And Now I'm Back....

Dear Blog

I am so very sorry to have strayed. Facebook meant nothing to me, really. Please forgive me.

Thanks Blog - you're the best.

After nearly a year of not posting to the blog, I have kinda missed it.  Facebook is nice, but something about the blog still excites me. It is the closest I have ever made it to a diary.  So while this isn't a tell all blog, I still like to record the happenings of my life so that one day, perhaps the kids will Google their Dad and find something of value.  So here we go...

I think I want 2010 to be the Year of Hikes. Some of you may know that I try to choose something each year and focus on it. Some years are cerebral some years physical. Some things become a part of me, some are gone before June. Photography stuck, poetry didn't make it to April. To be fair to poetry, I don't think I gave it a good try. Perhaps Yeats wasn't the best place to start. 2010, I think, will be about hiking. I love it, it's good for me, low cost, and I can combine it with other things. Who knows, maybe poetry will find resurgence!


What lead me to this? A great hike with Holly, Jack and Calvin today. The weather was near 60 and started out sunny. Not bad for January!  I was set on Forest Park when Holly had the great idea of trying out Bagby Hot Springs. Who doesn't like a nice walk in the woods ending with a warm soak in a hot tub!  Maps, snacks, and towels were gathered and we hit the road. The trail head is 70 miles from our house but a great drive. The hike into the Hot Springs was about 1.5 miles with about a 200 foot elevation gain. The best part of the hike was walking along the Collawash River. I can't wait to do this on a sunny day. Sadly, we were not the only ones who had this idea. It was late afternoon and after waiting about 30 minutes for a tub with others still ahead of us, we decided to try again next trip.

We made it home with plenty of time to cook up some Carne Asada and play a game of checkers with Calvin!  What's next?  Who knows.  There are any number of hiking books for this area and we own several.  Holly was study the Hot Springs book tonight. Good sign!  While Lucy sleeps off this trip, my Keen Hiking Boots are eager to hit the trail again.