No, I have never been rock climbing before. What difference would that make. I saw a movie once where they were rock climbing. Does that count? Well, no, I found out. I did do some rapelling once but that is going down. This time would be going up. Or trying to go up. Heck, I thought we were rock climbing when we were just hiking to route. Seemed like climbing to me. Well, it got steeper, way steeper. My friend Chris is instructing some folks from Rock Springs. They are trying to get ready to climb Devil's Tower in May. This route was a 5.7. I think I needed a 1.7. As they say, any climb you can walk away from is a good climb.

Vancouver/Victoria

Synopsis of the trip to Canada. We flew into Seattle on Tuesday and went to my brother Tom's house and then went to dinner. The next morning we drove to Vancouver headed right for Granville Island and spent a couple of hours there. Then we checked in and found we had a pretty luxurious hotel. We set out on a walking tour of downtown and hit Canada Place, Robson Street, Chinatown, and Gas Town. We ate great sushi at a little out of the way place that night. The next day we took the ferry to Victoria and went all around the Inner Harbor and had lunch downtown. Then it was off to Buchart Garden. It was a real highlight. The next day was Stanley Park and the Aquarium. We rented bikes and rode around the park. The weather was great . Saturday we went to the Anthropology Museum and toured Kits on foot. We had a great meal at the Boathouse on my birthday. Sunday we made our way back. We stopped in Fairhaven next to Bellingham and had lunch and then headed on to the airport. Great trip.To see some pictures click on Flickr photos.

I give up: It's still winter!

I put the bike away. For awhile, anyway. I have accepted winter and found it is not so bad. Especially now that I have passed the three month mark on my hip surgery. I am free as a bird. I can become one with the wilderness. Diane and I drove up Millcreek Canyon on Saturday to where they stop plowing the road. We upgraded our snowshoes to near Top of the Line. We put them on at the Terraces picnic area and head up the hill. It was a pretty good grunt and we soon warmed up and began shedding clothes. There was a good amount of snow and we went uphill for about an hour and then stopped for some lunch. The trip down was faster(imagine that). We had a good workout and a great start to the weekend.

Just when you thought...

Just when you thought winter might be fading! Yesterday it almost hit 50 degrees. Sam called and said we should go for a bike ride. I took my bike off my trainer in the basement and changed the flat back tire and put on the water bottle cage I bought and pronounced myself ready to ride. I picked up Sam and we went to the Legacy Parkway bike path. It seemed a little colder that when Diane and I did this ride last Memorial Day. The clouds set in and it was foggy and misting in the mid 30's. It was cold so we went about 5 miles and turned around and headed back. By the time I got to the car, I could not feel my ears. We stopped for hot chocolate to get our body temperatures back up to normal. Maybe we should have gone snow shoeing.

2010(Twenty ten)

That is how I am going to say it, "Twenty Ten" Christmas is come and gone and today is New Years Day. Jamie, Diane and I took the walk to Sunrise Point at Dimple Dell Park. It was overcast but not as cold as it has been in the last few days. We took Cub and Chloe and they were happy to get out. My hip felt pretty good after this 3 miler.

The Healing Hip

Well, it's been a week since I posted. I have progressed quite a bit. I did, however, fire my physical therapist. I was not getting any value so I am rehabing on my own. With the internet you can do just about anything. Or screw up just about anything. Seriously, though, I got my program going. I see my doctor tomorrow and I am scheduled to go back to work in a week. I hope I continue to make progress and get my life back to normal.

On The Mend

I had my hip replacement surgery last Tuesday and I am on the mend. The day after surgery they started walking me with a walker and boy did that smart. Getting in and out of bed was(and still is) a prodigious task. The following day I walked a lot more and on Friday yesterday I used crutches to get around. I came home from the hospital yesterday much to the delight of the dogs. I had a home healthcare nurse come in and evaluate me and get some blood to check my protime. That will tell if I am anticoagulated enough. Later that afternoon, my physical terrorist came and put me through the paces. I thought I would just walk around inside the house but she said, nope, we are going outside. I started with two crutches and graduated immediately to one crutch.We went all the way to the mailboxes and back. She then had me do some exercises that are designed to elicit the maximal amount of pain. She will be back Monday with more torture devices and schemes. The wheels may be coming off the wagon but I am trying to get them put back on.