Update on Snowblower

It has snowed five more times since my post about snowblowers. I am having a change of heart. If I woke up and there was a snowblower in the garage I wouldn't care too much. Just sayin.

Snow Blower

Woke up to snow falling and about 6 new inches of snow on the ground. This is the third snowstorm in the last 5 days. As I gazed out on the beautiful white wonderland one thought went through my mind - Crap I have to shovel snow. I actually don't mind shoveling snow, it's a good workout and its usually nice and peaceful out there. Our driveway is pretty big, very wide so it takes awhile. The main problem is the neighbors, this place is dominated by mostly retired old guys. Let me put it this way; to fit in you need a snow blower and an enlarged prostate.
After a good storm they come out one by one. Dressed for battle with beanie hats and big boots they emerge from their garages with their snow blowers fired up, steely eyed with their wives waving hankies from the window. Their are two types involved here: the get out early crowd, who usually end up doing it twice, and the later crowd who emerge around noon after a cup of tea and Matlock is over. As you look down the street you see snow flying in the air and the sound of internal combustion engines whining. They look with pity at me and my pathetic snow shovel. Bastards think their better than me. Lisa keeps asking me if I want a snow blower, hell no I say. A point of honor is at stake, I don't need no stinkin machine. The day might come when I can no longer shovel my driveway but it is not today my friend. Give me my shovel and get the hell out of my way.

Make It Stop

Sometimes in the mornings Lisa has the TV on watching but more like listening to it while she gets ready. I soon discovered that as I tried to read my daily two morning newspapers that the most annoying background noise in the world is Regis and Kelly. The painfully irritating banter between these two is exceeded only by the goofy giggling and cackling of their studio audience. I've seen little parts of the program here and there and holy crap what a bunch of tripe. I don't know what gender good old Reeg is but he isn't a man. When Lisa fires up her blow dryer I run in and shut the TV off, but she always turns it back on. I use to think this program was the worst of the bunch but now I have unluckily discovered one that makes this look like Masterpiece Theater. Can you guess? Of course you can. The View with Rosie O'Douchebag has set a new low in irritating programming. The grating, bossy, bitchy voice of hers is like fingers on a blackboard. Never mind her left wing liberal femi-nazi opinions, which are bad enough, but just the sound of her voice is punishment enough. The View was horrible by itself before she came on but now, oh dear lord, make it stop.

Road Rage

Think your roads are bad? Check these out.

http://thrillingwonder.blogspot.com/2006/11/most-dangerous-roads-in-world.html

The Wind Blewed

This home not far from us was one of many that had trees down. 65 mile an hour winds tore up the area. Luckily none of our trees went down. We were without power for one night only. The wind blewed and blewed and then it blewed some more. Andy and the King Cove crowd would scoff at a measly 65 mph wind but then they don't have any freakin trees either.
Of course blewed is not a word but blowed is in the dictionary - says it is used chiefly in the Southern U.S. (redneck central) - past tense of blow is blowed, sorry but that sounds worse than blewed.
The wind is not blewing anymore and has blowed itself out, the effects of the blowning still are evident and we are still blowned away by it. We hope it does not blowed again anytime soon. .

Oh Tannebaum

The saga of this year's Christmas Tree started late. It was December 16 and we still had not gotten a tree, so I asked Boo if he wanted to go out and cut one in the National Forest, he agreed and we set out. After a stop at the Coeur d'Alene Forest Service office for a five dollar permit we took the road up to Fernan Saddle to get us a tree. If you have ever been to North Idaho you know we have a few trees here. The weather was turning nasty with snow falling and the wind blowing - we got up there after kicking in the four wheel drive. Once at the top we started looking for a likely victim, only it was hard because if you stepped off of the snowmobile tracks you sunk to your waist in the deep snow. It had a crust on it so you would break through after a few seconds which made it worse, to walk 50 feet took about 10 minutes. You are supposed to go 200 feet off of the road but since we couldn't actually get that far we looked closer in. The selection was grim, and our standards dropped by the minute. We finally settled for one that looked okay and cut it down. Dragging it out was harder than expected but I made Boo do most of it while I supervised. Once we got to the truck we stood it up and was surprised to see it was about 15 feet tall. I cut off a few feet and threw it in. The dogs didn't like sharing the back of the truck with it but they lived. Once we got home I measured the ceiling where it would go and went out and cut off another few feet and put it in a stand. Hmmm, it looked like crap. I took it in anyway and set it up. Lisa actually cried a little when she saw it and I was preparing to haul it out the door but she said no. We decided it fit this Christmas. She asked if I could put a few more branches in to fill some spots, when I told her I already had she cried again. She tried to put a hand blown glass ornament on it that Boo had made and the branch drooped to the floor. I threw some lights on it, two lightweight strands was all it could handle and washed my hands of the whole business. Lisa set to work on it and using only lightweight ornaments, stuffed animals and who knows what else, she transformed our sorry little tree. That night with the lights on and a glow from the fireplace it was a beautiful tree symbolic of our saga, starting with high hopes, hardened by reality, tempered with conflict and ending with the family finally settling. It was a Christmas Miracle. Hallelujah - I need some eggnog.

