Monday, June 29th, 2009

Good Morning!

Yesterday was..... Well interesting! Work, still very busy. After work I had to run to Francis Tuttle Vo-Tech and get Jordan's stuff turned in for her cosmetology permit. Came home and baked a couple of pizza's. We started buy this whole grain crust, put a little sauce and some shredded turkey, some low fat mozzarella cheese, and a few minutes in the oven! Yummy! Sherrie had a few errands to run, so I got on the treadmill, and when she got back, we walked our two mile circuit, and added an extra mile. Today is a bittersweet day! My good friend Joy Brown is leaving us at work. She has accepted a job in an ICU, and although I encouraged her to do it, I sure do enjoy having her at work. She's like the little sister my mommy never gave me!! :-) Joy just found out last Sunday she has passed her boards and is officially an RN. She needs to branch out and see other aspects of nursing. She will be missed in our little corner of the world! I didn't mention... We had to cancel class last night because the gym was filled with lacquer fumes, Travis had been painting doors in there all day, and it was just not safe to be in there. I plan on a good workout tonight, hopefully I can get a good fight in and the a light workout tomorrow night, then off to Texas! Love you all!

Mat

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, June 26th, 27th, and 28th 2009

Good Morning!

What a great weekend! Friday, I got to work early. We are still very busy, and I needed to be done by two. Sherrie's High School Reunion started at 4:00 and we wanted to shower and dress for the occasion. We left the house at 3:15 to get downtown and parked. We checked in and mingled with some of her class mates for a couple of hours. The group she hung out with all decided to head over to the Iguana lounge at 6:30, and we stayed there until very late. I will tell you it got a little bit crazy! On another note.... I think I knew more people than Sherrie did. We got home a little after midnight and promptly crashed out! Saturday Morning we got up at 7:00 and walked a couple of miles. Came home, and showered, headed to Wal-Mart to get groceries, then I went to work for a couple of hours. At 1:30 we went and toured the high school. It has changed soooo much. We came home and started the pimperization for the event that was starting at 4:00. Some of our friends reserved three rooms at the Renaissance Hotel, and that was where everyone was gathering. We arrived at the Renaissance at 4:30, and we all visited for a couple of hours, then we all made our fashionably late entrance together. We rocked the party!!!! Sherrie and I won $50.00 (Make you hollar) for being married the longest. We were able to visit with a bunch of friends, and just hang out. We walked over to Chelino's at 10:30 and visited with the drama club people.... I knew them from my old neighborhood, and some of them still live over there. We walked back to the Renaissance and have some wine, then headed to the house at 1:30. We usually don't stay up that late. I HAD A BLAST! Sunday morning came early. I picked Trey up at mom's at 8:15 and we worked in the parking lot at the church, went to service, and headed home. I decide to get the lawn work done, and then to the hospital to help Gaymarie. I knew if I helped her this weekend, she would help me next Monday. I got home at 2:00 and took a little nappy! We started working on getting a few things together for our trip this week. I would like to leave Edmond around three on Thursday, to get to College Station before our family is already in bed. I figure traffic is gonna suck going through Ft. Worth. We are excited to get down there and meet our new nephew. Anyway. It will be a very busy week. When we get back, I will be non-stop focused on the quest until I leave. Looks like September 12th I will start the journey!Love you all!

Mat

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Good Morning!

I'll be very quick this morning! We are still very busy at work. I met with "Big" Ben Crocker at lunch yesterday. Of course we went to Louie's, and I had a couple of pieces of Bar-b-Que chicken pizza. I may mention.... Louie's is one of my sponsors, as is, Applebee's! Please support them! Anyway, we discussed the meeting that took place at 5:30 at our attorneys office. The meeting was our first board of directors meeting. There are three officers, and seven members. We also met with the best 501 (c)(3) grant writer in the country. I then met the family at Kickingbird, to see the new Transformers movie. Pretty cool. Action packed. Then home to get ready for today. This afternoon, Sherrie and I have her high school reunion. For some reason it starts at 4:00, and she wants to leave here at 3:15, so I am going to work really early!

Have a great day!

