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John with his boyhood toys

This Fall we leisurely meandered through to Central/West Canada, that'd be up to Winnipeg via the US route.

We spent time with my almost sister and brother, cousins Don & Arlene. Spent more time with the friends at Leisure Travel, including Bill and Helen in Winkler and then headed down through the Dakota's, Crazy Horse Monument and Mt. Rushmore and on to KS. Our first stop was Lyons where we renewed ties with John & Lola and then on to Goessel and Hillsboro the towns where I learned how to teach and acquired a bit of formal education.

Over the next while, and in no special order, I'm going to record a bit of each hi-lite. Will to get back to Manitoba shortly and then on to the rest of the trip. But today I'm relishing the memories of our day with John & Lola. Two teachers who I believe were extraordinary. The testimonials of students enforce that belief.

John rivals Elsie's sisters as a story teller and we re-lived the story of a minister at the church where John choir conducted. The minister graphically described how sin can ensnare you with the analogy of the octopus and it's 'testicles' of sin. And what was so funny is that no one in the congregation seemed to catch the slip. Lola described that as John attempted to stifle his laughter by squeezing his hands on the seat of the pew, the whole pew shook.

We had a blast visiting the past! Lola and I shared many of the same classes at Tabor. That was good for a story or more! And over wonderful Chinese cuisine talk drifted to family and with it some somber moments as we each were updated on the health and well-being of those precious to us. We heard about a daughter's struggle with MS and the challenges she and her family face. This re-enforced what it is that is so great about our healthcare system and social safety net in Canada.

We regaled them with stories of our night at a New Christy Minstrels show http://www.thenewchristyminstrels.com/ last winter. And to our delight, they informed us that Dave Deutschendorf, an uncle of John Denver and alum of Tabor as well has joined the group. That got me going and I was successful in renewing ties with him and will get to meet up with him as they tour AZ this winter.

I have my peccadillo's, as Elsie would say, with my Santa collection, John's 'thing' is his delight with discovering the toys of his boyhood. Perhaps I can inspire him to blog the story of his quest and the outcomes of that little saga. If he sends me the link to the catalog of the toy maker, I'll include it on this page. You'll love it!

Death Valley Mini Album

Photo album made with Smilebox

Of the many hi-lites of our Fall travels one has been the days that we spent at Death Valley. One of the many prominent geological features is it's monumental 'alluvial fans.' It's so exciting getting to understand and appreciate our surroundings. I just love better understanding how our planet continues to evolve. Change surely is the one constant on planet earth. The book Reading the Rocks, is what finally ignited my interest. And the subsequent trips, ie. Grand Canyon hike, keep it alive!

Three Wishes

Randy Sparks, of the New Christy Minstrels wrote this song. I have many Christmas favorites including the old standards, carols and all.

In fact the CD by Jewel is the all time favorite. Until, along comes Three Christmas Wishes. The only down loadable version that I could get my hands on was this late '60's recording. If you don't like 'the past', just close your eyes and listen to the song.

I love the lyrics, they say it all!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Mariah Carey

'Tiz the time of year that my role model gets his day in the sun, or should that read 'day in the snow'. And Mariah has fun with it.

Digital photo book customized with Smilebox

Into the Abyss

So. Kaibab Trailhead

It's all Dr. Berti's fault.

My '09 medical ended up with

Her handing me a script for

A change in one of my prescriptions

And another one that read,

Younger Next Year,

Authors Crawley and Lodge.

With a terse suggestion that my

Not-so-kindly-treated body

Would benefit from my "biding by the book".

Accustomed to doing

(Almost) everything she recommends,

The book made me a believer!

My first kedge was completed

On schedule, (the week of my birthday).

What next?

What can I say

The Grand Canyon!

It was, as kids say, a no-brainer.

It had captured my heart

The first time I had seen it.

Crawley describes

A kedge as a significant challenge

That you work toward.

The more that I had read, the more I knew,

That the challenge was there.

And the wow factor was right there with it.

Having heard about my plan,

The indomitable and well-travelled

SILH, (son-in-law Harry)

Offered to be a hiking companion.

How fortunate for me.

And he came through big time.

He really took care of "the old fella."

Putting up with the old guy

For six days on the trail.

First break, still somewhat nervous

The first two hours we broke trail

Through a knee high snow fall.

Three hours into the trail

We fired up the Simmer-lite

And enjoyed a well-earned coffee break.

Coffee time on the trail

We'd applied for the back country permit months ago

Days of reading, research on-line and off

Paid off.

Know the terrain well, pack light

Be capable to physically carry out the plan.

Two of three ain't bad, right!

SILH, unwisely "turned a blind eye"

To some of my creature comfort additions.

Two very light weight, (MEC approved afterall)

Camp stools, cans of sardines, (heavy, as in oz.'s)

Instead of more dried venison,

And truth be told, another 'very light' item or two,

Our three person tent shoulda' been two 1P's,

My barrel sleeping bag coulda' been a 'mummy'.

All meant unnecessary weight

For every step of the way.

The Hoodoo at Monument Creek

The destination was Monument Creek.

