From the ocean to the rivers

I've been slacking a little bit on the bloggage lately and I'm sure you all are just chomping at the bit.....yeah right, I don't know if anyone even reads this thing? Hello, is this thing on....echo....echo. Don't be shy.....sign the little chat box thing there on the right eh and let me know what you think?

Anyway, we've been a whirl of activity it seems for the last month. T and I both flew down to Florida at the end of June and I spent a great week down there with her family. We survived the flight down with the wee ones, they were actually pretty darn good on the plane. Only having one freakout a piece, which were both short lived. T stayed another week and half while I held down the Missoula homestead bachelor style.

T's brother was gracious enough to take us deep sea fishing off the Palm Beach coast for 2 great days. The weather was perfect, no thunderboomers or other nastiness. The air was warm but the breeze kept it nice. All in all we brough in a mahi mahi, a couple blue runners, a wahoo and a bonita. We even hooked into a shark on one of the live blue runners we strung up for bait. Man did that shark make a serious run, but in the end it snapped the line. Here's some pics.....

Mahi Mahi

15 lb Bonita

Blue runner

The Doughboy, our boat for the 2 days
Wahoo!
Tracy's new car, a Lamborghini

Then just a few days ago we got to get out and do a nice float on the Blackfoot. T's mom was in town so we were taking full advantage of their offer to babysit. The tuber hatch was just starting luckily, so the hippy redneck tubers were not in full swing. We used a goddard caddis and slayed'em. While I won't claim to have caught any monsters, I definitely landed 20 fish w/in about 2 hours. Probably about 1/2 of those were tiny guys, and the rest in the 10-12" range.

T hooked a few nice ones on the ole' spinner

Notice Steve's smoothly shaved arms, almost as shiny as the fish scale, huh?

Look at this beast, I almost had to use a gaff to get it up

Mt. Sentinel burns in Missoula

*Images from www.newwest.net
Last Wednesday I was hanging out at home when a friend called and asked if I was on the fire. "What fire?" I asked as I ran out side to see what he was talking about. Holy crap! Fire was racing up the side of the "M" with grey smoke pouring off the top of Sentinel.

Turns out, 2 boys (7 and 8 years old) were playing with a lighter burning phone books at the base of the hill. I would have put money on it that it was a firework, but unfortunately not. Those two little boys are going to be a lot of trouble w/ their parents.

I was still on light duty with the old knee, I sat a watched the action from town. I kept a watchful eye in between batters at McCormick Field as I kept score and drank a beer.

The fire ended up being about 360 acres and mostly burned grass and brush. Although the fire got into the timber, fuel moistures were still high enough that all the trees escaped unscathed.

Here's a great video that Firewater Films put together of the action

This looks fun, but I don't have the skillz or the balls

I think this place is just on the outskirts of Missoula. Wow, these kids got mad building skills and biking balls. I'd like to go check it out, but I think I'll just bring my camera. Check out the video, Elk Trail

Starting to feel somewhat normal

Since I got my mountain bike a few weeks ago I've been able to go on a few rides a week. It has done wonders for my mental state. I actually feel like I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and turning the corner on this rehab. Most of the rides are 5-7 miles but I've been on a few 10-12 milers and the knee feels pretty good. My buddy's have asked me while riding, hows the leg feel.....it feels tired like the other one is my response.

I haven't had any pain in the knee after or on these rides, it just a matter of restoring and building up the muscle in that left quad. Plus I am lacking some endurance, but those will come with time.

The rides around Missoula are impressive. The Rattlesnake, although I've only done 3 up there, never ceases to amaze me. Smooth ass single track that makes ya feel like a hero. Pattee Canyon serves up a little more road action than single track (at least in my limited explorations so far), but is still pretty damn sweet. And Blue Mountain is close to my house, so it's convienent but really lacks the great single track that the other places offer.

I am digging how much more country you can see on a bike vs hiking. And then the downhill? Forgetaboutitfool, it is badass. I'm gettting a great work out on the way up and then having a ball on the way down. I hope biking doesn't jade me too much on hiking.

We're going to be headed for Florida here in a few days to visit T's family. I can't wait for some sun and beach action. The 4 hour flight from SLC to Fort Lauderdale with the kiddies should be a blast, I'll keep ya post. For now, enjoy some pics from recent rides around Missoula.






And this is pretty cool. Click here to see a panoramic view that I created from taking 4 pictures from the top of Mount Sentinel last week

Taxi ride in Hanoi, Vietnam

I found this cool video clip over on the snaz blog, one the sites that I frequently check out. It reminds me of the few trips we've took over in SE Asia. Its amazing to see how many people the pack on the scooters. Check out how many babies you see squeezed in between the riders on the scooters. Someday maybe America will catchup?

