… it’s time for a nice walk.

A wild Friday night might be nice every once in a while. But I feel blessed to be able to appreciate these simple pleasures. I hope this finds you content with what life brings your way… and/or still motivated to go out and find what you need when it doesn’t! Peace of mind and heart to You!

Clinton River - Peddle/Paddle

I had paddled this river a couple times before… so I know how fun… and challenging it can be. But I had never tried dropping the kayak up river… driving down river… peddling the bike back up river… just to paddle the kayak back down. So what the heck!?! Gotta give it a shot! Check the pdf to see what happened.

Clinton River - Peddle/Paddle

Manistee River Trail

Camped, hiked, and paddled… three of my favorites. To learn more… check out this link!

Manistee River Trail

Fishing Trip @SWWL 2024

Silver Water Wheel Lodge, Lac Seul, Ontario

Middle of nowhere… it’s somewhere to be !!!

I am not putting any detail here… as I likely put way too much in my pdf attachment. But man did we have a great time!! So if you want to read some fish tales… as fishy as they may be… check out the link below.

Fishing Trip 2024

Life and Blueberry Pancakes

Do you ever have those moments where life reminds you about what really matters?

You know… those things that really make life worth living!

Like blueberry pancakes.

OK… perhaps I need to take a step back for a moment.

I got up today (rainy winter Saturday) and looked outside. Almost all the snow we got recently has melted. Now instead of a world glistening with white crystals… reflecting and refracting the sunlight in a million different ways. The picture is dominated by deep, dull browns/greens/greys. No sunshine for days… and all that is left of that pretty blanket of white… are the big shovel/plow piles besides the driveways and parking lots… now covered with a layer of black dirt. Not exactly an image that inspires!

Instead of donning gear to go for a ski (no snow)… or even a bike ride (muddy roads with no shoulders)… I consider a walk/hike. But then… there is that “to-do” list that needs some attention. So I start looking through all the “stuff” life throws at us. Throw in a load of laundry while ignoring all the other things that need to be cleaned. Then jump on the computer and start looking through all the bills yet to be paid. Talk about putting an exciting outlook on the day!?!

I finally get to that point where all that has to be paid now is covered… and thank God there is still enough left to live! Start contemplating the budget to accommodate all the things that can’t be put off much longer. Then Jesse comes stumbling down the stairs and asks if I am hungry? Food!

Now things are looking up a little bit. We discuss options for brunch… and I head out for a local coney island. Talk about irony… I start backing out the drive between the piles of snow… and the Kenny Chesney song Mexico comes on… “The sun and the sand… and a drink in my hand… with no bottom. No shoes… no shirt… no problem. Babe, let's get packed, tank tops and flip-flops, if you got 'em
No shoes, no shirt, no problems”! Meanwhile I am driving through a dreary winter, rainy day… snow piles melting scene outside… that just does not fit with the soundtrack bouncing around inside the cab of my truck. Man is the river flowing… but it’s way too cold for a paddle.

Then I get to the drive through… place my order… and nod along to the next song playing on the radio. Pay the man… tell him to keep the change… grab the bag… and head for home. Not sure just how far I got before the smell wafted up out of that bag… and started filling the cab. I am not sure my nose had finished registering the smell before my stomach started rumbling in anticipation. Problem was… I had ordered an omelet. Meanwhile the smell tickling my taste buds was from the short stack of blueberry pancakes Jesse ordered.

By the time I got home… I am not sure I have ever craved anything more than I was craving a blueberry pancake at that moment. I set the bag on the table and hollered “food’s here”. I set to pouring myself another cup of coffee. Meanwhile Jesse starts going through the bag grabbing his stuff… and that is when it happened! You know… one of those little moments!

Between the smell of the coffee… and the smell of those pancakes… I was sure getting hungry. Then Jesse opened the container and said… “There are three pancakes. I only want two. Want one?” Ahhhhhh… the angels sang… and all was right in this world!

Here’s hoping the world smiles on you today. And that no matter how dark and dreary the scene outside might be… that inside… all is bright… and your pancakes are blue… berry!  

Auld Lang Syne… blessed memories… blessed outlook!

I certainly hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas celebration… is welcoming in the New Year with joy in their heart…and that their spirit is filled with anticipation of a blessed year ahead!

