Please give me advice.

Be as general or as specific as you'd like. Comments are open.

I liked the road-tripping and the camping so much last weekend that I’m doing it again. Being outside away from the noise and the scurry and all that “civilization” is one of the best things.

Off of Highway 20:

At the Columbia River gorge's Wild Horse Monument:

Columbia River Gorge #2:

If you’re around Winthrop this weekend, toss your bedroll in my tent and meet me by the river.

I went for another bike ride tonight. Instead of there being a headwind coming back south, there was also one going north. Either I’m going zip! bang! pow! fast, or I go riding at the worst possible times.

It was 25 miles again. Same as Tuesday. Yes, yes... it was “on the flats.” I’ll get to the hills in due time.

Interesting facts: There were 3 more dead opossum today than there were on Tuesday. Also, no dogs were giving chase today.

These cool, calm evenings with the house on the edge of the woods... with the frogs croaking... pretty good stuff.

I think I’ll cut my hair once I do my first century ride.

A few of us are doing a mini-road trip and a little camping this weekend. It’s nothing big, but it’ll sure be fun to get out and see a few things.

I used the excuse of the weekend away to purchase a Shiny! New! Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Nikon owners, please forgive me.

In other news, I finally bought a camera. I’ve been kicking this thing around for about a year now. I am pumped.

Hey, did you know that the baseball season started? Yep, me, neither.

Hey, did you know that hockey and basketball are in the playoffs? Yep, me, neither.

The NFL draft was last weekend. The Detroit Lions drafted a receiver first. Again. This is their fourth receiver-picked-first in, what... five years? I guess the difference this time is that everyone wanted this player, except the team own the overall first pick. Everyone believes that this guy from Georgia is the real deal. And Matt Millen survives a little longer.
 
I’m not really a big fan of what I call “shotgun dating”; that is, date as many gals as possible and see what hits. Partly because of that, someone once labeled me “loyal.” (Some other well-meaning people once said "lazy", but that isn't important now). In terms of football-dom, this loyalty often feels like a liability. (It's not always immediately fulfilling in the dating world, either.) But let me argue my case:

Hey, Ladies! I don’t switch teams just because my team wrongs me year after year after year! I’m willing to cope with the coaching incompetence, the bone head front-office decisions, and all the Kevin Jones fumbles. Hosea had Gomer; I have the Detroit Lions. I can forgive!

It’s going on fourth months now that I’ve had roommates living in my (read: U.S. Bank’s) house. It’s hasn’t all been gumdrops and cotton candy, but I’d be a less of a person without these guys around. It's been a pretty good time.

Ben and I tackled one of the Sumas Mountain trails a few Saturdays ago after finding the hike in Ken Wilcox’s Whatcom County. See also Kulshan.

It took us nearly 2¾ hrs to travel the 4½ miles and gain the 2500 feet to the lookout at the top; time down was roughly 2 hrs. It was a sunny day when we were there, so we spent an hour just sitting there at the top. From the lookout points, you can look down over the plains and into Canada.

We saw no people on the way up OR on the way down. That in itself was pretty stinkin’ cool. The first couple hundred yards of the trail are muddy (like, for reals), so be prepared. There may even be walking sticks at the trailhead (which is here).

Total round-trip distance for the most direct route to the top: 8½-9 miles.

There weren't any waterfalls, per se, but lots of forest (the trail does not intersect any of the logging areas). The hike is difficult in spots because of downed trees, but with the storms last winter, I think trees will be a common obstacle on trails this year.

Today was the first major (to me) ride of the season. I even pumped up the tires on the fancy-pants road bike and donned the silly bicycle gear.

Using Google Maps as a basis, I went about 24 miles. I only gotta do 8 of those in a 2-day stretch to reach my summer goal.

So as long as the weather plays nice, I’m back, baby.

There are new Silhouette posts up.

You may even recognize at least one of the contributors.

I don’t remember where I got this from (if it rings a bell, please comment), but it seems as profound now as when I heard it the first time. I absolutely believe this:

A true friend is someone with whom you can comfortably occupy the same room without having to speak.

That is, silence is comfortable and not awkward. Speaking is not necessary; speech might even be unwelcome.

One of my favorite memories is the time a few of us met over at a friends’ house for a evening of reading books. By the time I arrived, the kids were in bed, and readers were already sprawled about on comfy chairs with books in their laps. We didn’t talk much, but that was part of the point. Simply being together was enough.

I am not perfect. Duh. But I’m not the cause of all your problems, either. Do not blame me for your ignorance.

I am not perfect. If I haven’t already, I may yet hurt you, cause you to stumble, and/or generally annoy you. When this happens, the situation will not likely be fixed unless you tell me about it. Sharing with someone else before I get a chance to make it right will only stand to 1) embarrass us both and 2) alienate me from you.

Let’s be friends. I respect and love you. Please respect and love me back.

Munchies: $7
Bottle of Port: $15
Cigars: $20
MP3 player with portable speakers: $400
Bee-ess-ing with the roommates on the back deck on a cool, calm evening: priceless.

For everything else, there’s tomorrow.