Gonna Get Me a Job or Bust!

Unfortunately, one cannot live by cross country skiing alone. It must be financed by some type of employment. So far, my Home Depot job has been fun, but I need a full time endeavor to make the bank happy. Full time positions at THD are just not falling into my lap and the application process through corporate is pretty bizarre, so I have been exploring other options... but first! Pics of cross country skiing!

Naturally, I was also trussed-up in my ski trappings, although I look like Jabba the Hut on toothpicks.

We were out in the wilds of Garden Creek Gap, just five miles from our house. This area seems to be an unpopulated back door to the mountain range just to the west of our home. Old Tom is the dominant mountain, topping out at just under 9000 ft. In these pics Karren and I are at about 6000 feet on a gravel fire road known as "Upper Rattlesnake Road," which runs a ridge line due west away from the paved access. We only got about a mile and a half up the ridge before we turned around. It is best to stop before you get too tired to careen out-of-control down the mountain, for that is what we beginners end up engaging in. Sheer madness, but fun!

At about the half-way point we encountered a large covey of grouse and were fascinated by their antics. I managed to get a picture of their tracks in the snow for posterity.

The birds were a riot and they were noisy. They are about the size of a chicken, but much more plump with stubby head and tail. I attempted to get a picture of them but it turned out to look like fly specks on white paper.

We have since been back to the Mink Creek area for a run up the Corral Canyon Trail. As we went up at 3PM the snow was a bit soft and the melting had ruined some parts of the trail. As we neared our limit and turned around the evening cooled, freezing the snow into a crusty ice track, similar to a bobsled run. This made our beginning skiing efforts all the more comical. Neither of us was hurt, but it wasn't for lack of vertical challenges. I fell a total of four times before I removed the damn skis and walked sown the final 1/8 mile. Karren just looks like she was born on the sticks and only fell once. It is difficult to learn how to ski when the trail limits your ability to do anything but fly down a narrow gully two feet wide that is solid ice. Next time we'll wait for new snow or we'll finish earlier before it refreezes.

So, back to the job search. I haven't heard anything from ISU about the position I applied for there, but the HR dept. says it will take some time as the entire population of Latvia applied for the job as well. I also have put my apps into the federal govt. for various park service related jobs and have had a nibble. Hopefully I'll have an at least an interview soon. The local highway dept. office is hiring a position too, so I have a grossly underqualified app filed with them.

I have been contacted by my first private lesson (trombone) student, but I'm afraid I may have scared his parents off with an exhorbitant fee structure. I may have to adjust for regional economic conditions in order to gain any traction with teaching privately. But I CONTINUE TO PERSEVERE!  I will not give up and become a groveling, whiny little pig. There is a job situation out there somewhere, and I will find it and make it my own. Something's gotta give - this 3:30 AM wake up schedule is ridiculous.

So, next time I will report on the snow storm that appears to be developing tonight. Hopefully it will lay down enough snow to furnish our skiing addiction enough powder and we'll be too busy to blog for a while. Or it could be that we'll finally run out of firewood and have to resort to burning money in the basement for heat. That would make for one cold house, let me tell you!

Next installment: Death by Downhill, or Tim gets hired as a mattress tester! Hard work, but somebody's gotta do it...

(P.S. What we are doing is really backcountry skiing, but not many people know what that is, ergo the cross country label)

Tim and Karren Fall Down - A LOT!

We have settled into the rhythms of frontier life here in Idaho and are really enjoying the snow country. Karren and I tried some cross country skiing and liked it, but I wanted more backcountry flavor, so we bought some sliding snowshoes/ski-shoes for our first try at it. It has been fun learning how to stay upright on them and we are beginning to get the hang of it.

These skis are really fun and are perfect for beginners like us. They use a 75mm three pin binding and have built in skins (not fish scales - skins) and they climb easily with great grip. They are also a lot more fun going downhill than snowshoes. I just couldn't see the point of slogging downhill in something clumsy when we could ski. They are not fast going down but that is a good thing for us beginners!

