Glacier National Park – Day 2

Glacier National Park – Peaks and Valleys

On our second morning in the park, we woke to a much nicer day. The clouds were mostly gone, and the only hints of rain were the remnants left on the car, and in the parking lot puddles.

With priorities being what they are, we headed out of the park and grabbed our breakfast burritos and coffee. It was still pretty cool as we headed up the Going to the Sun Road. The hot coffee and breakfast burritos were just what we needed as we headed for Logan Pass.

This time, we bypassed the stops we’d previously been to along Lake McDonald, hoping to reach the vistas clear of yesterday’s clouds and rain. Our climb towards Logan Pass rewarded us for our decision to see the road again. We had wonderfully clear skies and incredible views. We made multiple stops and grabbed plenty of photos.

valleys
Looking back towards McDonald Lake

Just after navigating ‘The Loop’ switchback, we have a clear view of the valley we’d just driven up from Lake McDonald. By this time we also had some clouds starting to build on the western side of the mountains.

Once we cleared Logan Pass, the skies cleared and we had great views of the impressive peaks, valleys, and lakes. Sadly, most of the glaciers have retreated over the recent decades. Today they are just shells of their former selves. We spotted several for the road as we traversed the park. Had we the time, inclination, and maybe some camping gear, we could have taken one of the many hikes back to the glaciers.

lake peaksroadpeaks valleyspeakspeakspeakspeakspeaksvalleyslake peaks
Recommended

All in all, Glacier National Park turned out to be a fantastic experience. We’d highly recommend a visit. Suddenly, it’s time to hit the road again and head further west!

Glacier National Park – Day 1

It was our wedding anniversary when we arrived in Glacier National Park. One thing that everyone needs to know about Glacier National Park is the cell service. It is somewhere between non-existent and abysmal. For most of the park, expect to see No Service on your mobile device. As far as WiFi goes, forget about it as well. No place has WiFi (or WeeFee as one local pronounced it). After two days in Grand Teton National Park with no cell and marginal WiFi, we were prepared for several more days cut off from technology.

Breakfast
On our first morning, I arose early and headed out in search of coffee and breakfast. The line for coffee was incredibly long at one spot- only one spot. No place had breakfast. I gave Julie the news and we headed out. In West Glacier, just outside the park, we grabbed a couple of breakfast burritos that were amazing. Potatoes, green peppers and onions, cheese… and of course scrambled eggs. Great coffee to boot!

Munching on the breakfast burritos, we drove back into the park and onto Going-to-the-Sun Road. The weather was overcast and about 50 as we started. We made a few stops along the lake as we headed north. Every time we got out of the car we were greeted with the fresh smell of pine.

Lake McDonald

Initially, our intent was to reach the continental divide at Logan Pass – 32 miles at an elevation of 6646′. Going-to-the-Sun Road starts at the south end of Lake McDonald, slowly gaining elevation along the east side of Lake McDonald.

Along the lake
McDonald Falls on Avalanche Creek was a nice first stop for us. Quiet and scenic, we relaxed and shot a couple of photos. From that point, the road pretty much follows McDonald Creek, getting steeper after the Avalanche Creek picnic area.

Julie at McDonald Falls

After we passed over Avalanche. Creek, we started to get some rain, and wisps of clouds started drifting lower. This was not great for sightseeing, but we were in explorer mode. Before approaching Logan Pass, we had to navigate ‘the loop,’ a hairpin switch-back with a perilously sharp drop to the left as you approach.

Weather closing in
By this time, we couldn’t see the tops of the mountains as they were shrouded in a heavy layer of clouds. Below that, the winds and rain had picked up and those wisps of cloud were now denser, and rapid-moving clouds as they pushed up the west side of the peaks.

From ‘the loop’, and until we passed the ‘weeping wall’, Julie often chose to ignore the view because of the steep drop outside her window, down to the valley floor far below. I stopped several times and tried to capture the clouds and the terrain, but this wasn’t great photography weather.

Dark clouds blowing past

After the clouds closed in, the temperature dropped, and the rain really picked up. Suddenly we found ourselves at Logan Pass. The temperature was near 40, and the wind was driving a steady rain. Because of COVID, the indoor section of the visitor center at Logan Pass was closed. Also, because of the weather, no one was hanging around outside to ask any questions. 90% of the ‘visitors’ were simply making a mad dash to the restrooms and then back to their vehicles.

