Keep Trying

I was raised by a thrifty mother and a very creative father. This was reinforced by some incredibly industrious uncles on my dad's side and some hard ass entrepreneurs on my mom's side.

So when I drive down my street and see a dismantled, all wood swing set / castle I think, "I could put that back together!"

So 9pm on Sunday I load the truck and drive the quarter mile back to the house with a 12ft slide precariously balanced on the roof.

Monday comes and I start piecing it back together.  Catastrophic wood rot, believe it or not, is hard to see in the dark. I also noticed a fresh pile of wooden fort in the neighbor's yard...so I only got half.  

No dramas though, I can use what I have to build a custom fort for the bug...later...ish.

Ok I need a win so I am going to use the wood to built a moto stand that I've been putting off buying.  And hell, I am going to blog about it!

Here is what I started with. I disassemble the parts and draw a design. The radio is going and I've got that rhythm and focus that I only get in the shop.

All the cuts are made and I assemble...but it looks worse than...it's just bad.  Who knew you had to use angles other than 45 degrees?!?!?

Time to get creative, which in Kaiser terms (at least the Texas chapter) means hasty; requires a lot of gut feeling.  What I made looked super cool, but crumbled under the pressure of the bike.

I'm not one to get frustrated easily, so after throwing a few tools and screaming expletives, I counted down from ten and decided that while I'm no good at this today, I've got the rest of my life to figure it out.

I grew up thinking my dad and uncles* could fix anything, but now that I am a young father I see that these things take time, mistakes and patience. I'm pretty far along, especially under the hood of a car, but I still have a ways to go. The important thing is to get out here and enjoy trying.

*Uncle Greg is an exception.  I am pretty sure he could fix anything as early as 5 yrs old.

D3 Silverton

Early on everybody headed out to the trails to hike up to ice lake. Kim has been nursing a hockey injury so we decided to hang back. 

We ended up at the same trailhead and hiked up to a nearby waterfall. There has been rain every day so the waterfalls are gushing! 

We made our way down and back to the stream we found on the bikes the day before. Amelia is fearless when it comes to cold water! She threw rocks and waded around the icy waters while Kim painted and I read. Amelia wasn't very happy hiking there, but all was well when we arrived!

It started to rain and we headed back for the cabin. The fam was right behind us and we all spent the afternoon playing games and preparing a feast of trout caught the day before.  Goooooood eatin!

I went for a hike in the evening, and that might Jamee played Aggravation for the first time. It was an Olden right of passage!

D2 Silverton

Day 2 and the whole fam decided to go fishing at one of my favorite spots, Andrew's Lake. Amelia was a total handful so Kim and I headed back early.

Kim and I spent the day reading and painting, and I took Amelia down to the creek to throw rocks. We heard the train roll in to town so we had to check it out. The train runs from Durango to Silverton and is one of the last narrow gauge coal powered trains running.

The fam made it back and Ma offered to watch Amelia while Kim and I went for a ride. We drove out on a four wheel drive trail for about 45 minutes until we realized the the road was the mountain bike trail we looked up. We got to a point where we were sick of driving and turned back. The views were incredible but it was annoying watching from the car.

We made it down, found some good single track that led us to a beautiful creek that reminded me of chilling falls in Malaysia. 

That evening we boozed it up, watched the Bachelor finale (hence the booze) and had some excellent green chili stew. 

D1 Silverton

The first day in town it's always best to take it easy, in my opinion. I had a long coffee morning and played with Amelia. In the afternoon I rode about 15 miles on the bike.

It is just good to be on the mountains! In the evening we had a big dinner with the whole fam, and I read until I passed out on the couch. Not a super eventful day, but nice and relaxing.

Santa Fe to Silverton

Today was a great day.  We woke up in Santa Fe and headed to Farmington. We've driven this route many times and have loads of excellent memories from the area.

In Farmington we met up with our longtime friend Bern. It is always good seeing him and got to catch up on news from the coal mine I used to work at.

We picked up some groceries and even swung by our old house before we hit the road again. I truly miss the big sky and beautiful views in Farmington.

We closed out the day driving through a heavy rainstorm down into Silverton.

The family Olden were all waiting for us in the most beautiful cabin I've ever been in.   I don't deserve such luxury. We all walked into town and pa bought us dinner at Handlebars, our usual spot.

