Steelhead FAIL / Tom WIN

Sunday night found me in the grips of cabin fever, the whispering in my ear was, "Take some time off, go to the Clearwater alone, camp and fish...reconnect with yourself....RELAX!"

I listened, and even though I didn't have a fishing license, any camping or fishing gear together, or even a real plan, I was stoked!! You'll see me Wednesday night world! So long suckers!

I tossed and turned that night with visions of steelhead dancing through my head. That's when I woke up and reality pressed upon me, forcing me think and plan. First things first, let's check the road conditions! After a couple weeks of warm weather, I was certain the roads would be dry and clear. Hmmm, not so. Down around Moscow the Idaho Transportation Department was telling me it was "difficult" driving conditions. I started to feel a little anxious and nervous and then turned my attention to the weather.

What's this? Snow? Blowing snow? Winter weather watch...blizzard conditions likely...wind gusts of up to 40 mph...hazardous road and travel conditions predicted...and finally, "expect the lowest temperatures of the winter with temperatures in the single digits during the day and below zero at night." Not sure about you, but that doesn't sound like any fun; that doesn't sound relaxing. That definitely doesn't sound like weather I want to CAMP in....been there, done that.

I've got a peculiar trait of feeling obligated to do things once I say I'm going to do them, even if it's supposed to be for my enjoyment. I was torn. But, I took a shower and started getting stuff together like the little trooper I am. That's where the lists came in. I needed:
- Fishing license
- Food
- Organize / pack gear
- New line put on the reel and extra steelhead gear
- Firewood!
- Don't forget to take clean water
- Tarps!
- COLD weather gear!
- Better pack two sleeping bags...again, been in that situation before

I could go on and on.

About that time, I realized I didn't want to go. Somehow that was turning into entirely more work than I wanted it to be. One of the main reasons a guy goes to the Clearwater this time of year is to enjoy a preview of spring. To sit in the sun. To look at all the green grass and budding trees. With all that not in the cards, I made the inevitable decision to trust my gut and stay home. Almost instantly, my anxiety was gone and I felt "in control" once again!

So that's what I did, but since I was up and dressed (it was only about 0700 by that time) what should I do? I started by cleaning up stuff I left out since Christmas...which led me into the garage. I cleaned the garage, organized my hunting gear and finally put it away, I did a survey of my fishing stuff and made a list of what I needed, I cut target backing from a lot of boxes...it went on and on like that until noon. I made more to-do lists because somewhere in there I had decided I was NOT going to work on Tuesday. Finally, around 1600 I got some meat out to thaw...burgers for dinner! That's when it happened.

I was passing through the bedroom and flopped on the bed at 1700. Sarah woke me up at 1900 thinking I was dead since I was fully dressed, on top of the covers, and not moving. I kinda rolled over and said hi, then fell asleep again. I woke up the second time at 2130 and groggily walked out to the living room to see if it was Tuesday....nope, still Monday night. Dinner didn't appeal to me, so I finally took out my contacts, changed, and went back to bed! I didn't wake up until 0600 the next day! THIRTEEN hours of sleep. THIRTEEN straight!

That night we got a couple inches of wet snow, which made all the roads in northern (and central) Idaho very treacherous. So, I just poked around town and did all the things I DIDN'T do on Monday. Since then, we've received about 12 inches of snow, lows in the negatives at night...highs in the teens...howling wind...and basically just solid winter weather (enough to delay opening the office by four hours on Thursday.) The positive is that I used that time to get ready for when the next "head south" urge comes on. I'll be able to just grab stuff and roll.

It was nice to get confirmation that I DO have a head on my shoulders! And, my mood was immensley improved by the sleep. Something everyone can enjoy!

Wedding Planning and the Dreaded Doldrums

Ahh, Alpine Glow and all it's splendor has now transitioned into a high peak shrouded in clouds. The hills that seemed to lower to my feet, gently elevating me higher and higher have been replaced by a vertical ascent of ice and rock. There are countless spectators watching and offering so called "help" and "direction" while I struggle trying to find the path. Some of the advice is so poor I can't help but ignore it, while the other advice is welcome...leading me to that small crack in the face...just large enough for a foothold. It's precarious and progress is slow, but I have done fairly well in replicating my last mile to Duffy Lake, "One foot in front of the other."