Heading East
Surprisingly, as we headed further east from Logan Pass, the clouds and rain diminished. It was still sprinkling, and cloudy when we reached the Jackson Glacier Overlook. The receded Jackson and Blackfoot glaciers, visible from that point, were a disappointment. (Global warming is causing glaciers to retreat)

Our next stop was at Sun Point Nature Trail. After a short walk down towards Saint Mary Lake, we came out on a promontory with an incredible view south, across the lake. We could clearly see a large hanging valley across from us and peaks to the east and west. It was beautiful. (It was also cold with a cutting wind)

Saint Mary Lake

We continued east on the highway, the views were magnificent. We exited the park at the Saint Mary Visitor Center, an considerably less busy location compared to West Glacier. The Saint Mary entrance is located roughly halfway between the southeast corner of the park and the northeast corner at the Canadian border. The 29 miles between the Saint Mary entrance, and East Glacier Park, at the southeast corner of the park, was an interesting drive.

Outside the Park
Warnings to ‘consider alternative routes’ and ‘intermittent pavement’ are appropriate. The 8′ reflector-tipped markers off the sides of the road are stark reminders that this area gets a healthy allocation of snow in the winter. (Really? Do you need markers 8′ off the ground?!?) I should also mention that for 86 miles between Saint Mary and West Glacier we saw only a single gas station in East Glacier Park.

All in all, this trip took us five hours, less one 30 minute nap somewhere in the Flathead National Forest where we pulled off Hwy 2. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be better, except for the snow. Hopefully, we can provide a better narrative of Glacier National Park.

Welcome to northern Montana in August.

Bike Trip in Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

This morning found us renting e-Bikes for a back-country road trip. At home, Julie rides her bike every day. Me, I get saddle sores just thinking about riding a bike. Regardless (or irregardless for some of my friends), we rented a pair of e-Bikes and headed out, map in hand.

These bikes we very nice, Trek Rail-5 e-Bikes. They handle paved roads and paths fine and are very stable on ‘gravel‘ roads. That was good, because our route was 28 miles across paved and gravel roads. However, I was more interested in the power assist from the bikes because we were climbing over a series of ridges with elevation changes of over 2300’.

The bike has four power-assist settings. ECO, Tour, EMTB, and Turbo. ECO gives a little boost, but Tour is the setting for flat to moderate hills. EMTB stands for (a guess) E-Mountain Bike. Those pesky little hills won’t stand a chance at this setting! Then there is Turbo. The guy at the bike rental shop told us, “You won’t need Turbo mode, but you can try it out if you like.”

Heading Out

The Trek is a big heavy bike compared to what we’ve ridden in the past. We walked the bikes across the street and then started off riding the bike. Within a ¼ mile we were both comfortable on the bikes and turned onto Twentymile Rd. There were some inclines, but the bike handled them with no issue. Until mile 6.

The road slowly became steeper, and then precipitous. We switched from Tour to EMTB and benefitted from the power assist. Even with the bike helping us, it was a long three-mile climb. This is about the point where I started asking Julie, “Tell me again, why did you want to do this?” Well, we took a well-deserved rest at the top of this hill after climbing ~600ft.

The First Real Hill

Leaving our first rest stop, we began a fantastic 1-mile descent. Whoa! We were flying down the slope at over 35 mph. On a bike, that’s a rush! But then it was back to climbing another hill. This next climb was four miles long. Argh! It was here that we discovered the power of TURBO!

By now we were on a dirt road; the map claimed it was a ‘gravel road’. Between the road surface and the grade becoming pretty sharp, Julie and I were both struggling. Even with the power assist set at EMTB, it was rough going. With my longer legs, I was able to make pretty good progress, but Julie started falling back. “You go on ahead”, Julie breathlessly told me with just a little self-pity in her voice. So I knuckled down and pushed ahead.

The climb continued to torture me. I looked back several times and Julie was still there, but falling further behind. I focused and pushed on. Unexpectedly, I heard bike tires behind me. Suddenly, Julie was beside me…, passing me! (What the heck?!?) With a big smile on her face, she yelled ‘Turbooooo‘ as she passed, and continued streaking up the hill. She had discovered the power of TURBO.

From that point on, whenever we hit a hill of any measure, we selected TURBO and attacked the hill. When we passed riders on ‘regular’ bikes struggling up the hill; we just apologized and kept going. After the last hill, we’d passed above 7200ft and it was mostly downhill from there.