Everybody is a bit tired from the drive, so we are all sitting around, reading and enjoying the epic view of Kendal Mountain.

July 14th, 2013 pt4

Check this video of Andy and I booking it across an MX track.  Practice for the moto ride!

DaveAndyRideTrack

July 14th, 2013 pt3

One of the best parts of traveling with an iPhone is I can keep in close touch with the fam.  Kim sent this today and it made my day.

July 14th, 2013 pt3

Before I start, here is a photo from our hike yesterday!  That is the Cotapaxi volcano, we will be riding there tomorrow!

Today was an incredible day!

Andy is got over his sickness so we headed into new town and rented some bicycles.  We lucked out this week because every other week they shut down Av. Rio Amazonas (a main street) and people can cycle up and down all day. We biked approximately 20km out and turned back before even getting to the end. It is the Ecuadorian version of critical mass.

My brakes were a mess so I stopped at a mechanics tent (set up every few kms, and run by the city) to fix them.  I was able to also change a tire for a guy...yeah, I am breaking down laguage barriers all damn day!.  

On the way back Andy wanted to make a detour so we took a side road and found that the old airport (shut down in Feb) is now a city park.  You can ride all over the runway, up to the terminal, look at old planes.  It was so cool. 

In addition, there was a huge bicycle event on.  There were obstacle courses, huge jumps and an x-games style competition. In the photo below you can see this guy on a random ramp out for anybody daring enough to jump it! I honestly would have done it but decided not to tank the entire trip!

We could not peel our eyes off the crazy jumps and crashes, so we took a seat on the old luggage belt and made a couple sandwiches.  It was so crazy hanging around this old airport.  I cannot express how awesome the new park was.

On the way back we rode through Quitos version of central park.  The had everything our litigious culture in the states would not allow. Their playground equipment was a bit dangerous, but incredibly fun.  

Andy and I spent our time in the full size BMX track and the largest street style BMX trick park.  The photo below makes me look awesome, but eventually a video will surface of me crashing and testing the limits of my helmet and kneecap! 

Finally, Andy had the brilliant idea that we should stop for some BBQ on the way back. In addition to the potatos, there were at least 5 different animals on our kabob!  They were delicious and hit the spot!

We leave tomorrow on the motorcycles. It is a huge bummer that John will not join...his absence leaves a huge gap.  But we will carry on and catch up with John later down the road.

July 14th, 2013 pt2

After a very long day I came back in and found out some really really bad news.  John is not going to make it on the trip.

He had a number of things blow up at home and decided to make a call and cancel.

It is a huge dissapointment, but I know that he would move mountains to be here so if something is going so wrong that he cannot make it, then I respect that.

July 14th, 2013

John just wrote saying he is on his way!  One more day before we ride out!!!!

I'm happy to report that Andy is feeling much better this morning.  Definitely  altitude sickness. We are going to play it cool today and get the batteries charged.

This hostel attracts a much older crowd so everybody pitches in on cleaning dishes, cooking and sharing wine.  Last night a group of 8 watched "A Place 

Beyond the Pines" and it was like sitting around with a bunch of old friends.   Tonight one couple is making Cuban pork sandwiches for dinner and I'm looking forward to another night relaxing.

Finally the iPhone has been an excellent tool on the road.  I was able to FaceTime with Kim last night, write this blog, use the maps when walking the city and on and on.  It's been much more efficient for sure.

July 13th, 2013 pt3

No food photos to update, as I left my phone in the hostel.  Andy and I took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountains, then hike further up into oblivion!  Fantastic walk!  We came down the mountain and had some Mexican food in new town.  

Unfortunately we had to cut dinner early because Andrew has come down with some bad altitude sickness.  He's crashed out in bed and I'm hanging in the dining room trading stories with the other hostelers.

One thing to note is that Community Hostel in Quito is really great. Our bunk ages have been interesting and very social.  All of the amenities are great and the $2.50 breakfast is better than what I can cook, and I am awesome at cooking breakfast!

Well, more photos to come!  Andy and I are out for another adventure tomorrow, and the third amigo arrives!

July 13th, 2013 pt2

Finally met the freedom rental guys, took care of paperwork and talked motorcycles all morning.