Mat

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Namaste,

We were so busy at work yesterday, I didn't even take a lunch. We got slammed at 5:00 due to the fact that every doctor on staff came by! After work I came home and got Trey and Sherrie and we headed to the gym. I worked out with the students, because we had plenty of instructors. Mike, Ben, and Travis..... I got a great workout. Then home, shower, and I cooked a pizza. I have been buying these whole grain, home made pizza crust, and use a little Bar-b-Que sauce, and shredded turkey. throw that in the oven for 10 minutes and I have three meals! Awesome. Finished a project for Copper Lake, that I am getting ready to go drop off right now! If anyone knows someone in the Airline industry please let me know. Fund raising wise.... All I have left is to cover the air fare, and I want to know if there are any secrets, like best days of the week to travel, best times, to book ect.... Tonight I have our first 805 Board of Directors meeting. We are meeting at 5:30 at our attorneys office. Got to run!

Love you all!

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Namaste,

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was very busy. After work I came straight home picked up Trey and headed over to mom's house so he could swim. I mowed her lawn really quickly, then jumped in the pool. I ran down to the gym and rolled with Travis, and Tyler for 45 minutes, then home, shower, and DJ and Lindsay came over to look at their wedding pictures. I think there are several in there that are great. Sleepy time! This morning I have to run to Norman before work so I am going to keep this short.

Have a great day!

Mat

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Good Morning!

Monday was so busy at work, time flew by! On my way home I was talking to Caleb Brown.... He wants to fish this weekend, but we have Sherries high school reunion. I sat on the bed, and after I hung up the phone, I fell out! I woke up a few minutes before six and got dressed for the gym. Trey and I got to the gym and did some light warm-ups. It gets really hot in there during the summer. We had a great class, and we came home pretty quickly. We had a house full of guest due to Sherries Jewelry party. I helped her clean up, and made some great chicken salad. Had a bit of that shower and sleepy time. Today should be good! I wore an immobilizer on my foot all day yesterday, and it is felling much better. The bruising is almost gone. Thank the lord!

Love you all!

Mat

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Namaste,

Sunday.... Up early.... Foot still purple. Walking boot on, lots of ice! I called my friend Kay Morton. Kay is a PA and works at the ER in Weatherford. She told me to keep ice on it, and wear my boot when I am up! Trey and I worked in the parking lot at Peoples Church, well I sat on the curb and Trey directed traffic. He really has a good time doing it. Then off to Journey Church in Norman for service. Came directly home and Sherrie made me clean out my bedside table drawers, and our closet. OMG... What a mess. We went to my mom's and swam for a few hours, and she made me Fathers Day dinner. She smoked a turkey breast, made some dressing, mashed sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce! YUMMY! I was full as a tick! Good Stuff! This morning my foot feels better. Swelling is down, and bruising has faded. I will see how it does after being on it all day!

Love ya!

Mat

Thursday, Friday, And Saturday, June 18th, 19th, & 20h, 2009

Hello All!

Thursday... Another busy day at work. Our census is up, and our acuity is very high so we worked a few extra hours. After work I came home and started working on the fridge. I bought a new water valve for it and it only took about five minutes to fix it. Edward Peacock showed up to fix the leaking valves under the kid's bathroom sink. He got that accomplished and Sherrie and I went to Thunder Road to meet with The RB Motorcycle Club of Edmond. The RB's have been very supportive, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. We had some nachos and then home to get ready for Friday. Friday morning I got up a few minutes before five and run four miles. It was perfect running weather, but quite windy. I had some great music on and my pace was quick. Home shower and off to work. Work, again.... crazy busy. After work I came home and the kid's were at mom's swimming so Sherrie and I went to Bellini's and shared a pizza, then to Penn Square mall to look for some shoes to go with the dress I got her for her reunion next weekend. We were tired so we came home put a movie in the DVD player moved the chaise lounge in the middle of the living room floor and..... Fell asleep! Up at five to be at Applebee's at six. We had a great turn-out for the pancake breakfast! About 150 people showed up but only 78 people ate. After the breakfast we came home and unloaded, went to Wal-Mart where my family got me a new Blackberry for Fathers Day, and then to the city to meet with a photographer friend of mine. Mark Hopkins... He does great work and has some great equipment. We went over to the Myriad Gardens and walked around for a while. It is just beautiful right now. All of the flowers are in bloom and the fish were very visible in the ponds. After that we did some grocery shopping, home for a thirty minute nap, then Home Depot for flowers, and mulch. Sherrie and I planted flowers, cleaned out the pond, mowed the lawn, and put out new mulch in all of the beds. While mowing I tweaked my Achilles and the whole back of my foot is purple. Sherrie wants me to go to the ER but I am icing it and have my walking boot on. If it's not better in the next few days, I guess I will have it looked at! Anyway.... Need to edit some pictures so, good night and God Bless!