That's my high school chum Kevin Hopkins with us on the West Fork Mink Creek Trail. He and his wife Sarah were visiting and had to herringbone up the trail because they did not bring their skins with them. We made about 1/2 mile up about 500 feet in elevation that day but needed to stop because old, fat, middle-aged folks like Karren and I needed to have enough energy on the way down to try to ski without shaking too much and Kevin was just getting over the flu. He was amazing to be able to do that much cardio workout in that kind of shape. Of course Sarah was zooming all over the place like Picabo Street (famous ski star) and taking great pictures. She looks like she was born with skis on her feet. She made it look easy and gave our group some credibility with the other skiers on the trail. Thanks Sarah!

I can't wait until we can get into the elevated backcountry and learn how to ski those areas. It will be a while, but Karren is such a natural at this I think we'll learn quickly. There is a hut system that I can literally see from my house - that will be a blast! I've heard two avalanches at home already (scary!) so I need to get training with that stuff before we get too far out. I'm also still battling altitude sickness, so that is taking some time to get used to. I have increased from 6000 ft. to 8000 ft. as far as my comfort zone goes, but there are lots of 9000 ft. plus peaks around here that I want to climb. It's really tough to ski when you're dizzy!

We took the back way around the mountain range and traveled in the high country all the way home that evening and Sarah took a stunning shot of the valley where our house is located. It is a different perspective from the other posts previously, and she captured the light at its best.

What a beautiful place we live in. We are truly blessed... with snow.. and zero degrees this morning. Got to take the bitter with the sweet I guess. At least there aren't any mosquitos. Sarah has a picture of a cattle drive down our road that I am begging her to send me. I hope to be able to post it soon. They were following it as they arrived in McCammon. There was a good looking cowgirl on on horse and the old grizzled cowboy that owns the herd in front of our place. I think it was cool that Kevin and Sarah happened to be driving up just as the cattle drive arrived.

More later!

Still Snowing Here and It Doesn't Stop!

Dumped a foot on us last night. The '06 Miata made it about a hundred yards down the road before the snow started to plow up over the hood. Back to the barn she went and out came the F350. I hate to drive it to work (mileage stinks) but I never would have gotten out of our area without the four wheel drive.

Burning some fir in the stove. It's wet and pops like jiffy pop, but it burns and lasts better than the aspen. Home depot has compressed wood fiber stove logs, 6 for $3.85, so I'm putting one of those in the middle to get it stabilized and burning good. I'll buy the whole pallet if the price drops to $2 a bundle (30 lbs per). There is a premium price on cured firewood out here - Bidding starts at $150 per cord for pine! No oak, but if you're lucky you can find a city tree that has to come down. Those are all old elms and burn great. Each piece of elm takes two wedges to split however : (

Just finished shoveling the driveway. Skis n gear come this week. Excited! Never thought I'd be frequenting the ski shops! Hopefully we'll get them and start using them before the snow is gone (smirk). Our dude behind the counter at the ski store had lived in Mechanicsville for a while - go figure. Says he's really relieved to be back in Idaho.

I'll get busy with more pictures soon, so be sure to check at least once a week. Getting up before 4AM doesn't let me get much time for artistic efforts.

I Now Know What Cold Is

Yes Virginia, it is cold in Idaho in January. Right now I sit in the living room of our house at 4PM and the thermometer is reading 6 degrees above zero. When I left for work this morning it was 15 below zero. All this above and below zero stuff makes my head hurt. This is also dangerous cold weather. You can get frostbite in temps like this. Last week I was out shoveling and lost the feeling in one of my fingers. That is a strange sensation; very similar to coming home from the dentist, except you haven't gotten a shot of anesthetic. I happened to be wearing gloves that had the fingers cut out, you know for more dexterity? Won't be using them anymore this winter!

Yesterday Karren and I met a couple of friends and watched them set off on cross country skis. It looks very interesting and we may try it soon. Trying to hobble through the foot deep snow behind them was not fun though. We will need to find an outdoor winter activity for middle-aged fat people, one that won't put us both in the hospital or require emergency calls to a helicopter for evacuation. We can rent equipment from the university cheap, so we can try out different stuff and see what we like. I can see this being a great way to get out and get some real Cardio exercise. We could start out just making a trail around our property. Seems like every hobby we get is expensive though.