Visit From Dr. Nick & Family

We got to see Nick and Emily and the kids for a few days this week. They flew into Spokane and stayed with us for two nights on their way to Richland Washington for a job interview for Nick.
We had a great time with them and although the Richland job isn't going to pan out I tried talking them into pursuing jobs in Kallispell and Billings Montana - who knows. Anything to get some family up in the Northland. Plus if Nick lived in Kallispell can you imagine the fishing? I mean really dude......
I definitely know the twins very well now and which is Savanna and which is Sophia. They have totally different personalities and looks but they are both little sweethearts. Isaac was great, a happy kid who loves to draw and color and get on the computer and google search: he went non stop running around the house bouncing on a exercise ball and taking the dogs for walks at the English Point trails. He ran after Farley for miles giggling and calling to him. He cracked us up with how he wrote our names - I am SeaJay and there is Antleca and Tasha Recort. He kept careful track of their itineary and always knew the dates and times with great detail. Nick and Em are very busy keeping track of all this and do a great job. It made me tired just watching them. Well, Nick is still considering where to take a job and they would like to be in Utah of course but if not I hope they find something in this area. SeaJay out -

L'il Buck Crackers!

Here is the new Pony! L'il Buck Crackers! Adam thinks it's a Shetling Pony, har, oh course everyone knows there is no such thing as a Shetling. Funny Adam. Here's another funny thing say "L'il Buck Crackers" real fast three times. Hee hee, that ought keep the kiddies laughing. Shetland ponies are what you get when it's time to teach your kids to swear properly. Welcome L'il Buck Crackers you stupid *!x*&*#! We love you.

Oh Snap

Well Boo has learned how to snap his fingers. Oh, yea big deal around here. He has been trying off and on for 16 years but finally mastered it last week. To tell you the truth it is wearing thin already. He came up last week and said hey lookee I can snap my fingers! yea! I tried to be supportive but let's face it; if he was five it would have been more of a triumph.. Still, I gave him a attaboy and he went around snapping non-stop for days. It's like having a jazz hands freak around, snap snap snap. I was trying to have a nap sunday afternoon and was woke up by the distinct snapping sounds of a jackass. I kindly said "Stop the finger snapping or I will break them off" There was silence then a definite softening of the snapping sound in the distance. Point taken. He pointed out that his new part in the play Biloxi Blues requires him to snap his fingers. So, just in time. It's all good I guess - if I don't snap first.

Spam -Not Just For Breakfast

Actual e-mail spam I have received:


Darling Easy-Soft Buyer!
My name Browsers J. Frigga, and I working on Popular-ProgramTools office.You are is so weighty to me!You waste your money and your time at our coompany,and I just want to introduce that our corporation have finish update of software choice.Our organization wanna to remind you that our organization suggest that this time we have more larger range of software] than soft products for very cheap value with Your individual Purchaser allowance off a price.Please spare some of Yours high cost times to check our Updated software listing righ here:

Cool name Browers J. Frigga

has your pot ncy level been down
anewor still worn all the time?
I absolutely am, that is why i am joyful i blundered upon
title problem of Caspak is not one to cause worry
to teach brute put out had keen figures.
Cautioning Nobs to silence,

Poetry man poetry. Lost me on the cautioning nobs thing though

You should drop by at
http://www.jdbc.sensesloses.com/ul/
if your jaded all the time.I definately am,
that is why i am overjoyed i lucked upon
It was terrific decisevely having someone to benefit
me out and it takesonly 48 sec of ur time.
I apologize I have been so overdue with it.
Sorry for the long time again

If you got 48 seconds check it out

Message: Hi, Not very good erecxction? You are welcome.ego destroying instead of being ego building. You suffer from the negativity that blights lives, weakens cultures, sickens even the strongest. Do you know what Im talking about?

Umm no.

From: Harnod Sharief
Is your dik like from doll world?
Change sizes......
After introducing myself to product
I find myself to suspicously grow..

That one is gold

Word

Dogs

Im with the Japanese on this one.

Hmmm

A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Nietzche

Weather Man

"The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it."

True words. Not sure who said them but they knew what they were talking about. When I lived in Southern Utah the weather predicting was pretty accurate especially one or two days out. They had a long time to track those storms coming out of California or up from AZ. But up here in the panhandle of Idaho it is a wild ass guess. They have plenty of excuses - they say that the weather patterns come from 7 directions whatever that means. Too far north, close to the coast and then all the mountain ranges surrounding us - Cascades, Selkirks, Bitterroots, ect. And you cant trust the Canadians, flakey socialist wimps. Anyway the one day forecast is sketchy, two day is not reliable and the 5 or 10 day is funny made up stuff. Oh well the weather is constantly changing here so does keep it interesting. It was 13 degrees on Haloween night, cut down on the trick or treaters. Now it is raining and 60 degrees, tomorrow who knows - Im keeping my short pants handy just in case we get a heat wave (or as they call them in King Cove AK "shorty pants" ) I am going to take the dogs for a walk in the rain so here are some weather related quotes:

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Weather forecast for tonight: dark. ~George Carlin

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.
~Kin Hubbard

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain. ~Author Unknown

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. ~Roger Miller

CJ Advice

If you think you can turn your weaknesses into strengths, I hate to tell you but that's another weakness.

Death Clock

My day is December 3, 2033



http://deathclock.com/

Kinda morbid but interesting. . Anyway I'll be 70 then, good enough unless I want to loose weight or get optimistic. Yea right.