I feel so blessed with a simple but joyous celebration with those I hold dear. Not that there were not others I would have loved to have seen. But with family scattered across the continent… we have to see who we can… when we can. While trusting those we will have to see at another time know we love them and wish them “all the best”!

I was lucky to get to see some old buddies from High School that I have not been able to go out with in decades. It was interesting to see how much we have all changed in some ways… and just how little we have changed in others. It is always a blessing to recall some of the fun we had back in the day. Sometimes things nearly forgotten after so many years. I had such a wonderful time catching up. But can’t wait to do it again when we maybe have some more time. That night I was focused mostly on all the fun times we had… yet as I listened to stories of what everyone has been up to recently… I could not help but wonder some about all I have missed.

Then as I was driving home today… I thought about some of the things I left behind all those years ago. Not really with regret… as I truly feel blessed by the life I live. But I guess we all slip back in time… recalling events passed… and wondering what if? Honestly… we are all pretty lucky to still be around. We laughed about one time… after some heavy rains… we decided to canoe a local river that was a favorite. We noticed the river was high when we dropped a truck down river. But when we pulled up to the bridge where we were to put in… it became apparent just how high the river really was. Normally we had to drag the canoes a fair distance down from the end of the bridge… past the woods along the bank… then down the bank to the water. But that day the water was clear up into the woods way up outside the bank. I think we all probably wondered just how foolish it might be to go ahead and launch… but nobody wanted to be the first one to say anything. So before long… we were out in the heavy current… moving fast and dodging debris. We talked about having to duck under bridges… and as I recall the water was much closer to the under side of the bridges than we had ever seen it.

The highlight of that outing was where part of the water was way up out of the banks… with enough flow we were able to paddle through one of the bean fields planted up off the bank in the old river bottom. The water was deeper than the beans were tall… and we had a good mini channel out through this field. We followed this channel out around some of the normal switchbacks in the river… but eventually noticed it turning back toward the main river channel. This was the first time any of us had considered the conditions under which this temporary overflow might rejoin the river. This was also where we started hearing a dull roar up ahead. The transition out of the main river had been very smooth… and we assumed the same at the other end. But as the offshoot started heading back toward the main river… all we could see was a line of heavy woods ahead. We also began to notice there was a steeper slope towards those trees and the gentle current of this channel was starting to pick up. Next thing we know… we are trying to steer our 17’ canoes through thick woods bouncing off trees like pinballs. The further we go… it seems the faster the current got… and the louder the roar ahead got. These conditions might have been great in a white water kayak. But were down right treacherous in our big old canoes. We were hardly steering as much as pushing off trees trying to pick as straight a path as we could find. When we saw the water dropping even faster ahead… eventually flowing out of the woods and spilling over the bank back into the main river. I think we were all amazed when we came shooting out of the woods… over that drop… without getting wrapped around a tree. If we had dumped in those woods… and hit a tree broad side… I think the current would have folded our boats around the tree like a ribbon. We tried at first to claim our superior paddling skills had served us well… but soon had to chalk it up to dumb luck where the credit belonged.

I still wonder what purpose each of us has served (or is yet to serve) that has blessed us with some very over active guardian angels. They must be as grey haired and worn out as we are these days. Then I thought about how one of my buddies married the sister of a girl I went to school with back in the day. At one point driving home I thought about the sister I knew… and how we were pretty good friends. I wondered briefly why I had never asked her out. Then recalled that I thought she was so far out of my league… that I was just glad we were friends… and I didn’t want to screw that up. I remembered having a bit of a crush on her… but even more so on one of her friends I thought didn’t even know who I was. I got smacked several times by some of my friends to bring me out of the daze I would slip into as these girls would walk by where we hung out after lunch. I recalled it being like a scene in a movie where all the other dialogue fades and some type of love song would play… complete with birds chirping and clouds surrounding the girls of my dreams… obscuring everything else… until the elbow in the ribs would bring me back out of the haze… and I would hear a friend mumble… back to earth you idiot!

Ahhh… to be young again… and feel those kinds of feelings! I wondered if I got a second chance… would I be able to muster the nerve to talk to that girl? I found myself laughing as I drove down the road… hearing my buddy… back to earth idiot!

I have sooo many blessed memories of those days… but also from all the days since… and even more so from these days. I enjoyed so much seeing Mom, Melody, Dewey, Howard, Beth.  And the day Amie and her fiancé James stopped by was a real treat. Mom said the only thing that could have made it better was if Jesse had come along in person. Instead, he sent an interesting present wrapped in an interesting way… for his sister to unwrap.

