Normally I am just sitting down to the poker table, however the hosts kids are sick. Cicely is at her mom and dad's house doing something Christmasy. Fire is burning, Christmas tree is lit. Pink Floyd, Meddle is playing, and I am blogging. For the two of you that read this, sorry to disappoint last time. All is relatively good.
I need a new book to read.
I just finished East of Eden. It is a great book. I suggest that you read it, and think about it. It is an Adam and Eve, Cain and Able story. Check it out.
We are doing something new for Christmas this year. We are going to not spend a bunch of money this year to let everyone know that we love them. We are going to take a weekend this spring and all go to a place on the beach. I don't know that there is anything else that could be better. I think that when it is all said and done, time together is the best way to let people know how important they are to you. We are all going to take time out of our "busy" schedules and just be together. That to me is as good as it gets. I can't wait. We are going to buy stuff for the kids, because it is them that should get to enjoy that the most, and we all drew a name and get to buy something for one person. This should be a really good time.
I don't know what else to say now, so this is me signing off.
AC
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Made me laugh...
Blogging -
Never before, have so many, with so little to say, said so much, to so few.
Out.
AC
Never before, have so many, with so little to say, said so much, to so few.
Out.
AC
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Hey...where have you been
Have you taken the time to appreciate where you are right now lately?
It is hard. Great Depression, Bailout, I approve this message, the seahawks suck, the huskies suck, the cougars suck worse, the mariners suck, the sonics move to Oklahoma, for crying out loud the climbers are worse than the rest combined. So what.
It has been absolutely beautiful here. I can't remember a time when the fall colors have been as nice. Maybe this is the first time that tried to appreciate it.
You know what has been a lot of fun...I have been coaching 9 and 10 year old football. It is so cool to watch the boys (and 2 girls) learn this game. They are having success working together. I think that we have finally gotten through to them that if everyone just take care of the own business and doesn't worry about the person next to them, the whole team functions better. I am not one to try and draw too many parallels between sport and life, but that one really seems to take hold with me. Take care of your business, and trust that the one next to you is going to take care of theirs. But most of all...let them take care of their own business.
Sorry that I blog random thoughts, but that is about as long as my attention span is.
I haven't been on for a while.
Back soon,
AC
I
It is hard. Great Depression, Bailout, I approve this message, the seahawks suck, the huskies suck, the cougars suck worse, the mariners suck, the sonics move to Oklahoma, for crying out loud the climbers are worse than the rest combined. So what.
It has been absolutely beautiful here. I can't remember a time when the fall colors have been as nice. Maybe this is the first time that tried to appreciate it.
You know what has been a lot of fun...I have been coaching 9 and 10 year old football. It is so cool to watch the boys (and 2 girls) learn this game. They are having success working together. I think that we have finally gotten through to them that if everyone just take care of the own business and doesn't worry about the person next to them, the whole team functions better. I am not one to try and draw too many parallels between sport and life, but that one really seems to take hold with me. Take care of your business, and trust that the one next to you is going to take care of theirs. But most of all...let them take care of their own business.
Sorry that I blog random thoughts, but that is about as long as my attention span is.
I haven't been on for a while.
Back soon,
AC
I
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
So this is the flip side
Adventures are always interesting, but not always what you thought they would be.
We spent 10 days in the high desert of Utah and Arizona and Nevada. Deserts are hot.
Scene 1: Vegas North
We flew into Vegas and promptly GTFO (Got the F Out) of Vegas. Cicely and I ren
ted a car, and started driving towards Moab, Utah. North to Utah, through St. George and Hurricane, through Zion National Park (sorry that we didn't spend more time there, going back for sure, just not in the summer) out to Bryce Canyon National Park. We spent the night at Bryce, and did a little 3 mile-ish hike around sunset. Bryce is an amazing geological location. To think of the forces and the time to make the Hoodoos is just incredible. These Hoodoos are 100-300 feet tall.
We had breakfast at Ruby's, bought the greatest guide book for the Colorado Plateau, met up with Stu and Andrea, and got on the road.
Driving through southern Utah, is something that everyone should do. There is an endless supply of beautiful things to see. Each time you round a corner, it is more spectacular than, than the last corner, and that never stops.
