Last month, we had a family reunion in Pidgeon Forge Tennesse.  We visited Dollywood, Saw the "Stampede" show, went zip lining, white water rafting (the easy stuff), and got to spend some time hanging out with the family.

At Dollywood I think we got to ride just about every coaster they had... We even, at the last minute, made it on to the one with the tripple loop that goes up into the mountains... The one down side to the day, is that I left behind a bag of merch in my hurry to gather everyone up and get them into the car.  I was pretty upset with myself when I realized that.  :(

We went to Legacy Mountain Zip Line tours for our zip line day.  The guides we had were great!  They were funny, and had plenty of dad jokes for the kiddos... They were all very skillful and made us feel right at home up on the lines.  The views were amazing... I wish I would have snuck my phone along with me, but they weren't allowed.  We did get the photo's from them though (see below).

The white water rafting was an idea my cousin Krysten had.  We went with Big Creek Expeditions.  Because we were taking the littles (all of the kids under 10 pretty much, and Abby) we stuck to class I & II rapids.  We still had a blast though.  Our guide was very knowledgable, and was great with the kids.  We had water gun fights between the rafts on the smoother sections, and the views... <3 <3 <3  There was a bit of adventure for one of the other rafts though... they got into a tree that had wasps... everyone jumped out of the rafts into a Class I section and a mom and a son got dragged down stream over some rocks after getting stung several times... A closer boat performed rescuses for the two, then all three rafts went to shore for some first aid, and a little time to calm the heart rates.  Everyone was OK, nothing more than some stings and some scrapes.  Again, the guides were all very knowlegable, and worked as a team to get everyone safe and packaged up quickly.

The time spent with family was the best though.  We played games, and caught up... told stories, and just in general enjoyed passing the time.  It was loud, and stressful, and fun, and I miss them already.  Here's looking forward to the next one... 2028?

It feels like I have been getting injured a lot lately.  There are those who point to my age and shrug... Don't all guys my age get hurt a lot when they try to "act young"?  Should I just "Act my age"?  Is this my "New Norm"?

I guess I'm not ready to accept those answers yet.  I see too many guys out there my age and older that are still crushing life.  If they can do it, then I feel like, with enough effort, I can too.  So I have been researching my injuries, and how to resolve them, and I found a couple of books that have really explained how these injuries keep occurring, and they gave me tools to mitigate the issues.  

The first book that I read was Climbing Injuries solved.  This explains injuries to the Hands, Shoulders, and Arms (a common occurrence for climbers).  It discussed in depth how these areas are put together, and how injuries occur... but more importantly they go over some strategies to prevent injuring yourself when climbing.  The prevention ideas were useful, but I didn't have (and currently don't) any injuries going in these areas... so I moved on to research how other areas of the body are put together.

Built From Broken is a book that goes over general movement, and how to restore the entire body.  It provides exercises, detailed examples of how to roll, or trigger pressure points for hard to reach muscles, and other prevention and repair techniques.  I found this book useful most because it gives specific exercises and plans for preventative work.  I've been working on integrating these workouts into my week, and have found myself with less aches overall, and more energy to boot.

The issue now was my hip.  There was a little information on the hip in Built From Broken, but I was still struggling with getting my hip to stop hurting after runs.  I found a book called Tight Hip, Twisted Core that introduced me to the Iliopsoas muscles.  It explains in great detail how these two muscles (the iliacus specifically) could affect almost your entire body.  It described how what causes this muscle to get tight (spoiler sitting for too long each day, among other things we all do), and how to work on a muscle so deep inside your hip.  

I've been working on the Iliacus for a couple weeks now, and the hip pain has steadily gotten better.  I have more flexibility, and far less pain than I  have had for years!  I'm very excited to see how far I can take this new information.  If you are interested, links to these books can be found on the Self Help page under recommendations.

One of the many things I look forward to each year is our Annual Christmas with my Uncle David, my Cousin Alya, and Py, an adopted cousin.  This year we got to hold it in a cabin in Mountainburg, Arkansas.  The place was perfect.  Out of the way, large, relaxed, and cozy.  10/10 recommend this place.  The owner is Brian and he goes out of his way to ensure you have a great, relaxing time soaking in the environs.

