Today, I am celebrating a small victory. I had a bet with a coworker about who could lose the most weight in a time period. The result? I won. I dropped 11 lbs and he dropped 7. He asked for double or nothing. I agreed so I am in another competition for 6 more weeks. It is totally worth it to me just for how I am feeling. I went bike riding for an hour and a half today and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was able to ride through the Washington Fields and enjoy the evening air.

Activities

Today I decided it was time to get out at get some exercise. I have been doing good but there is always room for improvement.

The decision? To do some hiking up in the Pine Valley Mountains. We got up into the mountains and it cooled off into the 80s. That is a promising sign.
The last time I hiked up there, things didn't go so well. I ended up fatigued and basically wounded to say the very least. That is when I decided it was time to lose some weight.
This time? I have dropped 15 pounds and it made a HUGE difference. Yea, I came back stiff and sore but not wounded. On top of that, it was a harder hike so I had to do more work. In the end, I feel good.

I know I am headed in the right direction.

From Kalispell to Flagstaff in a day.

That's right. At the buttcrack of dawn I was in a plan leaving the paradise of Montana headed back home to the heat. I had only one reprieve, head to Flagstaff, Arizona. Yup. I am now in Arizona for the weekend.

How that happened was my friend had a weekend show to do in Flagstaff and he needed a roadie. I just happen to volunteer for that job so I landed in St. George, repacked my bags and hopped in to a truck and headed out. I figure I have gone about 1500 miles today. I tried to take a nap but I think I am so tired, I can't even do that. Oh well. I am making the most of this vacation and I will squeeze this for every once I can.

Fireworks made fun

Last night I went out with my Dad to check out the fireworks. The have a neighbor about a mile away that does his own private show. I have heard good things about the show from my sister. I didn't think much about it because I know how Utah treats fireworks so I kept my expectations low.

Instead of a mini show, I was treated to a spectacular event. He had all sort of wonderful explosive devices. What made it even more impressive is that you are nestled in a valley with rolling hills all around. It makes for some killer acoustics so the explosions seem to roll back and for through the valley. I was blown away(figuratively).

We are headed out to the Flathead river to raft. I am really looking forward to that. But I know that tomorrow I have to fly back to St. George and to reality.
That bites.

Montana: Capital of Coffee houses and Casinos?

I just wanted to make an observation here. It seems like there is a coffee house and casino on every intersection. It's kinda creepy. I feel like I am in a mix of Seattle/Nevada here.

BTW, Happy Independence day to all.

Those sneaky Goats!!!

I have had a blast today. We took off for Glacier to see the sights. Last time I was up here, we couldn't get past Lake MacDonald due to forest fires and such. So this time we took off and started the climb.
We started up the road but found out soon that my Dad's truck had a little problem. It was overheating badly. We would have to pull over to the side of the road and let it cool. The we would go about another mile or so and pull over again. In other words, it was a long trip but I got some wonderful shots of the peaks. I am just in awe at the beauty around me. And in a sense, it was quite humbling.
We made it to the top called "Logan's pass." The parking lot was full but a Park ranger was understanding of the truck and just let us pull to the side and said as long as the hood was up, no one would really say anything. I hiked around a little bit up there and enjoyed the scenery.
On the way back down, we bumped in to some mountain goats that were just hanging out. Some where walking in the road so the traffic backed up quickly. As we got closer to a momma goat with her young I had my camera ready. At the last second she decided to head down the side of the mountain. I was 10 feet away but couldn't get a shot off in time.
Oh well.

Hello from Montana.

My vacation has finally arrived. I am such a happy camper. The best part of this is that I am able to spend time with my dad in Whitefish, Montana. Part of this wonderful trip is that my sister got me a round trip ticket from St. George to Kalispell, Montana which is about 15 miles south of Whitefish.
I got up this morning and made the quick trek up and I was in God's country by noon.
I love flying. I love most to look out the window and see where I am heading. So what happens? I get an isle seat. That just about broke my heart. I had to keep craning my neck in order to look out the window to check the landscape but that didn't stop me. I saw some really impressive mountain ranges on the way up.

This afternoon my Dad got out a canoe and we took it out to check out a lake. I get in and we promptly turned it over. Welcome to Montana. :) I didn't mind whatsoever.
I had brought clothes to get wet. After that, we paddled around for a bit.

Now I am staying in the Yurt. If you want to know what a yurt is, I will have pictures posted later on. It is a blast.

More to follow in the coming days.