Number 8 and polish

I got to see Jimenez pitch last night and he allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs in seven innings. Then the manager pulled him for a pinch hitter (some guy with the number 8 which was three points higher than his batting average) and of course we lost the game. The only consolation was the score listed on the screen behind him. Cleveland 6 Arizona 2. Ha!

I took my neighbor Rob to the game and we sat right in front of Scott and Jan. Of course Scott took a photo of the back of my head with his cell phone and emailed it to me with some comment about polish or something.

Baseball

The Rockies beat the White Sox last night in 13 innings. It was their first walk off win of the year. I've provided statistics from Sports Illustrated for your enjoyment. Unfortunately, I was too sleepy to stay up and see the Wiggy Wiggy hit that won it. I had baseball eyes ... two-baggers. I'll be at the game tonight and see Ubaldo Jimenez who is scheduled to pitch. Hopefully, it will be more than 4 or 5 innings before he gets relief. The guys make so much money this year that when Manager Jim Tracy calls the bullpen, he gets an answering service!

Clouds to the South

The other evening Nancy and I were on the back porch enjoying the scenery and so I took this photo of the clouds just South of us. You can often see the same thing in the morning. Unfortunately, nature made one goof. Mornings are too early!

Platte River Trail

Nancy and I went on a 3 hour bike ride today down the Platte River Trail. We are pretty pooped after this little ride and ready for a nap! There were lots of other riders out enjoying the beautiful weather. We stopped at Common Grounds Coffee for a break on the way back.

Next week we do the Vail Pass ride with our group. Stay tuned for some fun photos I hope.

Chicago

I was in Chicago this week for meetings so I decided to take a picture for you. Chicago has hosted many meetings of all sorts because it makes work easier. If you want a smoke-filled meeting room, just open a window! You know you're in Chicago when you rent a car, drive into town and your tires cough.

Hospital food

My friend Robert's wife had appendicitis last week. She spent an entire week in the hospital after it ruptured. She's lucky to be alive. And then she spent all this time in the hospital. Hospitals are so weird. They put you in a private room and then give you a public gown. She said the food was so bad she begged them to put her back on intravenous feeding! With the cost of health care these days, you would think the food would be more than a sacrifice or a burnt offering.

Baseball

The Rocks did it yesterday and beat the tribe in Cleveland, but can they do it today again? I really think I should have played baseball. I learned in Scottsdale when I was in third grade. Scottsdale was the mecca of baseball and my team won just about every game. But life isn't fair. When I tried out for baseball later in life, I couldn't hit a curve. Now I play golf and I can't stop hitting them!

Snow in Colorado

Snow hit the Colorado mountains yesterday. We had rain in Denver all night and most of the day but the mountains got the white stuff. La Nina?

Rockies

Not the latest score, but the final score, thanks to a 3 run jack by Jason Giambi.

Latest Rockies Score

FINAL

• Rockies

  8

• Indians

  7

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/teams/colorado-rockies/#ixzz1PsGbRJyu

Chautauqua Trail, a burger, and a Haagen-dazs

Yesterday I hiked the Chautauqua Trail with our group. We then took the Flatirons Loop Trail and came back to the trail head in Boulder. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees. A hot summer sun really has its advantages. You don't have to shovel it! And, there is so much snow in the mountains this year, the streams are really raging down. I think the snowbanks are overdrawn.

Our group stopped at this little shelter to have some water and enjoy the views of the flatirons and the plains off to the East. Afterward, we all went to town and had a burger for lunch and then over to Pearl Street Mall for a Haagen-dazs. I was good though! Really! I promise!

Dirk Nowitzki singing

I heard a report about Dirk Nowitzki singing at the parade celebrating the Mavericks win for the NBA title. In fact, I heard him sing this morning! He should stick with basketball. He has a great voice. Unfortunately, it's in somebody else's throat. At one point Dirk hit a high C. But how often do you back into a spear? I'm still trying to decide if I'm glad Dallas won or Miami lost.

Father's and sons

I sometimes wonder about my son. But I suppose he comes by it honestly. I taught my son the value of a dollar and now he wants his allowance in yen! Hmmm... Father's day is just a few days away. And so I finally figured out why they call our language the mother tongue. Father never gets a chance to use it!