Ode To Brewster

We have come to the end of an era. The shaggy old pony in Midway has gone to the big pasture in the sky. He will be missed by an entire generation of Larsen grandchildren who grew up with Brewster pulling them around Midway in the pony cart. He lived to a ripe old age estimated at maybe 32 years, 20 of them in the pasture of Grandpa Larsen. I named Brewster many years ago soon after dad acquired him, mom wanted to name him Midnight but one look at him and I came up with Brewster, it fit. He wasn't pretty or majestic, just a rough little pony that liked to founder himself every spring. He had it pretty good munching the green grass in the Heber Valley and only occasional being hooked up to the cart where he willingly (more of less ) gave rides all over the area. One day he didn't have the strength to stand anymore, Adalee gave him one more apple and thanked him for the rides at her birthday parties. And he was put down. It reminds me of the time when I was very young and I asked Grandpa Chugg if he thought that there were horses in heaven. He looked at me and said "If there not I don't want to be there." Goodbye Brewster, of all the horses we have had, your definitely one of them.

Alaska Trip

The trip was an incredible experience, I got to see the real Alaska, the real people and see some remote and beautiful country. If you have never been there I cannot begin to explain how remote King Cove is, you have to take the journey yourself to understand it. Andy and Cherie were so nice and generous and made my stay a lot of fun. They are doing well and the people of King Cove love them. The locals took us on their boats to go hunting, loaned me a four wheeler, offered fishing trips, invited me to their homes and fed us, went to a 40th anniversary party and met most of the town. They are very friendly and generous, its their way of life and Andy and Cherie fit right in. We went non-stop for the whole week and was able to do a lot of different things and see the area. We played all day and into the night and laughed ourselves silly and was so worn out each night we would drop into bed late and get up and do it over again. I would like to go back there probably in the summer when Andy isn't teaching school. It's a rough and wild place, wet and cold but I liked it. I think we are built for it to tell you the truth. Being on the Bering Sea was cool, felt good. It was a great trip.

I'm Back

Jet lag like you wouldn't believe. Had a great time. Will post more later.

Alaska

Well, tomorrow I head for King Cove Alaska. It is very easy to get to - only takes four flights on four different aircraft and all day. I fly from Spokane to Seattle - change planes, Seattle to Anchorage - change planes, Anchorage to Cold Bay - change planes, Cold Bay to King Cove. Each airplane gets progressively smaller starting with a 727 and ending with a puddle jumper that hopefully will make it (gravel runway). I look forward to seeing Andrew and his family, he will be celebrating his 40th birthday while I am there. He filled me in on the plans he has while I'm there. Goes something like this: I arrive Wenesday, a school bus will pick me up. Thursday he has secured passage on a crab boat where we will have a couple of bunks, we will lower his four wheelers into the cargo hold and head out into the Bering Sea. ( I asked how much and he said to bring the captain a bottle of whiskey ) We head to Cold Bay to fish for Silvers, Reds, Humpies, Halibut and whatever else we can. We then head up the coast looking for caribou, if we spot them we will go ashore and hunt same. Have been advised to bring a pistol for the bears and travel light and bring a cooler to haul back all the salmon and caribou I can take. We will be out 4 days and then come back to King Cove for a traditional Inuet birthday celebration consisting of a bonfire and whale killing. For his 40th he will undergo the Inuet rebirth or 'kizat ungk jahk'. The whale will be slit open at the sternum and he will climb in (naked except for a headband) and work his way through the whales internal organs and emerge through the vagina in a triumphant rebirth symbolic of the second half of his journey in life (in this form anyway) After they wash the slime off he will give a short speech and there will be a feast and possibly fireworks. Tuesday he has to teach school but he says another boat captain wants to take me out fishing so we'll see how it goes. Wenesday afternoon I began the journey back that will take two days. Can't wait to see King Cove, I will take a couple hundred pictures so everyone can see what it is like up there. See ya.

Fishing

Nick spent a week here, interviewing in Spokane and Richland Washington and fishing. Dad joined us the last three days as we floated the Clark Fork and the Coeur d'Alene Rivers. The fishing was slow for this time of year, every river makes a certain sound and I decided the Clark Fork sucked. The CDA wasnt much better, oh well what can you do. I enjoy floating the rivers in my drift boat but catching fish helps. Nick wants big fish and lots of them or he ain't happy, lots of smaller fish doesn't cut it, a few big ones aint gonna do it. It was pleasant floating the rivers listening to Nick talk about how great the Green River is and how he should have went there or Alaska and throwing in trash talk about my drift boat and fly rods. ReeLaxing.

Starring Yours Truly

FlyPlane

TeeVee Incompatibility

Can you watch television with your spouse? Just wondering because I can't. We have such different tastes in programing that it is ridiculous. Rare indeed are the times when we sit down and watch a show together. And its not just that we like different programs we tend to hate the programs the other likes. Some cases in point.
She likes:
Reality shows: Big Brother, ect. -----------------REALLY Hate them
Contest shows: American Idol, Dancing w/Stars ect. ------------Hate them
Home Decoration Shows: Trading Spaces, ect ----------------Hate them

I Like:
Comedy: Daily Show, Stand Up Comedy ect -------------She hates them
Fly Fishing Shows: Columbia Country ect. ----------------She hates them
News Channels: Fox, MSNBC, some CNN-----------------Not a lot of interest
Serious Shows: King of the Hill, Family Guy ect------------REALLY hates them

We did catch a few things together, we like Last Comic Standing and Rome and Big Love on HBO so I guess we will survive. It just goes to show you that what they say is true Men are from Mars and Women are f******** nuts.

