De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da......

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Alright, please don’t hold your breath. Yes, I’m actually putting the first substantive post on the Tri-Cities happenings page. It probably won’t be updated as frequently as the family blog guide recommends but I’ll try to post some things that will have some interest to y’all.

Spencer and I decided to make the best of MLK day and head for the mountains. Its been at least 4 years since I’ve been skiing and Spencer was anxious to try snowboarding.

We left just after 7 a.m. and ran into some slick roads at Walla Walla. As we looked to the Blue Mountains, it looked pretty ominous, socked in with heavy cloud cover. We got to Spout Springs ski area just after it opened at 9. It was a beautiful day, we were above the clouds! But, it was brisk. Around 10 degrees when we arrived. We got the package special: lift ticket, lesson and rental for $39 each. Our lesson wasn’t until 10:30 so we made our way to the lift for a run. Then, it was lesson time. Spencer was the only snowboarder so he got a private lesson with Tara. I was with four others. Though I’d skied before, the lesson was part of the deal and I thought I might unlearn any bad habits I might have developed. During my lesson, I must have been feeling over-confident but I took a fall. Unfortunately, it was right on the shoulder I had rebuilt by Doc Hazel last spring! I knew right away that something had come loose but it didn’t hurt too bad so I went on with the day (more on that later).

After about an hour, the lessons were done so we got going. Spencer caught onto the snowboarding quickly. He could switch lead feet. Checking the “Snowboarder Glossary” Spencer rode left foot forward “Regular Footed” but easily transitioned (Fakie) to Goofy Footed (Right foot forward). By the end of the day, he was excited to do a 180 off one of the “sick” jumps on the hill. I had a good time too.

It was a beautiful day! Six inches of fresh powder! Nicely groomed main runs, the cool temps kept the snow from turning to mush and made for some beautiful trees! The high was probably 18 degrees but we were bundled pretty well and working up some heat and running on adrenaline too. The sunshine was awesome and the crowds were very light, never any lift lines. We went to the car and ate our sandwiches then it was back to the lift. We skied and snowboarded non-stop until closing time at 4. The shadows were getting long and the temperature was falling. We headed back to the lodge after “last call”. It was a wonderful day with a few scattered spills. A quick stop at McD’s on the way home and we got back around 6:30. We recapped our trip for the family and I iced the shoulder.

Much of the day my thoughts were on the shoulder and I worried about it more as night came. I took a few Advil and went to bed. After lying there worrying, I summoned a couple of friends for a blessing and they quickly responded. I felt at peace and was able to have a good sleep. The next morning, I called the doctor to try and get in for a check up. They fit me in after classes and after the usual hour and a half delay in the waiting room, I got in and had an x-ray. My prayers and blessing came to pass, no further surgery! But, I’ll have some pain for a couple of months as the screw the doctor used to reassemble my should pulled through my clavicle! The screw was there to allow the ligaments that came apart to heal. The ligaments survived the fall so the screw is just there and the doc says there’s no need to remove it. How blessed I am! Thanks for reading this post.

The Police

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What's with the title of this post? I've got fond memories of Spout Springs ski area from my youth. My brother and I went there in the early '80s and spent the night in a bunkhouse and skied and had a blast. One thing that comes to mind every time I come here is the Police blasting over the loudspeakers on the slopes. They don't have the music playing from the tops of the lift pillars anymore but I can still hear Sting and friends echoing through the pine trees. Fond memories, thanks bro!