Luckily, I have become close with my lead guide whose knowledge seems to appear out of the mist cloaking the path. She doesn't pack light, as I've seen scores of books, magazines, and print-outs from websites in her arsenal. I don't question the source of this information, but I've found myself (twice now) judging the route and getting fairly emotional about how I am right and everyone else is wrong. My patient guide just sits quietly until the rant is over, then gently offers a hand and pulls me up to the next ledge. As I rest, she's quietly working through alternatives in her head...figuring out ways to make it simple for me to follow her. Genius!

In the rare instances when the clouds part, the path becomes unmistakeably clear and together we move forward quickly and with purpose. This invariably leads to yet another pitch or storm system moving in, so that we must slow down and consider the options. We divvy up gear and separate, each following a path, and when conquered, leads us to each other a little higher up the slope.

As it is now, we are staging below another pitch...getting our ducks in a row (have you ever heard that joke about the three ducks in the bar? My favorite.... but I digress...yea, how would YOU like to be my guide? Harder than you may think...you can kinda tell how my mind works by reading my writing...random much? And yes, my mind has a LOT of periods in it as it's the best way to transition between the thoughts that sail through my head.)



But overall, the summit is always over that next rise...kinda like hiking up Mount Sentinel in Missoula. As soon as you think you MUST be at the top, you find yourself only halfway there.

Alright, enough code.

Initially, we were looking at a Montana wedding venue. The Front Range near Choteau, the Gallatin, the Mission...Swan...Bitterroot...all big mountain ranges that competed for the backdrop of our special day. This quickly became a tough situation as the venues near those areas are a little beyond our price range. This led us closer and closer to home and we found a place, toured it, and signed the contract last week. It's in Coeur d'Alene (two miles from the house) and overlooks the lake, Tubbs hill, and the fancy Coeur d'Alene Resort golf course. Following that, we went to the "3rd annual wedding expo" at the resort last Wednesday. I was able to talk to some folks about tuxedos, we were able to figure out who will likely be our caterer, and RIGHT before we left...we located the photographer I wanted to talk to!

That was an interesting experience (and little does he know) his attitude was 50% of our rating system. So, a lot of people at this "expo" were dressed up...or at least looked presentable. I was wearing dirty old carharts and now that I think about it, I had a carhart sweatshirt and a carhart coat on! Hmm, a walking advertisement. BUT, I mentioned to him that out of all the photographers I looked at, I liked his photos the best. His response was, "As soon as I saw you guys walk in the door I knew you were my kind of people." That was based on our "look" and probably more accurately the way we were dressed. Well, the more we chatted, the more we liked him. He's got a laid-back attitude, smiles a lot, obviously REALLY enjoys fly fishing, and spent two years doing stand up comedy. (That came up because we want a lot of candid shots...smiling on command is not one of my strong suits.) When we asked if he had Friday, August 12th at about 6 p.m. available he said, "Wow, I actually DO have that available." So we signed on the spot!!

Did you notice the subtle "date drop" in that one? HA!

Then, the other day the magical whiteboard in our kitchen had another note on it for me. (Every morning it has a new message for me, it's MAGIC I tell ya.) This note asked me to talk to a close friend of ours about being our "marrying guy." I guess their called "officiants" or "ordained ministers." (I'm learning but still kinda like "marrying guy.") Well, that afternoon I called him up and he said, "Of course I'll be there man. You couldn't keep me away!" (And this is after not talking to him for probably a year.) I was so excited I called Sarah right away and luckily she was on her lunch break so I could just babble on about how things were clicking into place.

And it looks as though I got my old gang together to help send me off on this next stage of my life. The additional third doesn't know it yet, but I have to wait until he returns from the southland trip to surprise his Dad on his birthday. Gosh I'm subtle today!! You'd better say yes, you bastard. :P

See how I am? Geez, it STILL amazes me she said yes.