Cabin Fever

Here is the cabin we have for when Ty's family comes up in September. It is in the Coeur d'Alene National Forest and really remote. It doesn't have electricity but it does have running water (hot water and showers even) and gas lights and full kitchen ect. We got if for two nights, Labor Day and the day after, had to cancel the Gem Peak reservation because it is a tower and not recomended for kids like Johnny and Jett. Should be fun. Right on Teepee Creek and in the area of 4 other creeks and a short drive to some of my favorite fishing on the North Fork, Yee Haw

Hopper Time!

I fished the North Fork of the CDA yesterday and had a great day. First cast a 15 inch cutty nailed a grasshopper pattern, I caught over 10 fish with that same fly, all over 12 inches and several around the 16 inch mark. I had a big one on that I turned and got a look at but the fly pulled out, damn, it was nice. It was a hot bright day and I didn't really know if it would be good fishing or not but they are looking up for hoppers. Later in the evening a caddis hatch came off and I caught a bunch of little ones until dark. Nothing like hoppers to bring out the big ones though, I was glad to see them.

North Fork of the Clearwater

Bryant and I just got back from three days on the North Fork of the Clearwater and Kelly Creek here in Idaho. It is some nice country, great rivers and lots of Cutthroat trout. We drove over to Superior Montana and up over HooDoo Pass, we took a couple of wrong turns here and there and added several hours to a four hour drive, we went left when we shoulda hung right, we zigged when we shoulda zagged. We ended up there later than we planned and needed to find a campsite, the canyons are steep and narrow and the river and road take up all the space. We were worried we would have to stay at one the few campgrounds in the area but finally lucked into the finest campsite we saw the whole trip. Right on Kelly Creek, grass and sand, and next to a bridge that was built for horses and mules because there was a fire lookout that was supplied via the ten mile trail. We never did hike to it though I was tempted since I am a newly isnpired lookout freak (this lookout is also out of commission and is not on the website) We spent the time fishing, hiking and swimming. Bry talked me into swimming with him and the water was so cold it never did stop hurting. We fished the Clearwater and it was much better fishing. I caught ten cutthroats at the first spot we stopped in about ten minutes. Bry stayed with the dogs while I fished upriver and watched a herd of 16 elk cross the river right below him. It was a fun trip and I am glad I saw the area although to tell you the truth my homewaters of the Couer d'Alene and the St. Joe are just as good, most days anyway.

Boink Mountain?

Sex Peak Lookout
US 179, Montana 18
Kootenai National Forest Sanders County, Montana
Elevation: 5747'Coordinates: N47.72292 W115.644746Administrative Unit: U.S. Forest ServiceCooperators: Cabinet Ranger District
To Topographical Map
Sex Peak Lookout was named by two Forest Service foresters in the 1920s, reportedly after the topic of conversation that day. Whether or not the tale is accurate, there is no doubt the name has enhanced the popularity of the lookout in the cabin rental program. The L-4 groundhouse with catwalk was constructed in 1948 and staffed until the mid-1970s. It was refurbished and placed in the rental program in 1986.


This one has made my short list of Lookouts to visit. Probably in August, it is also near Trout Creek. If I can get Lisa to go with me on this one they will have to add the word "Incredible" to the name. Heh Heh

A Peacefull Hike

A couple of days ago I took the dogs on my daily hike to my private trails near my house. Of course the trails are on national forest service land and some people tend to trespass without regard for my personal privacy, so lately I have been going later because of the heat and possibility of running into people. I started the 1.6 mile loop at about dusk and knew I would finish it when it would be pretty dark. No one was in the parking area and so I let the dogs loose and let them run off some energy. Nice evening and as I got to the area that overlooks Hayden Lake I stopped and enjoyed the view and the sweet scents and sounds of a beautiful summer eve. As I resumed the my walk I noticed Etnie (Tasha's dog that we somehow inherited) stop in the trail and looking ahead, the trail curved right there and I thought there were probably some people so I hurried to get a hold of her because she barks and lunges at people which is embarassing. ( Etnie much like Tasha doesn't do anything you tell her ) As I got closer I saw what she was looking at. A big bull moose, right in the middle of the trail looking at the dogs. I was only about 50 feet away at this point and quite surprised. Awesome animal with its antlers still in velvet, the dogs started growling and inching toward it. I tried calling them back, I didn't want them harassing this nice moose and making it run around and stressing it out. I didn't need to worry about the moose, it wasn't troubled at all and calmly lowered his head and charged the dogs. The dogs being outweighed by 1000 pounds beat a retreat past me as I was prudently walking backwards at an increasingly faster pace. The moose was not slowing down and was now way too close for comfort. The vegatation is really thick here and there was nowhere to go but back down the trail. I turned and started to run - anyone who has been chased by a bull moose can appreciate the fact that I didn't dwaddle. In fact as I grasped the gravity of the situation I put on a burst of speed that I frankly didn't know I had in me. I was showing form and a lightness of foot that the world hasn't seen since I was on the football field at the Sunbowl in St. George 25 years ago. I swear I ran about a 4.2 forty yard dash. After about a hundred yards I looked over my shoulder and saw the moose stop and slowly wander into the dense forest off the trail. The dogs had no interest in going after it although I still had to go past that spot to get by on the trail. I carefully eased by and never saw it again. It was getting dark and since I had about a quart of adrenaline in my blood I decided to run the rest of the way. And I did.

