Off To Yellowstone

Well, I said I would update before we left, but this is going to be a weak attempt. We are packed and ready to go and we just checked the weather for the week... Highs in the upper 60's to low 70's and isolated thunderstorms for the entire week.. That sounds like fun! When hiking you are supposed to let someone know where you are going to be, so I am telling everyone here so you all will know. We are hiking the Thorofare Trail along the East shore line of Yellowstone Lake and we will be back in Missoula sometime next Sunday August 5th. Hope everyone has a wonderful week. I know we will!!!

Until again

-=Nolan=-

Warm Wednesday

Well it's been nearly a week since I sat down and thought about blogging. Lots of things happening to keep me busy, that's for sure! My parents were here to visit until Monday morning and we had a great time. We hiked up the M Trail at the University on Friday evening. There was a nice sunset and we were able to make it back to the bottom before it was too dark to see.

Saturday we went to Glacier National Park. What a nice trip that was. We went as far as Kalispell before we stopped and had lunch at a picnic table outside Wendy's. When we were leaving we had to wait for a large group of motorcycles to pass by - we found out it was the Kyle Petty Charity Ride. Kyle Petty is a NASCAR driver and they were racing during the week so Kyle's father, Richard Petty, was representing the ride. Anyone who knows anything about NASCAR knows Richard Petty as "The King" when it comes to racing and he is one of the nicest guys. When our first picture didn't turn out, we asked him to take another and he was nice enough to take it again - all this after riding on his motorcycle all morning and on his way to get some food!

The rest of the ride through Glacier was great. We were able to do some hiking at Logan Pass and walk on snow in July. We had a lot of fun even though the flys and bees were a little thick, but we were able to see Rocky Mountain Sheep and Mountain Goats up close, plus the view wasn't too bad either.

Sunday we did some shopping and Rylan found himself a new shotgun, which he has needed for some time. I am a little jealous of how nice his shotgun is, but I am soon going to be purchasing another shotgun so Laura and I don't have to share one shotgun this season. We will be able to shoot at the same time instead of taking turns!

The family left early Monday morning and I went to work a little sad to know I wouldn't be seeing everyone again until Christmas - at least that's the next scheduled visit ruling out any unforeseen events until then. Hopefully we will be able to take some time off and spend awhile in Nebraska and Wyoming before returning to Missoula. I do have to say though, I am finding a nitch here now that I have a job and I have been playing Ultimate Frisbee - especially now that people know who I am and that I can run for a long time.

Work has been going well. We are finishing up a big project and starting major work on another. Monday we worked on building a stone walkway and Tuesday we moved boulders onto the property. Today I helped unload the semi-trailer that brought our plant order from Kalispell. I really enjoy the rock work - it's hard work and when temperatures are near 100, and I am wearing pants, it can be a little warm!

Laura and I are preparing for our pack trip which begins this weekend. We have started packing our backpacks and getting things ready to go! I will update before we leave on Friday evening for Yellowstone.

One last thing - I ordered a 7 piece harmonica set with a carrying case and I have been having a great time playing them the last few days!

Until again

-=Nolan=-

Hot Hot Hot

The heat is on! No matter where you try to hide you are not going to get away from the heat for too long. Work has been a little tough, especially with pants on, when temperatures are 90-95 F and a warm wind blows. The map a few days back shows that The United States is definatly feeling the heat!

Not to mention the numberous wildfires burning across the western parts of the country. Montana has several fires burning in the eastern portions and there is a new fire burning near the Garnet ghost town that Laura and I visited awhile back. A small town in Nebraska called Valentine had a dozen homes burn down when a fire reached the northern portion of the town. Here is a photo of the fire in Valentine that started the day after Laura and her mom passed through on their way back to Cheyenne.

My parents, along with my brother and sister will be arriving later this evening and will be staying through the weekend. We are excited to have some guests to keep us company before we travel to Yellowstone next weekend to begin our backcountry hike!

Until again

-=Nolan=-

The Return Of Futurama

"Good news everyone!" If you are a fan of Futurama then you know that line all too well. Futurama is coming back with new episodes! It has been rumered in the past that the show would be returning but no official release. Well last month more information was made available. Here's the release from TV Week.