Howard and I got a few things done at mom’s while I was there. But most of the time we spent talking and catching up on things. We were watching some shows about couples trying to find a first home… and mom recalled some stories about how different things were when her and my dad were trying to find their first home. Mom laughed at how picky these women in these shows are and their incredibly high standards… and just how unreal todays standards would have been back in their day. I still love to hear those old stories.      

I pray your holiday has been a wonderful mixture of old memories that warm your heart… along with a bright outlook onto the year ahead… boosting your spirits with the peace of a Merry Christmas… and the Happiest of New Years!

Oh Well… (sorry it’s a long one)

How often does something challenge your positive outlook? If you’re anything like me… you may have to rationalize some to even call it a “positive” attitude.  I am not sure of the average ratio… but mine can often lean toward many parts “attitude”… with maybe just a sprinkle of “positive” mixed in.

I tend to do a little better at mustering the positive over the long haul. But man do I sometimes struggle to do so in the short term. Last night was a perfect example.

We had some snow a few weeks ago… and I got excited about getting in some x-country skiing this winter. But since then, we have had warmer temps and mostly rain. So I was excited when I started work yesterday morning… and looked outside to see big puffy snowflakes drifting softly to the ground. They had started the night before as predicted… and were starting to build up a coat on things by morning.

My excitement started to fade by mid-day though as the warm ground temps seemed to be keeping the snow from building up much coverage. But the clouds doubled their effort over the afternoon… and by evening had pretty well overwhelmed the residual warmth… coating the ground pretty thoroughly. Enough to ski?

Snow was still falling as I finished up work… prepared and ate dinner… and started to contemplate some evening exercise. I was really itching to get on the skis again… so I decided to give it a try.

Of course, I had never really put things away from a few weeks ago… so I found where I had left them and started collecting and donning the gear. I knew this fresh wet snow would tend to be a little sticky… so I rubbed a little wax on the ski bottoms for good measure. And before long… Alright! Good to go!

I walked out back… dropped the skis in the snow… knocked the accumulated snow off my boots… and clicked into the bindings. I think I may finally be getting the knack of these newer NNN boots and bindings. My old SNS boots had the steel rod that clips into the binding a bit closer to the front. So to click in I would push the toe of the boot right up to the bumper on the binding… and raise the heel to step down hard on the toe. Where the NNN boots have the rod set back slightly off the toe. So if I raise the heel too high trying to step in… the tip of the toe will keep the rod from clicking down into the binding. So I have to step in with my foot considerably flatter. This was a difference I only recently figured out… which had created a lot of frustration for me when trying to click my boots into the bindings on this newer equipment. But that worked much better last night after realizing I need to keep my heel lower when stepping in.

I noticed the snow was sticking to the skis almost immediately. But after sliding them in the snow a bit… I was able to clear them and seemed to be able to keep them sliding when moving. I knew conditions were not ideal… but at least there was snow!?! By the time I got to the back gate I realized the term “poor” conditions might have been an understatement. If you can recognize the signs… these pictures say it all.

Keeping the skis gliding in the snow was impossible. The ground was still warm enough… the snow would stick to anything but it. Plus the snow was only just over a inch or so deep. So each time I would step down hard enough on the right ski to push off… snow would pack onto the bottom of that ski. So when I would transfer weight to the left ski and push off… expecting the right ski to glide forward… the snow stuck to the bottom acted like a brake. Instead of gliding forward… it would stick until the snow on the bottom would scrape off. Sometimes the snow would scrape off the bottom and the ski would start to glide. But sometimes it would not fully clear… causing even more snow to pack onto the bottom… and I would nearly fall onto my face as the momentum of my body would try to overtake my feet bound to the ski… sticking to the snow.

This is when you have to rely on your sound technique… to overcome the challenging conditions. Of course you may recall I mentioned I am just recently trying to get back into this sport. And how I desperately need to rebuild my technique after such a long break from using it! I am glad it was dark… and the chances of someone seeing the compounding catastrophe of poor conditions and lousy technique… compiling into a stumbling… staggering… struggle fest!

I would just seem to get the skis cleared and start to get some semblance of a glide. Then hit another particularly sticky spot… and again be struggling to keep the cart behind the horse. Unfortunately the dark did little to hide my vocalizations at these moments… so I am so glad there was no one around to hear them. Oh how I pray there was no one around to hear them.