One more year

I turned 34 this week, so we celebrated with a bbq. We had a good turn out and lot of fun. We even had a fire in the backyard in the new fire pit that I bought for my birthday, good times. Got out on a good mountain bike ride up Mt Sentinel too.

Lochsa Falls rafting carnage

This is great. I wish I could be over there running it right now, but I don't think the knee is ready for this kind of action. Some serious laughs to be had when watching Lochsa Falls from the pullout.

3 Month update on the ole' wheel

I really can't believe how much better my knee has started to feel in the last 2 weeks. I literally have found myself saying, wow my knee feels normal. Albeit, there are still certain motions where I can feel a difference. But the biggest thing is that I can finally see my muscle tone returning to almost normal. I would say that it is 90%.

I have increased riding the bike to 1 hour/4 times a week (~12-15 miles). Three days a week I hit the gym and do my weights and jumps. I've worked up to 210 lb squats 3 x 20 (which isn't much, but its a great improvement). My leg presses are steadily increasing, at about 210 lb 3 x 20 and single leg at 120lb. I continue to increase weights on the rest of the exercises as well.

Two weeks ago the PT introduced jumps into my workouts. So I try to do 100 jumps 3 times a week. I do straight up jumps holding at the bottom for 2 seconds, side to side (kinda like skiing), 180 degree jump arounds. He also recommended that I skip but I'll be honest I have been slacking on that.


The thing I most excited about is my new mountain bike. I shopped around for 2 months and then finally found a deal and half on Ebay. I found a Kona Dawg Deluxe for over half what it normally retails for. I have a feeling that my kayak may be a bit lonely this summer.

And lastly, I had a my 3 month check up with the doctor today and he was impressed. He gave me an emphatic "you are doing great!" We talked about continue to train hard and continuing to push myself. Range of motion is full, at 130 degrees. No pain anywhere. All test showed tight ligaments. So we left it at another check up at 3 weeks, which at the point it looks like I will be able return to regular work duty. FKNA, they had told me 6 months and I'm a looking like 3.5 months, yes.

Some old school fire pictures

I dunno, maybe it was the heat. We had three 90 degrees days this weekend, way to hot for this time of year. Apparently summer thinks its time to turn on the heat. Anyway, the 80 deg. living room pushed me into the basement, trying to escape the heat. I found my old fire album and scanned some pictures. Kinda cool looking at them. Enjoy.

The photos are from 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999. Some the areas I remember going - All over Nevada, the Big Bar Complex, the Idaho City Complex, Corral-Payette Complex, McCall, Sesech

2 month update on the knee

Its been a while since I gave an update on the ole knee. Things are going well, the knee feels great all in all. I have very minimal swelling and very little pain if any. The main thing that has really improved is my confidence. I've ran for short distances now and it feels pretty good, just a little lagging on the extension. I have also started to do the StairMaster and the Eliptical, feels great. The PT has me doing some agility stuff to help the reflexes and confidence.

I even got out to wade fish this week. While over at a fire conference near Butte earlier in the week, we had a few hours to kill. A buddy and I drove down to Warm Springs Wildlife Refuge

Although we didn't exactly slay the fish, it was great to get out. I wore my knee brace and was super careful on the mossy rocks. The water really does run pretty warm there (thus the name) so its pretty slick wading. But the flows are pretty small so its not too pushy. Neither of us brought in a fish, I hooked one on a San Juan Worm but couldn't bring him in. There are some great stretches of water there, it just gets a lot of fishing pressure so they're pretty smart.

I've kept a lot of the bike riding I've been doing. More than anything, it is just a way to keep myself motivated. That way I can tell if I have been slacking by looking at the sheet. All in all since Feb 5th - May 10th I have riden 615 miles.

Here's the basic breakdown of my lifting at the gym. All sets of 3 x 10 unless otherwise specified:

Leg press: 180lbs

One leg down: 100

Leg pulleys (curl, straight back, side adduction): 30lbs

Squat: 155lbs

Hamstring curl (one legger): 45lbs

Medicine ball throw: 14 lbs 3 x 20 reps

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Getting Western - Emigrant, Montana

Last weekend we were invited down the annual branding at the West Creek Ranch (Rocking 50). The usual contingent of Firemen that are dumb enough to voluntarily wrestle 200 pound wild calves were invited. I was there purely for the coaching of newbies, drinking lots of beer, mocking and taking pictures. Sidelined with the ACL reconstruction seemed to be the smart excuse to sit this year out.