Today there was a cattle drive down the road in front of the house. It is fun to see the cowboys on horseback with their herding dogs, driving the cattle forward. The herd had a large cloud of steam overhead, due to the single digit temperatures. It was a romantic sight straight out of the old west and it made me feel like a part of the culture. I got so distracted I forgot to take a picture until they were down the road a ways. If you look closely you'll see the fog over the clump of cows and horses.

Snow is a daily occurrence during January in Southeast Idaho. Even if there isn't actual snow falling, there will be "freezing fog" that drops ice crystals out of thin air. When the light is angled just right there is an amazing interplay of tiny diamonds and colors when this happens.

When the wind is not blowing it is actually fun to be out in the cold, as long as you are moving/doing something. Today I shoveled our entire driveway and sidewalk with no ill effects. I still haven't gotten used to my breath freezing and forming ice in my mustache. The snow itself is quite different from what I've ever experienced in Virginia. When it gets dirty it still acts like snow. The snow on the roadways does not turn into slush, even in the middle of the day. Because of the cold temps it remains frozen as snow and stays there until the plows push it out of the way or the wind blows it off. Often, the cars and trucks themselves blow the highways clean.

"Hear the snow crunch, see the kids bunch" etc. Yes, the snow really does crunch, no matter where you step. Shoveling this white stuff is a breeze compared to fighting with the snow back east. A shovel full of snow only weighs a pound or two, not twenty to forty. It is so dry that it is impossible to form a snowball. Karren is very upset at not being able to make a snowman. However there is a home in McCammon that has one in their front yard, although it is a bit deformed. She wants to go and ask them how they did it.

We are expecting temps in the 20's by the end of the week. It will feel like summer! I'll be able to get in the car when I go to work and not have to worry whether my drink will freeze before the car warms up. I usually have to finish whatever I start drinking on the way to work, because if I leave it in the car while working it is frozen solid when I get off. It sucks to have to go buy another drink because the one you have is frozen!

Well, life goes on here in the frozen wastes. Everyone says the rest of the year is worth the price paid during the winter. I think the jury is still out on that one! I only hope that by the next time I write I still have all my fingers and toes. Have you ever watched those shows about the climbers on Mt. Everest? You know, the ones where they are always stressing the real life drama of people trying to avoid frostbite in 20 below temps? Reality check: I live that now! So keep me in your prayers and think warm thoughts. Maybe the global warming fairy will show up around here sometime soon and give us some relief.

And I thought the guy that was helping us move in was joking when he mentioned thirty below here in Marsh Creek Valley...

P.S. It's snowing again...

Deep Winter Has Arrived in Idaho

Yes, Virginia there is snow in Idaho during the winter. The snow started last week and didn't really stop until today. There were no real snowstorms, just continuous light flurries that would sometimes last for hours or more. The temps have settled into a pattern of 20's during the day and single digits at night, so there is no real melting happening. This keeps the snow light and fluffy, and it crunches beneath your feet as you walk. We now have about 8 - 12 inches of the stuff, yet it is hard to tell exactly because of the influence of the wind blowing it into small drifts.

The surrounding countryside is a winter wonderland and provides a stark beauty. When it is this cold, things are not wasting any energy. You can see a small knot of black angus cattle on the far hillside, huddled for warmth. These cows have to eat and keep their internal furnaces going nonstop in order to survive. The creek is not frozen over yet and the ducks have been playing in the water. Bald eagles are frequent visitors to our pasture and are competing with the hawks for rodents. Pheasant are still all around us and visit each evening across the street from our place.

Yesterday Karren and I put new handles on the kitchen cabinets, replacing the old wooden knobs that the previous owners had installed. They were a lime green, sort of vomit color and they were bugging me badly. GONE! With the exception of five large drawers we replaced them all. We prefer these types of handles to knobs because they won't snag clothing. I got them on closeout from Home Despot. Cabinet hardware can end up costing hundreds of dollars and we were fortunate to find a great deal on these basic but serviceable handles ($8 for 10 handles).

We had Jabba the Hut install them... no, wait! That's me! Too many cookies and disease have plainly taken its toll.