Three years after Fox canceled the show, Matt Groening's "Futurama" will resume production for a 13-episode run on Comedy Central. The new episodes will be added to the network's library of 72 "Futurama" episodes previously licensed from 20th Century Fox Television. Voice talent Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio will return for the new episodes, which will debut in 2008.

"There is a deep and passionate fan base for this intelligent and very funny show that matches perfectly with our audience and it is great that we can offer them not just the existing library, but something they've never seen as well," said David Bernath, senior VP, programming, Comedy Central.

"Futurama" marks the third Fox project revived by basic cable in recent years. New episodes of "Greg the Bunny" are being ordered by IFC, and Fox resurrected "Family Guy" after the series found success on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Futurama lasted 5 seasons before going off the air. The creators of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, brought Futurama into existence as a cartoon aimed at adults. It deals with many different issues along political lines and current social behaviors, but looking at them 1000 years into the future - thus Futurama.

The series revolves around a character who was cryogenically frozen on December 31, 1999. When the freezing process ends he finds himself exactly 1000 years into the future on December 31, 2999 and eventually January 1, 3000. He joins a space delivery crew and goes on crazy adventures around the universe. If you havn't seen an episode then you have been missing out on some great humor.

Otherwise I havn't much news of interest to share. I played Ultimate Frisbee again last night. This morning I hit up Shopko for some Summer Savings events and then filled up my truck since gas prices will be raising again. Laura will finally be back tomorrow and I am excited to have someone around the house again. It's been nice having the house to myself for the last few days, but I would much prefer to have her around. Today temperature are supposed to be around 95-100 and it sounds like a good day to wash the truck and clean the house, maybe do a few things with the lawn and the garden. Have a great weekend!

Until again

-=Nolan=-

Mission Complete... Well Almost

The Adirondack chair is nearly complete. I finished putting the final boards into place after work. I can't say it is the most impressive thing I have ever built, but it is basically a test chair - just to see if I could built a stront chair that could be useful - which I think has passed the test. I lounged in it this evening while reading a little and I can't wait for Laura to get back home with the laptop computer so I can sit in the chair and work on the laptop outside. Here's a couple pictures of the nearly completed chair.The second picture is taken from a really weird angle and makes the chair looks like it is leaning forward - which it isn't - but I will be taking more pictures in the daylight... I need to finish off some edges and I would like to round the top of the headrest as well. It would be nice to have a router so I could put a nice finish on the edges, but I don't so I won't.

Otherwise I don't have much happening. Monday evening I played some pick-up games of Ultimate Frisbee for a few hours and had to quit on account of darkness so that took me right up to 9:45 and then a quick shower before heading to bed.

Work has been pretty good lately. We have been working between two large projects and that helps to keep the 'same ole thing' from happening. We have planted nearly 2,000 plants at our major project and yesterday we worked on irrigation systems at the other location. Wednesday we are going to be working at the public library and doing some landscaping and removing some old material and bring in new ground covering. It will be nice to be working in town for a change - our two major projects take us out of town. One being 10 miles and the other around 5 miles. The library is right downtown and offers some...well, lets say interesting sights and sounds to the day. Not to mention it is Wednesday and on Wednesday's downtown is "Out To Lunch" where the park just across the street - next to the river - has a couple dozen vendors set up and there is a live band playing, along with kayakers in the river and the unusual outfits and appearences of locals.

After work I will be heading to the Ultimate Frisbee games again and that will take up my Wednesday. Few events to fill the day, but it keeps me busy the entire day. Until again

-=Nolan=-

Project Adirondack

The weekend has turned out to be quite good even though Laura wasn't here to spend it with me. Saturday I caught up on some things I have been trying to get done and even hit up some stores and actually browsed for items. Usually I have one thing in mind and that's the only reason I go to the store. I bought a single burner propane burner for hiking and some sleeping bags for hiking as well. We already have sleeping bags, but these were only $12.99 and good for hiking - plus if anything happens to them it's not a big loss.

Today, Sunday, I took the recycling totes to the recycling center. They were starting to overflow so it was definatly time to empty them. Then I stopped by Lowes to pick up some ceder wood for the 'special project' I have been planning for about a week. First, a little background. The last week we have been working at a home that has some wonderful lawn chairs that we usually set in them at lunch time. Well, I got to looking at them and studying how they were built and then I decided I would try building one. This morning before leaving the house I drew up some plans and figured out the amount of wood I would need - I made some adjustments to the chair and found some examples on the internet and put them all into the plan. $25.00 later I had a pile of wood sitting in the garage!