Love you all!

Mat

Tuesday & Wednesday June 16th, and 17th 2009

Hello All!

Tuesday work was crazy busy! I came straight home to work on the kid's bathroom. I replaced the faucet, and the wood under their cabinet. The only problem was when I started moving the hoses,it caused the hot and cold water valves to start leaking. At one point the water was spraying out like a water hose. I turned the water off to the whole house, and ran to Home Depot. I am not brave enough to try that myself so I am waiting on a plumber. I did get the leak to slow to a drip. Wednesday.... Again work was crazy busy! Didn't leave until 6:00pm then straight to the gym. We had another great turn out. We stretched, and then ran sprints. It's been a long time since I have run sprints. I used muscles I am not use to using. Then into the cage for some one on one sparring. I sparred with a young man named Shadid. He is very tall and thin, and has a very nice right jab. Right before the bell rang, Ben told me to go easy on him because he has a broken nose. Soooo, I go in throwing body shots and Shadid, comes out swinging. After he landed the first jab, all bets were off. He caught me a couple of times, but all in all, it was a very good match. Then home, shower, and now I am working on my sponsor list for the pancake breakfast. Love you all!

Mat

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Hello All!

OOOOHHHHH!!!!! What a Monday! It was busy at work. At lunch today I had to go rescue Mike Champlin. His car was acting up, and I went over to his house to look at his car. We got it running, and I headed back to work. After work I came straight home, grabbed my weed eater, and headed to the gym. Our grass is all dead but, it had dead weeds that were feet tall. Big Ben Crocker mowed and I weed ate. We then went for a run, got back to the gym, and got ready for class. We had a great turnout, and Sherrie is really getting into the flow. She has some pent up aggression, and I think she has some pent up aggression, and she is getting it out. After class I rolled with Tyson and Tapped him out three times. Then I rolled with a youngster... New kid. He was pretty scrappy, but I worked him over. I got a great workout, and am excited about Wednesday. Tomorrow I have committed to work on the kids bathroom. ANY VOLUNTEERS?????

Love you all!

Mat

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday June 11th - 14th, 2009

Good Morning!

Thursday morning I went to work about an hour and a half early, due to the fact, that I needed to leave early. My friend DJ Dirk was getting married Friday evening, and he ask me to be the photographer. I hate doing weddings, but I did it or DJ. I go to the rehearsal so I can get the layout of the chapel, and see the flow of the service. The rehearsal was fun. DJ is a prankster and the rehearsal was very quick. After the rehearsal we went to his best mans house for a cookout. I took a couple of hundred pictures, and some are really great. Friday, same story! Work early, and left early. I had to be at the chapel at 5:00 and it was way on the other side of the city. I came home and put on some dress clothes, picked up my lovely assistant, and headed straight over. The wedding was beautiful, and we took just over a thousand pictures. The reception was fun. The wedding party, well.... Loved to party. The newly weds left just after 11:00, and I got home just after midnight. I started downloading pictures, and don't remember much else. I was soooo tired. Saturday morning, I got up early, mowed my lawn at 6:15. I didn't feel too bad about that, because my neighbor David was already out doing his lawn. Showered and started editing pictures, until Sherrie got up. She has her high school Reunion, in a couple of weeks, and I promised to take her shopping. We went to he Edmond farmers market, and bought a bunch of fresh Veggies, and two whole grain pizza crust. We left there and went to Kholes. There were several things she liked, but only got one top. We went and got the kids from mom's, and came home. I started working on pictures. My friend Caleb Brown has been wanting to go fishing, so he came over at 3:30 and we headed up to Guthrie Lake. We fished until dark. I caught two sand bass, and one really nice large mouth. Caleb caught two really nice large mouth, and on blue gill. Sunday morning.... Had to be in the parking lot at Peoples Church by 8:30. I picked Trey up at Mom's and made him go with me. He had a blast directing traffic. As soon as we were done in the parking lot, we ran over to the gym met Sherrie and Jordan, and headed down to Journey Church in Norman. Service was great. We then went to Sooner Mall, to look for Sherrie a dress. They didn't open until noon, so we headed back to Edmond. On the way we stopped at Harry Bears, and shared some nachos. Home to edit some more pictures, and then to Mike Giroux's house for an 805 Board Meeting at 4:00. I got home around six and made some home made pizza's. They turned out really great. We then loaded up and went to mom's to do her lawn. It was out of control. Back home to shower and work on pictures for the next hour and a half. I know I have left out a ton of details but I am sleep deprived. Have a great day!