We had multiple rest stops, we drank a lot of water. There were also a few map stops to make sure we were on the right route. Our time for the 28-mile trek was somewhere around 2½ hours. We really enjoyed the trip and enjoyed the eBikes even more. We’d never had made it without them.

Time to hit the hot springs.

On our way

This morning we woke up in Colby, KS, about 1600 miles into our summer swing across the western United States. With Colorado being our first ‘real destination’, we’ve just been pounding out the miles so far.

Ledgeview Elementary

From the highway, we only get a glimpse of the country we pass through, but I find it curious that a great deal I remember about the states came from 5th grade. Back in the day, we had to learn the names of the states and their capital cities. We also learned the various states’ history, economics, and development. Absent what I learned in Ledgeview Elementary School, these are a few of the interesting observations from the front seat of our SUV.

Georgia

Forsyth, Georgia. We spent our first night in this small town just north of Macon, Georgia. Forsyth has our vote for Smalltown, USA. The center of the town is what you’d expect with shops and cafes. Outside of Main Street, the roads are lined with beautiful trees. They claim the oldest Magnolia tree in the state of Georgia.

South of Atlanta, we passed a very large solar farm that looked to be nearing construction completion. It ran along I-75 for close to a mile and stretched east into the hills. We never thought of Georgia as a location for solar energy, but it IS just north of Florida, the Sunshine State. We’re happy to see solar expanding.

It was late in the afternoon, and we were getting tired as we left western Tennessee and entered the tip of Kentucky. Here we passed through Paducah, Kentucky – a place I know of, but likely only from 5th grade. Pasucah is a city I’ve never really thought of traveling past. Sitting at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, I can see that Paducah would have been an important city in the 1800s. And suddenly it was in our rearview mirror.

Here Comes the Rain

Just east of St Louis, Missouri the skies darkened, the temperature dropped and we were entertained by distant, long strokes of lightning from high clouds. The strobe lightning led the front of a rainstorm as we headed west along I-64. Then, suddenly the rains came. Heavy, dense, dark, pounding rain. We slowed to 40 MPH with flashers on, our wipers could barely keep up.

After about 15 minutes of white knuckle driving, we finally drove out of the rain. It was gone nearly as fast as it had initially attacked us. From well outside St Louis, we caught a distant view of the 630 ft St Louis arch. If it hadn’t been raining so hard, we might have detoured to get closer. After all, it is “Missouri’s tallest accessible building, the world’s tallest arch and the tallest manmade monument in the Western Hemisphere“, at least that’s according to Wikipedia.

Kansas

Yesterday we experienced what I call the two faces of Kansas. Eastern Kansas has rolling hills and trees. It isn’t lush, but it’s not dry either. Then, about halfway across the state, most of the trees are gone and the hills are not as high. Heat, corn, wheat, and wind – that’s what we saw and felt. Fields that seem to stretch for miles were waiting to be harvested.


Thank goodness for air conditioning! The outside temperature was over 100 for most of the way across western Kansas on I-70. In addition to corn and wheat, we passed vast farms of wind turbines generating sustainable electricity from the ever-present wind. Sitting here at a desk in our motel I’m looking at a picture of an old prairie windmill. The link to the modern behemoths stretching across the windswept prairie is not lost on me.

Well, it’s time to hit the road again. Next stop, Colorado,

Travel Planning

Looking Ahead
Well, it’s mid-July and right now we’re working on travel planning for 2022 and 2023. As I’ve mentioned before, the COVID Pandemic has put a crimp on our travel plans.

When we retired we’d envisioned 4-6 years of traveling ¾ of the year. The remainder of the time we’d planned to spend in Florida or with family. Grandma-Grandpa Camp with the grandkids was an absolute requirement every July as well.

covidCOVID-19 Impact
Well, COVID forced us into changing our plans. In early 2020 we were in Florida when it became apparent that COVID-19 was going to have a significant impact. That year should have began with a trans-Atlantic cruise followed by a couple of months in Europe. Well, that didn’t happen.

The fall of 2020 called for a trans-Pacific cruise to Japan, China, and South Korea. Then we were spending 3 weeks exploring Japan and then lounging in Hawaii on our way back to the US. Again, that didn’t happen. Instead, we spend 2020 huddling in a rented house in Bonita Springs, Florida. But, hey, 2021 was going to be the year to look forward to…, right?

