'Twas the Night Before Finals...

Adapted from Andrew Hund, 1993

‘Twas the night before finals, and all through the college,
The students were all praying for last minute knowledge.
Most were quite sleepy, but none touched their beds,
While visions of Balance Sheets danced in their heads.

In parties and pubs, quite a few were still drinking.
What in the world can they possibly be thinking?
Are they delusional, dreaming “I Am Da Man”
When in a few short hours, the ‘stuff’ hits the fan?

On the third floor of Godwin, I was nervously pacing,
It was Fordham’s Final Exam I soon would be facing.
My soda’s so stale that it no longer fizzes,
And I’ve lost all the answers to twelve of those Quizzes!

Ownership and governance, 1099’s, the SEC,
BB + TI = TO + EB;
Auditors, Prepaids, Reconciliations, and more
There’s Gross Margin and EBIT all over the floor.

Unearned revenue, contribution, 10K's and F.O.B.,
Leverage, FICA, Pro Forma's, and C.V.P.;
Mixed Costs, Break-Even, Budgets and Regressions.
My group members' faces are zombie expressions.

I drained all the coffee, and brewed a new pot,
No longer caring that my nerves were all shot.
Fordham had warned us:  be learning as you go along,
But we had ignored him, hoping he'd be wrong.

I stared at my notes, but my thoughts were all muddy,
My eyes went a blur, I just couldn't study.
When all of a sudden, the door opened wide,
And good ol' Saint Procrastinate ambled inside.

His spirit was careless, his manner was bright,
And his backpack -- compared to mine -- was surprisingly light.
I wondered what made him decide to appear?
Was it to give us some warm last-minute cheer?

But he frowned and his countenance turned white as a ghost,
And he took a deep breath and yelled, “Admit it! You’re Toast!
Give it up.  It’s over. Now it’s too late!
This cramming won’t work.  You’ve decided your fate.

“If you’ve not learned it by now, well, don’t totally despair.
Dr Copley gives overrides, ... and he doesn’t have white hair!
But if you’ve learned and learned well, you’ve nothing to fear!
Fordham finals are fair, at least that’s what I hear.

"So hunker down with the financials, learn the details of costs.
If your statements correctly balance, all is not lost.
Ratios and ledgers, accruals and journal entries...
It's been done the same way for at least several centuries."

His message delivered, he vanished from sight.
But we heard him laughing outside in the night.
“Regardless of what happens, just give it your best!
Happy Finals to All, and to All a Good Test!”

Professional Magician

For our Massanutten Amateur Radio Association (Inc.) annual Christmas Banquet, we had a professional magician, the Great Dennis Phillips, do a full-blown magic show, complete with sequined tuxedo, flying cane, hankies that turned into doves, doves that turned into rabbits, hat tricks, rope tricks, card tricks, guillotine hand tricks (thanks Dubby), kiddy participation, audience participation, number and math amusement, jokes and patter, sound effects, disappearing milk, reappearing milk, working light-bulbs full of water, invisible scissors, the whole enchilada.  He's super.  And he even did my turn-the-hankie-into-an-egg trick, too.  Great evening, including dinner with Dubby.

It Worked! Well, kinda...

Back on October 10 I posted that I'd found a doctor who believed he knew how to fix my sore throat. 

His suggestion has definitely improved the situation greatly, so I'll give him credit for some success.  I still have a constant sore throat, but it is only about 10% of what it was in August, September, and October, although some days it goes up to about 40%.  

In 2 weeks, this semester will be over and I won't have to contend with eight straight hours of constant talking... well, shouting, really, so that people in the back of the huge classroom can hear me. 

Next semester, instead of an 80-seat classroom, I'll be in a 40-seat classroom like I used to have.  I won't have to shout as much.  Plus, I'll have breaks between classes so I can let my voice rest and get hydrated.  

It will be nice to finally be able to talk without sounding like a cross between Rod Stewart and the guy playing Xerxes from the movie "300".

Jacksonville and Environs

Jacksonville waterfront.  Click for a big version.

St Johns River Fountain and Park, on the southside of the river.

Yes, that's me under the stabilizer fin at the front of the "sail".