Scene 2: Moab
Checked into the Gonzo Inn in Moab, Utah. The Gonzo is a killer hotel just a couple of block from downtown. Moab is like an adventure seeker's Shangri-La. What do you want to do today? Climb? Hike? Raft? Dirt-bike? Quad? Horse? Take Photos? Swim? 4x4? Mountain Bike? Eat good food? Drink good Beer? Lounge at the Pool? Shop?
It is all very available, just pick it and do it. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are all within 10 minutes of downtown Moab.
Arches is an awesome photographer's paradise. I didn't get to spend enough time here. I am going back.
We hiked up a little creek to a swimming hole that apparently on locals know about, (and us because we bought the greatest guidebook ever,) hung out there for a few minutes and headed further upstream and found some petroglyphs from the Anasazi Indians. They occupied all of the Colorado Plateau, and have cliff dwellings, ruins, petroglyphs, and pictographs everywhere. It is really cool to go in search of Anasazi evidence. Once we got a little further upstream, we found the best swimming hole in the whole area. When we got there we were the only people there and it stayed that way for about an hour. The funny part is we thought about just staying at the hotel and swimming in the pool. When we got back we saw that the pool was jammed with people that don't know there is life beyond the hotel and we were very glad that we like to get off the beaten path.
We got our mandatory this is how you work everything talk from the outfitter that we rented the raft and kayaks from, and at 8:00am the next day we were at the shuttle service and headed towards the River. Our trip is to be from Mineral Bottom and the Green River to Spanish Bottom just past the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, just above Cataract Canyon.
Scene 3: The River
We hopped on the short bus (appropriate) and took all of our stuff to the river. Got our raft inflated, kayaks dialed and shoved off. It is interesting when you take a trip when there is really no return if things go poorly. Rivers are a one-way street, and we weren't being picked up until 5 days later at the confluence. We have no choice but to continue on.
First day on the river was pretty good Stu and Andrea in the Kayaks, Cicely and Andy in the raft. It is really, and I mean really hot. 100 degrees in the shade, if you could find it, and well over 120 in the sun, my thermometer only goes to 120 and it was redlined.
We got to our first camp after about 4 hours on the river, a cool place at Fort Bottom. It is
named that because of the Anasazi ruin at the top of the hill that the river meanders around. We hiked up to the ruin a little before sunset. You can see for miles. It is fantastic. Climbed back down to camp, and started to ready to make dinner. As soon as the sun ducked behind the hills the bugs came out. And I mean bugs. They were so bad that while you were at the camp kitchen cutting your meat someone else had to be fanning you with a book or something to keep the bugs away long enough for you to concentrate. Cicely and I had 100% deet on, which is a bug repellent that will melt plastic if you touch it, so we didn't get as badly bitten and Stu and Andrea, but it was miserable. As soon as dinner was over we dove into our tents, and didn't get out until the next morning. We packed up camp as fast as we could threw all of our stuff into the boats and got out of there through the haze of bugs. The bugs were so bad that you could actually hear them, when you were just sitting there. A constant hum. We got into the boat and decided that this absolutely sucks, and we want out of this river A S Double A P. We are going to make a push to the confluence and hope we can catch a ride out early.
The next day was hot. Nowhere to hide from the relentless sun. We floated for about 8 hours, and 20 miles that day, and finally decided that we need to find a place to camp. Cicely and I hopped in the Kayaks and went on a scouting mission. We pulled over at one place, and found nothing but desolate river bottom, and it was going to suck to camp here because of no shade. After I ran around for a while we decided to bag this spot in hopes of finding something else downstream and soon. We shoved off and went down a little ways and saw a couple of tents pitched below Turks Head in a spot about 20 feet above the river. We didn't want to camp right next to someone else, but decided to check it out anyway. I wen
t up and talked with the guys, and they said that this was going to be their second night at this camp, and the bugs were nothing like they were at Fort Bottom. There was a ton of room here so we made this spot of home for the next two nights. It didn't even come close to sucking. It had a great location that started to get shade at about 1:30 in the afternoon, there was a perfect swimming hole with a back eddy that made it so you didn't have to swim against the current and could just relax in the water, we spent the whole next day in the river. It was really great.