Gem Peak Is Next

Here is my next victim. Gem Peak is in Montana about 80 miles from here. It is near the Clark Fork River and Trout Creek (blue ribbon fishing baby) It was originally built in 1921 and updated several times to this structure. It has a woodstove and beds and of course is in Grizzly country. Somehow I was able to reserve it on Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend. As you can see this one is a tower and looks pretty dang cool. Check out the link below for more info. It will also link back to the lookout website which is interesting. Idaho and Montana have a bunch of them. Utah, not so much.

http://www.firelookout.net/Individ_Lookouts/US180_Gem_Peak.htm

The View From The Top

This is our Fire Lookout that we rented for three days. It was incredible, we had a great time and soaked up the views for hours on end. There was a cool breeze blowing constantly and the weather was perfect. At all times there was a brisk breeze that felt like Christmas, it was great although sometimes at night the wind picked and really howled. The Lookout was sturdy and the winds didn't faze it, she is a good ship. Because of the wind there were no mosquitoes or flies present at all.
We cooked up some fine dutch oven suppers and pancake breakfasts and enjoyed a leisurely trip. One day we hiked to Gem Lake it was advertised as a 1.5 mile moderate hike. This was the demented opinion of some uber park ranger dipshit. It was a straight up the mountain death march which is ok but we just weren't expecting it. Beautiful lake though and I managed to catch one fish out of it.
We spent a lot of time with the binoculars scanning the country which was fun, Adalee loved the binocs and always wanted to have them. The first day we watched a fire burn on a mountain close by and kept an eye on the fire crew and helicopter that dumped water on it. The chopper would pick up water at a nearby lake hover over the fire and dump it out. It was interesting to watch and with the winds it was pretty stubborn and took them two days to put it out. A few people came up to the lookout and asked if we knew about the fire thinking we were lookouts. I told them we had crews on it but the wind was making it tough. I felt a little like Ed Abbey. We were at the end of a road and we had a locked gate down a ways but we only saw a couple of parties the whole time we were there. It was fun, I am looking at other Lookouts to rent in Aug and maybe September, Montana has a bunch of them some are remote and you have to hike in and some have hot showers and full kitchens. I just might try them all. Somebody has to do it.

O'Neal is Back!

Ty suggested a trip into the Deep Creek Drainage when I was planning our trip to Utah. I agreed and packed a fly rod. Best damn idea of the week. We had a great time and caught many many fat fighting browns that hammered big dry flies. The canyon is unrecognizable after several fires. The fish were all killed off from fire retardent several years ago and no one had been in there in 3 years. Still a pretty good leg burning hike even with the four wheeler trail that is there now. We had a great day, I might make a fly fisherman out of Ty yet. I know the great fishing in this canyon is where I got it bad. Ty caught a lot of trout and we fished together and had fish on at the same time many times. I also caught the biggest fish I have ever landed in there on my first cast into Deep Creek as soon as we hit the first water. Big fat brown about 16 inches, big fish for this size creek, nice start to the fishing and a good omen that proved correct. O'neal is running low and that could be bad for later in the summer, Southern Utah is on fire again and dry as hell. It seem like a different creek the trees are all gone the canyon is opened up like never before and the stream itself must of had a major flash flood because the pools and runs are all different. But the important thing is that is full of trout and they are hungry and they love dry flies and really that is all you can ask for.

p.s. If you go try a size 10 stimulator, (yellow body) don't be afraid to go big you will catch more and bigger fish - CJ

25 Big Uns

Lisa and I celebrated our 25th Anniversary on June 20th. Congratulations to me. If you want to send a gift we like fly fishing stuff. We stayed in Spokane at a hotel on the river next to Riverside Park. We had a great time and then headed to Southern Utah for our 25th high school reunion which also was fun. Ty also turns 25 this year (we were busy in 1981) We have been married since we were kids, now our kids have kids. Lisa is more beautiful than ever and although I look pretty rough I can still move like a cat and think on my feet. 25 years! I love you baby.

A Motley Crew

Here are some pirates attacking Bryant after the play on opening night. Boo was really good as Dr. Livesy and played the pompous Englishmen who keeps reminding everyone that he is a doctor and an officer of the English Crown. I laughed quietly through the whole first scene because Bryant looked to me like Chris Farley from the movie Almost Heroes when he is at the party before the expedition and has his hair slicked down. The play has a few opening night glitches but was good. Lisa decorated the lobby and ran the souvenier shop. I set up the tiki torches outside and had six of them burning as they people came in. Twas a bloody good time I say you scervy dogs. Tasha bought a pirate bandana from Lisa and put it on for the show. I tried to get Boo to change one line where he says "Good Heavans" when he sees Captain Bones dead to "Bloody Hell" but he won't do it. Once again my stellar advice falls on stupid ears.