This place had a pool table which everyone seemed to enjoy.  Even mom played a round or two.  The boys learned how to hold a que and Abby refined her pool skills.  

This year, mom got a new Royal Rummy board, so we got to play a lot of Royal Rummy.  

As always the weekend goes to fast, and I'm writing this sitting in Texas wondering where the time went... flipping through pictures, and planning out next years event.

For those that don't know, I decided back in July to get my tonsils removed.  There was a concern that they were different sizes, which can in some cases suggest Cancer of the Throat (don't worry, the biopsy is already back.  I'm good to go).  But also, I have been having a lot of difficulty sleeping due to sleep apnea, and the machine they gave me doesn't want to stay on as I'm a busy sleeper (lots of tossing and turning), and I have always gotten a lot of ear infections and sore throats.

Funny Story:  All my life Doctor's have been looking into my mouth, then exclaiming "WOW those are huge.... do they bother you?"... I've never really had trouble swallowing, and my breathing was always normal, so I'd say no, and we would move on.  My current doctor asked specifically about my sleep apnea, then asked about persistent bad breath, infections, Strep and other sore throat things.  I realized, my tonsils HAVE been bothering me all this time... and getting away with it.  Sometimes I think professionals don't realize what they know that isn't common knowledge... they never asked specific questions, and I never knew I needed to.

I had the surgery on the 2nd, and recovered pretty much all last week.  The first day I don't think I really ate anything at all, and for days after all I could get down was ice cream.  It was terrible (wink).  After that I began getting better by leaps and bounds, and Monday (12th for those tracking) of this week I was cleared to start running again.  I wasn't expecting to run again until next week at the earliest based on the Doctor's previous statements.

What amazes me is how much better I'm sleeping.  I'm not getting more sleep, but I am feeling much more rested.  Even the metrics my Garmin watch support show me going from 90% blood oxygen levels to 100% oxygen levels when asleep, and my "Body Battery" has been fuller overall as well.  My runs this week (Monday, and this morning) have both shown improvements as well.  

I'm not normally one for hacking off body parts, but I'm pretty happy on this one!

Last weekend, we witnessed, then later spoke to a man who was nearly attacked by a Bison.  He wanted to get a "good pic" of the Bison, and so kept getting closer to really capture it well.  When he got a little to close the Bison jumped up and stomped his front hooves in warning, and the man (and his 4 kids) fled.  When we spoke to him, he was laughing about it, adding his kids knocked a camp chair and blanket into the fire (during high winds no less).  Part of me felt for him, out numbered 4 to 1 by kids.  Trying to do it all on his own.  You have to admire him for that if nothing else.  However, we need to do more to educate people on how to be outdoors.

All to often I read stories of animals who are put down, or maligned in newspapers for defending themselves from a human who comes to close for the animals comfort.  I get it, I like to get photos of animals too, but there is a line you just don't cross.  The refuge states on their website to not get too close to the wildlife, but I'm not sure some people really know what that means.  Honestly I'm not sure I do either... I usually try to keep a solid 50 or 60 yards between us when I'm out.  If you want a picture from closer, I recommend buying a telephoto lens.

There were a lot of people with fires going during the weekend.  The burn risk was set to very high, and the winds were blowing strong.  Abby and I didn't start a fire as we felt the risk of the fire being blown into the dry surroundings was to high.  Everyone assesses risk differently.  I noticed some folks had small fires for cooking, and watched them intently.  Seemingly never leaving the fireside until it was out.  Others had large fires, with the wood stacked above the fire ring, and were either a few yards away, eating or talking, or in at least one case, in their tent.  

Fires are a real problem also.  California has frequent fires, and Colorado recently had a large fire that impacted a lot of people as well.  It's a risk to more than just the Refuge, or Park area.  Those fires don't stop at the Park boundaries, and homes and businesses are lost.  In some cases Lives.  Please, if your going to have a fire, watch it.  Don't leave it burning.  Ask a neighbor to watch it if you must leave (for example to take your kiddo to the latrine you just came back from... never done that before).  

Ok, I'll get off my soap box now.

We arrived at around 10 PM. and got the tent setup, and enough gear into the tent to sleep.  

