Upper Green River Float Trip

Nine months in the making!  It's now in the rear view mirror!  And no, I'm not talking about a baby although we are expecting two more in our family.

I'm talking about the Young Men's canoe trip down the Upper Green River.  Last fall, the young men identified it as one of the activities that they would like to do.  In November, I got it on the calendar and the week of July 11 was set at the time.  The week of July 11 has come and gone and so has our canoe trip.  I believe that everyone had some good experiences and hopefully they've learned some things that will last them a life time.  I won't say that everyone had a good time all the time, because there were definitely some ups and downs.

However, here are the highlights.

The Cottonwood Creek River Crowd

We met and loaded up at my house at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of July 11.  After saying goodbyes and a few photos, we were off.  Our first stop was at Walmart in Evanston because one of the driver's had forgotten his water shoes.  While he was getting some shoes, we noticed that he had also picked up a nail in one of his tires, so a trip to the tire store was in order.  An hour later, we finished our breakfast at McDonalds and we were on the road again.

Breakfast at McD's

We arrived at Camp New Fork in time for lunch and a movie.  The movie was our training before hitting the river.  It was a review of things we've talked about over the last few weeks concerning hydraulics, strainers, rapids, etc.  Then it was off to the water front for some hands on with the canoes.

Green River Rescue Course

I'm currently the Varsity Coach for the 14-15 year old young men in our ward. Nearly a year ago, we decided on a canoe float trip down the Green River as a high adventure activity. I have 3 adults and 13 young men going on this trip. It's been a lot of work planning this activity. Most of the boys have some experience in canoes, but none of them have experience in white water.

The trip is part of the high adventure activities sponsored by Camp New Fork. It's planned for 4 days down the upper Green River. I went down this section of the river three years ago with my nephew Matt. It was a lot of fun then, hopefully it will be equally fun for the boys in my ward.

For my own preparation, I decided to take a River Rescue Course on the lower Green River near Green River, Utah. My co-worker, Dave, told me about the course and he also wanted to take it. Dave recently bought a raft and has yet to use it, so it will be a good opportunity to gain some experience. Dave also convinced me to go down a day early and float the river before we take the river rescue course.  He would take his raft and I would take my kayak, but is that like putting the cart before the horse? I thought the idea was to learn and then do. But what they heck! It's a good way to get some experience.

On the Green River

The river rescue course occured on May 13 thru 15. Dave and I went down a day early as planned and spent the day floating the river from Nefertiti to Swasey Beach. Dave took the raft, I took my kayak. After getting the raft rigged and got on the water and as I was approaching the first rapid, I was thinking "What am I doing." Those waves were the largest I had ever seen from my kayak. I made it through the first set of waves and my nerves settled down a bit. I made it through the next few sets of waves which were even bigger. Then my confidence exceeded my abilities and when I was almost done with a set of rapids a rogue wave just reach out and flipped me over.  I don't know how to do an eskimo roll, so my plan has always been that if and when I flip, I'm going to bail. The plan worked well. I was out of the kayak in seconds, but boy was that water cold. I'm glad I had my wetsuit and an excellent life preserver on.

In the Green River

I pretty well rescued myself and was on shore draining my kayak when Dave made it back up to where I was. He helped me get back in and off we were again. We went down a few more rapids and then I rolled it again in similar circumstances. Nearly through the rapid when I rolled. This time Dave was close by and I just climbed in his raft and pulled up the kayak and rode the rest of the way to Swasey Beach.

After beaching his raft, I walked back up to the campground, changed clothes, grabbed my bicycle and rode the nine miles back up to Nefertiti and brought Dave's van back down to the boat ramp at Swasey's Beach. We loaded up his raft, went back to our camp site changed clothes again and headed into Green River for dinner and the first session of our river rescue course.

The River Rescue Course
The class met for dinner at Joe's Tavern and then went over to the Green River Museum for the classroom instruction. We had introductions and background, then talked about safety, did some rope work and set up a Z-drag system.

After class, everyone went back over to Swasey Beach and camped near our campsite. The next morning, the staff provided breakfast and then we loaded up and headed up toward's Nefertiti. We didn't go all the way though, we stopped at a launch point just above one of the rapids. We then practiced some rope throws, talked safety some more, then got in the two rafts and pushed off.

Practicing Rope Throws

 Once through the first rapids, we pulled over and practiced rope throws with a person in the water. Each of us took turns and it was a good experience. When I was in the water, I was surprised at the amount of force against my body. When I threw the rope and the swimmer hit the end, the water force was also great. It takes a lot to hold on at either end of the rope in a fast current.