After the sun started to go away we climbed up the rocks and got on top and hiked all of the way around Turks Head. Unbelievable sunset.
Day 4 on the river we push off and only need to go about 15 miles today. 5-ish hours of floating, well the wind started to blow and we had to paddle for about 3 hours. We found another great camp and Water and Shot Canyons. Had a great night here.
Side bar - Can you see how the the river looks...dirty? It was. absolutely filled with silt. We brought our water filters , and had to get a bucket of water and let the silt settle for at least 3 hours before we could run it through the filter, and even then we could only filter about 6 liters of water and would have to dismantle the filter and let it dry so we could knock the dust out of it and start over. It was a lot of work.
Back to it. This was our last night on the river, and we still had 3 bottles of wine. Stu and I drank most of it, and some gin. It was a good night. It was an even better morning, the sun didn't break over the cliffs until around 9:00am in this camp, that unfortunate occurrence would happen at about 6:30am in all of our other camps, and when the sun hit your tent you had no choice you had to get up or you will cook in your tent.
We got all of our stuff together and shoved off at about 10:00am. We had to be at the below the confluence at 1:00 for the shuttle. No problem. We started going and the river channel narrowed, and so I rowed the craft. By this time the novelty of the kayaks h
ad worn completely off and we just had them both lashed to the raft so it sort of looked like a raft with pontoons. I rowed to the pick up spot, about 6 miles. We got out got our stuff together and the jet-boat came and picked us up. We all sort of felt as if they rescued us. It was a really nice ride 50 miles up he Colorado river and back to Moab. We got out of the river and into the car and headed South to Bluff Utah.
Scene 4: Bluff and the road to the Canyon
Bluff is one of my most favorite places I have been. It is a little town of 300 but there is a motel there that I have stayed in a couple of times now that is clean, has a pool and a hot tub, and a library of area information, and I am talking 3 ring binders full of maps, descriptions, and pictures of darn near everything to do in the area. Oh yeah, it is about 65 dollars a night. Best deal in the US I am sure. And the best thing...a shower. It has been 5 days of taking a bath in a river that is completely filled with silt. Cicely and I were, let's call it... dirty. We spent the night here and then in the morning with hit the road again on the way to the Grand Canyon.
The drive to the canyon was an interesting one. We found a cool site along the
way with a wall full of petroglyphs. It was really neat. As we were traveling through the Navajo Indian reservation we saw a sign that said Dinosaur Tracks. I asked Cicely if she wanted to check that out, she said sure. I think we were both expecting to walk for about 20 minutes in the scorching desert sun and see something that looked remotely like a half of a print and really have to use our imagination. This is what we found. And there were a lot more like this. I was amazed.
The Grand Canyon is unreal. I have been there 3 times and am still blown away by it. If your are anywhere near it, take the time even if it is 6 hours out f the way to go check it out, you won't be disappointed.
Scene 5: Back to Vegas
We got to Vegas and it was even hotter. 111 degrees. We checked into the Mirage, and then checked into the pool and when the sun went down we walked around town. Didn't lose too much money, but what I did lose I lost really, really fast. On the plane the next day, and got home.
Scene 6: Hindsight
First and foremost, I am not going back to the high desert any later than the end of May. It is too hot. Bugs suck.
I am going back to Moab. I think about a week at the Gonzo Inn would be really nice. Spend the days checking out some of the cool stuff around Moab, and sleep in a nice bed. Cold beer on tap has a nice ring to it also.
The four corners region is a place that if you went there for 2 weeks every year for the rest of your life you won't see everything that you would like to. Don't try to see it all, you will only scratch the surface, and be disappointed that you couldn't spend more time in one spot.
Mt. Rainier details to follow.
Over,
AC
We spent 10 days in the high desert of Utah and Arizona and Nevada. Deserts are hot.