I got most of the way around the school yard once before I finally stopped to see if it would help to clear my skis completely of any clinging snow. I scraped them off good with my pole basket. Then packed a snow ball to rub and really clear them off… and convince myself they would slide. It seemed to help at first… but I did not get far into a second pass around before realizing it was hopeless. My determination did not want to give up. But my common sense eventually won out. Still I was stubborn enough to try to ski back to the house… but before long popped off the skis… flung them over my shoulder… and started the disgruntled trudge. At this point… there was no positive left… it was all attitude!

As I neared the house I desperately attempted one of the psychological tricks I learned from my Noom app called the “Oh well” statement. It is meant as a technique to reframe the situation. So when facing a tactical defeat… you can refocus on the larger strategic picture and progress being made. “Oh well… next time I will do better and…”. But all I could muster was… “Oh well… THIS SUCKS”! Not exactly in line with the intended spirit of the technique. About the only success I could begin to attribute to the night was the fact I did not grab a bag of chips before I plopped down in my recliner to pull off my gear while watching TV.

After an episode of Gunsmoke… and watching Matt, Doc, and Miss Kitty figure out how to overcome some challenge. I decided to see if I could find any additional tricks on the internet about how to keep snow from sticking to the skis. I watched a good video from a guy that went through all the tips and techniques on proper ski maintenance and preparation. He explained how to brush off the old… apply the new… and how doing all this right should set you up for success. But he included a short clip at the end where he was out on a crappy day… facing just what I had… and how at that point technique and keeping moving was the last line of defense to keep the skis clear. But after saying all that he stopped again… tipped his ski up… and revealed how the snow was still sticking even after all he was doing. I think he had stuck that in there just for me.

Today I was finally able to sprinkle a little positive back into the outlook. When I stepped on the scale I realized my workout had not been a total bust. With all the effort I put into trying to overcome the short term challenge… and in spite of my apparent failure to do so… I had actually made progress on the long term challenge. Ah… how the light of a new day… can cut the darkness from the reflection on yesterday!

Shooting Stars and Squirrels

Wait… let me clarify… no guns involved here. This is just a random post incorporating nearly unrelated topics. Guess that title could be miss-leading… so allow me to clarify.

Did anybody else see the shooting stars last night (12/14/2023 around 9:30 PM Eastern)? It was a pretty awesome show… especially since I was not expecting it. I have been trying to catch a good meteor shower all year and have been disappointed as a result of weather or timing with just about every opportunity.

So, I headed out last night as I am trying to do most nights… just to get in a good walk to try and get in better shape. It was cold… but not bad. But I was immediately drawn to how clear the sky was… and the fact the stars were quite visible even in town since there was no moon. I guess that got me looking up a bit more right off. Then as I got into the park at the end of the street… I was heading North and saw a streak across the sky just below the bill of my hat. It was pretty bright so I considered myself lucky to have seen it because I could have easily been looking down and missed it. I was maybe 10 minutes into my walk.

I didn’t think too much more about it and about ten minutes later I had gone around the end of the park and was headed back South. This time I saw one over closer to the Southern Horizon… but it had originated overhead somewhere. Within two to three minutes I saw another follow almost the same path. At that point I cleaned my glasses to make sure I was not seeing things. But these were very bright… fairly long lasting… so I was trusting my eyes and getting curious what was up?

The park was fairly dark… but I was headed out of it and back onto the streets where there were more street lights and porch lights. I was worried they would keep me from seeing more… until another solid streak appeared higher in the sky again… streaking East to West… across maybe a third of the sky. Now I was getting excited… but got near a school with even more lights. Then I turned and headed back West along a street with a lot of mature trees and houses with Christmas lights. But I still saw a couple more. When I hit the other side of town I turned North and was on a darker street with a pretty clear view North and East. While on this stretch I saw several more.

I almost saw extra stars a couple times because I was now looking up… and not paying as much attention to where I was going. The streaks were primarily East to West… but some headed Southwest… while others headed Northwest… then one looked like it headed straight down. A few left a light trail of fragments as they progressed across the sky. One seemed to fragment at the end like the fireworks on Independence Day. I turned and headed back East and continued to see them ahead or to my right.

