Retired life and other excuses....

I know it has been a long time since the last post.  I have to apologize as we are so busy...  I honestly thought retirement was going to consist of sleeping in, reading, watching TV and some other extraneous activities.  It turns out I was wrong.  I will try to quickly fill you in on some of the things we have been doing since the last post.

We took our annual mountain bike trip with Western Spirit.  Our good friends Mark and Laurie agreed to go along (to shut me up).  As usual Pete went along.  Last year's trip was to Moab.  We have done Moab a number of times, but this trip promised trails we had not previously ridden on.  This trip was a bit unique in that it was one of their Getaway Weekends where all you do is fly in and they provide all the camping gear as well as bikes.  Mark and Laurie flew into Grand Junction, CO where they were picked up by the WS guides.  We elected to drive and meet them in Moab.  We brought our own camping gear as I have issues about using a common sleeping bag.  I know, the therapy is not really working.  We elected to use their bikes as I wanted both Julie and Pete to try out the dual suspension and single gear chain ring.  I have one of their bikes so I knew they would like the ride.  When we finally joined up with the WS van, there was only Mark and Laurie and the two guides.  That meant this trip would be private.   That is good because they can cater the riding to our abilities or lack there of.  The downside is you often meet outstanding people on the trip that you stay in touch with.  That is most often the case although on a rare occasion we have have met people I would like to push off a cliff, hypothetically speaking...  The October weather was cool and wet.  We managed to get in several outstanding rides.  As always the food was great.  Do not plan to lose weight on a WS bike trip.  We did pick up one distinction.  The guides said they had not seen any group go over the handlebars more than than ours.  Julie and I did not go over once so you can only imagine how many times the other three went airborne.  This year we are doing the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in May if anyone is interested in joining us.

Dave and Julie in Moab.  

Petey ripped his pants.

After much begging, Petey agreed it was time to burn his pants as no landfill would take them.

Petey has a tendency to wear his clothes long beyond their natural life.  For example. he still has a Nehru Jacket! (For those of you who are still too young to know what a Nehru jacket is, think Beatles, the music group, not the creepy crawly things). We tried to donate his old clothes to the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund and were told that even the Haitians would not wear his old clothes!

Laurie tearing up the trail.

Petey close behind.

Julie and Laurie enjoying some relaxation with adult beverages.

Mark navigating the ever changing terrain of Moab.

Park City
We have been going to our place in Park City very frequently.  The main reason is I purchased an annual ski pass and I plan to make that baby pay out.  The ski slopes are three miles from our town house so getting there is never a problem.  Julie has elected not to ski this season, or perhaps ever.  She had an incident with a tree her first time skiing as a teenager and has not gotten over it.  We work out at 5 am and then when the ski slopes open I head out.  She takes care of Cooper until I get back which is generally only a few hours.  When you ski alone there is no waiting in the lift lines so it is constant up and down.  Three hours is plenty.

Cooper Update
Cooper is 15 months old and full grown.  He is a strapping 20 pounds of pure energy and snuggle bug.  He will run along the trail with us when we mountain bike.  He can keep up for 10 miles with no problem.  I do worry about a coyote snatching him since we saw one in our back yard, not to mention the bobcat that came into the yard a few days after that.  As a result I carry a deterrent 🔫 for his protection.  The other day while hiking we came across a herd of cattle on the trail.  They were keenly interested in Cooper, but did not particularly care for me.  Good instincts I guess.

Cooper has now completed his training and has Julie and I right where he wants us.  He does EVERYTHING we said he would not.  He only eats freshly grilled chicken and turns his nose up at regular dog food.  Thankfully he is so cute.

Young Cooper

Julie and Cooper in Park City

This year we are planning to hike Half Dome again.  As you may recall I would not let Pete climb up the cable portion because of its steepness and his lack of upper body strength.  Well, all of that has changed.  No, it is still steep, no, he still lacks the upper body strength.  I guess the only thing that has changed is my willingness to assist him in getting to the top even if it means strapping him to my back. Trust me, if that happens there will be lots of pictures.  If we cannot get a permit for Half Dome (Lottery), we will climb El Capitan.  When I say "climb" I mean we will hike a long, steep trail that leads to the top.  We are not crazy!

That is all for now as I do need to take a nap...