Love you all!

Mat

Wednesday, June 10th

Namaste,

Wednesday was another busy day. Straight to the gym from work, and cleaned very quickly. I ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes due to the fact that it was raining, cats and dog's! I ran myself through a circuit, and got a great workout. When students arrived, Ben and I put them through a really great class, that ended with some light sparring. It's crazy to see how far our youngest students have come. Leave your hands down and these young guy's will try and take your head off!

Love ya!

Mat

Monday & Tuesday, June 8th & 9th.

Monday was a good day! After work headed straight to the gym. After several days away, I knew the place would be filthy! Right I was! The building we are in is not exactly air tight, and we get dust and dirt from under the big doors. I cleaned the mat's really good, and because I knew we would have some women there, I even cleaned the bathroom. (Disgusting) Anyway, went for a run, and then back to get the session started. We had a small class, but each student gets more personal time. After class I jetted home caught a shower, and worked on a few pictures. Tuesday, we were quite busy at work. After work Mike Giroux, Ben Crocker, and myself, met with an attorney for two hours, to get our corporation started. It is weird to think that this gym, a place that was formed in a garage, is going to be a corporation. After our meeting, and as soon as, I got to the house Trey, and Sherrie were getting ready to walk. I changed, and told them I was going to run down 15th, through Lexington, and over into the Valley. Sherrie and I walked that route the other night and it's just over two miles. We left at the same time and I caught them right before they reached the bridge in the Valley. That was my goal. So then home, shower, trail mix, and a quick trip over to my mom's to pick up Jordan. Back home for some R & R! Should be a good day today! Sherrie and Trey are going to make a return trip to Fight Club!

Love ya!

Mat

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Namaste,

Got up early, and worked on pictures for a while. Decided to do a little house work so we would have the rest of the day free. I worked in the parking lot at Peoples Church from 8:30 until 9:10, then met Sherrie and Trey at the gym and we headed down to Journey Church in Norman. Jordan was spending the night with a friend, so Sherrie picked her up on the way home and I went by mom's and got my tools. Our bed frame was coming apart so I fixed that, we had some lunch, then Sherrie and I went to Wal*Mart for groceries. I had an 805 Board of Directors meeting at Mike Giroux's house. We have decided to incorporate the gym to reduce personal liability. Ben, Mike, Danny, and myself, made some decisions on the future of the gym. Sherrie's mom was suppose to come over for dinner but she ended up in Southeastern Oklahoma, and didn't make it. Kinda disappointed, Sherrie needs to spend more time with her family, but Bruce lives in College Station, and her mom works 70 hours a week. After dinner we went to Mike Champlin's house to take him his pictures from our trip. He is crazy...... Then home and Sherrie and I walked, jogged for a couple of miles. She is going to come to fight club for the next two weeks. She thinks she needs to lose seven pounds before her high school reunion.... We'll see?
Love you all! Have a great day!

Mat

Friday and Saturday, June 5th and 6th.

Hello All!

Friday was quite busy.... Jordan finished driving school earlier in the week so we needed to get her transcript from Santa Fe. Sherrie went by and they were closed. So after I hit Louie's for lunch, I went by and guess what? They were closed. I had made dinner reservations at Red Prime so after work I came home got a shower, pimped out my black pin striped suit, and picked up my hot wife, we went to bricktown. I brought my camera and we found a spot to take some pictures, then off to dinner. We really enjoyed it! We both ate like champions, so as soon as we were done we came home changed clothes and walked two miles. We went to bed early and We were laying there talking, and my hot date fell asleep in mid-sentence! Sleepy time! I got up at 5:30 this morning and ran a couple of miles, it went really fast. Then we spent the rest of the day building a patio cover in mom's back yard. It took all day, and being out in the sun just zapped us. We went to have dinner with Sherrie's mom, and invited her and her boyfriend over tomorrow night for dinner. Then home to relax and get caught up! Tomorrow??? Who knows. Love you all!