Name The Boat 2

I have to say people the participation in the naming contest was poor. If you read this blog and didn't submit a name then shame on you. Besides a few wiseacres there were only a few legitimate entries including some people I have never heard of. Nick came up with a few suggestions after floating the Coeur d'Alene River in it twice. Dusty Old Bones and the Creaky Whinning Old Lady did not sit well with me and may get him banned from the boat. Aside from Nick's hurtful comments there were Moms old standby of Never On Sunday and Dad came up with Old Tippy. I have decided to honor them both and combine the names. So come on up and take a float in "Tipsy on Sunday" Thanks, and keep your waders wet boys.

Name The Drift Boat

Name my boat and win a fantastic prize. Submit entries via the comment section. If your name is selected you will receive a great prize (currently undetermined) Front runner at this point is the "Pittsburg Nelly" named after a frontier whore, the things she could do with her one good arm could make you forget all about that thing growin on her neck. (see Almost Heroes with Chris Farley if you dont get it) Good Luck and be creative. Thank You

Picture is Boo and Tasha on Hayden Lake

Drift Boat Saga

It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.
I have been looking for a drift boat for fly fishing for quite a while now. I have been tempted to buy a new one, the fiberglass Hydes and Clackacrafts are tempting. But I really wanted a wood boat because that is what boats are supposed to be made out of. Our Viking brothers made their vessels of wood and sailed across the freakin Altantic Ocean so I think it can handle the rivers of North Idaho and Western Montana ( I hope) So I have looked and even checked out a few on Ebay. I went to Seattle one morning to buy a drift boat and backed out because it's name was painted on the side and it was the Dry Rot and the name fit. I was back home by lunch time. This journey led me to this fine specimen. I saw an ad in a local paper that said that a drift boat was for sale in Libby Montana. I sent a email and they sent sent me some pictures, I was intrigued and made a low ball offer that was accepted and so I took off one beautiful May morning for Libby to pick up my boat. The drive from Coeur d'Alene to Libby is one of the most enjoyable drives you can take, about two and a half hours of wildlife, mountains, rivers, waterfalls and pristine country. I stopped at the Forest Service office in Libby because that is where both of the owners worked. He was the head biologist for the entire Flathead National Forest Service and she also worked there. Nice people in their late fifites early sixties maybe. We went to their home on the Kootenai River to see the boat. As soon as they pulled the cover off I said I would take it. I handed over the cash and he grumbled about beating them up on the price, I ignored him as I was hooking the trailer up to my truck. She cried a little as I drove off, she had sanded and refinished the boat herself the previous winter and had done a nice job. (Montana women ain't that purty but they are right handy) It is now in my garage waiting for the rivers to calm down from the spring blowout. So now I have a drift boat and rivers to run and fish to catch. Come on up and I'll take you out.

Cool

Well it is Memorial Day weekend and the temperature has dropped like it always does. It is raining and cold. It will top off today in the low 50s. The previous blog on the heat and global warming should now be disregarded, it is obvious we are in the throes of the next ice age. (buy property in Costa Rica - six percent please) Of course these wild ass extremes in the weather can only mean one thing the End of The World. That's right, oh its coming they have been saying it for hundreds of years and one of these days they are going to be right. That Al Gore is full of shit man.

Ipod

The Boo Turns 16

Bryant celebrated his sixteenth birthday with a kegger and fireworks. Not really but he did go bowling with his mama and later had pie.

Thar She Blows

It's a little late but here is Lisa on her B-day

My God The Heat

This is the situation. It is May 18 and it is 93 degrees in Coeur d'Alene. That crazy bastard Al Gore is right! Holy crap global warming is not a myth. Previous record was 86 degrees and that was back when pioneers were burning buffalo turds on the Oregon Trail to heat up their Mormon Tea for their caffeine fix back before they had Red Bull and Diet Rock Star. Normal temps would be in the 60s-70 range and it will be back there in a few days but this is not right. Wenesday the furnace was on that night and the air conditioner kicked in by afternoon. That kind of drastic change is not good for the soul, in fact it really ticks me off to be deprived of the beautiful spring weather that I love. But I am a glass half full kinda guy and this blast of heat has really cranked up the run-off from snow melt and it might - just might make the June 1 opener on the river fishing in Idaho decent. The rivers are blown right now, big and fast moving. You can almost hear the snow melting on Lolo Peak. Stay tuned, if the global warming persists I hear Greenland is going to be great. In fact buy real estate there now, beat the rush. ( If you do buy I will need to collect the six percent, thanks)

Famous in Vegas

June 23, 2005
TASHA Larsen of Post Falls, Idaho, and her ten-month-old nephew Johnny Boden of St. George, Utah, gaze through a window in C-Gate to view a new control tower in D-Gate at McCarran International Airport. The tower opened in April as part of a $125 million expansion to the D concourse.
MATTHEW MINARD / LAS VEGAS SUN

Boo did a yahoo search for Tasha Larsen and this picture of her and Bodie came up from the Las Vegas Airport. Pretty Cool.

I Never Update Ever

I Never Update my blog ever not even a little bit.

