A New Record

I am writing this bit of nonsense today for 3 reasons. The first reason is the same reason I write all of these posts. It's mainly for my own amusement. I think I'm hilarious. I am probably the funniest person I know. If you ask Brenda, I'm sure she'll tell you the same thing (actually she'll probably tell you that I am mostly just annoying...but what does she know?)

The 2nd reason is also one of the main reasons I write these bits of rambling. It's so my Mom doesn't worry about us, and if you are wondering, yes my Mom likes to worry. Don't worry Mom, we are alive and well (Hi Mom...sorry I haven't called lately).

And the 3^rd reason is because of 6 different conversations I've had in the last couple of weeks with 6 different friends that mysteriously went almost exactly the same way. In a nutshell, all 6 of these people basically told me I was lazy for not keeping up with the blog. They all said something about how I have nothing but time, and even with all that free time, I can't seem to take a few minutes to put something out there so friends and family can keep tabs on us. Since I have been scolded by 6 different people lately, I am going to try to do a little better job at putting garbage out there for you to read.

Before I go any farther with this post, I want to thank those of you who take time out of your day to read this nonsense. It's nice to know that you care enough to check in on us.

The biggest news that we've got right now is that Brenda just came down to Bend for 10 days so she could have some fun and get some R & R. She has been up in Seattle for the last few months helping out her brother after his liver transplant and a break was definitely needed, I'm sure for both of them. I don't care how much you love your sibling, because after a bunch of months of being together every day, all day long, I would want a break. I take that back. I would NEED a break (sorry my dear brother and sister, but I can only take so much of you...but I still love you both).

Since Brenda and I have been apart for almost 3 months, you can probably guess it was a happy reunion for both of us. All I can say is that this boy has needs.  Having marital privileges restored is a good thing.

The sad part of our reunion was that 10 days goes by pretty quickly. It seemed she left just as soon as she got here. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. We did get a few days of skiing in, some hiking, we saw some live music, and she was able to catch up with some good friends. It was a pretty fun 10 days.

But now that she is gone and I am back to bachelor status, I can now get back to having real fun (just kidding Brenda...it was way more fun when you were here). What is real fun you ask? Well, for me, it's skiing. I can hear you mumbling that Brenda was just here and we went skiing together. You are right and you get a gold star for paying attention. As much fun as it was having Brenda around, there is a different pace when she is here. She enjoys skiing, but I absolutely love it. When the weather is nasty and it's dumping inches upon inches of new snow in the mountains, I NEED to be in line when the chair lift opens. Brenda feels like there is no rush. We'll get there when we get there. Sometimes that means 11 or even noon before we are on the mountain. For crying out loud woman! Don't you know that first tracks in fresh powder is heavenly?!?!

The second best thing to a powder day is perfect corduroy on a sunny bluebird day. There is almost nothing better than going mach 12 down a steep slope with a perfectly groomed surface racing beneath your feet. Do you know when you have to get to the mountain to achieve this state of nirvana? You guessed it...first chair. Again, the pace with Brenda around is different. Don't get me wrong, I really loved having her here for those 10 days. Just about everything is more fun with her here. I even have more fun skiing with her by my side. It's just the pace in the morning that kills me.

So now that she is back in Seattle and I am back to my rhythm of being on the mountain in time for first chair, I am again having real fun. And the weather and snow conditions were so great today, that I decided I would try to ski every single groomed run and trail that the mountain has to offer. This might not seem like that big of a deal, but trust me, there is a lot of mountain to cover to ski every single groomed run and trail. Mt. Bachelor is one of the largest ski areas in North America. Sometimes you have to take the same run 4 or 5 times to get every offshoot or cat-track or trail. Sometimes you have to back track because you missed one. Sometimes it's easy as pie and you can just go mach 12 straight down the mountain.

The bad news is that my old legs ran out of steam before I reached my goal. After more rides on the chairlift than I could count, I made it through almost the entire mountain but fell short by 4 measly groomed trails. These old legs could take no more. Bummer. But the good news is that according to my smart-phone ski app, I set a new speed record of 58.2 miles per hour today. Not bad. For some reason, my previous record has stood pretty steady this year at 54 miles per hour. I think the roundness in my mid section might not be very aerodynamic, which unfortunately wouldn't let me break the 54 mile per hour sound barrier. But today I think I found the secret to more speed...find a steeper hill and turn less. Trust me, it works.

A little backcountry skiing

Waiting for sunset on top of Pilot Butte with our good friends Marcus and Gigi

Hiking around Smith Rock