Mat

Wednesday & Thursday, June 3rd & 4th!

Good Morning!

Well what can I say..... My last post might have left you wondering what in the world???? Several weeks ago, my spiritual advisor, Clark Mitchell told me he would support me in my trip to Nepal; However, I have several mountains to climb before I go to Everest! Never in my life has that been more evident than this week. I have been very focused on training, traveling, Fight Club, Photography, lawn work, ...... You see where I'm going? Where is my family in all of this? Yes.... Go ahead and say it! I know, I'm an arrogant, egotistical, self absorbed schmuck! I am writing this post as number one, an apology to my family, number two, as a cry for help! I feel like if I let all of you... My friends, family, and supporters, know where I am, you will hold me accountable. Just like in my weight loss journey. I purposefully put myself in the public eye with the quest, for that reason, it is incumbent on each and everyone of you to hold me accountable in regards to my weight. I do not accept failure, and so by putting myself out there, it continues to motivate me. I appreciate you letting me get this off my chest. I wrote an email to my brother earlier this week, and mentioned to him "I learned how to be a husband, and father from our dad! his response.... "Not that great of a role model!" We as a family look forward to spending time with other couples, in healthy committed relationships, that will continue to teach us how to treat each other. It is funny.... Last week I had one of the best weeks of my life! I pushed myself to the brink of exhaustion, physical as well as mental, but just two hours after Mike and I hit the road, and one speeding ticket.... I was already missing my family. I think they know that, it's just that I don't tell them enough!

Please continue to pray for us! Thank you for allowing me to express my heart! I love each and everyone of you!

Mat

Monday, and Tuesday, June 1st and 2nd!

Physically, emotionally, spiritually, beat down! I thought we go away to get rest?

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, May 27th through June 1st, 2009

Mike and I were suppose to meet the rest of the gang at Navtec to pick up our gear from the river trip. We were up really early, so we went by to get our stuff, and then across the street to get a coffee and scone. We determined it would be best to head up to Arches and do the primitive loop. The primitive loop is eight miles long, a very nice hike. There is one spot at the end of a fin, that Mike likes to sit and contemplate life. It is called Mike's Patio. We had lunch there! Turkey Jerky, trail mix and rice crispy treats. We finished the hike and then hit the La Sal loop. This is a fifty mile lop that takes you from Arches into the La Sal Mountains. The reason for this was to get a look at Mt. Peal. We headed back to town, had dinner at Jamil's Mexican Sot. Fish Taco's.... Then we did some shopping! Headed back to the hotel and rested for a while. Thursday morning, we had to be at Dessert Highlights by 8:00am. This was a guided tour into the Fiery Furnace. There were 10 of us and 2 guides. There is limited access to the furnace do to the ecological impact humans have, and extreme danger of the terrain. We learned several rock climbing skills, and rope skills, harnesses, carabieners, and figure eights. This hike has two rappels, one is 125 feet, and the other is 55 feet. It was awesome. I did not hesitate, I was first down both times. When we were done, Mike and I went to the hotel and cleaned up. We hit Zax that night for dinner. Chicken Pizza.... Mmmmmmmm! We did some more shopping. Friday morning we got up at 4:00am. I wanted to be climbing Mt Peal by 6:00am, due to the frequent lightning storms. We were headed to Dark Canyon for my assault on the mountain, when we encountered a Toyota FJ stuck in a snow bank. Turns out it was two ladies that teach at OU. They had been stuck for 14 hours. We pulled them out and they headed off. Mike hiked up a small valley with me and we agreed on a time to meet back at the road. I figured it would take me four hours to summit and one hour to come down. I was close! I actually came down on the North side of the mountain and laid under a big pine for thirty minutes. The climb was arduous. The whole mountain is limestone scree! Small to medium limestone rocks, that trigger rock slides as soon as you touch them. Footing was critical! One more side note. When I was coming down I got rim rocked. Rim rocking is when you are stuck, and can't go up or down. Well I was not only rim rocked, but my pack slid behind me and was pushing me toward the 1500 ft cliff. I will say this is the closest I have come to dying ever. I was barely holding on with my finger tips. I slid my pack off and tried to drop it on a ledge 30 feet down. It ended up 1500 feet down the mountain, my camera was in it, but my jacket inside cushioned it. Once I made the snow line I glissaed down the snow field to the tree line. Hiked through the trees and found the road. When Mike picked me up we headed back to town, cleaned up and hiked out to Murphy's point. Another one of Mike's favorite places. We also made a stop at Mesa Arch, my favorite place on earth. Saturday morning we got up packed our stuff in the truck, and headed out to the Needles district, we hung around there for several hours, then 100 miles South to Hovenweep. Hovenweep is a collection of Anasazi ruins along a canyon. Hovenweep is in between Mesa Verde, and the Colorado river. There are 100's of theories as to why it is there. I think aliens built it! (LOL) After Hovenweep, we turned the truck toward the Southeast and started home. We got to my house at 5:00am Sunday morning. Three hours of sleep and off to mow my mom's lawn, then back here to mow mine. I took the family out to dinner, then came home to relax. Monday morning came early, work, then the gym. I ran before practice and actually felt really strong, kept a great pace, and it was great. Once back in the gym, I started dragging butt! Headed out at 8:00 and came home for a shower and dinner. I am soooo ready for some rest! I again want to take an opportunity to thank Mike Champlin for the week! There are sooooo many thing I just could not write about. There will be jokes, and stories about this trip for years. Mike is my ambassador of kwan! I also want to thank Lisa, Aimee, Mark, and Mickey, for their acceptance and friendship!