Cruel

The spring fishing that I am used to on the Clark Fork River in Montana has not materialized. A substantial snowpack and a very wet spring has played the cruelest of jokes on me. The river in it's pre-runoff usaully fishes well with a big stone fly hatch. The stone fly in question is a called a Skwala and it a is big, hairy beautiful beast and the fish love them. Alas, the aformentioned bug is hatching and the hatch is prolific. But, and this is a big ass but, the river is a gigantic frothing dirt clod with visibility in about the two inch range. Hence, the bugs are there but the large trout cannot see the damn things and as a result cannot eat the damn things. And now the weather has got quite warm and the real runoff begins, which means the river will be blown out for all of May. Oh sure, you could find some back eddies to float some bottom hugging junk like San Juan Worms and other disgusting "flies" but the fishing would be slow and sleazy and you would look back on it with disgust. To top this all off, the rivers in Idaho are closed in May for the cutthroat spawn and so we are at point when it may become necessary to pitch a fit of rage and futility. Oh the cycles of nature are quite interesting and when they mess up my own personal enjoyment they become annoying. In a perfect world the complicated workings of nature would revolve around me and my need to fly fish. The rivers would be there for me, the trout would be mine to catch and the beer would flow like wine. It is not too much to ask after toughing out another Northwest winter. Nature is cruel, cruel indeed.

Hippie Freak

Boo has really let himself go.

My New Grandson

Jet Has Landed

We have another grandson! Born in Kanab on March 11, 6lbs 6 0z , 20 inches he sounds like a keeper. (if he was a trout he would be a fine specimen also) He was supposed to be born in St. George, but they decided to go to the Kanab hospital first because a snowstorm was hitting southern Utah. It was a good thing they did or he would have been born in Colorado City and would have had to be a polygamist and worn long sleeve shirts even in the summer. Sloan is doing fine and did the delivery old school no drugs or whiskey. For his name they are leaning toward Jet Kolin Larsen. Johnny and Jet, sounds like a couple of cool brothers - I can't wait to hold them both.

Skiing with Boo

Bryant and I decided to go skiing this last weekend. We went to Lookout Ski Resort that is on a mountain pass in the Selkirks Mountain Range. It is literally on the Idaho - Montana border with the main lift going right up the state line. Its kinda a funky smaller resort but has some good runs and a lot of snow this year. It was a great day with the sun out and not many people. (one of it's finest amenities) Bry is a pretty good skier, he has only been a few times last year and a few this year. He cruises pretty good and never wipes out, good balance for a big dude. After a morning of cruising the medium runs we went down a double diamond run. It was steep and a little icy but didn't seem to bad I got about halfway down and stopped to watch Boo. He was already down; it looked like a disaster had struck. He was sitting up facing down the slope and one ski was above him in Montana and one pole was below him in Idaho, he was trying to put his hat back on and seemed a little stunned. I was down too far to do anything to help but a guy stopped and picked up his ski and started to bring it to him. Suddenly Boo started sliding on his butt down the hill, picking up speed and spraying snow. I tried to yell at him to dig in but he just kept going lost both skis and was out of control. He finally stopped and the nice man gathered up all his stuff and brought it to him. But he couldn't stand up on the steep slope to get his skis on. I told him to just slide the rest of the way down which he did. We finally got him back together and looked up the hill at the trench he dug with his butt all the way down the run. After a few more runs I took him in the lodge for some food and hot chocolate. When we sat down I looked at him and he was as white as a ghost except for some blue lips. Everybody else in there had rosy red faces from the sun and cold. He said he hit his head pretty hard on the wipeout so I guess he had a concussion or something. I knew from experience with Ty that this would lead to mindless questions and a monotonous trip to the hospital for nothing, so we went back out and hit the slopes. It was fun! A couple days later he seems to be coming around.

Why Its Good To Be A Grandpa

Johnny Boden wishing me a happy birthday. He calls his grandpas - "papa". He got on the phone and wished me a happy birthday 4 or 5 times. He is too cool.

I had a good b-day. I got up and went cross country skiing with Farley the dog. We went to our favorite spot and saw the moose again. I skied for about 3 hours. I went back and got a massage at the Z-spa. A nice mild looking gal named Michelle worked me over like a professional wrestler. It hurt at times but felt great after. Then Tasha came over and we ordered out and had dinner and my favorite desert that Lisa makes it is not cake but a kinda of a pie thing. They gave me some great gifts, especially an I-Pod, I finally realized how damn cool these things are and wanted one to take to the gym. Every one was nice and I talked to Adam and Gordo and got emails from Andrew in Alaska and Ben in China. Of course ma and pa called and Ty, Sloan and Bodie. I might be an aging sorry ass but I have a great family - thanks guys.

43

Hear 'em singing happy birthday
Better think about the wish I make
This year gone by it's been a piece of cake.
Every day's a revolution Pull it together and it comes undone
Just one more candle and a trip around the sun.
I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning
And it's good to know it's out of my control.
If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living
Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go.
No you never see it coming, Always wind up wondering where it went.
Only time will tell If it was time well spent
It's another revelation,
Celebrating what I should have done With these souvenirs of my trip around the sun.
I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning
And it's good to know it's out of my control.
If there's one thing I have learned from all this living
Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go.
Yes I'll make a resolution
That I'll never make another one.
Just enjoy this ride on my Trip around the sun.