Terre Haute

Okay, so maybe yesterday's photo of Indiana is not a good enough photo for you. I know what you're thinking. While I was there I went to Terre Haute. Now Terre Haute, that's a town! Its right near Putnamville. Last year I took a trip around the world. This year I'm going someplace else! Terre Haute isn't the most exciting place in the world. A train used to come through and blow its horn at eight in the evening. They made it stop because it woke everybody up. But I don't care what they say. I liked Terre Haute.

Indiana

Last week I was travelling in Indiana. While I was there I thought it would be a good idea to take a photo of Indiana, you know... to show you. So here it is.

Mt. Sniktau

Nancy and I climbed Mt. Sniktau with our little group today. We hiked up from Loveland Pass and enjoyed a nice lunch near the top. Mt. Sniktau is 13,238 ft. above sea level and a great little climb for the spring because the wind blows all the snow off the ridges. That's Gray's Peak behind us.

We posed for a summit shot and then went back to our cars and at cake! It was Chris's birthday so it tasted extra special after a hard climb. Colorado! What a great place to live.

Healing Wheels Tour

Nancy and I volunteered for the Healing Wheels bike Tour today. We arrived at 4:30a, helped set up, and got the event going with about 30 other volunteers. It was great fun! Below we are waiting for everyone to arrive around lunch time.

I was a Route Marshall. It sounds important, but all I did was stand on one of the confusing intersections and direct cyclists the right way and provide a little encouragement. I got to know the cop working the intersection and brought him coffee and a doughnut. Never seen someone so happy. I hope he's the next guy who stops me! I was at the top of a hill so they were pretty gassed when they arrived. Nancy worked registration and then sold jerseys afterward.

Healing Wheels Tour is a ride sponsored by the Inner City Health Center in Denver which provides health care for people without health insurance or not enough insurance. It's a good cause. Once the ride was over my friend Leon and I drove up the 100 mile course and took down some of the signs indicating the route, then came back for lunch with the group and a nice band for entertainment.

Social order

Social order is more easily obtained with morality than political correctness. Solzhenitsyn saw this and said, "It is time in the West to defend not so much human rights as human obligations."

Thomas Jefferson wisdom

After cancelling the Rocky Mountain News I ran across this quote from Thomas Jefferson which confirmed my decision. In fact, I would even apply it to Internet news as well. Jefferson said, "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers."

Life

Life is great isn't it! What I want to know is, if evolution works, how come mothers only have two hands? You can only smack two children at once! Considering the alternative, life isn't such a bad deal.

Bikes and Starbucks

Nancy and I rode our bikes up to Starbucks yesterday morning. It was a beautiful day, no wind and the coffee was great. We sat outside, sipped on our drinks and soaked up the sun. How good can it get?

C'mon Rockies! 2-1 is the best you can do?

Baseball in Colorado has been pretty rough lately. We did beat the Giants last night 2-1 but it's a small consolation. After a terrible 7 run inning last month our pitcher went into the dugout. Before sitting down, he kicked at the bat rack. The coach said, "Don't do that. You'll break your leg and we'll never be able to trade you." It's always thrilling to see the best pitcher on your team raise a cup of water to his lips and miss!

Cooking

The grand kids like to watch Mom cook. She gives them a stool or step ladder to stand on and they can see her fix up culinary masterpieces. Next month they'll be coming to visit us in Denver, and I can hear it now: "Granddad is an old fashioned cook. He still makes radio dinners." That's because I'm such a bad cook... I've been known to burn the shopping list!

My enthusiastic bike ride this morning

I was so enthusiastic about exercise this morning! I went for my first single track (narrow trail) bike ride of the year this morning on Two Brands Trail. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten how hard it is to stay on the trail when you take a drink of water. I'd forgotten how bad a skunk smells at 6:00a in the morning. I'd also forgotten how you need to get the bike off the trail when you come around a corner really fast and see a girl coming up the trail walking her dog! What I needed was something to announce my arrival.

The trouble in being carried away with enthusiasm is that most of the time you have to walk back! Fortunately this time I didn't crash and rode back without incident. No one was hurt. But I have a new definition of enthusiasm; "Enthusiasm is hope with a tin can tied to its tail." Sounds like politics huh!!