Both Julie and I got our vaccines in March; Florida has done a great job distributing the vaccines. Unfortunately, a great deal of the rest of the world has lagged. Most of the planet lacked the technology and funding to undertake an Operation Warp Speed type effort to develop and distribute vaccines.

Today we relax in the early part of 2021’s second half. The outlook is good for large parts of the US, and we’ve got a trip scheduled for August-September across the Western US. We’re hitting many of our favorite national parks, and some new ones that we’ve not experienced before. We’re also starting the 2022-2023 planning process.

Planing Ahead
When we retired, we quickly realized that the planning horizon for travel should be at least 12 months out. You could work with a shorter planning horizon, but rental and hotel selections were more limited and often the preferred tours were also booked up. So now is the time to start planning for the summer of 2022 and beyond.

patagoniaEarly 2022 looks questionable for international travel, but we’re booked to trek across Argentina and Chile in Feb-Mar 2022. We’re giving the plan a 60% chance of happening. After that, Iceland, Portugal, Italy, and Greece are top prospects as we plan the next 24 months. You can read about our planing at our website.

The travel plans are in a constant state of flux right now as we’re still gathering information. If you have travel experiences or ideas, send me information. The more information we have, the better our adventures will be.

What to do?

In the last post (Internet Threats) I covered some real threats at a high level. Now lets talk about what you can do to reduce the threat.

Internet Browsing
Regardless of the browser you use, IE, Chrome, Safari, or something else, you should NEVER use the browser’s “remember my password” feature or save any personally identifiable information you enter on a form. I know it is a great feature, you never have to remember your password because the browser remembers them for you. The big problem is that anyone with access to your computer has access to those same passwords.

To reduce the risk of exposure to malicious files or programs, Set your web browser to block pop-ups. You can always create an exception for some sites on a case-by-case basis. This will not only make your browsing more secure, but it will make your experience more pleasant.

If you play online games or download free software, be very careful. Spyware may be bundled with those programs. When you install the program, you may be installing something much more dangerous than you bargained for.

Be aware of the web browser address bar. That tells you what site you are on. If the address changes unexpectedly (like from Bank of America to Hacker’s Bank of Russia) or if you click on a link and are taken to an unfamiliar address, watch out!

Many ads track you or may even contain malware. Install an Ad Blocker browser extension (AdBlock) to block malicious ads. If you want, you can add additional tracking and malware filter lists to increase your protection.

Avoid clicking on links in general. Ads, offers, articles, etc. These are all potentially dangerous. Instead, note the information from the ad or article and use Google to search and see if it is something that you really want to see. On the other hand, if you’re on a mainstream site (CNN for example) you can trust links for news or similar links. But be cautious on ads and offers that send you to a third-party website.

Email
This is a tough one, I know. We all get those juicy and tempting messages in our email inboxes. You have to be strong and delete the messages that come from someone you didn’t expect. Whatever you do, NEVER click on a link in an unexpected email. Just clicking on the link can have you installing malware or spyware on your computer. Email is emotionally inviting for many, but it is a dangerous and high-risk tool that hackers love.

Even if you get an email from someone you know, think twice before opening any attachments. Email is so easy to spoof. (‘Spoofing’ is sending an email that looks like it is coming from someone you know). If you’re expecting the attachment, fine. But if it’s unexpected… think twice… then think again.

AntiVirus Software
This is part of the cost of owning a computer. You MUST use anti-virus software if you’re using your internet browser. Sure, that software costs money, but the risks you accept without it may be far beyond what you think. Think of what kind of transactions you make on that computer. Web banking, shopping? How many times have you input a credit card number? How many login accounts do you have? Consider the risk.

Passwords
Here is another tough topic. Passwords. I strongly recommend a password manager application. I use 1Password, one of the top-rated applications in this category. Rather than allowing the browser to remember your passwords, the password manager remembers them. Better still, it will generate secure passwords and remember them for you. What do you think is a better password – fluffy1973 or ?M7hUBhJkRQX4nDczX4p?

1Password encrypts the password before storing them and works across pc, phones, and tablets. You just have to remember one master password. Make it complex by basing in on a phrase – ‘My grandparents came to America in 1889! They came from France’ becomes MgctAi1889! TcfF. Remembering the phrase is easier than remembering the password.

One last word on password security. If you have an iPhone, you can leverage the built-in password manager as long as you require fingerprint security to access passwords.

Internet Threats

Have you ever had your Facebook page hijacked? Ever gotten replies or bounced messages for an email you know you never sent? What about losing access to your email because someone changed the password without you knowing?