Then turned back South toward home and still saw more. My walk was about 90 minutes… and I counted 13 solid streaks. I am sure I saw more out of the corner of my eye and through trees/lights where it was harder to see clearly… but I did not count them unless it was very clear. I considered driving out where there was less light pollution… and laying on the hood or bed of the truck for a while. But it was getting late.

I got up this morning and had to work… but was at least working from home. I was still pretty geeked about the show last night. But then began to be entertained from a very different source. I think the squirrels were having a turf war on my roof!?! It is not unusual to hear them scamper across the roof to get from the tree line on one side of the yard to the other. But the activity today was excessive. Do you believe celestial events (like full moons or meteor showers) can affect animal behavior? If so… watch out today. Cause if the people are acting up like the squirrels… it could be an interesting day/weekend!

Anybody want to use the excuse? Bet we could come up with something fun and exciting if we put our heads together?!? Besides… it’s my Birthday!!!     

Interesting Time of Year

This is a very interesting time of year. It stirs many different feelings in different kinds of people. Sometimes many different feelings in the same individual. Ever feel a little conflicted? I have!

On the surface it would seem this should be a very happy time of year. Thanksgiving has just past… and Christmas draws ever nearer. Everywhere you look there are wishes for Happy Holidays. Decorations with lights flashing at every turn.

Yet those decorations are often not targeted so much at the intent of the season… but rather the commercialized trap some people fall into. Some feel pressure from the need to deliver on an ever building expectation for gifts and surprises. Trying to make the holidays perfect… can often drive one to try and deliver beyond their means. If you’re feeling that pressure… you have fallen into the trap… the hype. If that is the case… it is time to take a step back… and contemplate what the season is really all about. Maybe this is one time where those of us that have always been far from perfect… have an advantage over those who still feel they need to be.

I realized a long time ago that I cannot deliver perfection… And have been blessed to learn that those around me don’t need perfection. I cannot count the times I have witnessed those in my family getting as much joy out of the flawed… as they have the flawless. Maybe even more so. When you don’t take yourself too seriously… all the little things that go wrong become a source of amusement. Stirring jokes  and laughter… rather than shame or regret.

My biggest challenge with this time of year is adjusting to the shifting season. The constant swings in the weather make it tough to plan activities. The kayaks have had to be put away (except by the extreme die-hards). The bike can still be used on the right day… but it can get awful cold and wet on the wrong day. It is not yet cold enough for skis on a regular basis. Hiking and walking are about the only activities that lend themselves to just about any season. The trick is really in dressing right (layers, layers, layers). I have never been real big on the indoor activities… but maybe at my age… it is time to consider some.

But regardless of the fact I never know what to get for anybody.  Or when I do… it may not ship in time. And if it does arrive in time… I can’t wrap it to look good to save my life. Any meal I fix will have something missing… much of it will be overdone… and I can barely trim a tree… so the presentation of what is served like the table it is served on… always lack in pizazz. But I still love this time of year!

Whether you fall back on traditions of old… or are still coming up with traditions of your own… I guess this is the perfect time to reflect. You can reflect on the year(s) behind… and also to dream on the year(s) ahead. I have a tendency to do this all year. But the nostalgia of this time of year really kicks that tendency into high gear. So many blessings this year! And so many blessings already in the planning for next!

So if the weather does not cooperate… and we get some grey and dreary days. Do not let the days like that dampen your spirits. Use them to rest, rebuild and reflect. Count how you were blessed yesterday… enjoy how you are blessed today… and trust in the blessings of tomorrow. I pray your spirits are as bright as the lights on the tree! And that you appreciate all the perfect moments… in spite of the little imperfections in the presentation!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Rip Out and Replace

Is anything made to last anymore? I bought a yard swing several years ago. I got it rough and stained it after it arrived. And I suppose in all fairness that was a few years ago… and maybe I should have had it sitting on something like blocks or pavers… instead of the dirt. But I was still a little surprised when the swing started hitting the ground… and eventually wouldn’t swing anymore. Then I went to move it when mowing… and the undercarriage didn’t stay under it.

The swing appears to have been made of pine. And I guess I should have known that having pine logs setting directly on grass and dirt… might tend to shorten their life. So this last week I flipped it over and took a look at how it was put together… to see what I might be able to do.  Unfortunately, most of the undercarriage was beyond repair. But there was enough left to use as a pattern.