This is at the Kings Bay Submarine Base in St. Mary's, Georgia.

Me and Grandma, at St. Andrews Point on the southern tip of Jekyll Island, Georgia.

And Who Might This Be?

And when?

HINT:  Calvin Coolidge was president when this was taken.

Who Might This Be?

And when?

A really tough exam...

Today, for the first time in my teaching career, I gave an exam that sent a student to the hospital. What an exam!  In my third section, about halfway through the exam, a girl had a panic attack and I had to call the campus police and they called an ambulance.  The interesting thing is, this one is the easiest of the four exams we're gonna have this semester!

Scents of Belgium...

I'm staying in a hotel in Washington D.C., and no joke, the entire hotel smells like sewage.  It's a Sheraton, and I've stayed here every year, and it usually smells like someone blew up an air-freshener factory, but this time, the whole place smells like raw sewage.  I even checked out the other floors.  It's overpowering.  The front desk says they had some plumbing problems a few days ago, but no one has reported anything since then.  They say they can't smell it, but several other guests I've asked all said they can smell it strongly too. 

The scent is definitely reminiscent of Belgium, where the concept of "drain" is still under research and development.

How 'bout them horns?

To hear some really great music, get to a Google search screen, click on "Videos", then do a search for "Mormon Tabernacle Choir Full Orchestra".   Click on some of the more familiar and fast, inspirational ones, turn up the volume, sit back and be Wowed.   The clips with the Air Force Reserve band are the best.  Horns, horns and more horns.  I just LOVE music that's really horny.

Medical practice...

and practice, and practice some more until they get it right.  I've now been to five (count 'em, five) different doctors.  This last one, however, is the first one to openly and freely admit that medicine is mainly a trial and error proposition.  He is also the first one to tell me that he believes there is a 99% chance that his recommendations will alleviate my sore throat and hoarseness within three to four weeks.  We'll see.  I've already had it for eight weeks, so we'll see.

Okay, It's Over...

Finally, the unpleasant effects of the prednisone have worn off.  But I'm not quite back to 100% yet, either.  Got a flu shot yesterday (the state pays for professors to have one, so it's free), and my arm is so sore it feels like it's about to fall off.  Went to the dermatologist this morning, and those doctors like to freeze things off, so I've got some bandaids here and there.  And he also cut me to take a biopsy, too, so I've got a stitch that'll supposedly fall out shortly.  But at least the poison feels like it's out of my system at last.

This weekend is booked.  Next weekend is booked (D.C., teaching a class).  I've already got three weekends in November booked.  Busy, busy.

It Might Be Over...

Finished the last prednisone last Friday.  No improvement until Wednesday.  But things have been staying in place since Wednesday, and today, things seem a bit halfway normal for the first time in about 3 weeks.  Still have sore throat and hoarseness, but I'm no longer going to let 'medical science' recommend any action on it.  I'll live with it. (cough, cough).  Now if I could just get rid of these darn "flashbacks" wherein I suddenly recall a long-lost, random, totally-irrelevant memory.

It ain't over till it's over...

It ain't over.   The prednisone is... it's all gone, and I will never, ever, as long as I live, put another grain of prednisone in my mouth, for any reason.  I'll suffocate, I'll starve, I'll die, before I'll take any more prednisone.  But it ain't over.  First, I still have the sore throat.  And now I also have the problem of getting something stopped that started exactly one week ago.  Or at least slowed down a bit.  The drugs I was given Wednesday to slow things down haven't had any effect whatsoever.  None.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada.

At some point, I probably should just stop taking drugs, period.  The empirical evidence seems to support a theory that medical science is nothing more than pure voodoo and witchcraft, at least when it comes to my health, metabolism, etc.    I won't knock it for those who it helps.  But it sure ain't me. 

Nope, it's not over.

I'm a Pony ...

Well, actually, I'm not a pony -- I'm just a little hoarse.  Still got my laryngitis.  Coming off the prednisone is worse that being on it.  Never again.  Never again. I'm on five drugs now, and I feel terrible.  And I still have the original sore throat!  Does anyone know who invented the field of medicine?  Was it perhaps a guy named  P.T. Barnum?

