Sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, always a good time
Green River, Utah is apparently known for its… watermelons? I don’t know what that’s all about. But there are melon stands everywhere in town (admittedly not a very big town) and a gigantic wooden watermelon slice sitting in a parking lot. So, naturally…
After the storm…
… comes the light.
The funny thing is, these photos are completely unrelated. They were taken almost two weeks and a thousand miles apart. But I still think they’re cool.
My lovely bride is getting quite good at the uke…
Today we gathered up the fam and went on a hike in Cuivre River State Park. I love saying “Cuivre River”… catchy. We circumnavigated Lake Lincoln, which is a pretty little lake which happens to be (pointed out by Kari) shaped like a cat.
With beautiful weather again, Mom and Dad suggested we hop on some bikes and ride along the Katy Trail. It’s a 240-mile path along old railroad tracks, generally following the Missouri River through the center of the state. Dad led the way and set the pace: a breezy 15mph. The scenery was great.
In all I think we covered a little over twenty miles. The day before, we’d done something like twelve on trails near the community college.
It was good to get out on a bike again; we don’t have much opportunity to do it around Montana.
Mom suggested we go for a walk along historic Main Street in St Charles while we were visiting. The weather was gorgeous, so we headed down to the riverfront and spent a few hours walking along the sidewalks, brick streets, and bike trails.
There were odd statues of dogs scattered about…
And a statue of Lewis and Clark as they set out on their historic expedition:
The old buildings and the streets were really cool.
In December we plan to return, this time to enjoy their Christmas celebration. For now we just basked in the crisp fall sunlight.
In preparation for a new TV stand, Mom and Dad decided to dismantle and donate their old entertainment center. This thing was a beast and took us nearly an hour to break apart. At one point, Dad and I had to heft the top portion while Mom and Pepper unscrewed a bunch of cables. Dad makes it look easy!
Cindy and her kids visited us earlier in the summer, and she returned the favor when we were in Colorado on our epic road trip by letting us crash at her house for a night. The kids had a blast playing Skull King with us, so when Brooke heard that we were coming to see them, she was all ready with her deck. We showed up at their house kind of late in the evening, and it was her bedtime, which made her very sad.
However, she struck upon an idea: “What if all of us get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning so we can play Skull King before school?” And she was quite serious. She was willing to set her alarm and be ready at the kitchen table, if only we’d get up with her. Now that’s dedication!
As it turned out, we did play before school, but not at 5:30. She was a fierce competitor.
I’m hoping Brooke comes back to visit us next summer so we can see her indomitable spirit again…
As long as we were in Longmont, we figured we’d swing by our old house and see if anything’s changed. Turns out, it hasn’t.
Lookin’ good, ol’ 1474!
It’s been almost three years to the day since I last played ultimate. Since I was in Colorado visiting my old haunts, I figured I’d look for a pickup game and jump in. To be completely honest, I wondered if I’d be an embarrassment. I haven’t thrown a disc in all that time. No forehand, no hammers, no hucks. And I haven’t run in the style that’s somewhat unique to ultimate– sprinting, then cycling back through the stack, then switching to defense, and all the while working almost instinctively to optimize speed and coverage.
As it turns out, after nearly thirty years playing a sport, it’s burned into my soul. I had no trouble throwing, catching, or running a solid offense and defense. I vowed to throw an endzone hammer at some point during the game, and I did. I caught a few points, made a sweet interception, and generally had a grand time with friends I’ve known on the field for (in some cases) almost twenty years.
The next day I happened to be over near Sandstone Ranch in Longmont, which is where I’d played countless league games. I couldn’t resist walking out onto the grass and just reveling in the feel of it.
Strangely, playing that one game reminded me how much I miss the sport. To be more accurate, I miss my friends in the sport. I had a lot of great times, made a lot of great memories, and often wish I could pick up a disc and head over to the field once more. But that chapter of my life has ended, and I guess I’ll just drop in now and again when I’m passing through Colorado. Good times.