Rope Throws in the River

 At Swasey's Beach, we also practiced setting up the Z-Drag to flip a raft. The water was cold, but the air temp was hot. At times we were wearing jackets and other times we were wearing a lot less.

Setting up a Z-Drag

 We also practiced flipping rafts in calm water and then we flipped the rafts in the middle of rapids. We also took turns abandoning a perfectly good raft in the middle of good size rapids just to give people in the other rafts the opportunity to rescue us. Fortunately we all had wet suits and good life preservers. The trainers always had one raft and a kayak in rescue position just in case anything went wrong. It was good experience and gave me more confidence as I prepare for our Green River Canoe trip in July.

Practice Flip in Calm Water

Flipping rafts in the rapids

After all the practice on both days, we loaded up the rafts at Swasey's Beach, had lunch, and then took off.  As Dave and I were leaving in his van, we saw the ultimate beach party getto blaster.  At first, we couldn't figure out what it was, so we had to get out and take a closer look.

The Ultimate Solar Powered Beach Getto Blaster

It's Done - but am I finished?

On 28 Feb, 2011, my son-in-law Jake and I started hiking the Grand Canyon with the purpose of finishing two 5 mile segments of the Tonto trail that are separated by 12 miles. It was a last minute trip. His wife, (my fantastic daughter Jenn) and my beautiful wife Susie were headed off to see another of my daughters in Arkansas. A perfect opportunity to head South.

The details of this hike will be posted on my Grand Canyon blog, but we made it. The trip was a success. Jake is still alive and kicking - though moving a little slower than usual. (Sorry about the knee Jake). I think that Jenn was a bit worried that I didn't like her hubby and that there might be an accident along the way. (I've read the book "Death in the Canyon." There are many ways and opportunities for accidents to happen. However, I had an enjoyable time with Jake. Hopefully he enjoyed the hiking, camping and driving as much as I did.

On March 1st Jake and I hiked the Tonto from Hermits Creek to Boucher Creek which finished off that 5 mile segment. Then on March 3rd I did a solo hike on the Tonto from Indian Gardens to the tipoff on the Kaibab trail which finished off the last 5 mile segment. I then completed the route with a descent from the tipoff to the Bright Angel Campground and then back up the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens.

Happy Birthday Boys

February 19, 1979 - Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS
This morning at 3:15 and 3:44 my twin sons were born. A momentous occasion which will have a lasting impact on the rest of my life. Justin was born first and weighs in at 5 pounds 12 ounces and Jason was born 29 minutes later and weighs in at 4 pounds 1 ounce. It was a bit scary having the twins this early - they were due on 31 March. As soon as Justin was born they whisked him away and when Jason was born he was also whisked away. However, I saw them both a short while later and both are doing fine (Susie fell asleep after Jason was born and spent the next 24 hours sleeping in recovery). I counted all the fingers and toes (a grand total of 40). They are perfect in every way.

It is now Feb 19, 2011. The boys are now 32 and each have families of their own. Jason is with his family in Boise while Justin and his family are here at our home. Amber just arrived from school to celebrate the birthdays and enjoy a three day weekend away from school. While she is here, we will also celebrate her birthday (Feb 29).

The grandkids are super excited to see Amber again. It's not like she's be gone for a year or even months. We took her to school on January 1st and this is her second trip home since then.

Another Year Older and ...

I recently had a birthday and a few of my friends welcomed me to the double nickel club. I'm the last of a small group of high school buds to reach this major milestone. Although some were quick to point out that I was the baby of the group (by 13 days), I responded that the day before the big day, I played an hours worth of racquetball and followed it up with a 2 mile run in under 15 minutes. Haven't heard much from them since.

Not only did I reach the 55 year milestone, It's a brand new year. Although I'm an eternal optimist, I've already had a years worth of crap at work. I supervise about 20 employees. All but one are a pleasure to work with. The challenge is my newest employee, the lowest on the rank scale and wants a reserved, designated parking spot. Denied - I see another grievance coming. After a minor security infraction was pointed out, the individual filed a hostile work environment complaint against the person who gently and quietly pointed out the infraction. Another grievance coming? probably.

I've already had one grievance filed against me for putting a letter of counseling in the personnel record. A LOC isn't even disciplinary. It was just documentation of topics we discussed. I'm excited for the next 11 months. I'm sure each month will be something new and exciting on the employee front. This individual has the Obama syndrome.