The next morning, we headed out to see the top of Little Baldy our favorite hangout when we are in town.  The winds were high!  I have a video of Abby bend over struggling against the wind again.

We came down from Baldy and attempted to head into the boulder field near Elk Mt... However dad took a wrong turn, and we almost summited Elk Mt. instead.  Abby wasn't to happy, she was looking forward to seeing the Boulder fields.  We did find a lizard, and some pretty flowers though.  One flower had honey bees all over it.  You could see the pollen bursting from their little legs...  so not a total bust.  

After that, we stopped in at the prairie dog village, and said hi!  then we ran up Mt. Scott and boulder hopped around a bit more.  Afterwards, we re-fueled with some S'mores.

That evening we ran up Little Baldy again to watch the sunset, setup the telescope and view the stars.  Unfortunately the winds were still going, and it got colder than we anticipated... so we ended up bailing.  Next time Stars!

The next morning we ran up Baldy again to say our goodbyes, then to Meers for a ... ahem... "small" meal.  Abby had the Seismic burger... that's 1 pound of beef!  She ate almost all of it, and swears she could have eaten more, but wanted to save some room for ice cream.(Which she got a large helping of also).

On the way home we stopped in Medicine Park and walked the river, and looked in on some shops.  Abby performed Singing in the Rain for everyone!  (OK, not really, I made that one up.)

It wasn't long after that, and Abby was out cold, catching up on all the sleep we missed out on during the trip.

Overall we had a blast on the trip.  Abby was excited to tell grandma all about it when we got home.  Dad's looking forward to cleaning and packing away gear for the rest of the week, and then maybe getting some rest before Scarborough Fair this weekend.  More exciting adventures to come!

Overall I would say the trip was pretty easy.  The paddling was never hard, the scenery was beautiful.  I wouldn't pick the same camp site (Moon Lake #3) again... I would get the one next to it (Moon Lake #2).  The pullout was pretty steep, and the woods very dense.  Lukily we all have small backpacking tents that we could fit in between the trees.  I will have to come back when the 'gaiters come out to play, but otherwise this was a perfect trip. 

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The kiddo's finally have their shots complete, and we are near the end of our three week settling period.  I'm starting to look forward to reintegration with the world.  I had hopped it would be something I didn't dread, but in a few ways I'm still dreading it.  The Vaccine isn't a guarantee we won't get COVID, and there are still risks to getting it.  

Having said that, I miss my friends, and climbing at the gym and in the woods of Texas, Arkansas, and abroad.  I have missed out on several trips as we sat hunkered down in the home bunker waiting for vaccines to be approved.  I look forward to heading out on trips, and hanging with the climber fam.

Masks and regular boosters seem to be the new norm.  Even my office is opening up more in the new year, bringing us all back to work along side one another.  The world has been on hold for so long.  Some held out longer than others, but at some point I think we all reach our boiling point.  That place where our longing for living our life tugs just a little harder than the risks associated with doing so.

I'm back, and my kids are too.  Can't wait to see what lies just over the next ridge.

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

I just got my booster!  The third round went much easier on me than the first two.  Rather than being down for days, I was a little sore at the shot site, and was very exhausted for two days.  Reinforces my sense of security having had the vaccination.

Unfortunately we cannot vaccinate our youngest yet.  The Doctor's and big pharma are working to get clearance for our kiddos, and I for one cannot wait.  I want to get back out into the world again... I miss my friends and family, and I look forward to spending time in the great outdoors once more.  With daily cases in the US steadily approaching 300k we are back to hospitals being overrun, and people we know being sent home after operations that are normally in-patient.

If you haven't yet, please consider getting vaccinated, if not for yourself, then for us.  If you have been vaccinated, they have started giving boosters to those  with underlying conditions.  Please reach out to your doctor if you think you might have one.

Sunday, July 11, 2021

Abby and I went Kayaking yesterday.  We decided to explore the East Fork Trinity River, south of the reservoir dam.  We explored about 2 miles of river total, and there is a branch that looks promising for a return trip.

We had a great time on the river.  Although it was warm, this year hasn't been very hot by comparison, so it makes for nice outings.  I think we might have sent our heat elsewhere (My condolences to the North).  We found a small waterfall that we had to portage around just under the highway (Hwy 78), but the portage was pretty easy.  We took a wrong turn and ran into a small dead end / pond.  When we got back on track, the river narrowed, and picked up speed significantly.  I explored down that branch to see if it was doable, and almost didn't make it back.  We decided to call it quits there, and head back to the car.