Darts and Pats in the Breeze

Each issue of our campus newspaper, The Breeze, has a section titled "Darts and Pats", where readers can write in anonymously with little gripes, complaints, or compliments and kudos.  It would be an interesting sociology exercise to analyze, say, a years' worth of these tidbits for psychiatric purposes.  Here is a sampling from today's column:

A "thanks-for-the-interesting-morning" pat to the sorority that covered my car with sticky-notes address to "Sarah".   -- From a senior named Andrew who is curious how you managed to miss your target, but it definitely made his day.

A "being-late-was-worth-it-for-a-change" pat to the guy who kept me company when the train stopped me from getting to Memorial Hall on time for class. -- From a girl who wishes the little engine had thought it couldn't for little bit longer.

An "I-don't-want-to-think-about-how-many-germs-I'm-touching" dart to the crusty gummy keyboards in Carrier Library's computer lab.  -- From a girl who's on Team Carrier, but doesn't want to check out a disease.

A "the-zoo-called-and-they-want-you-to-come-back" dart to the elephants who live upstairs from us.  -- From the girls in the apartment below you who didn't even notice the 5.8 Earthquake last month.

An "I'm-not-usually-like-this" pat to the Class of 2015 for putting up with my sorry, depressing behavior.  -- From Mother Nature, who has been been off her meds lately.

A "you-certainly-know-how-to-creep-me-out" dart to the boys in the apartment across from us who put up a life-sized cutout of a semi-nude hockey player on their door. -- From a girl who keeps thinking someone is looking at her through the screen door every time she comes in or out.


A "thanks-for-helping-make-us-look-respectable" pat to the LGBT Student Alliance for having the courage to stand up and let the world know about our alternative lifestyles.  -- From the members of the Students for the Promotion and Acceptance of Sexual Behaviors involving Oak Trees, Maples, and other Assorted Deciduous Woody Plants.

A "we-can-bring-capital-punishment-back-you-know" dart to the professor who made us waste $462 on the stupid required textbook and then never used a single sentence from it all semester.  -- From a poverty-stricken student who was independently wealthy before taking your class and was even more ticked when the bookstore refused to buy it back because you'd adopted the NEW EDITION for next semester!

STILL Sore Throat

How long can a sore throat last?  Does anyone have the number for the Guinness people?

Based on empirical evidence, I believe the Pentagon may be interested in a drug called prednisone.  Not only is taking it worse than waterboarding, I believe we may have discovered a more lethal replacement for mustard gas and Sarin.  Long-term prednisone use, coupled with a diet including a can or two of New England Clam Chowder, and wow-eee....    I haven't seen any flying bugs in Weyers Cave for a week now.

Still have sore throat. More prednisone?!

What the...?!   Every time I turn around, somebody somewhere has changed a user interface.  New icons, new symbols, new layout, new menu structures, but same old stuff underneath.  Why can't they let the user interface designs alone?

Sore throat.  Now been two full weeks.

Prednisone.  I've been on it for more than a week, and today the doctor renewed the course for another 10 days or even more.  I hate the stuff. I feel like I'm being poisoned.  I've never had chemo, but I sure can imagine that this is what chemo feels like, at least a little.   I can't sleep, I'm all jumpy and hyper, I'm cross, I'm antsy, my heart races, I sweat even when it's cold, I get chills even when it's hot, I can't think straight, I can't concentrate, I shake, I feel sick, I feel dizzy sometimes, I ache in places I don't like to ache, I toss and turn and jump and spasm, I haven't had a good night's sleep in over a week.  In short, I was looking forward to getting off the stuff.  I was definitely not interested in taking even more.

But alas, I still have laryngitis, bronchitis, and asthma, unabated.  My throat is still so sore I can't swallow.  I still can't talk except in a hoarse croak. I can't puff more than about 250 peakflow.   So, ... -- more prednisone.  Sheesh.  When will it end?  When will it end?  I've got work I need to be doing, and I can't do it on prednisone.

