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