My Boy's Coming Back Home

Just got off the phone with the Ex. She and Colter have been in Minneapolis since Wednesday. They've hit the half-way point on their way home (Bismarck, ND), and Colter called to say good night. I told Colter to give me a call when they got home tomorrow. Colter's always been more of a Momma's boy, and I didn't expect him to say yes, but this surprised me, and I could hear Ex laughing loudly in the background:

"Give me a call when you get home tomorrow, ok, bud?"
"Ok, Dad."
"You know, you could stay with me tomorrow night if you wanted." ( I could hear him smiling)
"Ok, I'm sick of Mom having me."

Slideshow from Mt. Washburn Hike

Parting is a Bitch

Now that was tough. Colter and his momma are going to Minneapolis today. So I let him sleep in my bed the last two nights. The alarm went off at its usual time this morning, but since I was already cuddling with him, I hit snooze. Then again. And one more time. I couldn't let him leave my arms. After three "snoozes" we finally got up, I got him breakfast to eat while I showered. Made sure he had all the things he needed for the long drive and we headed to school.

I don't think I was doing it on purpose (or at least consciously) , but I had to go back to the car three times to get stuff we forgot to bring in. Then when it was time to say goodbye, I couldn't stop hugging him, kissing him or rubbing noses. I think he knew, because he wasn't letting go either. We'd talked about how long he was going to be gone, and I think dropping him off today, he finally realized it.

Bye bye, bud. See you in a week. Love you, Colter.
Daddy.

Why I Should't Always Drive Alone

I finally made a trip to Bannack. Bannack is a well-preserved ghost town in Montana. In fact, it was Montana's first territorial capital. It was a two hour drive, and took about two hours to tour the town. Then, faced with so much time on my hands, I decided I should probably drive to Idaho. I went south of Bannack to Lemhi Pass. I went over the pass and came into Idaho about 19 miles south of Salmon. From there it was a short 140 miles back to my campsite, up over and around the Chief Joseph Pass, back into Montana, past The Big Hole National Battlefield (which I would have stopped at--again, if it weren't already 8:00pm), through the Big Hole Watershed and back to my campsite. Only about a 180 mile trip over three mountain passes. But worth every minute. My pictures from Bannack are in the slideshow below, or you can find them here.

No Bugs, No Yogi, No Fred, and No Barney (Rubble)

It bothers me considerably that my boy will grow up in a world where things like Rocky & Bullwinkle, Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck, Yogi Bear and even Gilligan aren't on. Oh sure, some are buried in "Gold Package" cable plans available only with the digital converter boxes, or the most expensive satellite plans. But unless you spring for the DVDs and actually *gasp* put them in, they're just not there for you when you want/need them.

Some of the wittiest men in the world wrote for some of those shows (ok, maybe Gilligan's Island shouldn't be mentioned among them). Jay Ward and Bill Scott of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame, Tex Avery and the men from Termite Terrace, like Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and their gag men like Mike Maltese and Warren Foster were some of the wittiest men ever born. Know why the first year of the Flintstones was so good? Mike Maltese had a hand in developing the stories.

We were riding bike home from Target tonight, when for no reason at all, I started doing my Yogi voice. Colter didn't think it was very funny. I tried to explain to him, it was a bear's voice, Yogi Bear. He said there was no such thing. I told him, "sure there is! This voice I'm doing is Yogi Bear. He's a cartoon bear, and all I'm saying is 'hey, hey, Boo Boo', but in Yogi's voice."

"Nobody talks like that."

"Yogi does! And I have Yogi on DVD at home. When we get home, I'll put one in and you can hear Yogi talk."

"He talks like that?"

"Yeah, I have a bunch of Yogi cartoons."

"Are you fibbing me, Dad?"

Earthquake(?)

A couple of weeks ago when the earthquake hit southern California, I happened to be on Twitter at the time, and I knew there was one when all the tweets suddenly said "holy shit, earthquake!", "I think we just had an earthquake" and "Was that an earthquake?"

The first time I lived in Bozeman, I slept through an earthquake. "In Bozeman?", you say. Well yeah, we're only 80 miles or so north of Yellowstone, one of the most active spots on earth (in terms of numbers of measurable quakes, not so much intensity). I was asleep when I got a call from my wife at Montana State asking if I had felt it. "Uh no...I was asleep." She said she was walking across the office and it felt like walking across a waterbed. I didn't even feel the bed shake. It was over 5.0, so it wasn't like it was a teeny trembler. People were streaming out of the buildings at MSU, confusing the hell out of Jennifer.

I haven't had the "luck" to experience one yet, but I couldn't help but wonder as I went into the bathroom on Sunday, if we hadn't had one while Colter and I were on our hike:

Bloggin' on the Brain

My biggest problem with writing is that ideas don't strike me if or when I'm sitting down at the computer. They strike me in the shower, on the way home from work, while I'm trying to back-time into CBS news during the 8am hour on the Dave Visscher Radio Show with Dean Alexander (plug), or strolling the aisles at Target.

Luckily, I have my iPod Touch, so some times I'm able to jot notes down on the strange little things may be flashing through my noggin. I'll also jot down notes on any piece of paper that may be handy. I once had a napkin, a post-it note, and a torn corner from a tablet in my pocket with ideas to write.

Many times, if I'm close enough to the computer I can run over and type up a mess of thoughts, or even at work, log on, and save as a draft until I can finish the thought.

I would like to be able to write something every single night, and I'm going to work on that. Of course, that means some nights, there's going to be something as simple as, "did you ever notice how clothes that have been in the closet for awhile without being worn are really kinda stinky, even though they're actually clean? And that they all smell the same?"

That's all I've thought of for tonight.

Hiking Machine

Yesterday, Colter and mom were supposed to hike the the "M." Due to a race being run ALONG THE TOP of the Bridger Mountains, they couldn't do it (they will next Saturday). So I promised my little mountain man we'd go on a hike today. Dug into my "Dayhikes in Bozeman" book and found a 4.25 mile trail that led to an overlook.

Here we are at the summit, eating our lunch: a peanut buttered bagel and deer sticks. The pic below has part of the view. We could see four different mountain ranges from where we were. If you squint, that white dot in the distance on the Bridger Range is the "M."

Just a few minutes short of two hours round trip and just under four miles. Hiking's in this kid's blood.

Crusty Macaroni & Cheese

I got this from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune years ago. When I made it about six months ago, I went to my favorite grocery store and was told by the girl at the deli, that "they don't make American Cheese in bulk. I know, I've worked here for years." I told her I'd made this dish four or five times, so I know it exists. She was stubborn. "Nope." So I went down the street and got it. Bitch.

CRUSTY MACARONI AND CHEESE
serves 8 to 12

• 3 tbsp butter, divided
• 12 oz. extra sharp cheddar, coarsely grated
• 12 oz. American Cheese (I use white just for the color)
• 1 lb elbow pasta, boiled in salt water until just tender, drained and rinsed under cold water (I've never salted it, for what it's worth)
• 1/8 tsp cayenne, optional (I've made it both ways, and the pepper makes a big difference in just adding flavor to it, not making it hot)
• salt
• 2/3 cup whole milk

Heat oven to 375. Use 1 tbsp butter to thickly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Combine grated cheeses and set aside 2 heaping cups for topping.
In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, cayenne and salt to taste.
Place in pan and evenly pour milk over surface.
Sprinkle reserved cheese on top, dot with remaining butter and bake uncovered 45 minutes.
Raise heat to 400 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes more until crusty on top and bottom.

Obviously, if you have heart issues, this isn't for you.