It's time for an escape. Can you spell Grand Canyon. I don't have permits yet, but a week down the GC is needed. No phones, no internet, no email, no taskers (of course they'll all be waiting for me when I get back). I have a couple of segments on the Tonto trail that I'd like to finish. Now may be a good time.

Things are actually going pretty well. The typical illnesses (Katie has a respiratory illness and Pam has the Egyptian flu - each year since 2002 someone in the family has had this strain of the flu), but otherwise things are going pretty well. Jennifer and Susie are headed off to Arkansas in a few weeks. Amber is doing well at school (hopefully she's doing some studying - it's not all play is it?). Justin's working on his PHD - his family is doing well and doing there best to keep Susie and I active. Jason's fully engaged with his teaching job. Melissa is partying with her family in Arkansas and they are anxiously awaiting Susie's visit. Stacey lives close by and is busily engaged with two delightful little girls.

So all in all - the year is off to an excellent start.

Happy Holidays

For those that know me pretty well, you'll know that I love food and I try to watch my weight. I love to play racquetball, but I also enjoy watching the holiday bowl games. I'm now publishing my Holiday Food Guide (plagiarized of course)which is how I've been able to maintain my youthful shape for so many years - particularly during the holidays. Enjoy!

Holiday Food Guide

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare... You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Have a great holiday season!!

Happy Thanksgiving

For my anniversary, just a week before Thanksgiving, we received a parrot as a gift.

The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.

I tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else I could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, I was fed up and I yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. I shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.

So, in desperation, I threw up my hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer.

For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that I'd hurt the parrot, I quickly opened the door to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto my outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

I was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As I was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued,

"May I ask what the turkey did?"

I hope ya'll had a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoyed it with people you love.

Dale

p.s. The parrot is in good still behaving itself, but the turkey - that's a different story. (Thanks to the unknown original author for this tidbit)

One of those days or was it a week

Today was the climax of an outstanding week.  It started out pretty nice.  My two sons and their families were at the house for the labor day weekend and they put in the labor in Labor Day.  On Saturday I picked up 15 new trees for around the house and rather than planting them, Justin, Jason and I went to the base and played an hours worth of racquetball.

On Monday, I was up at 6:45 so I could help the scouts get the flags out.  Two boys showed up right on time and we got them planted (the flags, not the boys) in 24:44.  And we only missed one house.  I guess I need to learn how to read though trailer court maps a bit better.  After getting home, from the flags we cut down two old trees that Susie and I didn't like and replaced them with the 15 new trees and fixed a flower bed and sprinklers.  We topped the day off with a BBQ.  Everybody helped out and it was an enjoyable time.

Thursday morning Pam called and said that the carpet downstairs was all wet.  Fortunately, I had the van at my office, so I went home to assess the problem.  Yep, it was wet.  Where did the water come from?  Somebody turned the sprinkler on last night and forgot to turn it off.  I think somebody made an EyeDeeTenTee error.  Oops, my bad! 

Well I moved the furniture, pulled back carpet,  blocked it up and got fans blowing under it.  Hopefully it will dry out ok and not stink to bad - sorry Pam and Justin.  (I did sneak another game of racquetball Thursday afternoon while the carpets were drying).  Friday I didn't do much except watch carpet dry and sneak in another game of racquetball.

However I was so tired that I went to sleep early Friday evening and woke up Saturday a.m. when Bailee came running into our bedroom and said something was broken.  We couldn't figure out what she was talking about so we followed her down stairs.  There we found our beautiful 3 year old granddaughter, Sydney, with one of the little brass couch wheels and a glass window that had a hole in the middle and millions of fractures throughout the glass.  The whole thing was just waiting to collapse.  We just had the door put in a few months ago and are now second guessing the wisdom of putting in a door with glass windows.

But all is well that ends well.  All of Sydney's body parts are present and accounted for.  I believe Joel got a short lecture about not hiding behind glass doors when the sis is mad and wants to throw things at you.  It makes life very interesting when there are a bunch of energetic young people mixed in with us older dudes.

However I  can't help but smile when I think of our kids getting some of the same treatment that they gave us.  If you want to know about the earlier generation just ask Stacey about the toilet, Melissa about Shovels, Justin about bricks, and Jason about dancing (to avoid the bricks) or his vocabulary.  However, I can't leave Jennifer and Amber out (I have to be a little cautious about telling stories on Jennifer and Amber - they aren't married yet and I don't want to ruin their opportunities. j/k).  There are some other really great stories that may be posted in the future.  Some of these tales (with perhaps a little elaboration) will absolutely knock your socks off.

