Lions Den

I haven’t been blogging much because there just hasn’t been much to write about.  On my days off, I’ve been doing  a lot of biking instead of hiking because I’m trying to stay off my foot.  There is something very wrong with the bottom of my left foot and the podiatrist has no idea what it is.  I got an MRI last week, but I don’t see him for another 2 weeks.  It’s not Planter Fasciitis or fallen arches, since I already have both.  This is a new issue, lucky me.  There is a band that runs down the outside of the foot, that’s most likely where the problem is.  What’s throwing my doctor off is that the pain reduces when I walk 10-15 steps.  The MRI results say there is a ganglion cyst, among other things.  I didn’t understand the rest of the findings, but I’m sure Dr. Google will help me out until I get to the real Dr.  Anyway, the point is that I haven’t been able to hike and I’m not happy about it!  This is not a bike friendly area at all.  It’s all mountain biking and the altitude, combined with killer hills, really limit were its fun to go.  I have a friend Cindy who likes to bike too, and we’ve found a few decent trails.  I went out the other day on an old railroad trail that is reasonably flat.  I came back a different way and had to walk the last 3 miles because the hills were way too long and too steep for me to bike up.  And of course, since I had to walk so much, my foot was killing me.  When it’s this bad, once I sit down, its agonizing to walk the 10-15 steps to ease the pain once I get back up.  So, I came home, took a shower and fixed dinner before I ever sat down.  After that, I was planted in front of the TV with an ice pack.  On the bright side, it hurt too bad to get up and make chocolate chip cookies, which I should have done when I was making dinner.  Sometimes I’m just don’t plan ahead….

Cindy and I just sat through 4 days of new employee orientation.  Originally there were 6 volunteers - 4 camp host and us, the ATV crew.  2 of the camp hosts had a family issue and didn’t come back after the first day and the other 2 camp hosts threw a hissy fit because most of the materiel in the death by power point torture chamber was directed at actual employees.  But we stuck it out till the bitter end and are now so much better for it.  Some examples, we now know what job codes actual employees need to use when they fill out their time sheets for actual pay.  We also know that an actual employee can expect reasonable accommodations for various disabilities.  We did learn some useful information, such as how to use the radio, how to write up incident reports  and how to code our work diary.  Sure wish I had known she and I would be working with each other and not each of us with a forest service employee like I thought.  I might have put down the new game app I downloaded just for this occasion and paid attention.  She’s really smart though, I’m sure she got it all!

This week we have an employee kick off day.  It’s where everyone meets someplace in our district for a day of ‘fun’ trail maintenance or site cleanup.  Lunch is provided, so I’ll be there!  Actually I’m looking forward to meeting people who work in other areas.  We have a great crew in Recreation, and everyone else I’ve meet had been awesome too, so it should be a lot of fun.  I think this weekend, Cindy and I will finally be on the ATV trails. 

Here in the forest, ranchers turn their cows loose to graze.  They have big bells on and they just wander around, pooping on the trails.  When I came home the other day, I heard the cow bells.  I hadn’t seen them in my clearing, and wanted to get a picture to post here.  So I went and let Brutus out and walked back up the road to find the new neighbors.  They are very skittish and you can’t get close at all.  I figured I’d see them at a distance, get my picture and proceed on with my walk.  Well, Beefcake may be totally deaf, but he had excellent eyesight.  He marched himself right up to the biggest Miss Bessie to say hi before I even realized he could see them.  He got right up to her and they both reached out to smell each other when she  saw me coming to get him and took off.  I wish I had gotten a picture, but at the time I was so scared she would hurt him, either on purpose or by mistake, I was just rushing to get him.  One misstep and she would have flattened him.  You can just make him out, he’s the  tiny black speck next to the stump.  He’s actually fearless, he’ll walk right up to a big dog to say hi. 

Yesterday Cindy and I had an awesome day.  There is a railroad grade that goes from Twain Harte to Strawberry.  The Strawberry section is where I had to walk home earlier on the week.   We decided to make a full day of it and head down to the beginning of the trail at Lyons Dam, which we both keep calling Lion’s Den for some reason.  Our intent was to check out the trial as it headed up the mountain so the hard part would be the beginning of the ride and not the end.  We went for about an hour and it was surprisingly level.  We met a biker on the trail who said just where we turned back is where the steep portions are, but he said they weren’t as bad as we thought.  After the bike ride, we took a spit bath in a gas station bathroom and headed into town for lunch.  Our plan was to ride, lunch, nails, groceries and laundry, then come home for dinner and watch True Blood.  We had a few deviations, but the day turned out awesome. After a great lunch at Applebee’s, where the waiter got almost every part of our order wrong, we got our nails done and went grocery shopping.   We had to swing by CVS on the way home and we saw the most amazing sight.  I think most of you know my weakness for pampering.  As we were ready to head home,  I drove by to check on the progress of a new foot massage place that was opening.   And there it was, an open door with the proprietors waving us in.  It would have been rude to refuse so we went in.  It was heavenly to say the least.  These are Chinese reflexology experts and they started at the head and worked their way down to the feet.  We didn’t ask the price, thinking it was just a foot massage, but during the hour long session, we were both thinking how much will this cost?  Turns out $25.  Guess I know one stop I’m adding to each town visit!  We didn’t have time for laundry, since we got home about 8pm and had salad and popcorn for dinner while watching True Blood and Monster-in-Law.  Our terrific girls day ended at 1:30 in the morning.  On a very sad note, Cindy began our day by saying she was taking a job 3 hours away.  So I will only see my new best friend occasionally this summer!!! Not only do we have a great time hanging out, but she was to be my ATV partner.  Looks like I’ll be patrolling the trails with a forest service employee after all. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/118205599704530902363/Cows?authkey=Gv1sRgCKn21IeOnYKB8gE#