I'm Back

Greetings to everyone who has given up on ever hearing anything from me again. I can't quite explain what has transpired that allowed so much time to pass since my last entry. No excuses though, I'll try to get back to more regular postings.

In no particular order, a few random updates.

Hockey season nears an end with only four teams remaining in the struggle for the Stanley Cup. I continue to be amazed at the low number of followers of this incredible sport. News in my local paper always manages to show up on page four or beyond of the sports section, following updates on such topics as baseball (zzzzzzz), basketball (no contact hockey on wood), auto racing (you're kidding right?), and soccer (the new buzz in the Northwest). It also gets pushed back by news of doping in cycling and the many local sports updates. Clearly I'm in the minority, but to me it's the absolute best spectator sport - if you can keep up. The speed and intensity, the physicality, the mind-numbing grinding effort required to get the puck in the net, the pain and fatigue - how could you not love it? Anyway, I read today that only about a quarter of Canadians are rooting for the last remaining Canadian team in the playoffs - the Montreal Canadiens. It appears they are despised outside their home territory and if fact one writer noted that if aliens arrived on the planet today and announced that they intended to eat the Canadiens first, he'd be ok with that. Incredible. In spite of being the number 8 and last team to squeak into the Eastern Confernce playoffs, the men from Montreal have dispatched all the heavyweights including the Washington Capitols and the Pittsburgh Penquins. You've gotta love that !

Travel plans for the year are much quieter than last. We had a massively busy 2009 with trips to Utah for skiing, Colorado for neice Rachel's wedding, Las Vegas with Scott and Christine, to New Jersey for Thanksgiving and then the annual pre-Christmas trip to Whistler. This year, in keeping with the slower economy and our need to repair the massively expensive damage to the house caused by a ruptured pipe, we're staying a bit closer to home. Or at least that's the plan at the moment.

One notable exception to this is a September trip to Yellowstone with my old high school buddy Steve Bohnemeyer who had the foresight to move into my neighborhood so we could reconnect. Having been to Yellowstone several times (and written about it a bit here) I still have a burning desire to fish some of the streams there. Every visit has been a bit rushed as I tried to take in the many incredible sights and share them with whoever was along. Steve, to whom fishing stands second only to breathing, was easily convinced to join the expedition and share his experience and skill with me - a bit of an advanced novice fly fisherman. I have the basics in my mind but lack any real experience with catching anything longer than my hand. Most of the waters in Yellowstone are world famous for trout fishing. I ordered a couple of cans of bear spray yesterday so we can hang them on our vests in case we stumble onto a grumpy grizzly. I am very excited about the trip and look forward to the experience.

It's nearing June already but the snow remains deep and low in the mountains so hiking has just begun. A couple of weeks ago I visited the foothills of Wenatchee with Martin, enjoying some nice vistas of the town of Wenatchee and the Columbia River on hills covered with spring flowers. This is the time of year to go since the rattlesnakes are still snoozing. Apparently, as things warm up the snakes pile up in this area. Maybe not the best place to visit in July even if you didn't mind the heat.