Is that all? Nope! Jennifer came home from work early Saturday morning and left a note on the kitchen counter telling us that Justin's car had been egged. Finally, Saturday evening just after writing and posting the original draft of this post, the hard drive on my computer failed.

However, I get to count my blessings because on Monday morning I received the following e-mail from a friend.

"There I was sitting at the bar staring at my drink when a large,trouble-making biker steps up next to me, grabs my drink and gulps it down in one swig.

"Well, whatcha gonna do about it?" he says, menacingly, as I burst into tears.

"Come on, man," the biker says, "I didn't think you'd CRY. I can`t stand to see a man crying."

"This is the worst day of my life," I say. "I'm a complete failure. I was late to a meeting and my boss fired me. When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen and I don't have any insurance. I left my wallet in the cab I took home. I found my old lady ran off with the gardener and then my dog bit me."

"So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all, I buy a drink, I drop a capsule in and sit here watching the poison dissolve; then you, you butt-head, show up and drink the whole thing!

"But enough about me, how's your day going?"

August Update

July 31 (nearly August):  Melissa, Pedro & family left Centerton, Arkansas last night (Friday) to come out for a visit.  Today, Susie, the girls, and my grandaughter Bailee and I left to meet Mel & Co in Thermopolis, WY for a couple of days of R&R and then for a trip through Yellowstone Park.  Since the Suburban doesn't have air conditioning, we thought we'd find a rack for the Lumina and put some stuff on top of the car.  No luck.  Those temporary racks that we used in yester-year are extremely hard, if not impossible, to find.  Pam had offered their van and so we took it instead of one of our vehicles.

We arrived at Thermopolis mid afternoon and Mel & Co were already there.  Outside of the cabin where we stayed were some hot pools, so we spent the afternoon and evening playing with the kids in the pools.  Dinner was cooked over an open fire and life is good.

August 2:  We left Thermopolis this morning headed for Cody.  We were almost to Meteetsee when the van gave a bang, lost power, and put out a lot of black smoke.  Oops.  After pulling to the side, I looked under than van and discovered oil draining from the block.  Although I couldn't see any holes, I was pretty sure that we had thrown a rod and blown out a piece of the block.

Fortunately Mel & Co were right behind us and took Susie to Meteetsee where she had cell phone coverage.  Two hours later a tow truck showed up and towed us into Cody.  We called Justin & Pam, let them know the situation, rented a car, had dinner and found a hotel room.  After several discussions with J&P, we decided than van was terminal and needed to be disposed of, and then we would continue our trip through the park and meet Justin in Rexburg tomorrow evening.

August 3:  With the rental car and Mel & Co in their vehicle, we toured the park and made a few stops at various sites, including Old Faithful.  It was a nice trip through the park and it has been years since either Susie or I had been there.  We ended the day with dinner at Winger's in Rexburg and a night in another hotel.

August 4:  Justin and I drove with the Lumina and rental car back through Yellowstone Park to Cody, dropped off the Rental car, and then drove back through the park to Rexburg.  Elapsed time:  11 hours.  Stops:  West Yellowstone, Cody, & West Yellowstone.  However we did see 1 bear, 1 buffalo and a bunch of elk.

We then picked up Annaleise & Bailee from the Rasmussens and headed back home.  After we got home, Pam asked if we had said daily prayers over the van.  Nope, that part slipped my mind.  She then stated that she never went anywhere in the van without saying a prayer for it.  Pam also stated that even though the van was a financial loss, she was happy to see it gone.

August 14:   I was at Bear Lake today as a solo participant in a scouting event.  The event:  "Bike the Bear."  Please see My View of the World under the Fitness 101 category for my write-up of this event.  It was my first ever Century bike ride.  Although I didn't set any records, it was a good accomplishment for an otherwise uneventful (fitness wise) summer.  However, the Grand Canyon is coming and I'd better get back into shape.

I drove to Lewisville, Id. on August 15 to visit my dad.  His 85th birthday was on the 16th and I wanted to go up for a visit and wish him a happy birthday.  Dad, Mary and I had a nice visit and I ended up spending the night at their place.  After taking them to breakfast the next morning, I made the return drive back to Utah.

3rd Annual Grand Canyon Hike - Update

The plans are underway for the 3rd Annual hike.  Please see my Grand Canyon Adventurers blog for the details.  The cast of characters for this hike include my son Justin, Lynn, Jacob, and Maj J from earlier hikes, and a new addition to our motley crew, Lt Bob. 

Welcome to all.  My Grand Canyon Adventurers blog contains the details for this hike.