States Visited ... (revised)

Having spent a week in Wyoming, plus 3 additional nights in Kansas, 2 additional nights in Iowa, and 1 additional night in Arkansas, here is the map of my visits, coded consistent with Dubby's rule that you have to spend at least 3 nights in a state to count it as "visited".  Click on the map for a larger version.  I still need ND, OR, and of course, HI, which will probably be my last one, ... if I ever get there at all.  I'm thinking of checking off Montana next summer: several friends have recommended Glacier National Park.

And below is another map, this time showing in green those states that I've stayed in at least 7 days or more.  Many of these longer-term trips were either business travel, summer camps when I was a scoutmaster, or family vacations.



Earthquake: 5.8

On the 5th floor, it felt like someone was rolling a heavy cart with bad wheels down the hall, but then the vibrations got bigger and bigger... much bigger than the one we had about 6-7 years ago.  Nothing fell off the shelves or walls, but it was all vibrating pretty good.  Several of us got up and stood in our doorways until it passed.  It was probably less than a full minute before the motion completely died away, but it seemed much longer.  Pretty cool, not scary, but unusual.

Trip 4 Days 2-7

Bittersweet trip.  Dealing with my dad's affairs and my Mom is being complicated by the interference by the family drama queen.  Four full seasons of Peyton Place, Days of our Lives, As the World Turns, Dallas, CSI, Shark Week, Dog the Bounty Hunter, and America's Funniest Home Videos, all put together, wouldn't come close to this experience.  If I were to write a book on it, even the writers of Cowboys and Aliens wouldn't accept it because this story is so unbelievable.

On the flip side, my days with DJ were very enjoyable.  In spite of torrential downpours, hail, traffic jams, and the occasional young friend who can't yet fully grasp the importance of plans, maps, directions, schedules, or timeframes, DJ is now settling into her new digs, her new job, her new city, etc.  Had a great time with DJ at Rainforest Cafe (she even surriptitiously told the wait staff about my birthday, resulting in a chocolate sundae volcano with a birthday candle on it, accompanied by the usual embarrassing singing and clapping). 

The highlight of the trip was another terrible thunderstorm/hailstorm, which lasted a very long time for a Florida thunderstorm, and which emptied the Magic Kingdom of its crying kids and babies about 8 pm., cancelling the parade, but turning the place into a wonderfully-roomy and pleasurable place in which to enjoy the 10 pm "Wishes" fireworks program.  We had perfect spots to watch, right in front of the Crystal Palace.

On the way back home, I finally discovered the quickest way between Jax and Weyers Cave.  All other routes (I-77 through Charlotte, I-95 through Richmond, etc.) take 10-1/2 road hours, and this new route shaves half an hour off the trip:  US 29 to Greensboro, US 220 through North Carolina to I-74 to SC38 to I-95 at Latta.    10 hours total on the road.  Nice discovery.

Trip 4 Day 1 -- Weyers Cave to Kingsland, GA

Eleven road hours.  Took US 29 south through Lynchburg, Danville, Greensboro, then 220 down through Asheboro to Rockingham (NC), then US 1/52 to Florence, then I-95 to Kingsland.  Bad thunderstorms off and on all the way.  Drenching rain, hail, lightning, thunder, and strong wind for 20 minutes, then 20 minutes of dry driving at speed, followed by more drenching rain, wind, hail, lightning, etc.   No construction, no traffic tie-ups, no accidents, made decent time.  Dinner at Ship-2-Shore, a local seafood place that takes the seafood right off the boat at the St. Mary's marina.

Trip 3 Day 27 -- Mt Sterling Kentucky to Home...

Home again.  Four weeks away from home is a lot. Drove all day, arrived around 5 pm.  Time to do laundry, pack, and hit the road for Trip 4.

Trip 3 Day 26 -- Topeka Kansas to Mt. Sterling Kentucky

Good night's sleep last night.  Drove almost 12 road-hours today, after Google claimed the trip could be done in 9 hours 5 minutes.  Rush-hour through St. Louis couldn't have taken more than 45 extra minutes, and two construction backups together couldn't have added more than half an hour total (and Google knew about the 10-month-old lane closures on their traffic site).   Other than that, I was doing the limit or slightly over the entire way.  Adding time for lunch, dinner, and gas, took me 13 hours.  I'm stiff from sitting for so long.  Hopefully I'll make it home tomorrow night.  Google says from here to home is just over six and a quarter hours.  I'll be happy if I make it in anything less than 9.  Keep track of my progress on the widget above.  Oh, and happy anniversary to Dubby!