The last thing most of us want to think about is the risks we face when browsing the Internet. I sometimes find myself looking at those ads that pop up on sites as I look for interesting ‘news articles’. Then I remember the many cases where friends or family experienced Internet calamities like those above, or worse. What I hope to do here is want to do is cover some real threats, how they work, and what you can and should do to protect yourself.

The Weakest Link

We’re curious and we’re gullible. When I was still working, we tested system and personal vulnerabilities. I was always amazed at the number of people that fell for the faked email sent to test personal susceptibility. People were always opening or responding to phishing emails or emails with “malware” attachments. So, let’s talk about those malware-laden emails.

You get an email with a picture or video attachment and some catchy message that entices you to open and look at the attachment. Unfortunately, that promised video of a cat doing gymnastics also had some computer code or HTML along with it. When you clicked and opened the image, you also activated the code.

Impact

The code was somewhat harmless itself because it just opened a background connection to a website someplace. But then it downloaded a larger and more malicious program onto your computer that installed itself on your PC or Mac. As a result, your security was compromised. Let me tell you about a real case of this that happened to someone in my extended family.

One day they could not get into their web banking account. We tried resetting the password online with no success. Frustrated, we called the bank customer service to reset it over the phone. Guess what – the account was locked down.

Not a creature was string…

Malware was installed on the computer at some point in time. Maybe it happened when browsing a ‘fashion’ website, or maybe it was a click on that kitten email. Regardless of how it happened, the computer had malware. Then early one morning, while everyone was sleeping, a ‘bad guy’ used the malware to connect up to that computer. They opened the browser and connected to web banking. To make life easy, the friendly computer had the login/passwords auto-populate, and poof, the ‘bad guys’ were in the bank account!

Fortunately, the bank’s security systems detected some anomalies in the session. Those security tools shut down the connection and disabled the account. It could have been worse, a lot worse.

Bad Actors and Dangerous Stuff

‘Bad Guys’ have been taking advantage of COVID-19 to target us with malware. These guys send emails disguised as legitimate messages about COVID-19. You’re told to ‘click a link below to learn more…‘. However, the link ends up installing malware that copies the files on your device and steals your personal information.

Right about now you may be asking yourself, what can you do in the face of all these threats? Or maybe you just want to throw your hands up and surrender. My advice is to relax. Most of us adapted to COVID-19 with more hand washing and masks. You should use similar precautions to protect yourself from these Internet viruses… a little behavior change.

What to Do?

First – don’t panic. Second, check out my recommendation in the What to do? post.

Covid-19 – Grandpa’s Science

Pandemics, viruses, quarantines, and vaccines have become part of everyday conservations for many. However, it was only after having discussions with our grandkids about being out of school because of COVID-19 that I realize that these same terms had become embedded in their vocabulary as well.
covid19
Because of their interests, I made a series of really simple YouTube videos to explain the COVID-19 infection and vaccines. If you’re interested, the first is entitled Corona Virus School and can be found on my YouTube channel.

I covered the virus itself and how our bodies respond with T-cells and antibodies. Granted, the composition and technical accuracy may rate somewhat low, but it got the point across to our grandkids. As a result, they asked for more information.

The second video, Part 2 – Covid 19 Review is a short review of virus infections that I sent them a week or so later. I figured they needed a refresher before sharing the vaccine information. This episode covers a lot of the same material, but quickly and at a high level.

The most recent video is on the Covid vaccine – Covid-19 Vaccine. I’ve tried to provide a very, very brief and high level overview of how the vaccines protect us and why they are important. How to you explain complex topics to small children? I tried Legos.

We don’t want our grandkids to shy away from the complexities of science. It’s important to us that they have an understanding of something so impactful as COVID-19, but we don’t want them to be afraid of it. Hopefully, the Legos help.

Without a doubt, our grandkids are not very critical of the science I’ve applied to explain viruses and vaccines. There’s no doubt that Dr. Fauci would have some criticism of how I’ve explained the science, but, hey! My target is a couple of young grandchildren!

Let me know what you think. Just remember, our grandkids loved them, so don’t be too hard on me!

Immigration Reform

Seven Principles for Immigration Reform
“The last big immigration bill was passed in 1986 when Ronald Reagan was president and both houses of Congress were held by Democrats.” – Booking Institute

I strongly believe that the time for immigration reform is long overdue. As with many issues, partisan politics have created a log jam on immigration. However, looking back I came across this set of principles that I can and do support –

“The main idea that underlies each of these seven principles is that the American people are fundamentally pro-legal immigration and anti-illegal immigration.  We [should] only pass comprehensive immigration reform when we recognize this fundamental concept.