God Bless!

Mat

Here we go again!

Sooo.... When I left off we had just arrived at Bode Canyon. Bode is a two mile long canyon that has several different features. It goes from a wide open hike to very thin slot canyons. Several drops into water, and several ascents, and several scrambles. Once you work your way to the end of the canyon there is a beautiful little waterfall. As we returned back to the boats, the guides had lunch ready. Post lunch back into the boats for a 30 mile trip to Hitte. Hitte is where we got off the boats, into a truck across the bridge to nowhere, to the air park. The air park has been described as a side walk on top of a mesa, that ends in the lake. Mike was joking with Aimee and Lisa, about "Oh... The fun's not over yet! This trip has it all, fun by Land, Sea, and Air!" Little did he know that neither one of them had been on a small plane before. We taxied down the run way and off we go! The pilot was great and took us back over the top of the trip down Cataract. He pointed out all of the features and I took a bunch of pictures. Once we landed Navtec was waiting on us, and we drove back to town. We (The DH Gang) made a plan to meet up at Buck's Steakhouse for dinner at eight. It was great to get to our hotel and get cleaned up. It was really nice to see everyone a couple of hours later, all dolled up and ready for a glass of wine. The food was great, but the stories were better!!!! We had a great time at dinner, and the thing that stuck me the most about this group was how well we worked together. All of us, were there because we shared a common interest, Adventure. I have to say, this trip down Cataract Canyon has to be one of the greatest times of my life. There were so many different skills, and techniques used and learned, from tying rope to setting camps, to climbing, scrambling, slotting.... I could go on forever, and probably will. I would be remiss if I didn't mention these people individually. Mark... What an amazing guy, so intelligent, warm hearted, and some serious wit and charm. Mickey... Her humor kept us going during some really tough situations, Mickey is a little spark plug, and her physical conditioning was remarkable. Aimee... Such a sweet unassuming lady. This is one tough girl, she also has a huge heart, and Trey loves the Geode she found for him. Lisa.... Also a sweet, sweet young lady. Lisa also is a very physical, strong woman, who is very motivated. You can tell Lisa is a lot like me and, finds a way to get what she wants. These four people made such an impact on my life in such a short time. The funny thing is, due to the stress we were under, I think helps you determine very quickly, how you will mesh with a group. I really do believe, this group will become even closer, and I am excited to see what adventures we will head off to in the near future. I would be remiss if I were to leave off a small caveat about Mike.... Mike has done this Cataract trip for several years, due to my physical inabilities, I would have never made it through the canyon. I have always wanted to do it, just incapable. Mike is one of the most generous, big hearted, and greatest friends, anyone could have. I will never be able to repay Mike for the life experiences he has given me over the last 10 years. I will end this part of the blog by saying..... UNBELIEVABLE! Crazy thing is we are only on Tuesday... I have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to tell you about. I probably will not be as detailed, so I can catch up, but if you want to know, just ask.... I will be talking about this for the next six months! The last several blogs are dedicated to Mark, Mickey, Lisa, Aimee, and last but not least Micheal B. Champlin!