Trip 3 Day 25 -- Departure for Home -- Not Well Yet

Slept in bursts through the night, fever down to 100 this morning.  Felt a bit better.  Took some Advil to travel on.  When temp reached 99.4, I packed and checked out of the expensive hotel.  This is the first time in years I've called for a bellhop to take my luggage down.  Valet parking loaded the car.

Drove to Allen's in Boulder, being very careful -- I felt like I was "under the influence".  Loaded DJ's stuff and other material to take to Virginia, and then treated Allen to Wendy's for his birthday.  Had I been thinking, his birthday deserves more than Wendy's but I wasn't feeling or thinking properly.

Drove on what I believe was an almost-totally-deserted Interstate 70 all the way to Topeka Kansas.  I say "believe" because I don't remember much about the drive.  Fever is hovering around 99.5 with the Advil.  Still feel like @#$%^&.

Trip 3 Day 24 -- Still Sick

Still sick as a dog.   (I wonder where that idiom originated?)   Taking on lots of water, lots of Gatorade.  Letting off lots of water, lots of Gatorade, but not through the typical channels.  Misery city.  Fever at 103 most of Monday night, down to 101 around Tuesday noon at which time the interval between bowl games lengthened to about an hour (and tapered off completely around 4 pm).

Slept for short bursts.  About 9 pm I put on some pants and a shirt and went to the concierge desk and got a little box of Special K to eat dry (with multiple glasses of water and Gatorade).  Fell asleep about midnight.

Trip 3 Day 23 -- Conference, ... and ...

Had a good day at the conference.  Not quite as good as the AISEA conferences in June, but still some very good sessions.  In fact, one of them qualifies as one of the best sessions I've attended in quite a while, on the impact of AIS on the accounting domain. 

I sat attentively through that final session of the day, and even got up afterwards and talked a little with one of the presenters, ... feeling fine.  I walked out the door, and BAM!  Like a ton of bricks, a sick feeling came over me.  I walked probably 30 feet to the elevator and almost passed out from nausea.  I've never had anything hit me so fast.   In literally just a couple of seconds, I went from being perfectly fine, to being deathly ill.

I somehow made it back to my hotel room 3 blocks away.  I skipped the reception and dinner, and about 7 pm walked a block to a Rite-Aid for some Gatorade and a new battery for the fever thermometer I keep in my shaving kit.  Fever was 104.1.  I resisted the urge to take Advil for the fever, thinking that perhaps a high temperature might be a good thing in fighting off whatever had hold of me.   Chills.  Shivers.  Misery. 

Then, about 10 pm, "The Emptying" began.  Both ends.  Occasionally at the same time, too, which really takes skill to do it right.  As the stereotypical understating Brits might say, it was "something short of enjoyable".  Every 30 minutes. Almost like clockwork.  All night long.  My stomach was sore from its exhausting calisthenics.  After 5-10 minutes of strenuous aerobic internal exercise, I'd feel a bit better for about 2 minutes, crawl my way back to bed, and the nausea resumed for about 20 minutes before I'd have to get up again.

Loooong night.

Trip 3 Day 22 -- Denver Accounting Conference

First day of the American Accounting Association annual meeting in Denver.  It is always fun to see your old friends (and young ones, too).  JMU has quite a few professors on the program this year in one capacity or another.  I'm scheduled to speak at the Information Systems section breakfast on Tuesday. Today I spent 3 hours going through the program deciding which 8 (of the 200 presentations) sessions I want to sit in on over the next 4 days. 

Tonight was the early-bird reception.   Although I never attended BYU, they always invite me to their alumnii dessert get-together, so I got to pal around with the BYU professors for a couple of hours -- they are great guys.  I'd never noticed it before, but they don't have any female accounting professors on their faculty.  I wonder why not?