Note, if you follow in our foot steps, the portage from the parking lot to the launch is long, and can be slippery.  There are steps just shy of the rail's bridge that are helpful, but the steps are uneven, so use caution.  Also, they require you launch from the south side of the bridge due to the dams runoff.  Not sure why, but I presume it is due to boaters getting stick in the eddy created by the spillway.

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Trish and I went to Hot Spring this last weekend for our 1 year anniversary.   We camped at Hickory Nut Trailhead in the hopes of avoiding the crowds, and were rewarded with near solitude.

Monday, February 22, 2021

Ok, Ok... that might be a bit dramatic.  I recently had a medical scare that got me to thinking about updating my will.  In researching a bit, I found that Living Trusts make things easier on those you love after you are gone, and can also provide some additional protections via Medical Power of Attorneys, and the like.  Here is what I have done.

I attempted to use a software package called WillMaker.  It sounded pretty straight forward, but I found they make it sound like you need to transfer all your vehicles, bank accounts, investment accounts, and pretty much everything you have your name on to the trust instead.  In looking at how to do this, I found many companies simply won't.  

I finally threw up my hands and hired an attorney to help me make sense of it all.  My attorney wrote up 7 documents, and walked me through moving my house title to the trust.  She explained that most other items won't need to be put directly in the trust, but can be with a little patience.  

The documents created are listed below, with a brief (very non legal, IANAL, don't sue me) summary of the documents.  

Directive to Physicians:  This document basically lets me tell doctors not to waste money keeping me on a ventilator if it is unlikely I'll ever recover to the point of living without machine assistance.

Medical Power of Attorney:  This document allows people I have selected to make medical decisions when I am not able to do so.

Declaration of Guardian:  Provides me a guardian in the event I'm unable to take care of myself.

Statutory Durable Power of Attorney:  Allows those I have selected to make decisions for me if I am unable to do so myself.

Agent for Disposition of Remains:  Allows those I have selected to decide what is done with my remains should they be available.

Pour-Over Will:  This covers anything not in the Trust.

Revocable Trust with contingent trust for minor children:  This is a trust that I am in control of until I am no longer able to make decisions, and then people I select will take over.

I selected three people to succeed me.  My mother was the first person I chose, but given her age, I thought it wise to have a backup.  I selected two of my closest friends.  However I chose two because I tend to go out on outdoor adventures with them.  I feel it is more likely that if a major event occurs I will be with one of them at the time.  Hopefully only one of them.... well... hopefully none of us, but being realistic... 

The total cost of having these drawn up was $2,200.00.  However, I feel it was well worth the costs given the stories I have heard about people losing their homes because the finances get locked down after a persons injury/death.

Once this was complete, I began working on transferring knowledge to my selected contacts.  Having just had my father pass away, I realized how difficult it would be for someone to step into my place and keep things running with nothing but the documents above.

I started by pulling together the information I believe they might need.  Most of this information was placed in a safe in the house, the rest is available online. I put together a packet in the safe and labeled it.  I also created a document to hand to them.  This document provided them with information on accessing my house, and the safe.  It also provided them with credentials to get into my password safe, and online repository for all of my online accounts.  Included in this envelope will be a copy of the Medical Power of Attorney to provide medical personnel should it be needed.

I sat down with or called (COVID after all), everyone and went over the information and discussed what to expect and answered what questions I could.  

I found an article about setting up your phone so it shows your emergency contacts on your lock screen.

I have made the trust the beneficiary on pretty much everything with a beneficiary... 401k, rollover IRA, Investment accounts, insurance, etc... 

I'm still working on moving over my bank accounts, but that may take a bit of time.  I have to fill out some forms and mail them in manually.  It's a bit of a pain.

Check with the insurance and lenders of anything you transfer in.  My insurance ended up being fine with it, but I understand from my lawyer that every now and a lender will demand payment on property put into a Trust.  I inferred this was usually smaller companies.

If you have any questions you think I could answer, or areas you would like me to expand upon, let me know.