Love you all!

Mat

Let's finish the last blog!

Sooo... I left off as we were arriving at the top of Big Drop One. I forgot to mention in my last blog, on the way down river on the first day, Brian our guide dropped us off on the Loop Canyon we hiked over the top of this canyon wall, and back down the other side. On top we stopped and took a ton of pictures. We were goofing for so long that Brian climbed up the other side to see if we were OK. Once down and back in the sport boat, we went just a couple of miles down river to the sign in for Cataract Canyon. Once you enter Cataract you have to sign up for a camp spot, as well as, it lets the park service know who is in the canyon. We were the only group in there because of the high water flow. We took some pictures there, then back in the sport boat and down to our campground. As soon as we hit the beach we started setting up camp. I was mildly hypothermic, everyone worked really hard at getting me in dry clothes, and helping me warm up. After we had camp set, the six of us (I will refer to us as DH) headed down a trail to check out the big drops. Big Drop One, leads directly into Big Drop Two. The east side of BD 2, has a run called Satan's Gut. Just one week before someone was sucked into the gut and the hydraulics held him down. He drowned right there in the river. Anyway, we went back to camp as the guides were setting up the kitchen and cooking dinner it started to sprinkle so Mike, Mark, Mickey, and I found a small grove of trees, and climbed inside them and had a nice glass of wine. I can not explain the roar of the river it is deafening. This small beach was quite beautiful. After dinner, Magnesium Girl made us a nice fire, and we sat around and told stories. I was able to share some pictures of the family and Boomer from my Ipod. My goal was to make it to ten o'clock. I had to excuse myself at 9:39. Exhausted! I crashed hard. The next morning I was up by five. I wondered down the canyon and set up my little video camera. I took 21 minutes of video of nothing but the sun coming up through the canyon. The audio is not that great but the video is beautiful. I also took several (hundred) pictures, of the sunrise. I struck my campsite fairly quickly, and helped make the cowboy coffee. As the guides started waking up breakfast was started and one of the guides discovered a small valve on the back of his boat was broken allowing water to flood his boat. He had a spare valve but it took a couple of hours to fix. No problem for the DH gang! Mike played baseball with drift wood. Mark, Mickey, Lisa, and Aimee struck their campsites and I just wondered around. The rocks on this beach were awesome. I found a ton of fossils for Trey. One had a thousand little fossils and I was showing it to one of the guides, as I started looking for more he launched it into the river. He didn't know I was going to keep it. He felt so bad that for the next hour everyone in camp started helping me find fossils. Aimee found an awesome geode that she gave me to give to Trey. The guides decided it was probably too dangerous to shoot through Satan's gut.... So the plan was to ride through Big Drop One, and Big Drop Two, in the sport boat, and launch the paddle boat before Big Drop Three. Mickey was not feeling well, and so it was decided I would swap her places and paddle down with Mark, Lisa, and Aimee. HECK YEAH! After Collin gave me a safety talk, we loaded in. Mark told me the key was to do exactly what he was doing. If Collin called out a command, do it exactly as Mark was doing. We paddled around the top of Three for a few minutes, then Collin called out our direction and we hammered Big Drop Three. Over the Brahma, and next to the Frog Hole, at one time, we were so high sided that I could not reach the water with a six foot paddle. The haystacks inside BD 3 were 25 feet tall. Once inside the rapids, it is a very fight or flight reaction. We made it through BD 3, and on to Mile long, and eventually all the way down to S-Turn, a huge new rapid that has just developed. After S-Turn, the water flattens out and you are in Lake Powell. It doesn't look any different than Cataract except for the lack of white water. We found a beach to take the paddle boat out and we all took a minute to congratulate each other. To make it through Cataract at 55,000, no one coming out of the boats, and the boats no going over, or getting caught in an hydraulic was amazing and a compliment to our guides. We all loaded into the sport boats, and headed down to Bode Canyon. Sorry... I need to get in the shower. I will continue the Bode Canyon Story, in a bit.

Love you all!

Mat