Trip 3 Day 21 -- Pikes Peak or Bust

In 1885, Zalmon Simmons rode a burro up to the top of Pikes Peak.  He liked the view, but not the all-day burro ride.  Being an inventor (he is the same guy who invented the Simmons BeautyRest mattress and boxsprings combination) he thought a cog railway might be a more comfortable ride for tourists interested in seeing the magnificent view from the top.

So in 1889, he started the Pikes Peak Cog Railway.  This narrow-gauge railroad starts in Manitou Springs (outside Colorado Springs) and runs to the summit of Pikes Peak.  Since the railroad AVERAGES a vertical grade of 16% (reaching 25% in some areas), a standard railroad locomotive would have insufficient traction, even with all wheels driving, to pull itself up the grade, let alone passenger cars.  Hence, the rail line uses a cog and gear system... the track has teeth in the track, and the train has a gear which fits in the teeth and is turned by the engine to pull itself up.

Today, we rode the cog train to the top of Pikes Peak.  Elevation at the top is over 14,115 feet above sea level.  But this is still not Colorado's highest mountain.  Indeed, Pikes Peak is the 31st highest mountain in Colorado... 30 other mountain peaks are higher in the state.

In 1893, Katherine Bates, a college professor, was so moved by the view from the Inspiration Point, halfway up the mountain, that she wrote "America, the Beautiful".

The ride starts out going up a beautiful gorge with a waterfall higher than Niagara Falls.  The tour guide is quick to point out that she didn't say the falls was "larger" or "bigger" than Niagara, but "higher".  The falls here is at 8000' ASL where Niagara is about 510' ASL, thus these falls are "higher" than Niagara Falls.

From the forest in the gorge, the line rises above the treeline as 11,000 feet, and continues up the alpine tundra.

You will notice that the car is inclined... look out the windows below and you will see the ground.

Here is a photo of our tourguide, Erin.  Notice that she is standing vertically, whereas the car is inclined 25%.  While I turned the photo, she really is standing perfectly vertically.  It was funny.

Allen snapped a picture of me, again standing perfectly vertically.  The car is inclined, and the camera is inclined parallel to the railcar.

The view from the top is breathtaking.  I've been here before, but both times, the summit was enshrouded in fog, being inside a cloud, so I had no idea what the view from the top was like. 

Here is a view of the city of Colorado Springs, way way down.  The tour guide said, "see the horizon over there?  That's Kansas."   You can see five states from this point:  Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

The air is noticeable thinner up here.  If you walk very fast, even for a short distance, like 50 feet, you begin to feel giddy.  We enjoyed some of the world-famous Pike's Peak donuts at the cafe on top.  The tourguide told us we had 30 minutes at the top.  She said, "if you aren't on this train at 4:30 p.m. sharp, when the whistle blows for departure, then something happens to your body.  You suddenly become what we call... a hiker."  It is 17 miles if you hike down (or up) the mountain.

Trip 3 Day 20 -- Rocky Mountain High

Up early, drove to Rocky Mtns National Park, drove Trail Ridge Road up past the treeline to the tundra, across the Continental Divide (12,183 feet), over to Grand Lake, saw two different herds of elk, and saw a mommy moose with her baby.  Stopped for lunch in Granby.  Then, we went to Hot Sulfur Springs, and spent a couple of hours soaking in the hot mineral waters (we had both brought our swimsuits for just such an opportunity).   The hot water felt great, but was full of little white floatie thingies, the minerals precipitating out of the heavy mineral water as it cooled down.  The entire place smelled like rotten eggs or someone had passed gas.  the facility looked like it hadn't seen any maintenance at all since it was built in the 1920's.  After trying without success to get the smell off our bodies, we drove back through Winter Park, up across Berthoud Pass, and had dinner at the famous BeauJo's in Idaho Springs, Colorado.  Great Day in the high Rockies.

Trip 3 Day 19 -- Downtown Denver, Capital Tour, Hard Rock Cafe, 16th St Mall

Great day.  We tried to tour the Denver Mint, but reservations are required, and the reservations are booked up through the end of the August.  Go figure.

So we toured the Colorado Capital building.    Learned lots of trivia.  Did you know that Colorado was almost named "Arapaho"?  On the western steps leading up to the capital building, the 13th step is exactly one mile above sea level.

