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Showing posts from February, 2006

Lubrecht Experimental Forest

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I was feeling so guilty about not getting outside to exercise and have fun this weekend, that after my post yesterday I piled Allie the wonder dog and my gear into the car and headed about 45 minutes up the Blackfoot Valley for some cross country skiing at the Lubrecht Experimental Forest. The Missoula Nordic Club has a great website which shows locations, conditions and directions to places all around the area for Nordic skiing. Lubrecht happens to be one of the few places where dogs are still allowed (I guess all that yellow snow and messing up the trails was their undoing everywhere else) and it is within easy driving distance of Missoula. They offer beginner, intermediate and difficult trails. It was a beautiful day and the wind died down just enough to make the 3.4 mile loop (5.5km) exhilarating. I have absolutely terrible form and am slow as molasses, but I have a good time and work up a sweat every time I slap on the skinny skis. Allie had a tremendous time, running up ahead

Brrrrrrrr.....

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It has been an awfully strange winter in the northern Rockies. It was very cold in December, unseasonably warm in January and was spring-like just a week ago. Just last weekend I enjoyed a 'bluebird' day up at Snowbowl, with great temperatures and a bright, sunny sky. But it was -19F here two nights ago and -11 last night (at 9:00 AM this morning it was a balmy 0 degrees), causing Snowbowl to close the upper mountain (-50 wind chill) and putting a damper on outdoor activities for most people. Today I was scheduled to travel about an hour and a half northeast of Missoula to a place called Holland Lake with my friend Phil Gardner for some cross country skiing and hiking. The lake sits in the Flathead National Forest and offers views of both the Swan and Mission mountain ranges...it is absolutely breathtaking (here is a photo ). Unfortunately, the cold and wind forced us to cancel. It is very strange, as the sun is burning bright and there isn't a cloud in the sky, but

Cheney-gate

You know, I don't consider myself a pinko commie or bleeding heart liberal but I gotta say, I am so damned fed up with the way our country is being administered right now that I'm ready to start the no justice, no peace chant again (oops...I blew it. Yes, I did march on DC in April 1987 for peace and justice in Central America and south Africa). Our President has successfully eroded so many civil liberties that one could argue we aren't even really a democracy anymore. And Cheney...what a lout. This business of him not letting anyone know about his shooting a fellow hunter for 24 hours and then controlling the release of information smacks of a complete disregard not only for the public but for the rule of law. But then again, the law doesn't mean much to Cheney, who consistently skirts rules and regulations for his and his fellow fat cats benefit (lets not forget the secret energy policy meetings attended by his buddies). I think it is ironic that President Bush&

Royalfolio

Recently I moved my office into another suite, down the hall from the other two suites our medical practice occupies. It was a long drawn-out process taking about two weeks with more frustration than trauma, as I waited for phone lines to be identified and connected, paint to be rolled on and new locks installed. Overall, I can't really complain too much about the move, there are a hell of a lot worse things that can happen than a move down the hall. As with my previous experiences in 'moving', it allowed me to take an inventory of all my *stuff* and decide what to keep, throw out, re-organize or bury for future fun. It was in the midst of this shuffle, somewhere between throwing out some 2000 resumes (from my recruiting business which is rather shelved these days)and finding a little penguin statue sent to me in 1995 by a friend from New Zealand, that I came across a brown resume (portfolio) cover purchased for me by my Mom & Dad in 1984. Although a little faded, I

New Additions

I've spruced up my blog with two new additions...a guest book and a calendar. They are both simple and easy to use and I'm allowing visitors to post to my calendar (at least for now). Both items have clickable icons in my sidebar.

End of An Era

Western Union, the company known for telegrams and money transfers, sent their last telegram on Jan. 27, 2006. The widespread use of e-mail and the prospect of new technology, signaled the end of an era. At the height of business in 1929, more than 200 million telegrams were sent around the world. Slightly fewer than 21,000 were sent last year.

Out of Bounds

For those of us who grew up without mountain ranges as our back yards, the idea of hiking into the back country in the middle of the winter to ski or snowbaord is not a natural one. Sure, you see this sort of thing on the TV or have the occasional friend who escapes the frozen Midwest to hit a ski resort, but the people who undertake such adventures are looked upon in great awe. Since moving to Montana in 2002 and learning to snowboard, I've slowly learned to take on more difficult terrain and enjoy it. Saturday was no exception to this trend as I tagged along with a group of friends and they showed me all kinds of terrain I hadn't boarded before. The biggest treat of all was an end of the day journey out of bounds that involved a 25 minute hike up the mountainside through forests full of fresh snow (powder). By the time we got to the top my heart was pounding so hard I could hardly hear their instructions on what to do next; we had to traverse across the top of a small c

State of the Union Funny

If you are here in the US and happened to watch the State of the Union address by GW last night you probably got a good laugh out of the hot news flash from our ever-truthful and forward-thinking Executive Branch - "We are addicted to oil" - it just doesn't get much more profound than that...