All in all the group kicked 275 calves asses. This includes, but is not limited to:

1. Rounded up and seperated from their moms
2. Chased around the pen until they are roped by the back hooves (sometimes one hoof, look out cowboy). Dragged out to a testosterone charged crowd waiting to work them over
4. Wrestled or thrown to the ground, one leg reefed one way, the other leg drawn back; don't forget the boot up the butthole
5. 2 vacinations with a needle like a straw
6. Branded by the iron
7. If yer a dude, you are also getting castrated on the spot. The scrotum is wacked off and the nuts yanked/cut from you. Don't worry you get some bacterial spray and some blood stop powder lil fella.
8. A good smack on the ass and life is gravy in the pasture.

Now you city slickers might be saying, dang that sounds inhumane. But ask yourself, how often do enjoy the fruit of the plains? (ie burger and/or steak) Okay then.

Anyhow, the weather held up and it only spit snow and rain on us towards the end (the next day was a blizzard). A massive BBQ was served up afterwards and then the drinking begins. I like playing cowboy for one day a year, otherwise I'm all good.

I borrowed my buddies camera with a great telephoto lens. I'll let the pics do the rest of the talking. Also, Tracy put up some pics on her blog - http://twinventuresmt.blogspot.com/

Cool perspective on this one, check out the rope


Love the action in this shot

The views were just okay, J getting his fish on

One of the coolest guest cabins ever.

BBQ time

Tell me this couldn't be a Wrangler ad

Don't worry lil feller, its almost over.

Photos from the Vegas trip

Just finally getting around to putting up some photos from our trip to Las Vegas. The trip was a kick ass break. The weather could not have been better. We soaked in the 80 degree temps by the pool all day long.

It was nice not to stay in Vegas proper, we all enjoyed the quiet desert living. We ventured down to the Vegas one night for some casino hopping and people watching. Getting the fam together was great. Its crazy seeing the 4 little ones together, I can't wait till they're all mobile.

My quest to get sunburned

Hot Damn! It's a heat wave in Western Montana. We've had 3 glorious days of much needed warmth and sunshine. Today the temp got to 79! It doesn't take long to notice that people have been enjoying it, just look around at the sunburned faces. I noticed 2 different guys at a BBQ yesterday that had the tell tale signs of floating a river, racoon eyes.

Did I have sunburn envy? Maybe.....I thought about getting out on the river. T and I gazed up at the Bitterroots from our friends house in Stevi, missing that view that we too used to have. Not too long after that I got a picture text from my buddy, a new raft sitting his garage.

"4 hr Broot tomorrow?"

"Hell yes, I'm in"

And so my quest for sun began. Being that I really haven't done anything "outside" for 2 months, I was jacked. We got out of town on a leisurely pace and headed for the Root. I dropped J off at Bell Crossing, then I took the truck and trailer to the Stevi take out. I then rode my bike 7 miles back up to the put in.

Alas, the sun was strong, but the fishing was lacking. We got Skunked, with a capital S. We missed 2 fish and probably saw 20 risers. We both kept waiting for the bugs to turn on. We saw a few skwalas, but not a lot. We ended up trying everything, buggers, streamers, all the dries....nothing.

But I did get my sunburn, so who cares?

Do you have too much time your hands?

Well, chances are good that you have too much time your hands if you're reading this blog. But since you are, I've got something that will make you feel better about yourself. These guys most definitely are putting all their talents to work. Check out this video, pretty amazing

Crazy domino type thingy through the whole house

Highlights of 2007-08 season

I'm on daddy day care today, T is out and about enjoying some time to herself. She opted out of skiing today, despite my prodding she just wasn't into it. I found myself reminising a bit, and pulled up my ski notes for this winter. Wow, it was a good year even though it was cut at least a full 3 months short. There will be great skiing this year into May. All the resorts are boasting a 100" base, thats the best its been since the big winter of 96-97.

Anyway, here are a few hightlights that noted:

• 19 ski days (12/6 - 1/29)
• 13 days of +6" of powder
• One waist deep day (see this video - Trench Warfare)
  
  
  Lolo Pass deepness - Trench Warfare from freakofsnow on Vimeo.
  
  

Update on the knee: Saw the doctor at the beginning of the week, his prognosis: 2 degrees range of motion difference b/t the good and bad knee = GREAT! I am spinning 8-10 miles a day. I'm also starting to be able to lift more, 100lbs on the leg press (both legs), 20 lbs on the hamstring pulley curl, squatting 45lbs. All in all the last 3 days the knee has felt great, the pain has really subsided and I have minimal swelling.