There are no dramas with the paper license!!!!  Many thanks again to Nick for telling me about the IDP!  It saved the day!

So now we hang out until John gets here.   Gonna be great!

July 13th, 2013

Starting the day with a hearty breakfast and planning the day.  No matter which direction you look you can't beat the views! Today we tour Quito, talk tithe motorcycle shop, hike and book a bicycle trip for tomorrow.

July 12th, 2013 pt2

The approach into Quito is by far the most stunning I've seen.  The land looks rough, and makes you wonder how people settled this place.

I arranged for a driver to pick me up, and he was there with his wife waiting for me. I started to shake the rust off of my Spanish and did alright.  Friday night traffic was quite bad so the normal 1 hr drive took 2.5.

Andrew was in the kitchen checking mail when I walked in.  It's like I saw him yesterday. We caught up, had a couple coffees and we headed out for dinner.  Dinner was steak with mushroom sauce, fries and a salad.  Very Sudamericano typical, and great to wash down with a glass of vino tinto.

We closed out the night hanging with the other hostelers and sipping a bottle of wine that Andrew brought from Italy. He's already a hit with the staff and guests!  We hit the sack early and I was asleep before all the lights went out.

July 12th, 2013

Had a 3.5 hr flight from Houston to Panama, and it is a lot less exciting than I though.  Just sitting and waiting. One can only do so much duty-free shopping:)

 

July 11th, 2013

It's my birthday!  Had a great time tonight.  Got out of work a little late and walked in on a house full of family and friends.  Kim made a six layer cake, and keeping with tradition I flipped it like a champ!   Video to come!

Ma and Pa took Amelia home with them and we rode bikes to downtown.  On the way we stopped to check out cool houses and some great sculptures. Nice ride.

We ended up at market square for some great burgers and lots of beer!  Grif drove in from Galveston...a true friend! When we were full we rode home laughing,  screaming and singing ("we built this city!").  We hung around for a bit and slowly everybody made their way home.

This is happiness.

July 10th, 2013 Pt3

All packed up and ready to go!  Now it's a waiting game...

July 10th, 2013 Pt2

It's been a long week, as I am trying to get work ready for me to be on vacation for a week.  Tonight we went to Ruchis for dinner.  Nothing like comfort food!

July 10th, 2013

The first of the group has left for Ecuador!  Andrew got off the boat in Palermo, Italy.  He'll take a train to Rome, hop a flight to Atlanta and then straight to Quito.  Andrew has by far the longest haul, and will get there a day early.

John will be leaving this Sunday, going from Denver to Miami (I think), then down to Quito.  I should be in Quito by then so he'll arrive to familiar faces and a big pre-ride dinner.

I'll be Leaving Friday morning (It's Wednesday today).  On the way down I'll layover in Panama City before heading down to Quito.  I'm looking forward to one-on-one time with Andrew.  The one problem with family living away from home is you have to share them when they come back to visit.  Can't wait to catch up on all his stories!

One possible hitch I ran into was I've lost my drivers license.  I visited the DMV last week and ordered a replacement, but all I will have in time for the trip is a printout.  By luck my colleague and friend, Nick, mentioned I should get an international license from AAA.  They were OK with the printout, and I happened to have some old passport photos so problem solved!

July 2nd, 2013

Date night!  Amelia with Jordan so the parents out to play!

July 1, 2013

Sounds from Monday night

June 27th, 2013

Each jury duty day gets harder and harder.  I don't know what to think and a lot is on the line.  Kim sent me this photo which made the day a little better.

After court Kim went to hockey and I helped DK move.  After we watched up and had a beer.  Late into the night I made charts and graphs trying to find out what to do with this trial.

June 26th, 2013

Another long day in the trial.  Came home for a quick dinner then came in to the office.  Photo taken from my window.

Kim made some awesome crab cakes, they were damn good.

So much stress is making me sick...was looking forward to the weekend but it looks like I'll have to work through it.

Not a good week.

June 25th, 2013

Second day of jury duty.   Forgot bike lock, so I hid my bicycle behind the police motorcycle parking!  Trial is very graphic and I am exhausted.  Really enjoyed the ride home from downtown.

Kim made unagi, avacado and shredded broccoli,  it was delicious.  We are on a quest to make simple healthy fast food.   This new one is a keeper.