Scene 1: Vegas North
We flew into Vegas and promptly GTFO (Got the F Out) of Vegas. Cicely and I ren
ted a car, and started driving towards Moab, Utah. North to Utah, through St. George and Hurricane, through Zion National Park (sorry that we didn't spend more time there, going back for sure, just not in the summer) out to Bryce Canyon National Park. We spent the night at Bryce, and did a little 3 mile-ish hike around sunset. Bryce is an amazing geological location. To think of the forces and the time to make the Hoodoos is just incredible. These Hoodoos are 100-300 feet tall.We had breakfast at Ruby's, bought the greatest guide book for the Colorado Plateau, met up with Stu and Andrea, and got on the road.
Driving through southern Utah, is something that everyone should do. There is an endless supply of beautiful things to see. Each time you round a corner, it is more spectacular than, than the last corner, and that never stops.
Scene 2: Moab
Checked into the Gonzo Inn in Moab, Utah. The Gonzo is a killer hotel just a couple of block from downtown. Moab is like an adventure seeker's Shangri-La. What do you want to do today? Climb? Hike? Raft? Dirt-bike? Quad? Horse? Take Photos? Swim? 4x4? Mountain Bike? Eat good food? Drink good Beer? Lounge at the Pool? Shop?
It is all very available, just pick it and do it. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are all within 10 minutes of downtown Moab.
Arches is an awesome photographer's paradise. I didn't get to spend enough time here. I am going back.
We hiked up a little creek to a swimming hole that apparently on locals know about, (and us because we bought the greatest guidebook ever,) hung out there for a few minutes and headed further upstream and found some petroglyphs from the Anasazi Indians. They occupied all of the Colorado Plateau, and have cliff dwellings, ruins, petroglyphs, and pictographs everywhere. It is really cool to go in search of Anasazi evidence. Once we got a little further upstream, we found the best swimming hole in the whole area. When we got there we were the only people there and it stayed that way for about an hour. The funny part is we thought about just staying at the hotel and swimming in the pool. When we got back we saw that the pool was jammed with people that don't know there is life beyond the hotel and we were very glad that we like to get off the beaten path.
We got our mandatory this is how you work everything talk from the outfitter that we rented the raft and kayaks from, and at 8:00am the next day we were at the shuttle service and headed towards the River. Our trip is to be from Mineral Bottom and the Green River to Spanish Bottom just past the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, just above Cataract Canyon.
Scene 3: The River
We hopped on the short bus (appropriate) and took all of our stuff to the river. Got our raft inflated, kayaks dialed and shoved off. It is interesting when you take a trip when there is really no return if things go poorly. Rivers are a one-way street, and we weren't being picked up until 5 days later at the confluence. We have no choice but to continue on.
First day on the river was pretty good Stu and Andrea in the Kayaks, Cicely and Andy in the raft. It is really, and I mean really hot. 100 degrees in the shade, if you could find it, and well over 120 in the sun, my thermometer only goes to 120 and it was redlined.
We got to our first camp after about 4 hours on the river, a cool place at Fort Bottom. It is
named that because of the Anasazi ruin at the top of the hill that the river meanders around. We hiked up to the ruin a little before sunset. You can see for miles. It is fantastic. Climbed back down to camp, and started to ready to make dinner. As soon as the sun ducked behind the hills the bugs came out. And I mean bugs. They were so bad that while you were at the camp kitchen cutting your meat someone else had to be fanning you with a book or something to keep the bugs away long enough for you to concentrate. Cicely and I had 100% deet on, which is a bug repellent that will melt plastic if you touch it, so we didn't get as badly bitten and Stu and Andrea, but it was miserable. As soon as dinner was over we dove into our tents, and didn't get out until the next morning. We packed up camp as fast as we could threw all of our stuff into the boats and got out of there through the haze of bugs. The bugs were so bad that you could actually hear them, when you were just sitting there. A constant hum. We got into the boat and decided that this absolutely sucks, and we want out of this river A S Double A P. We are going to make a push to the confluence and hope we can catch a ride out early.The next day was hot. Nowhere to hide from the relentless sun. We floated for about 8 hours, and 20 miles that day, and finally decided that we need to find a place to camp. Cicely and I hopped in the Kayaks and went on a scouting mission. We pulled over at one place, and found nothing but desolate river bottom, and it was going to suck to camp here because of no shade. After I ran around for a while we decided to bag this spot in hopes of finding something else downstream and soon. We shoved off and went down a little ways and saw a couple of tents pitched below Turks Head in a spot about 20 feet above the river. We didn't want to camp right next to someone else, but decided to check it out anyway. I wen
t up and talked with the guys, and they said that this was going to be their second night at this camp, and the bugs were nothing like they were at Fort Bottom. There was a ton of room here so we made this spot of home for the next two nights. It didn't even come close to sucking. It had a great location that started to get shade at about 1:30 in the afternoon, there was a perfect swimming hole with a back eddy that made it so you didn't have to swim against the current and could just relax in the water, we spent the whole next day in the river. It was really great.
