This Pilgrim's Progress

Tuolome Meadows - Will we get to Backpack??

Well we've been checking the Yosemite site almost daily to see if we'll actually get to camp there!! The Tioga road is open and the snow level is now above 9000 ft. Their projected opening date for Toulume Meadows is July 8,  3 days before we leave!!! So hopefully they will have some nice sunny days in the next week to melt some of that snow. 

Our planned overnight backpacking on the Glen Aulin trail is also a big "Maybe", depending on the trail conditions. They say there's quite a bit of avalanche danger and possible high-water due to the snowpack, so we'll have to see what the rangers have to say when we check in.  There are a couple of other possibilities depending on the conditions, so it's not like we won't have a wonderful time, it just means we will need to be flexible if our plans don't turn out.

They are also advising campers in the Valley to call ahead, since there might be some Spring flooding of the campsites due to the heavy snow-pack.

We are definitely in store for an adventure, just a little bit different from the one we were expecting. Maybe instead of rock-climbing me and the kids will take a snowshoe or ice-axe self-arrest techniques class!!

This url has some recent pictures of Tuolome Meadows: http://www.yosemitefun.com/tuolumne_meadows.htm

Birthday - Part 2

I came home from work today and the house smelled wonderful. My lovely wife cooked up a storm, not only preparing her delicious meatloaf and scalloped potatoes, but she also baked an apple pie!!!!  Debbie doesn't like pies or fruit, so it's a real act of love for her to bake a pie for me. Thing is, for someone who doesn't like them, she does a great job of baking them!!!  My family also surprised me with another beautiful Hawaiian shirt this morning.

I am a blessed man or what!!

New Photos!!

I also spent a goodly amount of time this weekend catching up on my photo-backlog.

The Breakall Wedding photos are posted (see side panel for the photo albums).

I've also posted some photos of our new Lab Toby. Most of these pictures were from right after we got him. He's about twice that size now and weighs 33 lbs.!! I'll need to get some newer photos of him soon.

In the miscellaneous photos section I posted a good one from Christmas of our family with my father and his wife.

(all copyright privileges are reserved).

GPS & Maps

Spent some time this weekend with my TOPO map software and my Garmin Foretrex 101 GPS toy.  I plotted all the hikes we are planning to do at Toulume meadows in a couple of week, along with GPS waypoints in UTM coordinates. I thought the TOPO software was pretty easy to use and I figured out how to print the maps out in the right scale so I can plot positions on them if I need to.

I played with the Foretrex 101, figuring out its functions and how to use them. I had some problems using the Mapsource software to imput waypoints and routes, the device couldn't be recognized by the s/w on my PC. Reading the Garmin site, I finally found a FAQ that revealed that I needed to turn off the port if it was used by my PDA for synchronizing my calendar and contacts, etc. So, after switching off the port in "HotSynch" I was able to connect the Foretrex 101 and down waypoints and routes to it perfectly!!! My main gripe is that that information should have been part of the standard install procedures, because most techno-geeks that I know also use PDA's. Too many manufacturers write their procedures and manuals like their product is absolutely the only peripheral you use on your PC!! I spent a good 3 hours messing with and figuring that all out.

Using the Foretrex was sort of interesting. I found the compass-like navigation tool wasn't that good or accurate. It seem to be more effective if you are moving, but standing still it gets confused which way is which.  The little map-track screen was way more useful, because if gave you a kind of bird's-eye view of your progress and general direction of travel.  I certainly wouldn't depend on this device alone for navigation, a good topographic map is a must!!  The automatic track tool is a good feature, it creates a 'cookie-crumb trail of waypoints every so often, that can be used to navigate back to the trail head or used later to create a route.

Of the two "gadgets" I think I'll probably get more use out of the TOPO mapping software, but that's probably because I'm more experienced in using maps than I am using a GPS device.

53 Today!!!

Well, it's my birthday today. I'm 53, which doesn't seem that old until I start looking back over the years and realize how much my family and I have gone through in the last 25 years or so.  My wife and kids are a real blessing to me and it really wouldn't be as much fun or even interesting without them. The kids are teenagers, and I'm starting to think about how life will be without them in the house. It will be a BIG adjustment for me and my wife, since so much of our time is centered on them and their needs. But, maybe other doors or opportunities will come up and fill my time.  And or course, there's always grandkids to look forward to, but I don't want to rush that either (hear that Heidi?!!).

Father's Day

Our family had a busy weekend.

Andrew had a swim-meet Saturday that lasted until 9:00 p.m.!!! The organizers registered too many people, 800 swimmers!! Poor Andrew!! He improved a few seconds on a couple of events, but no new JO cuts. I think it's amazing he was able to swim well at all after waiting on the pool deck all day. And it was a hot weekend.

My daughter's friends graduated from HS and had a beach party Sat. evening. I helped with the grilling. I think they had a good time and all enjoyed themselves. 

Toby was a good little pooch. We had to leave him in his kennel at lot this weekend, but he seems to not mind it much. He has such a good nature and a puppy's delight in discovering new things, especially if they are stinky or otherwise disgusting!! He is growing fast and it already twice the size he was when we got him.

Yesterday was Father's Day and I got to grill and eat massive quantities of steak!!! My Dad and brother were able to make it too, so it was good to see them. My family gave me a beautiful Hawaiian shirt and a new carpet protector for the office. Toby also counts as a present!!

I spent Sat. morning playing with TOPO, generating a map of our overnight backpacking route at Toulome Meadows. I also played with my gps gadget and generally had a geeky-good time playing with it all.

