November Bike Trip to NV and UT

Got a reprieve from Andrea and headed off to Vegas and SW Utah for some biking, drinking and eating.

First stop: Lost Wages to visit with Tank. We took a trip out to Hoover Dam and did some sight seeing at Red Rocks.

Here is a shot of the dam, and the auto bridge.

The Wall Crawlers: A memorial for the men who hung out over the edge.

I believe the official death count was 113 men.

One of the four giant intake towers.

They are building a freeway bypass around the dam. This is the bridge they are constructing across the gorge.

The view down.

The dam builders adopted a dog as the mascot. He is buried under the sign.

We also visited the Red Rocks area outside of Las Vegas. You could feel the spirituality that drew early Native Americans to this area.

After a few days of heavy drinking, I sent Tank off the airport and picked up my friend Eran for some biking. The first day we rode at Bootleg Canyon in Vegas in the morning, drove to Utah, and rode at Church Rocks near St. George as the sun went went down. Great first day, but no pics.

Springdale, UT

Here is the view from the balcony of the lodge we stayed at.

We took a 16 mile "out and back" bike ride into Zion Canyon. Postcards in every direction.

One of the Patriarchs.

Looking upstream: the Virgin River.

Some female mule deer on the side of the road.
Then the buck showed up. Must have been a Mormon deer as he had many does with him.

Farther up into Zion Canyon. Pictures do not do it justice.

Back at the mouth of Zion in Springdale, UT.

We spent a day mountain biking on Gooseberry Mesa at 5300 feet elev. On the mesa, we had views of Zion to the north. Just stunning.

Fat Boy wanna ride. Let's get to the trails.

That's what I'm talkin' about. Wicked drops and rocks...

My bike is one bad bitch, the Handsome One, El Guapo. The Lexus had no problem with the 15 mile off road ride to Goooseberry.
Seriously, right behind me is a 1000 foot drop. And I'm standing on a rock very similar to the ones that litter the canyon below. I was not comfortable. Some of the trails were a foot away from these kinds of drops.
Awesome views of the mesas.

Eran riding one of the steeps.

The dead deer in the crevice along with the high winds, impending darkness, and cold air convinced us it was time to find a trail back to the truck.

Football Season!

Through the first three games of the season, Mack has been on the field for every single play: offense, defense, and all special teams for the Simi Valley Patriots Seniors. They started the season with 13 or so kids, and now have 17 playing. They started off with 3 losses, but played tough in their last game. Truly Iron man football.

Mack at fullback.
Coach Stillmak(running backs/linebackers): my thickness seems to be in direct proportion to my hair loss.

Flag Football started today for Zeke and Bo. Zeke offered to play center(his snaps are always on the mark).
Zeke caught a 25 yard pass to keep a drive alive( I was so excited, cheering, that I forgot to take a picture), and had a great defensive game. They tied 20-20.

This is the first organized sport that Bodie has played. They had their first practice one hour before their game. Here is Bo lining up at fullback, and then firing off.
Bo got the first carry of the game and went the length of the field for a touchdown. See below:
He also played on defense(middle linebacker).
He caught a hitch pass for another long touchdown in the second half(again, no photo because I was cheering). His team won 34-12.

Back to School 2009

The boys headed back to school this morning. I am usually in Las Vegas for the opening of school, but due to some fortuitous show scheduling, I was home.


Bo was ready to go!

Zeke...not so much.

Big Mack. He's 5'5" and 145 lbs. He's almost a man.


Bodie, off to pick up Maddie, his friend from across the street.

There she is.

The short walk to school.

I think Zeke and his hair have some sort of agreement...kind of a "Don't mess with me and I won't mess with you."

What cuties!


I was allowed to go into Bodie's classroom and watch them sing their morning song.
Big Softy alert: After we hugged and said good-bye, I turned and headed for the classroom door.
Just as I got there, I heard Bo call after me, "Daddy."
I turned and said, "What honey?"
"I love you," he replied. Tears welled up into my eyes.