While everyone is eagerly awaiting trip photos, Joel wanted me to remind everyone he is very busy …

Zoodling

Putting his motorcycle back together …

Gardening, working at the Perry Three Mile Shooting Complex and the Golden Spike Range, etc., etc., etc.

BE PATIENT

😃

Fifteen minutes apart …

Looking forward to great weather on our MTB trip with highs in the 80’s and lows in the 60’s. Might be a tad warm but it is predicted 100% rain here in North Ogden for Labor Day so we are not complaining!

Joel took this photo about 10:30pm last night. Surprisingly clear skies after a couple days of smoke that blew in from forest fires in the Pacific Northwest.

Then another taken this morning at sunrise – smoke/haze is back!

Last year I picked up a book by Robin Wall Kimmerer called “Braiding Sweetgrass.” At the same time I had subscribed to news and events from the Kripalu Center of Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, MA. Coincidentally, early this year I saw that they had a 3-day program where the author was discussing her book. Interspersed throughout the program were healthy meals and multiple yoga classes that you could take. The setting included many miles of hiking trails, meditation gardens and more on the 125 acre+ estate.

Another coincidence was that Natalie, Tony, Alex and Xavier were heading home from Saratoga Race Track and would pass right through Stockbridge on their way home, on the same day that I was to arrive. We were able to coordinate a great lunch and a few minutes to catch up on things before we went our separate ways.

The book discussion was great – Robin is a botanist, decorated professor and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She talks in the book about how to foster the reciprocal relationship we have with the rest of the living world (plants, animals and Mother Earth.) One of the things she discussed that I thought was very applicable was what she called the “Honorable Harvest” …

Never Take the First One, Never Take More Than 1/2, Never Take the Last One, Share the Bounty, Be Grateful, Minimize Harm, Take Only What You Need, Ask Permission – Listen For the Answer, Use Everything You Take and Reciprocate With a Gift.

Pretty much common sense but we seem to forget …

It is always a shock to the system to go from the hot, dry desert environment of Utah to lush, green humid locals. The weather was cool and there was a bit of rain during the weekend but I didn’t mind!

Lots of classes during the day – many guests attend what they call an R & R retreat for as many days as they want full of unlimited classes, food and other activities … must keep in mind – a “Sister’s Retreat” in the future?

One very interesting tree on the property is the Camperdown Elm which I took a look at. Not sure exactly how old it is but it has an interesting history (see sign below.)

And lastly, a clue to the eternal question, “Does a bear poop in the woods?” Apparently not, as this huge pile was in the apple orchard when we were given an assignment to visit with the plants (I chose the vine.)

Sticking to the north side of Antelope Island, we are finding that there seems to be a group of bulls that are content to spend time away from the main herd AND in the middle of the trail.

We started off with two possible routes and both had buffalo within a couple feet of the trail. We wandered around on the road and found a new trail that we thought would be good. It was rated easy to moderate for all modes of travel so we headed out.

Once we got about a mile into the loop, it was apparent that this was not something we were going to be able to ride. Joel described it as “Taking my bike for a hike.” We ended up carrying and pushing our bikes through the rocks for a mile or so before it smoothed out.

And, to make the buffalo blockade threepeat complete, about 3/4 of the way through the loop there was another huge bull laying directly in the trail … So back through the rocks we went.

We ended the day with less than ten miles but, as always, it made for a good story and an adventure!

Looks like Tuesdays and Thursdays are set as Antelope Island mountain bike days. We took a different trail and did 17 of the 23 miles on the Mountain View Trail which follows the shoreline. Very pleasant rolling hills. Saw bison, coyote and pronghorn antelope plus a lot of birds and GIANT spiders.

On part of the trail you had to ride through patches of tall grass. I didn’t really think too much about it but on the way back, I got a waft of the distinctive smell of Sweetgrass. Coincidentally, I am heading back to MA next month to hear the author of “Braiding Sweetgrass!”

Taking advantage of cool mornings, Joel and I headed out to Antelope Island State Park a couple times this week. Relatively easy trails, zero other people out and just a few bugs will make Tues and Thurs our “go to” training days now. And, as a bonus, this week neither of us crashed! About a 10 mile loop, we will build up to doing the loop twice which should be the approximate daily mileage of our White Rim Mountain Bike trip in September.