It was a good weekend, if a bit exhausting at times. My family is such a blessing to me and I love spending time with them and getting to know my kids as they mature into adult-hood.

Sometimes I wonder how well I've done as a father. Andrew was in one of his moods and mentioned he wasn't sure about his salvation!! I tried to give him a mini-lecture on assurance and why he should and could be sure, but he wasn't having any of it. Well, I need to pray more and rely on God's grace and influence in his life. And maybe be more open about how God is working in MY life, examples work better than lectures.

But he is a blessing as are my daughter and wife, and I praise the Lord and give thanks for them.

Politics As Usual!

Well the dems are at it again. It's amazing how far they can take moral equivalency. Senator "Durbin the Turban" equating Gitmo to the excesses of Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot really becomes the poster-boy for over-the-top political rhetoric at the expense of American interests and the reputation of our brave men and women in the military. The Democrats continue to show themselves out of touch with mainstream America, and more committed to their leftist agenda than they are to the good of our nation.

Waltzing Away

Well the dancing lessons are going well. Debbie and I are actually having fun this time.  We were so traumatized  by our experience with dance lessons earlier in our marriage, that we approached this with a bit of trepidation. But it is goin very well. We have a very sweet young woman as our teacher, and she is a very good dancer and instructor. We actually danced our first Viennese waltz this week!! Well at least about 5 minutes of a waltz. It's a very fast dance, and we were challanged to say the least. But it was fun and the music is so beautiful.  The dance studio we are at teaches a lot of salsa (which is apparently very popular these days), so it is sometimes hard to concentrate when they are playing their latin beats. But you know, when we get to play some waltz music, it really over-shines the latin stuff. You can't beat a classic waltz for beauty and grace.

Tech-Ed 2005

Well, it was a good conference. I learned a lot about the new features of Sql Server 2005, especially the BI features that have been overhauled in a major way in this release.  Didn't like Orlando or Atlanta for that matter. Very hot and muggy!! I'm not used to having all my pores open at the same time!! Glad to be back though. I'm a real home-body and family man, so I don't really enjoy the travel.

Random Thoughts

Tech-Ed

I have to go out of town next week for a professional conference. I'm not looking forward to the flight or the time away from the family. It should be beneficial though career-wise.  I'll be flying to Orlando, Flowreeduhh, so pray for me!! I'll be at Microsoft's Tech-Ed 2005, which is basically a huge marketing gimmick aimed at us MS geeks, but they have to share some real information to get our attention.

Toby

Toby-update: wife and kids got a Dogloo for Toby yesterday. The thing is huge and could shelter 3 homeless people!! The kennel panels from Home Depot are supposed to come today. Hopefully we can get it assembled tomorrow so we can get Toby acclimated to it next week. He's growing fast, but is still cute and beautiful!!

Shoes

Went shoe-shopping yesterday. Made the mistake of going to Nordstrom's, but I was in a hurry and I knew they would have my size no matter what. Tried on a $150 shoe that felt like something designed by an Al Quaddi torture-lab. Then I tried on a $295 pair that fit like a glove and were very comfortable. Guess which one I left the store with! Used to be you could get a good pair of shoes for $100 to $150 a pair (ok it was 25 years ago, but it seems like yesterday!!).  One unusual thing that stood out about the shoes I bought...they were U.S. made!!! I've tried to find hiking boots, tennis shoes, casual shoes that were made in U.S. , but with no luck. Even long-time American brands like Redwing are making their products in China.  I bet the $150 pair was Chinese-made. I can now say I have a least one pair of American-made shoes!!

Waltzing

Our second dance class is tonight. Debbie and I are trying to learn to waltz for our 25th anniversary. So far it has been fun, and I'm looking forward to getting to the "real stuff".  So far we've learned a 3 count box step, and somehow this will eventually become a graceful waltz movement...we'll just have to see how it goes.

Spineless Republican Senators

I haven't commented on politics in a long while. Really what's there to say that the politics-blogs haven't beaten to death and driven into the ground. I have to say though the gang-of-seven's antics really amaze me. We need to get some party-discipline going in the Senate, it's just a loose-cannon on a sinking ship (sorry I've been listening to Rather-isms on Laura Ingraham's show).

Too Many Photos and Videos

I've got a backlog of about 100 photos and 3 hours of video-tape that I need to process and publish. Maybe I could go part-time on my job and catch-up?? No chance of that for about 10 years, until the kids have been edykated and married off. I've neglected my genealogy hobby terribly these past 10 years. Nice thing about dead relatives though is that they aren't going anywhere!! And sometimes over time it gets easier to find them... the 1930 census data is public domain now, but I haven't had a chance to search through it. And it's amazing how many genealogy files are now available on the web. If I wait long enough I'll be able to say "genealogy on maternal grandmother's side going back 5 generations" and my refrigerator will put in a request to the home mainframe which will link up with the Ecumenical Family Database in Salt Lake City  and Rome and spit back a detailed family tree in XML format!! That will be a reality in the next 10 years,  you heard it here first!!!

Yosemite

Our family is looking forward to our vacation at Yosemite in July. The waterfalls are fantastic this year. We're camping at Toulome meadows for the first time this year. Hopefully it will be less crowded than the valley. Last time we were at Yosemite it was hard to sleep because of the gentle murmur of a hundred generators and satellite dish motors.

DIY Project from Hell!!

Finally finished the French drain!! I still can't believe it's done. It's on the level of the Pyramids or Hoover Dam for our family!!

Later....