Late in the day, rain still falling,

We worked our way down

Three quarters of a mile to the bottom of the wash

On a wet precipitous trail to the campground.

Our tent site bordered

An undercut in the canyon wall

That had eroded ten feet back

And wound around for forty feet or so.

So we were able to enjoy a dry meal

And relax over a prolonged coffee.

SILH, finished reading

Water for Elephants

from his Kindle.

(speaking of extra weight),

I stuck my nose into

Hiking the Grand Canyon Geology.

Dry and Steeped in time, under the undercut

Let me tell you,

That most aspects of

Hiking the canyon is a challenge.

Up is generally really steep

Down takes it's toll on the calves, thighs and knees.

And if you enjoy having a 1000 ft. drop

Ten to thirty inches off to the side

You'll love the marginal trails

Like the Tonto.

We started by carrying 50 pounds,

Should have been carrying 40!

Definitely will be next time.

Truth be known SILH offered to

Ease my load.

Ten pounds lighter was a

Wonderful weight to carry.

SILH almost home

We've got three super Kids- In-law,

SILH is one of them.

What a brilliant week it was.

'Twas as big a challenge as I'd want

But not too big to do it again.

The Day has arrived

Final Check, What are we missing, what don't we need?

Sunday, Feb 21, 2010

Today is the day

that SILH, , (son-in-law Harry) and I

leave for the Grand Canyon.

We'll be spending the next week

on the So. Kaibab, Tonto and Bright Angel trails.

The picture shows us

Doing our final check.

What have we forgotten, you ask!

Why nothing of course!

What are we taking that we don't need?

We don't yet know, but

Averaging nine miles a day

There'll come a point where

We'll agree that we're lugging

Unnecessaries I'm sure.

And the law of back country camping

Is, you bring it in, you take it out.

And there are no exceptions.

Yes even down to used paper,

(let your imagination roam).

Any way, we're excited!

See you in a week or so!

ps. 'gotta fess up,

Harry's pack is slightly heavier than mine

Doing the Prep Work

Along the White Tank Mountain practice trail

Some times 'prep work' can be redundant

Sometimes it's not.

My, (I think) rational brain has been insistently

Reminding me that this is one of those occasions

When 'prepared' is actually better than good!

So prepared it will be.

In case you missed it,

The preparation is for the

Grand Canyon trip of a lifetime.

SILH, (that would be son-in-law Harry) for the ill-informed)

And I are doing a six day back country camping trip

Into the innards of the Grand Canyon.

Once we get down,

We'll be on and about the Tonto Trail, listed as a marginal trail,

For the rest of the week.

The itinerary keeps us on pace for nine-mile average days,

(the longest being twelve miles)

The destination is Monument Creek.

The one-mile vertical descent is nine miles along the South Kaibab trail

And we'll be ascending the Bright Angel trail.

A twenty inch step down

The actual list of items to bring is lengthy and varied.

Freeze dried milk and white gas

Wick-type long sleeve t-shirts and matches.

Extra shoe laces and my 2 cup campfire coffee percolater.

Woolen socks and sardines

Pocket knife and a headlamp flashlight.

Camera and the ingredients for pan-fried bannock

Salt and toilet paper,

Ziplock bags (no trace left behind), and FirstAid supplies,

And the list goes on and on and on and . . .

And the backpacks grow heavier and heavier . . .

With my Osprey 85 backpack

Speaking of backpacks,

Mine is an Osprey 85+

It seemed huge when I started

Now I'm getting brave

And stupidly tempted to keep adding things.

Am doing my best to not succumb

But I will tell you, that new instant coffee

Available at Starbucks and Timmy's

It ain't comin' along!

Harry'll have to drag along 'the Timmy's'

He's carrying the food,

I've got the cooking, camping gear and tent.

A Saguaro gone crazy, along the trail

Getting to master the GPS

is another experience unto it's own

There's eastings and northings,

And Tracking and Barometric readings

Elevations and Maps

And even a built in camera to master.

Oh well, the good news is

That what started out as extreme hiking to get "in shape",

Has actually morphed into a multi-tasking opportunity.

While I plan my hike I learn to plot my trip.

While I hike up the White Tank mountains, I'm tracking the trial

On the way down I'm 'back tracking'.

And when I get home

I can upload the day's hike

And view almost each step of the day's arduous hike

And feel the pain one more time.

And even print it off so that I can hurt all over again

Each time I look at it.

And I get to test out various foods along the trail

Freeze dried food has come a long way.

Although it's always been true

That the hungrier you are the better it tastes.

But I swear it's actually 'good groceries' these days.

Friend Wayne at the summit of WTM

(I've convinced him into thinking this is fun)

The hiking component of the 'prep work'

Consists of five to ten mile hikes with backpack

(the vertical component is two thousand feet over 1.5 miles)

Three times weekly

With hour long walks about town

On the 'off days', so to speak.

Throw in a few 'core exercise' sessions from time to time

And that's it!

Well it all starts happening Feb 21.

And what happens will happen.

I'm predicting great things.

I doubt that it can exceed the Algonquin trip of this summer past.

But, to match that experience would be huge.

And I suspect that's what it will be!

Coming down the Trail

The end to a typical practice day