After the sun started to go away we climbed up the rocks and got on top and hiked all of the way around Turks Head. Unbelievable sunset.
Day 4 on the river we push off and only need to go about 15 miles today. 5-ish hours of floating, well the wind started to blow and we had to paddle for about 3 hours. We found another great camp and Water and Shot Canyons. Had a great night here.
Side bar - Can you see how the the river looks...dirty? It was. absolutely filled with silt. We brought our water filters , and had to get a bucket of water and let the silt settle for at least 3 hours before we could run it through the filter, and even then we could only filter about 6 liters of water and would have to dismantle the filter and let it dry so we could knock the dust out of it and start over. It was a lot of work.
Back to it. This was our last night on the river, and we still had 3 bottles of wine. Stu and I drank most of it, and some gin. It was a good night. It was an even better morning, the sun didn't break over the cliffs until around 9:00am in this camp, that unfortunate occurrence would happen at about 6:30am in all of our other camps, and when the sun hit your tent you had no choice you had to get up or you will cook in your tent.
We got all of our stuff together and shoved off at about 10:00am. We had to be at the below the confluence at 1:00 for the shuttle. No problem. We started going and the river channel narrowed, and so I rowed the craft. By this time the novelty of the kayaks h
ad worn completely off and we just had them both lashed to the raft so it sort of looked like a raft with pontoons. I rowed to the pick up spot, about 6 miles. We got out got our stuff together and the jet-boat came and picked us up. We all sort of felt as if they rescued us. It was a really nice ride 50 miles up he Colorado river and back to Moab. We got out of the river and into the car and headed South to Bluff Utah.Scene 4: Bluff and the road to the Canyon
Bluff is one of my most favorite places I have been. It is a little town of 300 but there is a motel there that I have stayed in a couple of times now that is clean, has a pool and a hot tub, and a library of area information, and I am talking 3 ring binders full of maps, descriptions, and pictures of darn near everything to do in the area. Oh yeah, it is about 65 dollars a night. Best deal in the US I am sure. And the best thing...a shower. It has been 5 days of taking a bath in a river that is completely filled with silt. Cicely and I were, let's call it... dirty. We spent the night here and then in the morning with hit the road again on the way to the Grand Canyon.
The drive to the canyon was an interesting one. We found a cool site along the
way with a wall full of petroglyphs. It was really neat. As we were traveling through the Navajo Indian reservation we saw a sign that said Dinosaur Tracks. I asked Cicely if she wanted to check that out, she said sure. I think we were both expecting to walk for about 20 minutes in the scorching desert sun and see something that looked remotely like a half of a print and really have to use our imagination. This is what we found. And there were a lot more like this. I was amazed.
The Grand Canyon is unreal. I have been there 3 times and am still blown away by it. If your are anywhere near it, take the time even if it is 6 hours out f the way to go check it out, you won't be disappointed.
Scene 5: Back to Vegas
We got to Vegas and it was even hotter. 111 degrees. We checked into the Mirage, and then checked into the pool and when the sun went down we walked around town. Didn't lose too much money, but what I did lose I lost really, really fast. On the plane the next day, and got home.
Scene 6: Hindsight
First and foremost, I am not going back to the high desert any later than the end of May. It is too hot. Bugs suck.
I am going back to Moab. I think about a week at the Gonzo Inn would be really nice. Spend the days checking out some of the cool stuff around Moab, and sleep in a nice bed. Cold beer on tap has a nice ring to it also.
The four corners region is a place that if you went there for 2 weeks every year for the rest of your life you won't see everything that you would like to. Don't try to see it all, you will only scratch the surface, and be disappointed that you couldn't spend more time in one spot.
