Maggie and Rich in The Rig

 When we're driving up the road in The Rig, Maggie tends to put her chin on my shoulder. We must look pretty funny to passersby. 

Former Athlete Visits

Rich, Spider, and Maggie's paws and tail. 
Click on photos to enlarge. 

Back then we called him "Spider" because of his ski jacket. Now, Steve is an engineer, rock and ice climber, backcountry skier, and mountaineer. He's living his best life. On Sunday morning over  Memorial Day weekend, he stopped by for a chat. I heard about his work adventures, his exploits in the mountains, and his fiancé. 

Spider lives near Mount Shasta in Redding, CA. He spends a lot of time skinning the mountain's slopes and often sends his old hometown friends photos of his treks. Steve was in Maine to celebrate his Dad Ernie's 90th birthday, to catch up with family, and to visit his old ski and soccer coach. Maggie immediately took to Steve and placed her head on his feet when she took one of several naps.   

Here's to the lives we lead, and the way we journey through our days on earth. We all find our own paths. Onward, Spider! 

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway Trip 

I've never done much exploring in the south, especially in Virginia. This spring we fixed that. We traveled 2266 miles through nine states, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia at the end of April and beginning of May to visit the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

This trip, I spent more time staying at camp grounds. I liked the electric hook up and walking the grounds was more pleasant than Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, or Lowe's.   

Rock Hound

"What's taking you so long?" 

Click photo to enlarge

A gift from a friend

I met Mary Hart in the late 1970s/early 1980s at our friend JoAnne Zywna's home in Weld. I have a slew of Mary's paintings and prints. We swapped her art for rent here in my home when she taught in our community schools. At the time, she lived in Portland. I got the best of that deal: her company and paintings. 

Mary and her Lilly  

We've shared hikes and long talks about life, books and friendship for four and a half decades. She and her husband Michael came up to visit with their son, Mica. She even came up to visit with Lilly, her dog. Lilly followed Mary around the house with a quiet devotion, and an occasional bark. I like giving Mary's art as gifts. I selected the blue flower below for my dearest friend, Anne, in celebration of our writing partnership. In the group photo below the flower, there's a painting of the Weld woods. The painting is behind and above her sister Betty on the wall celebrated Anne's 50th birthday:  

Mary and I also collaborated in publishing a poetry chapbook by our dear friend JoAnne. Mary created the cover, and I did some editing and typesetting of Once and Gone. 

After Bailey died, Mary had planned to paint a picture of my pup. But her Michael grew gravely ill and her painting took a back seat to caring for Michael. But today, two years later, I opened a UPS package with this gorgeous painting of Bailey along with a thoughtful note. As I wrote to Mary in response, "I thought I was over crying for Bailey." 

My gift... "Bailey" by Mary Hart

At our camps in Weld, I'm going to start a wall in our littlest camp showcasing our four-legged family members like Bailey. Zellie, Shadow, Brady, Maggie, and the crown prince of the point, Tippy the Fisher Dog (1953-1966). With Tumbledown in the background, Mary's painting may end up the centerpiece. 

Thank you, my friend.  

Black Mountain

 

We hiked Black Mountain after checking on the van. We need to climb some steep mountains since we'll be heading to the Blue Ridge Parkway around April 23rd. Black Mountain works. I've been spending time on GoogleMaps and on AI/Gemini to plan out the trip. I'm a bit worried about Maggie and the heat in Virginia and North Carolina even though it is spring. Time will tell. 

On Black Mountain we met up with three backcountry skiers.  The snow was fairly firm, and I only hit ice once. Maggie bounced around on the slopes of the mountain like she was at daycare party. On Monday, we did 4 miles on Whitecap. I'll combine some of those photos. Remember to click on photos to enlarge. 

Woods Trail

Woods trail 

Mt. Blue and Bald Mountains in Weld

Red Hill. 

Maggie on the top lift station 

Gus Schumacher's Olympic Silver (and his losses) Inspire Blog Post and then a NYT Article

I've been studying Gus's writing for the past 6 years. We've traded email about his blog (Gus Schumacher's Blog), and I've enjoyed watching his progress as a skit racer and a blogger. He's not a daily blogger, but when he writes, he offers insight that I believe racers, young and old, learn from.  I believe his words teach him. 

I took screen shots of the NYT's article and have posted them on my WritingAthlete's resource and research website: 

"I won an Olympic Medal for the US. To do it, I just had to stop caring about winning." (NYT, 030326) 

–by Gus Schumacher  

 

Finishing with a Silver Medal