I then realized I had a work bench packed away in the closet that I have been waiting for a project to use with, so I pulled it out of the closet and started putting it together. The portable work bench took me about an hour to put together and around lunch time I was looking at a pile of boards and a brand new work bench just waiting for some measuring, cutting, and - in my case - recutting...

It took quite awhile to get the first pieces at the correct angles and set the chair up like I wanted it. On the internet it is suggested to use several different types of saws, however all I had was a Skilsaw and a handsaw so I was a little limited in my ability to cut the boards accuratly. Regardless I think the chair looks pretty good for just a test run. I spent most of the afternoon working on the chair - when I wasn't watching the World Cup Finals - and I had a great time building the chair just out of thin air. This type of chair is called an Adirondack chair. Here's some history taken from Wikipedia: An Adirondack chair (or in Canada, a Muskoka chair) is a type of chair used primarily in an outdoors setting. The first Adirondack chair was designed by Thomas Lee in 1903. He was on vacation in Westport, New York and he needed outdoor chairs for his summer home. He tested the first designs on his family. The original Adirondack Chair was made with eleven pieces of wood, cut from a single board. It had a straight back and seat, which were set at a slant to sit better on the steep mountain inclines of the area. It also featured wide armrests which became a hallmark of the Adirondack Chair.

You can see there really arn't back legs on the chair, which is nice becuase they sit on hillsides nicely. I think it will be a nice chair to have in the backyard. Unfortunatly, after awhile my drill started getting overheated and it appears the motor has burnt up, so I am in need of a new drill now. Lucky for me it was near supper time so I took myself inside and had a bowl of cereal while watching The Simpsons. I had picked everything up and decided not to work on the chair any longer for the day, but something kept calling me to return to the garage and work on the chair! You can see I took the hand screwdriver and took to work. I decided I was gonna work on the chair and get as much done as I could without the drill, but screwing everything by hand was a real pain. I have several blisters on my thumb a few on my hands from gripping the screwdriver so tight....but I had decided I was going to be able to sit in the chair by the end of the evening so I kept on cutting and constructing. I then ran into the problem that I had no more screws left and I was forced to stop for the day. For my first chair building experiment I would say things have gone quite well, considering I got a C in woods class in high school and I was lucky to get that from some of the projects I completed. However, a little experience has helped in understanding how things are constructed and I have become much more resourceful in recent years. I stopped by Ace Hardware yesterday and I happened to see an Adirondack chair sitting outside with the patio furniture. It was on sale and they were asking $79.99 - down from $89.99 - and it was built with bolts and didn't look much better than something I could do.

I forgot to mention one thing... You can see the chair was not quite finished, but even with a few boards missing I still was able to sit down and enjoy my work for the day. It might not have been quite as comfy as I would have liked it, but truth-be-told I was just happy that it didn't collapse when I sat down! I still have a few things to work on though. I will be putting finishing detail in during the week and I will probably look at putting a weather sealant on the chair so I can leave it outside. Staining the chair won't be as much fun as building it, but if I am going to go to all this work to make the chair then I better at least keep it in good condition for awhile.

Until again

-=Nolan=-

It's The Weekend

After a short 3 day work week, I have found myself at Friday evening. I should say, it was more like a 2 day work week, I worked 2 hours this morning before I had to drop Laura off at the airport and then my boss told me to take the rest of the day off instead of driving back across town and then 10 miles south of town to get back to work. So in the mean time I called the repair man to come work on our freezer/fridge which he did, but was unable to fix it, so I will have to call him Saturday morning to inform him that my ice cream isn't frozen!

After Laura took off, I spent my afternoon watching the semi-finals of tennis and then I watched some more television before heading down to the park for a pick-up game of ultimate frisbee. We played about 3 hours and I only sat out once for close to 10-15 minutes so I managed to keep myself tired the entire time...

On my drive down to the field I snapped some pictures out of the front of the truck of the mountain that was on fire. This is Mount Jumbo which is located between Missoula and East Missoula. If you drive in from the East on the Interstate this is the mountain to the North side.



I have no idea what is in store for my weekend, other than getting the freezer FIXED - but I will let you know what happens.

Until again

-=Nolan=-

Fire On The Mountain...

