An interesting day

My small group (Adam Jared, Jon, and myself) and I decided that we were going to use this Saturday (today, August 14th) to go on a hike. So we left this morning around 8am. We had hiked for quite some time an we weren't quite sure where exactly we were but we knew the direction we needed to go as we had a GPS so we started trailblazing. After awhile we came to a creek which we quickly crossed. Of course I didn't make it across without completely submerging my boots, but such is life.

We crossed the creek and came to a relatively steep slope. Jared was leading and so he started up the hill. After making it the majority of the way up he stopped to make sure Adam and I made it up safely.

The ground on the slope were climbing was,in one major part at least, essentially all gravel and very slippery. I made my way up slowly to a set of large rocks. My intention was to climb them as they seemed to be a solid footing. I took one step on the rock and it broke in half. I was in front of it so I wasn't harmed. Adam, however, was behind me. Now when I say rock I mean boulder. It was about the size of a 27 inch TV. I had told Adam what I was about to do so he knew what to expect and was watching me. As a result he saw the rock break and come right at him NOT a pleasant sight! I highly recommend staying away from watching a large boulder roll toward a good friend (or anyone for that matter). I jumped/slid down the slope to where he had stopped. It looked like it had hit him square and I was concerned that he had broken something or worse. Thank God he was alive! The rock had hit him in the shoulder puncturing a hole in the skin. His hand was also pretty messed up and there was a nice mark on his leg as well. After very slowly getting him down the hill and out to the road we took him to the hospital where they cleaned him up. The skin on his hand looked like white stones were covering it and underneath the skin there was mess of dirt and rocks. They were cleaning his hand for maybe 30 minutes. At one point he started bleeding and the blood was bringing dirt out. When all was said and done he went home with several stitches in his hand, leg and shoulder. Praise God it wasn't worse! I don't know how I would've reacted had that rock killed him or done worse damage then it did. However, all in all it was a fun day.

The Yield Sign

    So previous to my major crash last week I had a minor a couple weeks before.  As usually I was riding my bike to work.  I was coming down a hill on the sidewalk, using both front and back brakes to keep my speed down.  As I reached the bottom of the hill I went slowed to cross the street.  I glanced behind me to see the traffic.  I was too close to the edge of the sidewalk and I ran into a Yield (ironic don't you think?) sign.  Not something I recommend.  Fortunately I had a couple layers of clothes on as well as a backpack, taking the brunt of the impact.  So there ya have it.  Yet another crash to add to my portfolio.  I probably should just ride a bus.  Nah!  I need the exercise.  I've got  more stories I want to share but I need sleep.  

Mountain Biking

I'm off today and Joel was going mountain biking with a friend so I tagged along. It was trail riding and the trails were pretty rough. We were riding up rocks and around tight corners. It was quite fun. Somehow I got separated from Joel and I went down the path I thought he had gone on. I'm not exactly certain what happened but I think when I came around a corner there was more of a slope then I anticipated and I went down the hill and at some point went over the handle bars landing square on my left shoulder. It didn't hurt at all. (Yeah, right.) If you believe that I've got a bridge to sell you. The outer marks you see in the picture are really nothing compared to the bruised back and shoulder. It was the first time I actually had to really work to get myself up. It took a couple minutes. Yes, Mom. I was wearing my helmet. Good thing too. There was a nice little dimple on the side. I really do feel sorry for my guardian angel. Actually there's probably a team of them by now and they all get lots of overtime. Fun stuff! I'm seriously looking forward to my next outdoor adventure!

A VERY wet ride

I ride my bike to work. I'll ride in any weather. Rain, snow, whatever. It may not be the wisest thing to do but it keeps me awake and I get good exercise. Of late here in Colorado we've gotten a lot of rain which has made riding my bike to work all the more...interesting. Last night it started raining when I left for work so I rode eleven miles in the rain. I was wearing a raincoat but it really made no difference. Every time I would move my head rain would roll off my helmet into my face. and the closer I got to work, the harder it rained. The last intersection I rode through before I got to work was literally flooded.

I found that riding on the road was difficult because all the rain was pooling up and so riding the sidewalk was the better choice. Ironically it was the "dryer" choice. One thing about Colorado Springs is that they always keep their grass green and so the sprinklers run regardless of the weather. I'm guessing they are on timers or something. Anyway, they're usually running when I ride by and I try to avoid them as to keep from getting wet. However, on this particular night when the thought to avoid them crossed my mind I had to laugh because I was drenched and getting hit by a sprinkler wouldn't have made much difference. Thankfully I had an extra pair of clothes in my backpack. I did have to buy some shoes but other then that, I survived the night. It was a VERY wet ride and it makes for a good story. :-) Maybe someday I'll have grandkids to tell it to. Who knows? Stranger things have happened!

I'm Still Alive!

One of my brothers sent me an email awhile back saying reminding me that I had not written in my blog in a long time. He was right but I got sidetracked and haven't written. However, over the last couple weeks I've started coming into contact with a lot of people I haven't seen in awhile. Plus with the link to my blog on every email I send I thought it might be good to actually write something for a change. In this particular post I'm going to focus on this year rather then go through the whole eight or nine months I've been here.