Jimmy Buffet

Words of Wisdom

This Popular Drink May Delay Aging!
Sip a glass of red wine with dinner most nights, and it may buy you a longer life as well as delay the onset of aging.
That's the word from scientists at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, who have shown that red wine can actually delay the onset of aging thanks to the ingredient resveratrol. At least it works in fish, and the researchers think the findings could apply to humans as well.
Resveratrol, an organic compound found in grapes and particularly enriched in red wines such as pinot noir, is part of a group of antioxidant compounds known as polyphenols. Scientists have shown through previous studies that resveratrol can help prevent inflammation and cancer. The Italian researchers, led by Alessandro Cellerino, added resveratrol to the daily diet of 150 Nothobranchius furzeri fish, a breed that typically lives about nine weeks in captivity. The result? It not only significantly prolonged their lifespan, but also delayed the onset of age-related problems, including loss of memory and diminished muscular performance.
The fish that received a lower dose of resveratrol lived on average 33 percent longer than fish fed their normal diets, while those fed the higher dose lived more than 50 percent longer. Previous research showed a similar effect in fruit flies and worms, making resveratrol the first compound to consistently prolong life in three very different animal groups. The hope is that resveratrol could someday be used in drugs that would help prevent age-related diseases in humans. The study findings were published in the journal Current Biology.
This isn't the first research to show the anti-aging qualities of wine. Women who drink one glass wine daily tend to have sharper minds into old age than do women who abstain, reports Reuters of a large study of 12,500 nurses from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Light to moderate drinking has also been shown to prevent heart disease and stroke.
Led by Dr. Meir Stampfer, the team found that female drinkers aged 70 to 81 were 20 percent less likely to experience a decline in their thinking skills over a two-year period than women who did not drink at all. Specifically, women who drank daily tended to have the mental agility of someone a year and a half younger than abstainers.
Just in case you have any ideas about beefing that up by imbibing more, forget it. Drinking more than one glass of wine a day didn't provide a greater cognitive benefit.

I Report - You Decide

Lunch Peak Lookout

This old fire lookout will be my vacation home for four days in July. I reserved it through the Forest Service, it sits on top of Lunch Peak in the Bitteroot Mountains near Sandpoint overlooking Lake Pend O'rielle. It is at 7,000 feet elevation which is high for this area. Most fire lookouts have been deactivated due to satellite technology and they have made these available to the public on a first come basis. I reserved it on the first day they were available and it should be fun. The road goes right to the lookout but has a gate miles down the road that is locked so it should be pretty private. It is near some trails that go to some high country lakes that should be fishing well about that time of the summer. I'll be hanging out like Ed Abbey hisself. Ty said he would try and come up then and Lisa might even spend a night or two. One thing for sure, its gonna have a great view.

Moose Deuce

I went cross country skiing again, I realize this is in danger of becoming a ski blog but I don't do much else. I went up in the mountains and took off up an old logging road and it was a good day to be skiing, about four inches of fresh snow and the conditions were good. I noticed some huge tracks going up the road and took a closer look, moose. The tracks were sinking in about a foot and there were two sets of them. I thought they looked fresh so I called Farley back and made him stay behind me and started looking ahead hoping to catch a glimpse of the aformentioned meeces. I had gone about half a mile and the tracks were were veering side to side as I could tell they were trying to get off the road, but it was a steep slope and deep snow on both sides so they couldn't. Then I saw a steaming pile of droppings and I knew I was getting close. I skied as quietly as possible and finally came around a corner and snow flew as a cow moose and a large calf took off. They were only about 25 yards away and they trotted ahead, I watched them as they headed up the road, they can really cover ground even at a trot. Finally I could see the big one head up into the trees off the road. It took me about 15 minutes to ski to where it disapeared (uphill all the way) When I got there I saw the tracks of the big one go up into the trees and the tracks of the smaller continue up the road. Hmmmm. Didn't really like this scenario. So now I was in between a cow moose and her calf on a narrow little logging road with nowhere to hide and skis on that would make me a sitting duck. Farley wouldn't be much help, he didn't seem to even notice them, and I think if they charged he would be running like hell. Oh well, I continued on up the road and kept pushing the other moose ahead of me. I would stride, breathe, look over my shoulder. I wasn't scared, but I did want to avoid getting the shit kicked out of me by a pissed off 2000 lb. mother ungulate. After a couple more miles of uphill skiing I was tired and decided to head back, downhill glide the whole way. Never did see either moose again, but I'm glad I got to watch them. I felt a little bad about seperating them so far, but it wasn't a small calf - it was almost half the size of its mother. More like a teenager - as soon as it needed some money it would find its way back to mommy.

Yoda

Do or do not there is no try.

X-Country Part Deux

The plan was for some downhill skiing but Bryant was sick so I went to plan B. Once again I loaded up the cross country skis and the dogs and went to mountains. I headed to 4th of July Pass that is east of Coeur d'Alene and found a lot fresh snow had fallen. There were a lot of snowmobile trailers parked there so I drove down a plowed road and found a turn off to a forest service road that was closed. The road had been groomed for snowmobiles so it was smooth but with a soft surface. It made the skiing smooth and easy. The road took off on a moderate uphill grade and it kept me working hard but nothing steep. I skied for a couple of miles and it was great. There was a light snow falling and it was quiet and pretty. The snow off to the side was deep and when the dogs ran out in it they disapeared from sight. I finally turned around and started down. It was perfect conditions I glided down without trouble. Nice outing, cross country skiing is great.

Lake CDA