Mt. Rainier details to follow.
Over,
AC
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
New adventures
In 10 days, Cicely, Stu, Chris, Andrea (a different one) and I are going to spend 10 days in Southern Utah. Hiking, Climbing, Floating on Rivers, Driving, Camping and just about anything else we can think of that sound like fun.
When we get back Cicely, John and I are going to climb Mt. Rainier. We are a little nervous for this. I think that we have gotten into good enough shape, but it a really big hill to walk up. I guess it boils down to the fear of the unknown.
Cicely and I climbed Mt. Ellinor on Sunday, a lady got hurt at the top of the chute. She was down climbing, slipped and lost control. She apparently broke her knee and her shoulder. She was with 3 other ladies on the mountain. I had to lift her out of the glissading trough that had been created. Glissading is when you sit on you butt and slide down the mountain with an ice axe for a brake. The trough was about 4 feet deep in places and looked a lot like an Olympic Bobsled run. This sound like a lot of fun, but the visibility was piss poor, and the trough was so deep that if it hit the fan, you couldn't get out, and will get hurt.
We passed her on the way up. We also passed another lady that was going down to make a call for help.
Cicely and I got to the top of the Mountain, and under the conditions, it was not an easy climb. It was absolutely gorgeous on top. We climbed up through the clouds and right at the top we broke through and could see, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens. All of Western Washington was under the cloud cover as I am sure most of you know. There was nothing but clouds and mountains as far as you could see. I want everyone to be able to see what that looks like. (Sorry, no pictures, in order to see things like that you have to earn it.) Cicely and I found ourselves staring at Mt. Rainier. With that...apprehensive excitement. I can't wait.
On the way back down we stopped and check on the hurt lady and she was getting cold, and was scared. We gave her an extra seat for insulating her butt from the snow, I gave her my warm down coat, and a light stick in case it got dark she could light up her location for the rescue climbers. I hope she sends that stuff back to me.
We then boogied down the hill, and at the bottom saw the sherrif's department getting ready to get her down.
All too often, people go up into the mountains, without the ability to get themselves down in an emergency. I could have gotten her down, but the rescue climbers were on the way. There have been 4 people serioulsy hurt trying to glissade on Mt. Ellinor in the last week and a half. It is dangerous, don't do it unless you know how. And for Pete's sake learn how, it is a total blast.
Climbing and hiking is the most rewarding sport that I have ever been involved in. There is nothing like working your ass off, for sometimes months, to get to see places that rarely get seen.
We are headed to the land of Moab, Utah. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, with stops along the way of Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, and the Grand Canyon. When we get back, the big hill. I will be taking pictures.
See you on the flip side.
AC
When we get back Cicely, John and I are going to climb Mt. Rainier. We are a little nervous for this. I think that we have gotten into good enough shape, but it a really big hill to walk up. I guess it boils down to the fear of the unknown.
Cicely and I climbed Mt. Ellinor on Sunday, a lady got hurt at the top of the chute. She was down climbing, slipped and lost control. She apparently broke her knee and her shoulder. She was with 3 other ladies on the mountain. I had to lift her out of the glissading trough that had been created. Glissading is when you sit on you butt and slide down the mountain with an ice axe for a brake. The trough was about 4 feet deep in places and looked a lot like an Olympic Bobsled run. This sound like a lot of fun, but the visibility was piss poor, and the trough was so deep that if it hit the fan, you couldn't get out, and will get hurt.
We passed her on the way up. We also passed another lady that was going down to make a call for help.
Cicely and I got to the top of the Mountain, and under the conditions, it was not an easy climb. It was absolutely gorgeous on top. We climbed up through the clouds and right at the top we broke through and could see, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens. All of Western Washington was under the cloud cover as I am sure most of you know. There was nothing but clouds and mountains as far as you could see. I want everyone to be able to see what that looks like. (Sorry, no pictures, in order to see things like that you have to earn it.) Cicely and I found ourselves staring at Mt. Rainier. With that...apprehensive excitement. I can't wait.