So the next big pitch on this climb is the caterer. But like I said, we're getting our ducks in a row and spending time thinking about questions to ask them, what we need, and finalizing getting a guest list together. Stand by, you'll likely be getting requests for addresses...then some mail from us (it's always fun to get REAL mail.) But since I'm on the subject...if said mail does NOT arrive in your mailbox...it's because we ran out of money for this extremely expensive party and couldn't pay to have all the people we've ever met to be there. Not a reflection on you, just a reflection on how much these goofy things cost. I'm thinking getting into the wedding business wouldn't be too bad of an idea...you can make money off darn near everything. I can see it now: "Do you want a lawn for your outdoor wedding? That'll be extra...but I have some lovely gravel you could look at if money is an issue. Oh, and come over here and check out our selection of flowers! Judging by how you were eyeballing that gravel, how about a nice dandelion and knapweed bouquet?"

That's the story so far...hopefully when this is all said and done, I will be able to put together a humorous account of the planning effort. But for now, the summit is still out of sight.

As far as the Dreaded Doldrums? Well, it's "winter" in Coeur d'Alene. What this means is that we got enough snow in November to close all our Forest roads...which severely limits access unless you have a snowmobile. No surprise there...but it's done nothing but feel like spring for the past two months. They'll predict heavy snow, but then change the forecast hourly until it turns into just a rainstorm. Any snow we DO get is rapidly replaced by rain which melts it all...creating a slushy mess on the roads...then it will either warm up and get springlike...or freeze, creating hazardous driving conditions. For example, I was STOKED last night when I went out back to get more firewood and noticed it was snowing! This morning I threw open the blinds to see only wet grass. SONUVA!

The only places we can get out to walk around are in the low country, and to tell you the truth, they're getting relatively mundane and repetitive. Trap league has started again and it started off strong! Well, I started off strong and have been going downhill ever since. This creates a mindf**k which (as much as I try to let it go) hangs over me like a wet wool blanket. Add that "I have to do better" attitude with about 40 people telling you what you're doing "wrong" and it overloads my puny hard drive causing me to do EVERYTHING wrong. Gun fit and placement, loads, sight picture, foot placement, elbows up, head on stock, lean forward, don't peak, don't flinch, don't "cheat," don't shoot too fast, don't shoot too slow, let it go, move on, laugh, want to throw the gun, wanting to yell at the guy scoring behind you who says, "LOSS" entirely too loud (got it, dude ), etc. All that makes it hard to concentrate and leads to low scores.

On an unrelated note, I was pretty much at my wit's end for the past three weeks. Multiple ridiculous deadlines and a line of people wanting things wrapping out of my cubicle and around the building....made it darn near impossible to get anything done. But people DID respond to me and my boss telling them I didn't have time to work on anything else...and to quit requesting things until February. I got comments like, "Oh, now you're like the rest of us. We're all overworked with no time to get it all done. Can you make me this map by tomorrow?" Those kinds of comments came from people with TWO specialists per resource area, and folks that spend most of their time NOT at work (come in late, have looong lunches, leave early...yet still have plenty of hours from "working at home" to have Fridays off. Odd.) I was able to push through that crisis and BEAT the ridiculous deadlines. As much as I want to claim that as a victory, it went relatively unnoticed...even from the folks giving me hell who always seem to MISS their deadlines. Hopefully at least my superiors noticed it.

On another unrelated note, I managed to set up dual monitors at work, so that means I can get twice as much work done right? I'm sure that'll be the resounding thought in the office...I can't wait to see the fallout. Will EVERYONE find it necessary to have two monitors? It's petty like that around here, "Well, so-and-so got it. I need it too." (That happened when one person got a large monitor...all of a sudden everyone needed them.) I set up this setup (HA! I'm leaving it) from prodding (nagging) by our server guru as well my boss...didn't think I'd like it, but it's actually really handy.

But, like always...I'll power through and keep you updated on the progress. This post is entirely too long, but I had fun. Hope you could laugh at my expense.

By the way, it's sleeting now. S O C L O S E !