We got to go up into the dome of the capital, too.

We spent a nice hour or two walking up and down the 16th street pedestrian mall, which contains some well-known landmarks.  Allen and I had dinner with Jessica at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Trip 3 Day 18 -- Are You Adventurous? You Betcha!

Has it really been 18 days since I've been home?  Wow.

Bryan and Elise caught an early morning flight out of Denver to Ft Lauderdale, and Dubby and Dianna left in the car for home.  Allen and I ran errands, I worked on my conference presentation a bit, and then together we went through the "things to do in Denver" jar that Jessica had put together for Allen.

We toured the Celestial Seasonings plant, but they didn't allow pictures.  Very interesting, and a lot different than what Al and I were expecting.  Much, much better than we anticipated.

Then, we went to Settler's Park, and hiked up the Red Rocks.  Actually, it was much more a climb than a hike. 

I made the mistake of mentioning to Allen that if we were really adventurous, we might try making it to the top.  I had forgotten Allen's standard reaction to such a challenge.  The gauntlet had been thrown down, and there was no way of retrieving it.

Allen kept finding higher and higher peaks to scale.   The views of the plains were magnificent. 

In the photos above, notice the rocks Allen is standing on.  You'll see them again in a moment. 

Coming down is sometimes trickier than going up.

And here are those rocks again.  This photo is not rotated, up is really at the top of the photo.

Allen made it back down again.  Safely.

So now what?

Allen asked, "Are you adventurous?"

It was right out of a Dirty Harry movie:  "Are you adventurous, punk?  Well, are you?"

A few years ago (five years ago, to be exact, almost to the day), a young lady named Cathryn challenged her dad to a hike up to Exit Glacier in Alaska.  That hike, too, turned out to be more of a climb than a hike, and after several hundred feet of vertical climbing, the old man found that he'd bitten off more than he could chew, trying to keep up with the kids. 

But the question remained:  "Are you adventurous?"

Arthritis.  Asthma.  Shoulder bursitis.  Mile-high alititude.   Thin air.  Steep, slippery rocks.  No handholds, no ropes, no harnesses, no belayer, no safety net, no crash pad... hmmm.

"Are you adventurous?" 

Slow and easy... slow enough and easy enough, and the turtle might be able to keep up with the hare.  Maybe.

Success!

It took a while.   A looong while.  But the question had been answered.  We were both adventurous.

At this point, the batteries in the camera died. 

So we don't have pictures of the rest of the, ... um, .. adventure. 

Suffice it to say that this was a typical Allen adventure.   Which means,...  if you know Allen, ... that it ended up with blood.   

By the time we got back to the car down in the parking lot, we were glad there was a full water bottle and a first-aid kit with large bandages so that we wouldn't get blood all over the car seats. 

No need for a real hospital visit this time (at least not yet), but, hey, the blood proves that we are adventurous, and that's what counts.  We are adventurous.

Trip 3 Day 17 -- Rocky Mountain National Park and Downtown Boulder, CO

Got up early, and the boys went to Rocky Mountains National Park, while the girls went to the Denver Zoo.  Since I went with the boys, these pictures are of RMNP.

The park was crowded.  We had to park at the Bierstadt Lake trailhead and catch the bus up to Bear Lake.  After a quick view of Bear Lake, we started up the trail to three of the "postcard" lakes.  The day was dreary and gray, completely overcast, so the photos didn't turn out as well as I like.  Here we are at the rock outcropping just above Nymph Lake.

We press onward and upward from Nymph up to Dream Lake.  This is where the snow and ice stopped me less than 2 months ago, but this time, the snow was all gone.

Since we still had some time left, we decided to go for broke, and see if we could make it all the way to the end of the trail at Emerald Lake, right at the foot of Hallett Peak.  We could, and we did.

Just short of Emerald Lake, we found two bull elk, with impressive racks, resting, oblivioius to the hikers coming within about 20 feet of them.

The girls had a good day at the zoo.  After everyone returned to Superior, we all went out to eat on the plaza in downtown Boulder (at a place that served bisonburgers, made from real buffalo), and afterward had a good time walking up and down the pedestrian plaza on Pearl Street.  Great day.