After we had the new handles on we felt more compelled to clean the place. A solid week of flu had left us devoid of energy and the dishes had piled up to record heights. I think this house is beginning to look a bit better on the inside too. Can't wait until I can score a better paying gig in order to pay for some future planned work. We still have to renovate the upstairs and downstairs baths, replace the living room floor, redo the kitchen walls, cabinet doors and the lighting, and much, much more. All we need is the capital to do it.

Next time read about our continuing struggle to survive the harsh winter in, "Shooting the Yeti off the Porch" or "The Miata's in the Ditch Again!" Until then, keep your powder dry. The Zombie apocalypse is near. Thank goodness we're in Idaho, a place not very friendly to zombies (they freeze quickly since they have no internal heat source).

Hard Labor and the White Stuff

Here at the Streagle abode it has been a day of hard labor as we split another full rack of firewood for the next couple of weeks. We have been fortunate so far to keep ahead of the weather in terms of our wood supply, but the temps have really plummeted recently and the snow has finally found us as well. Karren and I woke this morning to about 4 inches of frozen stuff and it made for interesting traveling on our way to church.

Having put snow tires with studs on the Miatas a week or so ago I was not too concerned about getting there but it still makes us consider changing our usual route into town. There is no point in trying to be a macho idiot and getting stuck. There just aren't that many people nearby to pull us out!

So we got home and knew that we needed to split a decent amount of wood in order to satisfy the stove for the next few weeks. And aspen does not split easily like oak from the Virginia forest. At least we had our kitty kat with us. That cat is oblivious to the cold weather and walks around in the snow like it's nothing out of the ordinary. Today I was able to pick her up for the first time... for about ten seconds.

On the way to church today I stopped and took this shot of an old homesteader's cabin. It is located just off Marsh Creek Road about 500 yards north of our house. It has interested me since we arrived but I have been waiting for the chance to catch it in good light. I missed the best light by about 30 minutes today but it still looked nice.

I'll get by there another time and work on the composition. I have to shoot from the road so there won't be any easy way to get another angle. That's because there are barbed-wire fences along the road. Well, there are barbed-wire fences everywhere out here. I tore all of ours down because I hate them. so much for raising horses!

I'm now working on a Habitat for Humanity house in Pocatello. Some friends from church asked if I would be interested in helping, so I visit the house after I get off work at Home Depot. When they found out I had experience with sheetrock finishing they were happy to have me come by. When they found out that I was actually a professional finisher they were ecstatic! The volunteers had been slinging compound at the walls for a few weeks and it had kind of gotten out of hand. I was happy to help. Who knows? Maybe there will be a contact I'll make with someone who needs a finisher?

Well, Karren is hanging Christmas decorations in the house now, so I had better get off the net and help. Merry Christmas everyone!

Transitions and Cool Saws

Since I am wrapping up the flooring process for the bedrooms I thought I'd bore the reader with a few more pics on the subject. Here's the hallway with the transitions installed to the bath (left) and great room (straight ahead). They really make the floor look and feel complete.

It is said that he who dies with the most toys, wins. If that is true then I am a true contender. Inherited from my father, no doubt. Well, in order to install trim you must have a saw that can cut straight and cut specific angles as well, and I am not going to suffer a hand saw for this type of work. Enter the power miter saw hunt. I perused the local big box stores as well as the Harbor Freight and came up with a beauty of a saw for only $110. Take note, you married women out there! Any man worth his salt would fawn over this tool if he received it for a gift. And it even has a laser! Super cool. Light weight and small, it is a great tool for cutting boards 8 inches in width and under. With a 7-1/4 inch saw blade it is small, but I liked it even more after using it.

That puppy will have a revered spot in the man cave for sure.

I'm going to close this chapter with a view from the guest room window again. Old Tom beckons, "Come visit the Streagle House in Idaho, where the snow is omnipresent and the air is dry and cool!" And visit you must, especially if you value the uncomplicated life of the west. And there are lots of cows and pheasant to watch as well. Perhaps the most interesting thing to experience is the sound of the coyotes, singing to each other as the sun sets. It happens every night. Come and hear it for yourself. We won't have the lights on for you, but the starlight will be enough to see the way.