Tough loss tonight, but not Bush's fault. The Brewer bats are struggling more than Joey Meyer in a phone booth. This funk of Prince's is compounded by the fact that Braun isn't hitting either. If those guys aren't hitting, the whole lineup seems to fall apart.

The Jeff Weaver signing is interesting. My first reaction was, "If we needed an arm, why did we let Vargas go?" But perhaps Weaver has something more left in him than Vargas, and apparently the contract the Brewers gave him was next to nothing considering it is all incentive laden.

Today is the anniversary of Juan Nieves' no-no. I'll never forget that night. I was doing my homework when my father came up from his workroom and told us the Brewers were throwing a no-hitter. I think when we turned it on, it was around the 7th inning. And to be honest, I didn't no the true deffinition of a no-hitter. To me a hit was any time you made contact with a ball. (Later on after the game, my father, using a chalkboard in the basement explained deffinitions of a base hit, error, no-hitter, perfect game and other baseball details.) But my brother and I watched that game, and when Robin caught the last out, I felt genuine excitement over a teams success. When you think about it, being a fan is a weird thing. You have, basically, no part in their success, yet seeing them succeed gives you great joy. I'll save the dynamics of "fan/team" relationships for later, but at that moment, I felt like I went from a casual Brewer fan, to a rabid, die-hard, sprinkle my ashes over County Stadium fan.

I hate starting posts when I may not be able to complete them, (I'm at work right now, an hour from show time) but, I don't feel like blogging at midnight tonight.

Game 11- Milwaukee v NY (N)
It's hard to write this post with my "Ben Sheets is Awesome" sandwich board on. I didn't get to listen to any of this game, just made occasional score checks from my register at REI customer service. The first check of Brewers.com was "Brewers back in game" which I figured meant, "They put a run on the board after the Mets hung 5 on Sheets." But I was glad to see that they had grabbed the lead and Sheets, while finally getting scored on shut it DOWN! 18 consecutive batters after the 2nd. And in consecutive starts, he has beaten Barry Zito (highest paid pitcher in baseball) and Johan Santana (2nd highest paid pitcher in baseball). There's a lot of talk about Kapler and Kendall, but I'm also very happy to see Weeks working out in the leadoff spot.

Game 12- Milwaukee v NY (N)
This game was so anxiety filled, that I wondered if I can take another competitive season. I'll take a season of games like this over a season like '02 any day. All in all, other than Mota's inability to throw strikes, I have to be happy with the bullpen. Gagne, other than making a "bad pitch" in two previous appearances, has been pretty solid. He throws strikes and he doesn't get rattled when he gets knocked around. I found it strange that after a mediocre rebirth in Texas last season, he was touted as the FINAL PIECE of the Red Sox bullpen. The player that would make Boston's bullpen's ubeatable... then he ended up being a bust as a setup man. In my opinion, the media and Red Sox fans overhyped him. But when the Brewers signed him this offseason, the media seemed to forget how wrong they were in July, and assumed he was done, ready for the trash heap, destined to pump gas in Montreal by June. But I figured he could still be effective enough to get the Brewers through this season until they could find a better long term option for the 9th inning. So far, (and it's early) he seems to be doing that. And as long as he doesn't give up 5 runs in the 9th to the Phillies, he may be an adequate replacement for CoCo.

Three game losing streak in which Josh Fogg, Aaron Harang and Nelson Figueroa all looked like Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. The bats are silent, other than Kendall still gutting it out in the 9 spot like a champ while the 2 spot is stinking up the park, there has been little to look at as positives. Turnbow came in yesterday for mop up and promptly walked the leadoff man before retiring the side. Prince just missed a homer today, but considering he was 0 for Cincy, I'll take the long, loud double. Other than Bush on Wednesday (who was the victim of some poor breaks) the starters got jobbed. Villy did fall apart in the 7th yesterday, and Para got into some trouble in the 4th today, but they deserved better support. I spent Thursday on the JSO's Brewers Blog, and it was fun to be conversing with that many Brewer fans during a game, even if most of them were overly negative.

He teed off on that like he knew I was bringing the heat

I've figured out Doug Melvin's elaborate ruse. In order to take the pressure of Derrick Turnbow, he spent $10 million on Eric Gagne, knowing he would come to Milwaukee and serve up gopher ball after gopher ball, thereby giving the fans someone to hate and boo other than Turnbow. Do you think it's mere chance that Yost has yet to bring Turnbow into a game this season? Of course not, he needed Gagne to blow two of three save opportunities in just over a week so that when Turnbow does come into the game, the crowd will be elated and give him a hero's welcome. Seriously, could you really argue with giving Turnbow a shot at closing after what Gagne did tonight? I didn't expect Gagne to be Mr. bajillion consecutive saves again, but I figured he could at least keep the ball in the park!

Apparently Gagne shook off the change from Kendall on that dong pitch, saying he was caught up in the moment and wanted to throw the heat. Does anyone remember Nuke wanting to "announce his presence with authority" in Bull Durham? Yeah, I doubt it happened, but if Kendall did tip off Phillips, I couldn't blame him. Damn French (Canadian I know) always letting their emotion get in the way.

I'm not sure what bothered me more though, Gagne making 1 bad pitch that took a W away from a great pitching effort by Soup or Mota being absolutely unable to throw strikes. Let's hear it for Shousie and Weeks saving the day.

BROOM TIME
Had the Crew only taken 2 of 3 from the Giants, I still would have been disappointed. You have to get it done against the "lower depths", and the 2008 Giants very well qualify as the lower depths.

Sheets was Sheets today. A shutout, has yet to be scored on and reminding the pessimist Brewer fans that there is reason to re-sign this guy regardless of his freaky injury past. OK, I'll get off my "Re-sign Sheeter" soap box. Combined with Parra's performance yesterday, the only stinker after one lap through the rotation has been Bush. Bush, you have to learn to win on the road if you want to stay in the rotation when Gallardo comes back.

So what happened to Barry Zito? The guy is the most sought after free agent 2 years ago, linked to Alyssa Milano and known for having a nasty curve that makes grown men shudder. Now he's giving up 5 runs in 5 innings to the Brewers and even Tina Yothers won't return his calls.

I was happy to see Gagne look decent in earning his first save yesterday, but I'll be happier if Turnbow looks good whenever he makes his first appearance. I will say this, Gagne's "goggled, frat boy" look is a nice compliment to Turnbow's "80s high school dropout working in an auto shop" look. Throw in Riske's "pale, gringo gunslinger" look and the Brewers bullpen is enough to scare even the bravest barber.

SPORTS TV RANT/ FRIDAY GAME COMMENTS
While watching Friday's Brewer game, I realized just how ridiculous the sports media complex has become. On Hooter's 5 screen TV wall, there was fishing on VS. (which I had them change to Brewers/Giants), Cubs/Astros, the McDonald's girls high school all star game on ESPN2, Outside the Lines on ESPN and a UNLV/Wyoming football game from Oct. 27th on theMtn. Yes, I realize fans of Utah and BYU now have an outlet for seeing their teams play live, but in the big picture, doesn't an entire network for a conference seem like overkill? And who other than these girls parents are watching the basketball game. At first, I thought it was a collegiate all-star game, and found myself getting a little caught up in it (as I will admit to being attracted to female athletes), but when I realized these girls had yet to go to their senior prom, I felt a little confused and guilty, like I had just won home run derby only to find out I was competing against Jim Abbot and David Eckstein. Plus, Hooters chose to have Outside the Lines on the "big screen". I realize Hooter's waitresses have better things to worry about than monitor arrangement, but while I'm straining to see how many outs there are in my game, there is Bob Ley, in all his 16 by 9 glory, enlightening me for the umpteenth time on why Geno Auriema and Pat Summit hate eachother. I get ESPN, you don't have the men's final four, so you have to hype the women's final four-- greaaaaaat. I'll make an appointment to watch women's basketball when you finally convince me that the MLS is just as enjoyable as the NFL. Speaking of the NFL, ESPN seems to think that even though it's April, they will give me 30 minutes of NFL over-analysis every afternoon. Yes, I know the draft is coming up, but shouldn't sports that are actually playing take precedence over 4 guys talking about which QB from the '83 draft would they draft today. Hypotheticals like that should be saved for downtime at work, not put on a major TV network. You know what would be great ESPN, instead of 4 NFL geeks jawing about a season that is 6 months away, you put on a show that updated me on what happened in baseball last night. I think you have a show like that, it's called BASEBALL TONIGHT!

On to the game. Kendall is so far the signing of the off-season. This guy is a gamer and makes the bottom of the lineup awesome. Think about it, we have Bill Hall, JJ Hardy and Jason Kendall in our bottom 4. I know he doesn't have the arm you would want in a catcher, but he knows how to handle the pitchers, gets on base, and moves much better than Johnny Estrada, who only hustled when the Chorizo was heading his way. [Was that racist or a fat joke? Doesn't matter, he sucked and isn't on a active roster as far as I know.] Once again, Weeks showed some skill as a leadoff man. I know it helped that the Giants were putting it on a tee, but I believe it also helps that I've backed off calling him my favorite player, which has been a curse for every player since Yount retired. They either get dealt, get injured or drop off in production. Examples: Jeff Cirillo, Jeromy Burnitz, Ben Sheets, Geoff Jenkins, etc., etc. I think in 2002, I chose Brooks Kieschnick as my favorite just so I could protect the rest of the talent on the team.

Highlight of the game: Hall putting that second homer into the Summerfest grounds. Concern of the game: Villanueava's inability to get through 6. "Hit 'em where they ain't" of the game: Fielder once again making teams pay for putting the shift on him.

You know what that is, that's Bush!

My gut told me that letting Vargas go may have been uneccessary, and judging by how Bush pitched today, I might have preferred him getting a chance in the rotation. I've been pretty neutral on Bush in his career as a Brewer, but today was frightening. 5 walks! You have to do a better job of keeping us in the game Bushy. I believe he went hit batsmen, walk, walk, out, out, and walk. That's not my ideal number 3 starter. I thought Vargas put up good enough numbers in the spring to receive more consideration than he did. Ach! Let's hope Villy gets us back into the W column tomorrow. The Yost-Haters are going to not tolerate Bush in the rotation long if he keeps this up, and honestly, I'm not going to tolerate it either. I hate the bottom three of our rotation being as inexperienced as Gallardo, Villy and Parra, but that most likely will be the case.

Attaboy Rickie

What a game today! I tell myself that 2-0 is nothing to get excited about, but winning on the road, winning at Wrigley, winning against the pre-season pick to win the division, that gets me excited. Listened to the first inning before going to work and felt great about Ricky hitting that first pitch dinger. I'm worrying he's pressing to much as the lead off man, so hopefully he'll relax a little more.

Does anyone remember Uecker ripping LaRussa for doing the "pitcher batting 8th" thing a few years ago? I wonder how he feels about that now... especially when Kendall reached base 5 times today.

The Yost-haters were pissed on the JSO blog today about Kapler getting the start over Gwynn, but you can't argue with righty vs. lefty logic. My question is why trot Riske out for a second inning? I like the guy and all, (and I still think he could be our closer before the season is out), but isn't a 6 run lead a good time to get Turnbow in there for some work and confidence building?

Tomorrow don't have to go into REI until 3:30, so I should be able to listen to the whole game and take my stab at the running game blog on JSO. Some of the bloggers on there really need a reality check, and flame warring complete strangers seems like a great way to spend an afternoon.

I'm the last person to bitch that we need more holidays in this country. I think we have enough holidays in this country. I don't get holidays off with my job, so it pisses me off whenever I have to go the post office/ deposit a check/ buy scotch and the establishments that render these goods and services give their coddled employees the day off. Yeah, I'm sure the break neck pace of being a bank teller earns you the right to spend MLK Day carting your fat ass kids skiing-- I mean celebrating the civil rights struggle.

However, there is one day per year when I always feel a little cheated by work-- Opening Day. Sure, I could take the day off, but I'm usually 1,000 miles from the nearest Brewer game, and burning a vacation day to watch a game on TV seems like a waste. However, when I remember the feeling of driving into the Country Stadium parking lot while my friends were in school, smelling those grills, layering as much clothing under my Brewer jersey as possible, I get very nostalgic and lose any interest in working.

Today I was able to listen/watch the first 7 innings of the Brewers/Cubs game before I had to "focus on the 4" at work. It's probably good I missed the pivotal late innings where all the runs were scored, because watching Gagne choke away a 3 run lead in the 9th would have made me switch a newscast like the Incredible Hulk with jock itch. In the end, the Brewers won, and what I regret missing the most is not Gwynn's game winning sac fly or Riske's shutout 10th, it was how dejected those spoiled, whiny Cubs fans must have looked when Kerry Wood gave up those three runs and Bobby Howry blew it in the 10th. Carlos Marmol may have that closer job sooner than later.

Pitching, Pitching, IT'S PITCHING DAMMIT!

The starting rotation may have seen two more spots locked down yesterday. Dave Bush overcame a rocky first inning against the Cubbies to retire the last 11 in a row. Then Manny Para came in and shut the norththsiders out for 4 innings. This was Bush's first good outing of the spring, but Para has been lighting it up. It would be a shame not to give him a chance, especially if Capuano keeps struggling.

The other pitching note I haven't commented on is Sheet's pending departure after this season. The logic seems to be: If he pitches well, he'll be too expensive to resign and if he pitches poorly, the Brewers are better off without him." I think many in Crew-ville are WAY too concnerned about locking Prince Fielder down to a long term deal. I want to see Fielder as a lifelong Brewer as much as anyone, but the fact is, he's not elgible for Free Agency until 2011 and with Scott Boras as his agent, the odds are slim that he'll stay a Brewer no matter how much Attanasio ponies up. If the focus is to win NOW, let's keep a pitcher who is still, even amidst the bizarre injuries he has endured, the ace of this staff. No one is going to win a championship with a staff anchored by Jef Suppan and Yovani Gaillardo, who, as we learned from Chris Capuano, shouldn't be judged on 1 season.

Contract Problems

The big news today out of Brewer camp in Arizona is that Prince Fielder is unhappy with his contract renewal for 2008. As a player with less than 3 years of ML experience, he is at the mercy of the team in terms of salary, and the Brewers deemed Fielder worth just under 700k. I know he is worth more than that, but what are the Brewer's supposed to do, break the bank for a guy who next winter will easily get $10mill or more through arbitration? I am sure Doug Melvin offered some sort of contract to Fielder ala the Rockies locking in Troy Tulowitzki, but SUPER ASSHOLE Scott Boras probably turned it down because he knows the worst thing to do is lock Prince down early.

In GOOD Brewer news, Sheet's looked sharp in his start yesterday. Two innings, 15 pitches, 6 up, 6 down. Sadly, my favorite player will probably walk after this season unless he has a shitty year and no one is interested in signing him. Say what you will about his injuries, but when he pitches, he is BY FAR the best pitcher on our staff.

LaRussa wanted Bonds
Tony LaRussa, in my opinion, may be one of the most intelligent men in baseball. Until I read Men at Work by George Will, I thought managers were nothing more than washed up players who's baseball cards were usually the first ones to end up in the spokes of my Huffy. After reading that book, which followed LaRussa through his daily rigors, I had a new found respect for him and the work managers did. However, an article I read on MLB.com today changed my mind about this man's intelligence. He's not in GW's ballpark yet, but it's in that territory.

"What I've said each of the last two years is that when you're looking for somebody dangerous to hit behind Albert [Pujols], Barry was a guy that I thought," La Russa said.
"And for whatever reason, at the general manager or ownership level, they didn't agree that he would be a guy that they thought we should add. I understand. Organization chart -- they're my bosses. That's exactly what happened."

Now I'm not arguing with his logic. I personally don't think a 45 year old with bad knees, bad attitude and pending federal confinement is the best addition to a team, but LaRussa's right, he probably would give Pujols some protection in the lineup. What I find amazing is that LaRussa is somehow flumoxed that Cards management wouldn't want to sign this pariah to a contract. LaRussa, have you been so busy with community service after your DUI that you failed to notice Bonds is considered public enemy number one? OK, maybe that's Clemens now, but still?

Considering the allegations that LaRussa knew McGwire was juicing and chose not to take any action, he has shown me that he's less about winning through intelligence and more about winning at all costs. He is no different than many Director Sportiff's in the professional cycling world that could care less about the details of how they win, as long as they win. What LaRussa doesn't realize is that if everything I've heard about the St. Louis fans is true, they would rather win with honor, than by signing Barry Bonds. I have a feeling they already feel a little humiliated thanks to McGwire. LaRussa really doesn't get it and needs to retire.

Proof Things Never Change for The Cubbies...

just the culprits. Last year it was Carlos Zambrano and his lame prediction. This year an even more milktoast picther is giving me cause to chuckle. Just when I thought I wouldn't have anything to blog about today, Ryan Dempster of the Cubs gives me blog-fodder.

From MLB.com
Dempster opened Spring Training by predicting the Cubs will win the World Series, and Baltimore's Kevin Millar had a response to that.
"I'm guaranteeing a 2008 World Series," Millar said. "Everybody else is. I'm going on the record right now. We're going to shock the world. I don't know who Dempster is in Chicago but if he thinks he's going to win the World Series, he has to come through us first."
Millar had one more prediction: "I'm going deep off Ryan Dempster."

"I don't know who Dempster is in Chicago." That is AWESOME! Predictions are the lamest things an athlete can do. To borrow from Jim Rome, "No one remembers when they don't come true, and everyone thinks you're a genius when they do." Kewdohs to Millar for, in a satirical way, pointing out this tom-assery. This team barely made the playoffs, only because of the Brewers choke job, then got embarrassed in the playoffs. Now a pitcher who will be as memorable a Cub's pitcher as Terry Adams or Heathcliff Slocumb suddenly thinks they can topple the AL. Dempster, focus on changing yourself from a mediocre closer to a mediocre starter and leave the predictions to the fans.

And in Related News: Cecil Fielder Spokesman for Atkins

Amazing story this morning in the JSO [Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Online] about Prince Fielder. Since this guy came up in '05, he has exceeded my expectations, both on the field and off. The last time the Brewer's had a draft pick so highly touted, he was the rectal cancer known as Gary Sheffield, so I'll admit, I've come to expect very little from any Brewer marked as "the next big thing". However, reading Anthony Witrado's article this morning made me feel guilty for having any skepticism about Prince-- there are very few flaws in this 23 year old. He has the talent where if he played his whole career in Milwaukee (and I doubt he will) he would supplant Robin Yount as the greatest Brewer, he has the character at a young age to be a team leader, he has shown desire to improve his game and to top it all off, I find out he has chosen to become a vegetarian! Apparently his wife gave him book which detailed the mistreatment of animals by the meat industry (no mention of the book's title, but hell the video from that slaughterhouse in SoCal where they used fork lifts to move live cows would be enough for me) and he found it so disgusting that he chose to change his diet. Add to that the way he's focusing on D this spring and he's already shown more dedication in his 3 seasons than his dad probably did in his whole career. I bet the only self sacrifice Cecil ever tried was limiting himself to 2 trips to the MGM/Grand's Buffet, and that was probably just because he had to hustle and get some action down at the sports book.

Now I'm not saying Prince Fielder has gained any more respect from me because he chooses not to eat meat. While I myself dabbled in vegetarianism once, (not in 'Nam of course), I do currently eat meat. To borrow and modify a phrase from Ben Franklin, "I think bratwurst is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy." However, it's pretty interesting to read that a player who's frame more closely resembles the beer barrel logo guy than John Jaha and who plays in a state where having a meal without pork, beef, poultry or fish is about as worthwhile as NA beer, is choosing to subsist on soy, lentils and Boca burgers. My advice Prince, try the Boca bratwurst, they aren't as good as the real thing, but if it's your only option, might as well go with it... kind of like the Devil Rays.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=720531

Earlier in the month, I traveled back to my former home of Idaho to revisit some of the wilderness spots that I enjoyed in my almost 7 years of residence there.

While driving into Stanley on a hot Sunday afternoon, I was reminded of just how jaw dropping the Sawtooth Mountains can be. They tend to be spaced in such a way that each one has a distinct and dominant profile. The Wasatch Mountains in my new home obviously eat up the horizon as well, but various peaks and canyons tend to run into eachother as one menacing front, not the individualistic eruption of pink rock and jagged stone that bumps and pushes along the 50 mile Sawtooth Valley. For the first time ever, I approached the range from the west on ID-21 and right past the turn-off for Grandjean, there was a perfectly opened window into the heart of the range. I stopped and tried to identify the summits, but without much bearing, they were just sophisticated wild ass guesses.

In actuality, I hadn't planned on spending anytime in the Sawtooths this trip. My plan was to ride Fisher Creek which is on the east side of the Sawtooth Valley, (technically part of the White Cloud Range) then make my way south to the Pioneer mountains and a third attempt at climbing Hyndman Peak, the 12,009' mountain that can be gained in one long day of hiking. However, that afternoon on Fisher Creek I began to reconsider leaving the valley that night.

In early September of last year, the Valley Road fire burned about 41,000 acres in and around Fisher Creek. [For info on this fire, I found a great article at http://www.forwolves.org/ralph/valley-road-forestfire.htm] I knew this, (I was actually hiking up to Alice Lake with a friend on the opposite side of the valley and saw the plume of smoke build throughout the day) but as I rode the gravel jeep road that leads back to the downhill portion of the trail, I saw little evidence of the fire. They had fought hard to protect this area since there were about a dozen cabins within the first few miles of riding, but about 2 miles from the highway, I began to see patches of burnt land and black naked trees. Then, about 6 miles from the valley, the full force of the fire was evident. In this section, nothing escaped, and as I reached the top of the first climb, and got a perspective of the surroundings, I saw used matchsticks poking up over countless hills and drainages. Views that were normally limited due to thick folliage were now almost clear. Washington, Blackman and other peaks of the White Clouds were easily visible through the barcode forest. The threat of rain and the fact that I have countless pictures of Fisher Creek were reasons why I left the camera in the car. But after seeing this devistation, I felt like I was visiting this place for the first time.

The best I can describe the first mile and a half of descent is frightening. You could see where you were in relation to the landscape for the first time. All of the drainages and low levels of the trail were visible. The intrusion of being in the wreckage made me feel guilty. I could barely focus on my ride. I could see all the contours of the land and the consequences of slipping off the narrow, side hill trail that weaved and wound around the tops of these sandy and rocky hills. I felt like a tourist going to a crash site, taking a bus tour of Katrina devestated New Orleans. I questioned wether I should be there? Am I doing more damage to the trail? I finished that first section of descent feeling pretty bummed. It was my first time riding the trail since I crashed and tore up my knee in June of '05. 2005 was the first time since 2000 that I hadn't ridden Fisher Creek during a season. I wanted to blame the fire for my cautiousness, but I knew the texture of the trail was always loose and dicey. I began to feel the effects of bonking during the middle climb section, 2 miles through a meadow and gradual single track climbing. This is where I would usually turn it on, a good section of grinding before the tastiest 3 miles of descent you will find anywhere, but I was feeling burnt, like everything around me. It was depressing to ride in this. I ate a granola bar at the top of a short pitch right before you drop into the roller coaster and felt a little better. As I began the descent, the adrenaline got to me, the trail was more forgiving here and as I left the burnt areas, the forest began to look familiar again. I realized I had to come back and ride this again, not in the near future, but in the next few days. The trail sent me a message through the destruction that the "path" was still here, and I could find my way through it even though everything around me seemed so drastically different. My bike, my legs, my mountain bike chi seemed to just begin warming up and it seemed like a shame to piss that away now. As dissapointing as this man made fire was to me and the pride I felt in what I thought was one of the best trails you will ride anywhere, it was a reminder of "annica", the Buddhist term for change. I had changed in the last year, drastically, when the "Melon Valley Incident" sat me on my ass for most of the summer and took me closer to death than I had ever been. I fancied myself a good, (not great), but pretty good recreational cyclist before that crash. But since then, I didn't have the balls, the legs or even the drive to rack mile after mile in the saddle. That was somewhat depressing, but not necessarily bad. I came through it all right, just like Fisher Creek came through the Valley Road Fire all right.

When I started that days ride by heading down ID 75 to Fisher Creek road, I passed the old, non-operative Chevron / International Real Estate buildings that were the sole structures of "Obsidian". Had it not been for the sign declaring it, you wouldn't have known this was actually a town. The dilapitated buildings always made me laugh because the thought that there was anything "International" about this one room log cabin real estate office seemed rediculous. It looked like it had been built when mining was still a valid means of income here. The gas station never was open in my memory, and the tiny lodge near it seemed like a relic from the past like in the same category as the mining ghost towns in the area. Yet, I was shocked to see the buildings refurbished without losing their original charm and a few out-of-towners actually parked and staying at the 3 or 4 room lodge. There were even pay-showers outside the gas station. It was about time I figured. A service station within 1 mile of the best mountain biking trailhead in Idaho seemed like a no-brainer now. Stanley was still 15 miles to the north, and for those driving up from Ketchum to the south, it made more sense to stop here, rinse the salt off and grab a cold six for the night than make the journey out of the way to Stanley or to Smiley Creek Lodge just before Galena Pass. I gladly took a $2.25 shower, which was much nicer than the bacteria laden stalls at Redfish Lake Campground and bought an $8.99 six of Ruby Mountain (it's still WAY off the beaten path, so everything is "resort priced") and made my way to Alturas Lake, at the south end of the Sawtooths. Redfish is "the" destination for most campers, and even though it was a weekday, I doubted I could find anything. Alturas was my first cmaping experience in the Sawtooths, back in '99 during a cold night in September with some friends with work. After that, I began spending more and more vacation time in this valley, which was easy when I lived 150 miles away, but now that it was 400 miles away, I was going to take advantage while I could.

My ears are filled with the sounds of Widespread Panic. I'm listening to the concert I went to a little over a week ago in Jackson. Last night I saw they finally posted the concert for download on widespreadpanic.com and for $10.95, I can finally take a listen to a musical snapshot of a great night of music I had. I've bought live recordings from Rush tours I've seen, where the setlist hasn't changed from venue to venue, but this is the first time I've been able to listen to the actual show as I heard it. Pretty cool. Deffinitely a better value at $10.95 than going out and spending $16 on one of their studio albums.

Today, I unexpectedly had contact with someone whose attention I'd love to get a little more of. I tired my best to be charming, which usually results in damn goofiness more than charm, but I guess it's better for a woman to see the genuine craziness of my personality than the reserved, "What do I do next?" persona that I usually have. Actually, I guess if I had one lesson from tonight, is that I should act that way more often, since silliness is a good thing and more often than not, I will tend to walk out of work bitter and focused rather than shrugging and forward thinking. Silliness is a virtue, and I have to remember that now that I am no longer in an official management position, I can temper some of my leadership with goofiness. And as my best friend tells me, being yourself is still the best way to find acceptance with people. So here's to slowly trying to break out of my shell of focused, intense, self discrimination and moving more towards perceived weirdness.

The great thing about living in a large city, (even if it is Salt Lake) is the opportunities for culture. In my old home of Twin Falls, Idaho, culture was sitting on the canyon rim with a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon after a dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Tonight, I was able to go downtown to see one of the legends of Bluegrass, Earl Scruggs, play at the Gallivan Center's free Twilight Concert Series. Yes I went alone. Yes it was worth it. They finished with Foggy Mountain Breakdown (what else COULD he finish with) and I felt chills. I can break down my live musical experiences into two categories. Shows that meant alot to me, and shows that would mean alot to ANYONE because you knew you were seeing a legend. The latter was the case tonight. Yes, I saw Widespread Panic a week ago and it was incredible, but when you go up to Joe Green Jello and tell him that, he won't give a fuck. However, certain artists you see and know that you are lucky to have seen them. Bob Dylan falls into this category. And now he has been joined by Earl Scruggs. Many people don't know his name, but it won't take much to realize that he is the last remaining legend of a musical artform that, let's face it, could go the way of polka. I can't understand why all these fringe musical styles like bluegrass, flamenco, folk, blues have all found their way into the fusion of pop music, yet Polka can't buy a piece? But I digress, back to the show. At 82 years old, I knew that this man was a link to previous Bluegrass legends like Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt. They are gone, but Earl Scruggs is still around, and his brand of music should mean something to every fan of good music everywhere.

The pic below was another taken via the timer on my first excursion to the Uinta Mountains in Utah. I felt a little guilty about it. In my time in Idaho, the Sawtooth Mountains had become my sanctuary, my "fortress of solitude". However, now that I'm in Utah, I figured it was impractical to have a escape route that required 6 hours of driving, so I decided to try something more local.

It was the Wednesday after Memorial Day, so I figured there would be some people up there, but not a lot considering that area got snow most of the holiday weekend. Turns out the place was completely empty. The camp hosts told me I was the only one in the whole drainage. Where I was "exactly" was the Yellowstone River area on the South side of the range, 20 miles north of Duchesne. I actually planned on heading to the northern side and hopefully getting a view of Kings Peak (the highest point in Utah) but a road closure due to snow changed the scenic route I was going to take to get there. I planned on taking 150 north from Kamas and finding a route along the range, but after reaching the pass and seeing UDOT vehicles blocking the road for plowing, I figured I had to durn around. Rather than go back around to Park City and then up to Evanston, I stayed on the southern side and took UT 35 across. Passing oil rigs and red stone, it was a little different than I expected, and I never really got the jaw dropping view of the summits that you get on ID 75 on your way to Stanley. In fact, most of the drive reminded me of the more subtle rolling hills of the Rock Creek Foothills near Twin Falls. Elevation, it was much higher than any developed campt site I've been to (8,200') but the major summits I did see were rounded off and bare. In my opinion, even the Wasatch are more impressive. A good mountain spot though can't be judged on impressiveness alone. There is the people factor. That's where the Wasatch lose out. When you are right on the edge of a metropolitan area of 1.5 million people, the nooks and crannies are going to be filled with people looking to "escape to nature" and that's fine, however, it makes to truly secluded spots like the Sawtooth Wilderness Area in Idaho that much better, which is why if I had my choice, I would live in Idaho and work in Salt Lake, if that makes any sense.

"Just sittin' here, watchin' the river flow." 

George Bush was in Idaho this week. I knew I felt a disturbance in the force. About the only thing that the conservative majority of Idaho has ever criticzed that man for was not visiting the "Great State of Idaho". (Yes, Idaho is a great state, but I HATE IT when politicians use that prefix when referring to their constituency. It's like a band in concert referring to the host city in a song; it's a cheap reaction.) If you want a man who is busy with 5 week vacations, sending America's youth off to die and snowing the American public into thinking it's our duty to force democracy on others (prime directive mean anything to ya Bush?) to visit your state, try not blindly voting for whoever has "Republican" listed under their name.

He was here to do some mountain biking. This I want to see. Not because I don't believe it, just because I want to see it. You see, when politicians talk about skiing or cycling or any other hobby they partake in, it's always interesting to see what level they are at. Most of the time, they are at a pretty low level, and that's expected since they have more important stuff to do than drive to Stanley for a weekend and plant secret service all over Fisher Creek. But I was mildly surprised when I saw video of John Kerry snowboarding in SV. He didn't look like a first timer, although I'm sure, like everything a politician does, there is a hope that images of recreation act as subliminal cues to make participants in that activity "identify" with you. Now, I was a Kerry fan to begin with, and I would never vote for someone because they snowboard, or ski or mountain bike, but yes, those pictures of him carving turns down Warm Springs, a run I have skied numerous times myself, made me feel like this was a person I like as well as respect.

So Bush, I invite you, to gain a little of my "like" (you'll probably never get respect) and come mountain biking with me. No camera's, no politics, a free pass for you to spend some saddle time with a mountain biker (I'll u-bolt the flaming liberal to a tree for the duration of our ride) and we can both enjoy an escape from reality. And it won't take 5 weeks.