Trip 3 Day 16 -- Superior, Louisville, and Boulder Colorado

Shopping and toodling around the environs of Boulder.  The kids fixed dinner: Allen marinated and grilled steaks to perfection, the others fixed mashed potatoes, various vegetables, even rice krispie treats with chocolate chips.  Allen's friend Jessica came over and we all played Apples-to-Apples and had a ton of fun until his neighbor finally knocked on the door and asked us to keep it down.

Trip 3 Day 15 -- Superior, Colorado

Went to church in the Broomfield Ward with the kids.  Huge ward:  attendance was just under 200.  Elise met an old friend from her old ward in Idaho from many years ago, and Bryan struck up a friendship with some pilots.  It was very nice to have the family singing together again.

Kids are happy to get back to civilization.  They spent the afternoon at the complex's pool.  Allen fixed stir-fry for dinner followed by another game of Catch-Phrase -- our favorite family game.

We enjoyed a Skype video call with Allen's friend Tamikka (who is working at the embassy in Africa), and another highlight of the day was a phone call with Cathryn.  Super day, after a super week in the wild.

Trip 3 Day 14 -- Dubois Wyoming to Superior, Colorado

Up early to pack and drive from the cabin in Dubois to Allen's pad in Superior, Colorado, which is a suburb of Boulder, which itself is now a northwestern suburb of Denver.   Girls in Dianna's car, boys in Allen's car, mom and dad in dad's car.

Upon leaving the cabin, mom and I quickly discovered that our car had a flat tire.  Bummer.  Fortunately, I had a portable air compressor, so we were able to pump it up, and keep moving.  Dubois, Crowheart, Lander, Rawlins, Laramie, and Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Fort Collins Colorado.  We finally decided to stop in Loveland Colorado where we bought 2 new tires (the old ones had 53,000 miles on them, so I didn't see replacing one side without the other -- radials, you know). 

Drove the back roads from Loveland through Longmont, to Louisville (pronounced Lewisville in Colorado), and met the kids at the Outback Steakhouse in Superior.  Nice game of Catch-Phrase to end the long day.

Trip 3 Day 13 -- Hiking, ATV'ing, Horseback Riding, and Rodeo

This morning, the family went hiking to Brooks Falls, across high alpine meadows, through dense pine forests... the falls were magnificent and very high and impressive, filling a full frame with the camera turned sideways.  Sadly, Blogger won't post a sideways picture properly.

We then drove up to Brooks Lake.  What you can't see in this family portrait are the billion mosquitoes which drove us back into the cars seconds after this picture was taken.  Kudos to everyone for putting up with the nasty critters for the 10 seconds it took the timer to snap this photo.

After lunch, the boys, mom, and dad went ATV 4-wheeling, way up atop Union Pass.  Another gorgeous alpine meado with astounding views that take your breath away.

While the boys and parents were having fun off-roading on the trails atop Union Pass, the girls were busy horseback riding again.

 The wildflowers were amazing up on top of the alpine ridges.

 There is a wildfire burning that has been burning for a week about 30 miles north of where this photo was taken.  The fire covers 4000 acres.  Fortunately, the wind is blowing away from our cabin.  The forest service allows such lightning-started fires to burn freely unless they are threatening structures or otherwise causing problems.  Since this fire is in the wilderness and miles from anything, including trails, roads. etc., there is no harm in letting nature run its course.  While the smoke looks close, it is actually more than 30 miles to the north.

After dinner, we rode into town and attended a real Wyoming cowboy rodeo, complete with bull riding, bronc busting, little tykes riding bighorn sheep, cowgirl shamrock racing, calf roping, etc.

Here are some more pics of the happy couple.  Leave a comment about which picture you like best to help the couple decide which one is best.

Pic 1:

Pic 2:

Pic 3:  again, Blogger won't properly orient the photo.  Does anyone have any idea how to get Blogger to orient the photo correctly?  I've already tried rotating it and then saving it rotated in both MS Picture Manager and Photoshop, and those programs (and others) correct orient the rotated photo, but the rotation is undone when Blogger displays the pic.

Pic 4: