42 Days: Day 35-- Timberline

I didn't see much of my family today. I got up early, cobbled a lunch together (thanks, Jen!), and was out the door. I took the long drive and went to Timberline.

I'm an unusual skier in that I don't mind skiing alone. I actually enjoy it. The solitude is nice. I get to provide my own soundtrack on my headphones. I don't have to wait for anyone to catch up, and I rarely have to wait in lift lines. I don't like driving to and from alone, but it's often worth the trade.

Timberline has added a new lift since the last time I've been there, and it's added quite a few more vertical/horizontal feet to the resort, allowing for loooong cruises. Timberline isn't my favorite resort. I'm a fan of steep slopes, and Timberline's on an awfully gentle part of the mountain. Any steep sections are short and seem almost accidental. But... when in Rome... so, I spent most of the days doing long cruises.

It was a beautiful day, so I went in snowpants and a hoodie. I put a bandana around my head and let my hair fly free. I look like a big scary hippie when I do that, but, if I'm honest with myself, that's what I am...

The top of mile got pretty cold. With the wind blowing west-to-east, the left side of my face froze sitting on the lift. But then, it was long cruises with no stops. At the top, the snow was hard and unforgiving. At the bottom, it was beautifully slushy in a way that only an Oregon skier can appreciate.

I discovered that Edgar left his sword in the car. It's now his favorite toy, and I was right in thinking he asked about it 300 times while I was gone. So, I took Jen's cellphone and Edgar's sword, and set out to take some pictures:

After a long day skiing, I was exhausted, hungry, and ready to retire. I sat in the back of our stationwagen and changed out of my ski boots and snow pants, and was just ready to head to the front seat and grab a bite to eat and go. I closed the tailgate and heard the car go <beep> as it locked itself with my keys in the back.

I was lucky, in that I have AAA, and had Jen's cellphone, my wallet and my MP3 player.

I was unlucky, in that I didn't have my keys... and that I didn't have a book to read, any food, or anything to do, and I only had a thin coat on and it was getting dark and cold.

AAA was very nice. I grabbed a burger at the lodge while waiting for the tow truck. It arrived an hour later and was supposed to call me when it arrived, but AAA but gave the tow truck driver the wrong phone number. I was waiting inside the lodge. AAA called to tell me the tow truck driver couldn't find me, and could I wait outside the lodge. So, I did. It was dark and cold. After 10 or 15 minutes of standing there freezing, I called AAA, and they told me to wait at my car. So I did, and about 10 minutes later, the tow truck showed up. It took us half an hour messing around with the car to get the door pried open and a metal rod inside to pull open the door handle. Meanwhile, I couldn't feel my arms.

Finally, the car was opened; I crawled through the back to get the keys, and all was well again.

I drove home with the heat on high and the heated seats uncomfortably warm, and, finally, made it back to Salem.

Jen and the kids had a fun day, and Jen cleaned up the house and managed to wrangle the kids and keep them happy, too. Here are some pictures she took of Sabrina (at 5 weeks old today), plus some pictures of Edgar at 6 weeks for comparison:

Yup. They're siblings.

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It's difficult to get the pictures off Jen's cellphone, so we don't do it too regularly. We did today, though, so here are some catchup pictures. I may put some on today and some on tomorrow.

Me, Sabrina (2 weeks), Henry, and Todd at the Blazer Game.

Sabrina at the Blazer Game. Michael Jordan was in attendance. He is a tiny dot on the front row, baseline corner, beneath the jumbotron.

Edgar, feeding the fish and ducks. Because of the glare, you can't see the fish, but there are about 10 of them, swimming under the ducks, and they're about 3x as big. The ripples in the water should give you some clue.