Running into Grace

(big smiles after my first win - Harder'n Hell 1/2 - Oct 2010)

If I run another race,
Will I gain another Grace?
To keep a soulful smile
On a tired but happy face?

(real tears after finishing 8th in Equinox, Sep 2010 - copyright: Daily NewsMiner, Fairbanks, AK 2010)

Post-Processing

Would this be a crime?
To free myself from time
Clear post-processed dates
Promptly from my plate
Linger on the Midnight sun
Awaken deep in freedom
No more stale cold gray
Nothing left to do but play?

Is there another dance?
To boldly take the chance
Abandon responsibilities
For endless possibilities
Letting go of one
Holding on to none
Not needing to define
Would this be a crime?

Driveway Blues

I once submitted a poem to a poetry contest when I was in the first grade. It was about snow. I remember working really hard on it and feeling proud of what I wrote. Of course, it never got published. My mom just called and told me what I wrote:

Snow is white
Snow is bright
Snow flies like a kite
Snow is very light

After spending the past week trying to dig out after the many inches of snowfall we received while I was traveling, all in an attempt to make my driveway drivable, and still not succeeding - after multiple attempts at shoveling, getting my car stuck, digging out my car, re-shoveling, getting my car stuck, digging out my car...I'm thinking perhaps I'd like to retract my original poem to something more like:

Snow is heavy, icy and cold
Poor shovel is too weak and old
To cut through the compacted crust
I give up! The driveway's a bust.


My poor cold car just wants one night in a heated garage.
Yes, is IS another license plate shot.
I DO love license plates :-)
But today, I do NOT love snow :-\

Linking Falls on an Open Mic

Opportunity chooses the high road,
Perception glances down the low.
A heart of gold plays an open mic
Whetting dreams with spinning delight.
Tune the noisemaker, play the chord,
Quickly now before they find the door.
No ties to bind, no hearts to break,
Keep it simple, only music to make.
Melt the vocals, harmonize into one,
Future’s unknown, but for now its fun.

(pics c/o Dreamerskier)

The approach to Tin Can, seen in foreground (Feb, 2009)

TrevO soaking up the sun

Skins off - time to run, fresh pow made it fun... for some.
I'm the world's worst downhill skier and this was a
pretty tough day for me.

Backcountry tracks show off how to carve a turn.
I chose to link some falls.

Sicko in Peru

Sicko in Peru,
Oh what to do?
Not feeling well,
The trip from hell,
If only to stop the poo.

Maybe a hug,
Or some great drug,
Would be a remedy,
To this clamity,
Of feeling like a slug.

A Day on the Jack River

(Jack River ski line-up - Dec 2008)

(Headed into the valley)

Jack River be frozen, Jack Ice be slick
Can't wait to make the ice tools stick
No cape today for Christie's still sick.

Three "buff" gals and two hearty dogs
With temps so warm, it ain't no slog
A day so delightful will go on the blog.

Caribou herds, Penny's got 'em retreating
Hold it...Perfect picture for "Season's Greetings"
With Erin, Amy, Penny and Clem not fleeting.

Where's the ice? It must be a trick
Keep on going through all the thick
No climbing today, light wanes too quick.

For December in Alaska short is the wick
On Mother Goose's ice cold candlestick
No worries, next time we'll use the pick.

(Season's Greetings from Erin, Amy, Penny and Clemson)

(Fun little downhill section - wohoo!)

Pose like a tree, won't you?

Om is for the amateur, the beginning of all,
Strong in the core, reach back towards the wall,
Don’t kick, just stand with head under heart,
Hold, breathe, align hips and feet, twine like art,
Use your arms, look inside, find focus not ego,
Push in, pull out nothing, and let everything go.

(On my head happy NOT to be packrafting this day - Brooks Range - Aug 29, 2006)

Yoga on the Haul Rd after an oilfield tour, north of Toolik - Aug 6, 2006)

(Mary and I at sunset - Toolik Aug 18, 2007)