On the way back down we stopped and check on the hurt lady and she was getting cold, and was scared. We gave her an extra seat for insulating her butt from the snow, I gave her my warm down coat, and a light stick in case it got dark she could light up her location for the rescue climbers. I hope she sends that stuff back to me.
We then boogied down the hill, and at the bottom saw the sherrif's department getting ready to get her down.
All too often, people go up into the mountains, without the ability to get themselves down in an emergency. I could have gotten her down, but the rescue climbers were on the way. There have been 4 people serioulsy hurt trying to glissade on Mt. Ellinor in the last week and a half. It is dangerous, don't do it unless you know how. And for Pete's sake learn how, it is a total blast.
Climbing and hiking is the most rewarding sport that I have ever been involved in. There is nothing like working your ass off, for sometimes months, to get to see places that rarely get seen.
We are headed to the land of Moab, Utah. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, with stops along the way of Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, and the Grand Canyon. When we get back, the big hill. I will be taking pictures.
See you on the flip side.
AC
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Random Observations a la me.
What is the deal with really skinny skater, rocker, punk ass kids wearing even skinnier jeans down past their ass? Big hair, big sunglasses, Big Belts, and your ass is hanging out.
I have a friend that is 17, he says he can't keep his pants up because his belt isn't tight enough. Is that the intellegence level of the future leaders of America? Buy a smaller F'n belt, can it be that hard?
Call me old, not with it, square (damn, I don't even know what they would call me) But boys...you look really stupid.
Economic Stimulus - This is not meant in any way to help you. It is meant for you to spend, and help the retailers. The only sector of the American Economy that is worth a shit, is the sector that sells you...shit. I have no data to back this up but read my other post, I have an incredible ability to read the situation...etc.
The United States became the superpower by our industry. We were able to supply the planet with items more cost effectively than anyone else could. Now we don't...it's pretty much that simple. We buy everything or have everything made off-shore (see: China) therefore, we won't be in control for much longer. North Korea, Iran they have big bombs too. And we pretend like we aren't ever going to use them again.
And for the part of the world that matters the least, but that makes it matter the most to me, when are the Mariners going to shoot Richie Sexon in the head? That is absoultely the worst hitter in the league. He is the biggest rally killer I have ever witnessed. Please Big Richie, go hang out with Shaun Alexander wherever it is overpaid Seattle payee's (not athletes) go.
My dad and I got to take his mast over to the marina today so that we can put it back on his sailboat tomorrow. We have put a lot of work into that mast, and it will be great to see her under sail again.
While I was there, I met a guy that I want to be like when I grow up. He has a boat, a nice one, 60+ feet. He takes his boat to Costa Rica every year. He has a house on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, and volunteers at the University of San Jose in Costa Rica. He is an Oceanographer. Yes, please.
Peace
I have a friend that is 17, he says he can't keep his pants up because his belt isn't tight enough. Is that the intellegence level of the future leaders of America? Buy a smaller F'n belt, can it be that hard?
Call me old, not with it, square (damn, I don't even know what they would call me) But boys...you look really stupid.
Economic Stimulus - This is not meant in any way to help you. It is meant for you to spend, and help the retailers. The only sector of the American Economy that is worth a shit, is the sector that sells you...shit. I have no data to back this up but read my other post, I have an incredible ability to read the situation...etc.
The United States became the superpower by our industry. We were able to supply the planet with items more cost effectively than anyone else could. Now we don't...it's pretty much that simple. We buy everything or have everything made off-shore (see: China) therefore, we won't be in control for much longer. North Korea, Iran they have big bombs too. And we pretend like we aren't ever going to use them again.
And for the part of the world that matters the least, but that makes it matter the most to me, when are the Mariners going to shoot Richie Sexon in the head? That is absoultely the worst hitter in the league. He is the biggest rally killer I have ever witnessed. Please Big Richie, go hang out with Shaun Alexander wherever it is overpaid Seattle payee's (not athletes) go.
My dad and I got to take his mast over to the marina today so that we can put it back on his sailboat tomorrow. We have put a lot of work into that mast, and it will be great to see her under sail again.
While I was there, I met a guy that I want to be like when I grow up. He has a boat, a nice one, 60+ feet. He takes his boat to Costa Rica every year. He has a house on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, and volunteers at the University of San Jose in Costa Rica. He is an Oceanographer. Yes, please.