After having breakfast and meeting our guide and the other two clients on our boat, we headed down to the docks. The intent was to fish for salmon first, and then if we had caught our limits, we would switch over to the halibut and rockfish. It was a relatively smooth and sunny day and we almost caught our limit but didn’t have enough time to head out further to where the halibut were so we called it a day. Joel had taken a Dramamine and I felt fine. The other gal on the boat wasn’t feeling real good but she said she always gets seasick. HMMM, maybe choose another vacation alternative?

Day two out on the water proved a bit more challenging – overcast, chilly, choppy water and 3/4 clients barfing over the side of the boat by the end of the day. Joel looked and me and said ,”I don’t know if I should ask right now but can I eat lunch and can I have your lunch, I am really hungry?” HAHA Caught more salmon and then tried halibut with no luck. Headed back into “calmer” waters and caught a few rockfish. Ended up with probably 75 lbs of filets for two people over the two days fishing.

Glad to be back on solid ground, we checked in to the Glenn Lyon Inn where we all had waterfront views from our rooms.

The fish had been dropped off the afternoon before at a local fish processor to be cleaned, cut up, packaged and flash-frozen. We were able to pick the fish up at 8:00am the next morning all frozen, packed and ready to go. So convenient!

Once we left Port Hardy we made the mad dash down the island to Nanaimo to catch still another ferry to Vancouver. We actually got their faster than I expected and caught an earlier ferry. I think we all had Salmon Caesar salads on board!

Joel and I headed back to North Ogden the next day with a special delivery of salmon to Ross at his work in Milton-Freewater en route. We got a quick tour of the winery and all of the brand new shiny equipment. Wow, Impressive.

Joel had put a down payment on a fishing trip to Port Hardy (on Vancouver Island) in 2019, only to have the pandemic hit. We waited four years to finally have the pandemic over and Canada officially opened their borders without restrictions. We asked Mom if she wanted to come up with us and the adventure began!

Joel and I drove to Bellevue to stay overnight in the Eastgate area. The hotel is just down the block from St Andrew’s where Dad’s ashes are so we grabbed a bunch of new flowers, as it was going to be Father’s Day.

The next morning we visited with Mom and then headed over via the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry to see Bob and Larina. We spent a couple hours relaxing at their place in Port Ludlow on a beautiful day, then headed up to Sequim for dinner. Their place looks amazing and you can tell they are putting a lot of work into landscaping, painting, etc.

After dinner we headed up to Port Angeles where we would catch the ferry over to Victoria early the next morning.

After catching an early ferry to Victoria, we made our way (slowly) to Campbell River. We had the opportunity to visit the Museum at Campbell River which was very well done and told a lot about the fishing, logging and mining that went on in the area. Then, after an elusive, hour long search for fish and chips, we ended up at the hotel restaurant where Mom and I had possibly the best seafood chowder either of us had EVER had! Joel opted for the stir fry.

The next morning we drove up to Port Hardy to the Serengeti Fishing Charters “Lodge.” Actually a house, but due to the fact that they had so many clients, the three of us ended up staying in a cabin down near the boat docks. It was nice to be out of the way and easy to drive a couple minutes up to the house for our meals. The intent was for Mom to relax at the cabin while we were fishing but she had other “plans” and sitting in the cabin was not one of them!

I should not have gotten on Joel’s case last month when he did a loop de loop on his mountain bike. I told him he needed to get that out of his system before we went on our 4-day mountain biking trip in September. Well, come to find out, I decided to join the “endo” club last Sunday.

I was actually trying to do a noble thing and avoid running over a giant Great Basin Gopher Snake that was in the trail. The evasive maneuver seemed to be going well until I unfortunately grabbed the front brake. Yep, any bike newer than my 1985 Trek mountain bike apparently has hair-trigger disc brakes so over the bars she went. Not sure what I landed on but I cracked a huge chunk out of my bike helmet (yes kids, always wear your bike helmet,) was bleeding from my lip, elbows, legs and one shoulder and had horrible rib pain.

After remembering about Dad’s tumble down the stairs and his cracked ribs and Joel’s tumble on a trail run and his cracked rib, I decided that I could diagnose and treat myself with the help of the internet. HAHA. Well, the only reason I say that is because there is really nothing you can do with a rib injury except not cough, sneeze, laugh and take Advil. That is my expert advice. I couldn’t lay down for 3 days to sleep but I seem to be on the mend. Phew – didn’t want to have to cancel the trip on my account!

And yes, I did buy a new bike helmet!