So last week while working in the yard… I started collecting parts from downed limbs… or pruned trees. I decided to make it a little bit taller to keep the actual swing up off the ground. But decided to use the same basic design. I had an inch and a half hole saw I could use to bore the mortise holes. And I used my hand ax and a rasp to shave tenons on the uprights and struts. Then with a little wood glue and some screws… I was ready to assemble. Wonder if it will all fit?

Then came the moment of truth… mating the swing to the new undercarriage. It all went reasonably well. I had actually checked to make sure it should fit before fully assembling the undercarriage. But things being assembled from tree branches… things were not exactly square. But I had shaved a few places to make sure there should be plenty of clearance. And after a bit… Ta Da!

I would not begin to claim perfection… but I was quite pleased with fit and function. It worked! I think a little cleaning, sanding and staining are still required. And it might be best to apply a lesson learned… and acquire a few blocks to set it on. But I was able to sit… swing… and watch the birds fly South that evening.

It is a shame that sometimes things fall apart in our lives. And while it is never easy to rip out what is rotten… and replace what was damaged… that sometimes becomes a necessity. Whether the problem is a noun… or a verb… or even an adjective… somethings must go. And it is best to carefully consider how to fill the gaps left behind. The Bible even provides related tips/proverbs (patching old cloth with new, pouring new wine in old skins, etc…). The things are not as hard to deal with. But when it is people causing the rot and holes in our lives… it can be awfully painful.

I pray this finds things in your life swinging clear. And if not… I pray God’s wisdom and care as you discern the root cause… and as you rip out and replace if needed. May the Holy Spirit shine a guiding light… that also provides healing rays… restoring and/or maintaining the warmth in your heart!   

Old friend returns… and we have some fun

My old buddy Snow came back for another of what I am sure will be many visits during the winter ahead. Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend we got a little over an inch. Then it snowed some more today adding just enough to make me think of another old friend. I have played around with cross country skis since I was a teen. After moving to Michigan… that became a pretty staple activity for me for many years. I have never been a master of that sport by any means. But I used to be able to navigate some pretty tough trails… and loved the challenge they presented.

But like many hobbies… the skis did not get pulled out as often during my years of peak involvement helping with the kids activities. Then there came a time where they had not touched the snow for several years. I got so out of practice… and so out of shape… I was honestly very hesitant to try them out again. But last year as I started my journey to lose some weight… and get back into better shape. I finally dared to pull them out… and expose them to the snow once again. I had good reason for being nervous about trying to get back on them again.

Like so many other activities… the muscle memory was not there. A big part of that was because a lot of those muscles were no longer there. I really struggled last year to try to get back into the sport. I was rather wobbly on them… and really struggled to find any kind of rhythm. A big part of that was the fact that I would get totally winded before I had a chance to get into a rhythm. I was unsure… unsteady… and unable to keep going long enough to find a groove. One of the last outings last year… I was finally getting to the point where I could get a pattern going… and sustain it just long enough to start to skate a bit. But I was just too out of shape to maintain it for long at all… and would soon have to stop and gasp for air.   

So with a couple of inches on the ground tonight… I decided to pull them out again and see just how tough it is going to be this winter. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I am still a little wobbly and unsure. But I was at least able to keep going long enough to begin to find a groove. The school yard behind the house is not an ideal location to ski. But it is big enough for me to play around a bit and actually served pretty well for an initial outing. I was pleased that I was able to remain just steady enough… and keep going long enough… I was able to get into a glide that did not feel half bad. I am still really shaky on the turns… but was able to navigate them at more than just a slow step. I kept up enough speed to still have some glide as I stepped through some wide corners.

I am hopeful that after several outings this year… I may begin to get more steady, stable, consistent and maybe even efficient enough to get into a sustained glide… maybe even a real skate… and maintain it for more than just a few minutes. Part of the challenge is that I had just worn out the set of boots that mated with the bindings on the skis I had used for years. I could no longer buy boots for the bindings on those skis… so I had just bought new boots, bindings and skis… that I hardly broke in before putting them in extended storage. I am still struggling to get the boots to clip into the bindings easily… but once I did they felt a lot better this year than they did last.

So maybe this year I can build some new muscle… muscle memory… and get much more comfortable on this new equipment. So while Orion still got a bit of a chuckle watching me and my other old friends playing under a nearly full moon tonight. I felt he nodded his head as if to say… You’re getting there!    

I hope whatever you are up to… this finds you comfortable with it… and able to enjoy. It is so nice to be able to find fun and a smile… in whatever we do!