Peace
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
This could be interesting...or not
Blogging -
Apparently this is where you get to say anything that you want and not have to apologize for it. You get to offend everyone, or no one. You decide. Interesting theroy. Have we become such a milk toast society that the only way you can say what is on you mind is to type it out so that nobody has the opportunity to tell you that you are full of shit?
Frankly, I enjoy the verbal banter. It is a skill that is lost on a lot of people. One has to be quick on their feet, be able to truly listen to the other's point of view, evaluate it and discuss it...intelligently. It really sounds a lot easier than it is. I think that the key to the whole process is truly listening. It is easy to hear what someone is saying, or even think that you are listening ,(yes there is a difference) but to truly listen takes talent. It all starts with wanting to understand, not needing to be understood. (I ripped that off from Dr. Stephen Covey - Habit 5 - read about it)
When having a discussion, don't be quick to jump to conclusions, don't try to formulate your response to a comment before you get to listen to the whole comment, and try to understand who it is you are talking with.
All of this being said, there are a number of things that I am and am not.
I am honest, I am not fake. I call it like I see it. I have a hard time dealing with people that take themselves seriously. (Not too seriously...just seriously) I seem to offend people on a regular basis. I am politically incorrect. I am not afraid of saying something that is going to make you uncomfortable. I am trying to make you think, that is all. I am smart. I seem to have the ability to like certain things about a person, and not care about the rest. I also have the ability to not like certain things about a person and really not care about the rest. I am in love with a girl. I am respectful. I am very good at reading a situation, and making the right decision, simply by feel. I am not interested in the news, unless it happens to be the 5 minutes after the World Trade Center got hit, because it was really news, not news with a spin, just information. I can't stand that we all bitch about the way things are in the world, and don't do anything to change it. I am not a fan of TV. I am a baseball fan. I would rather drive for two hours and talk with you face to face for 5 minutes than talk with you on the phone. I want to leave this place better than when I came. I want you to think for yourself. Most of all I am good. I love my family.
So...with all of this, from now on I will not apologize for anything that I have to say.
Type to you soon,
Andy
Apparently this is where you get to say anything that you want and not have to apologize for it. You get to offend everyone, or no one. You decide. Interesting theroy. Have we become such a milk toast society that the only way you can say what is on you mind is to type it out so that nobody has the opportunity to tell you that you are full of shit?
Frankly, I enjoy the verbal banter. It is a skill that is lost on a lot of people. One has to be quick on their feet, be able to truly listen to the other's point of view, evaluate it and discuss it...intelligently. It really sounds a lot easier than it is. I think that the key to the whole process is truly listening. It is easy to hear what someone is saying, or even think that you are listening ,(yes there is a difference) but to truly listen takes talent. It all starts with wanting to understand, not needing to be understood. (I ripped that off from Dr. Stephen Covey - Habit 5 - read about it)
When having a discussion, don't be quick to jump to conclusions, don't try to formulate your response to a comment before you get to listen to the whole comment, and try to understand who it is you are talking with.
All of this being said, there are a number of things that I am and am not.
I am honest, I am not fake. I call it like I see it. I have a hard time dealing with people that take themselves seriously. (Not too seriously...just seriously) I seem to offend people on a regular basis. I am politically incorrect. I am not afraid of saying something that is going to make you uncomfortable. I am trying to make you think, that is all. I am smart. I seem to have the ability to like certain things about a person, and not care about the rest. I also have the ability to not like certain things about a person and really not care about the rest. I am in love with a girl. I am respectful. I am very good at reading a situation, and making the right decision, simply by feel. I am not interested in the news, unless it happens to be the 5 minutes after the World Trade Center got hit, because it was really news, not news with a spin, just information. I can't stand that we all bitch about the way things are in the world, and don't do anything to change it. I am not a fan of TV. I am a baseball fan. I would rather drive for two hours and talk with you face to face for 5 minutes than talk with you on the phone. I want to leave this place better than when I came. I want you to think for yourself. Most of all I am good. I love my family.
So...with all of this, from now on I will not apologize for anything that I have to say.
Type to you soon,
Andy
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