  I seem to be having the same issues with the bikes I own. Yes. I said bikes. The first one I bought at Walmart and actually held together surprisingly well. They must actually make sure they are assembled well here. However, the quality of the bike is horrible. Both brake lines broke, and the rim (as a result of an unintentional jump) is bent. and am now back in the freezers. It's a curse. No one likes the freezer so it's easy to get into it but really hard to get out. That's ok. I've dealt with the cold before so this is nothing new. Since I've been here I've been able to go up Pikes Peak, see the Garden of the Gods, as well as going up near the Rocky Mountain National Park. I've lost a lot of weight (not that I needed to). Riding almost 110 miles a week will do that.

I've also started bowling again. My first game in over year was a 188! My first series in over a year was 482! Not bad for a guy with a not so solid 126 average. I've actually been able to raise my average 11 pins! Crazy stuff!

This past week I turned 35. Good grief I'm getting close to being old. I caught myself saying "many years" as well as other statements you can only make when you've been alive more then 3 decades. A friend of mine was kind enough to encourage me by saying I was halfway to 70. With friends like that who needs enemies? :-)

(Just a side note. This blog has been written over the last couple weeks and I'm going through my brain right now and as I write (or type) I'm remembering things that are happening. AS a result it may seem like these are just snippets. Some are. But it's getting the juices flowing and eventually I will have much more to say in longer segments.)

My brother has been gracious enough to me to charge me cheap rent for the specific reason that I will be able to get out of debt faster. Hence, I've been trying to get rid of my credit cards as fast as possible by making massive payments. One was just paid off last week.  In fact, I was finally, for the first time ever, able to pay the entire balance on my credit card in one month. (Now I just need to find a woman who will pit up with me...not sure if there is one out there) Next will be working toward a much more solid budget.  I'm slowly but surely making headway.  That's all for now.  More will come.

A wild and crazy week

Have you ever had one of those weeks where wild and crazy (but really cool) stuff happens to you? Well that was my week. What's that? You want me to share it with you? Well...ok. If you insist.

Early in the week I got ambitious and cooked up some chicken to take to work. I had three pieces (good sized pieces). Since they were somewhat large only two would fit in my plastic container I use to put food in. Side note: The container is actually really cool. It's got clasps on all four sides that "Lock in" the freshness. Ok. Back to the subject at hand. Since I had just run out of plastic bags I had to use aluminum foil for the third piece. I put the container and the wrapped chicken in a bag for work. Then I got my stuff and left. When I got to work I put my bag in the refrigerator. When I went on lunch I went to retrieve the bag. It was gone. I had to buy lunch. The cashier told me that she saw me put the bag in the refrigerator so I didn't think I was losing my mind. I got home from work and on the counter was my lunch. SO the question still lingers. What did I put in the refrigerator? We will never know.

Now fast forward to Friday. It was the last night for league bowling. I didn't bowl well. But I bowled better then the previous week. Because we had a tournament on Saturday I took the night off work. Since I usually work on Fridays I can't bowl after league is done. Well I didn't work so I was able to bowl. We bowled about three games I think. Then three of the four members of my team took off and one stayed and bowled for another hour or so with me. I didn't bowl half bad. We were just getting ready to leave when the waitress for the Friday night league and her mom (who works behind the bar) came up to bowl. Well, me being a single guy, I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to bowl with a single woman! So we bowled another hour or so. The guy I was with was drinking the whole time so he was not in a good mental state. There was another guy who was bowling with us and he was drinking quite a bit as well. Now the girl had only bowled four times previous to this and thought she was in dire need of help. Well someone had to help her. So me being the guy that I am offered some advice. (It's a dirty job but someones gotta do it.) Yes. I gave advice on bowling. Scary. What was even scarier was it worked! She was very happy. That made my day. I was able to offer some more pointers (I can't believe I'm even typing this. It doesn't seem possible. I'm usually the guy getting the pointers.) I could've bowled a hundred games on Friday I was having such a good time. It 's not too often that I get interaction with people like that.

Now today (Saturday, April 5) was an association (I'm guessing the ABA or American Bowlers Association) tournament at the new bowling alley that just opened up in Houghton. Nice place. I'll be going back there. I didn't do well the first couple games but the last game I came out strong and finished strong with a 174. I was happy. The best part was I was having a good time with good friends. I can't wait to do it again! so I guess it wasn't that wild and crazy a week but I sure had fun and that's what matters. That's all for me today. Oh yeah. I got my web site up this week. Check it out!

http://www.northwoodsnomad.com/

A Drive I Won't Forget

I'm going to try and do this on a regular basis to let people know what's going on UP here in the Keewenaw.

Todays is about the weather. Last night we got a little snow. I had slept all day and didn't leave the house until just before I went to work. The drive in was the scariest drve of my life. I left Calumet and the weather was fine. However, as soon as I left it started blowing and snowing. I couldn't see and was being blown all over the road. We haven't gotten a lot of snow lately which was good because I was on the shoulder at one point. I know that you (Mom) will be really worried now but please don't be. I never went over 30 miles an hour and actually stopped at one point because I couldn't see. I was being very cautious and would've turned around but didn't want to turn around and drive back through that mess! Anyway, I was praying all the way in. God saw to it that I got in safely. So that's my first post. Have a good day!