...run boys run! Ok, so it's not exactly a bad fire. I havn't seen/taken any pictures yet, but Mt. Jumbo (named after the elephant) caught fire last night from what is suspected to be fireworks. It has taken most of the day to get the fire under control and there is a smoke haze in the air as well. We were working near the airport today so we were able to see the tankers lift off, dumb chemicals on the fire, and then circle us to land. Hopefully I will get a picture or two taken in the next few days.

I wanted to throw in a note about a new program I found on the internet. It's called Stellarium and it is a planetarium for your computer. It works in real time from your location on Earth (once you configure your location) and it can show you the night sky as you see it! It shows you all the stars, planets, constellations, and more. It's easy to download with high speed internet (about 20 mb) and very easy to use. I am gonna put it to good use when I want to know what planets and stars I am looking at outside.

Here's a bonus picture of our trip to Glacier National Park from the weekend. It doesn't look like we are under a waterfall, but I was quite soaked after taking this picture. We had to take this picture for a geocache and we had to be under the waterfall - what we won't do for a geocache!Until again

-=Nolan=-

4th of July

Not much to say today, other than Happy 4th of July! Laura and I are spending our day doing some geocaching and spending time outside even though temperatures are predicted in the low 90's. That's all for today, except updating the travel map. Have a safe and happy 4th! Until again

-=Nolan=-

Travelling Once Again

Well what a busy week it has been. If you didn't notice I havn't had time to blog for the past week. Our friends from Kearney, Andy & Amber, arrived last week on Tuesday afternoon and the fun soon began. I have about a dozen pictures to go along with my blog today so make sure you have a few minutes before you get started.

We did some geocaching when we wern't sitting around and eatting or talking and we managed to keep ourselves busy most of the time and short of sleep all the time! We found around 25 caches in the past week and we now have 679 finds. We are hoping to have 700 by the end of July so hopefully we can find a few more within the next few weeks.

As you can see from the first picture we kept ourselves well fed as well. That's my little travel grill with hamburgers and steaks. It took awhile to get everything cooked up but we had a nice meal.We did some very interesting geocaches as well. You can see Amber and Laura (with the light) getting ready to enter an old mine to find a cache near Missoula. I don't know much about the history of the mine, but it was about 100 feet deep and at about 30 degrees of an angle downward.The girls were a little unsure of the mine, but after we got inside they did much better. They even smiled for a picture.Then we all gathered at the bottom of the mine to take a picture. We had my big light along to light up the cave and I sat it up to shine on the wall - that's not daylight! As you can see, the mine was only about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. There was water on the walls as well and it made it a little tight, but a lot of fun! After spending the week around Missoula we packed up the car and headed for Glacier National Park. We did some geocaching along the way, as usual, and had a lot of fun going through the park. Laura and I stopped for a picture near the end of the day.When we arrived at the top of Logan Pass we found some Mountain Goats grazing next to the road so we made sure to take a few pictures. Check out the little guy!We went around the corner to the visitor center on the top of the pass and as we arrived in the parking lot this is what we saw! Another goat coming down the mountain side.
We then went on to Canada. We camped East of Cardston, Alberta at a primative camping ground called Woolford. It was a little tricky getting to the camp ground, not to mention just getting into Canada, but we found our way. Cardston is basically at the edge of the mountains and the praire. There was wheat growing in the fields and the mountain were on the horizon. It was a really neat place and it is somewhere I could see Laura and I being very happy to live - too bad it has to be in Canada and not closer to Nebraska....
A little later the sun was setting in the Northwest and we had to take pictures of the sunset because it was gorgeous! Once we arrived back at the campground Laura and Amber decided to light our citronella candles and try to fight off the mosquitoes. Andy and I decided that they didn't know how to use the candles correctly because they started trying to burn the mosquitoes that were flying around.
And for a bonus picture, look at the matches we bought in Canada! They are Canadian matches and look where they are made! Product of the U.S.A.
We didn't have any trouble getting back into the United States from Canada. That was nice because we sure got questioned, which is good, but there is always that feeling that they won't let you back into the country. It was nice to get back home after our trip and relax a few minutes.

As of now, Andy and Amber are on the road and making their way back to Nebraska while we prepare for Laura to leave for her multi-state trip with her mom beginning on Friday. Until again

-=Nolan=-