The following seven principles are all based on this concept, and comprise what I believe to be the framework for a bill that [should] receive overwhelming Congressional support:

  1. Illegal immigration is wrong, and a primary goal of comprehensive immigration reform must be to dramatically curtail future illegal immigration.
  2. Operational control of our borders–through significant additional increases in infrastructure, technology, and border personnel–must be achieved within a year of enactment of legislation.
  3. A biometric-based employer verification system with ‘tough enforcement and auditing’ is necessary to significantly diminish the job magnet that attracts illegal aliens to the United States and to provide certainty and simplicity for employers.
  4. All illegal aliens present in the United States on the date of enactment of our bill must quickly register their presence with the United States Government, and submit to a rigorous process of converting to legal status and earning a path to citizenship, or face imminent deportation.
  5. Family reunification is a cornerstone value of our immigration system. By dramatically reducing illegal immigration, we can create more room for both family immigration and employment-based immigration.
  6. We must encourage the world’s best and brightest individuals to come to the United States and create the new technologies and businesses that will employ countless American workers, but must discourage businesses from using our immigration laws as a means to obtain temporary and less-expensive foreign labor to replace capable American workers; and finally
  7. We must create a system that converts the current flow of unskilled illegal immigrants into the United States into a more manageable and controlled flow of legal immigrants who can be absorbed by our economy.

The first of these seven principles is that illegal immigration is wrong, plain and simple. When we use phrases like “undocumented workers,” we convey a message to the American people that their Government is not serious about combating illegal immigration, which the American people overwhelmingly oppose.

Above all else, the American people want their Government to be serious about protecting the public, enforcing the rule of law, and creating a rational system of legal immigration that will proactively fit our needs rather than reactively responding to future waves of illegal immigration.

People who enter the United States without our permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who entered the United States legally.”

Remarks by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, 6th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

Falling Behind

It was a tough day at the beach, but I had no idea what sort of illuminating discovery was awaiting me…

This evening we went to the beach to watch the sunset. We went during off peak hours because no one wears a mask on this beach and we want to avoid the daytime crowds. There were not many people and everyone was respectful of social distancing. The grandkids were digging and playing in the sand while the adults relaxed. All was right with the world… and then it happened.

Innocently enough, our seven-year-old granddaughter asked, ‘Grandpa, do you want to see me to a cartwheel?’ ‘Sure,’ I said. And the events were set in motion.

Her sequence of standard cartwheels was followed by a few one-handed cartwheel attempts, some successful. Then my four-year grand-son asked: ‘Grandpa, can you do cartwheels?’

Cartwheels? Heck, yeah! I can do cartwheels, head-stands, hand-stands, you name it! ‘Here, let me show you.’

As I hefted my incredible girth out of the beach chair, I heard Julie and our daughter chorusing…’don’t hurt yourself’ and ‘be careful, you’re not 60 anymore!’

What the heck! I spent 20 years in the Army carrying a rifle and a rucksack. I’ve done cartwheels, wrestled with our kids, performed handstands on demand and even handsprings for crying out loud! Then I thought to myself: when was my last cartwheel?

“Watch this,” I told the kids. Then on three successive stumbling and tumbling attempts, I collapsed into the sand. After the last attempt, our four-year-old grandson coached me. ‘Look, grandpa, stand like this. Put your hands like this and just cartwheel… like this.’

Oh, if it were just so simple. Embarrassed, sweating, and caked with sand, I lay on the beach wondering when I had lost my edge. When had I devolved into an awkward and clumsy grandparent? Heck, I used to be a respectable grandparent. What happened?

As my grandkids performed gymnastics over and around my sprawled, sweating carcass, and our daughter demonstrated handstands and a back-bridge on the beach, I lay there thinking…

My thoughts wandered back to when our kids, Shawn and Monica were 13 and 11, respectively. We were playing soccer in the yard and I clearly remember the moment.  For the first time, I had to tell the kids that we needed to take a break because Dad was tired and needed a rest!!!

I was 35 or 36 at the time, and the moment struck me–this was a milestone in my life. Heck, I was still in good shape, running five miles a day wasn’t an issue for me at that point. Yet, here were these two little kids running me into the ground!

That was 30 years ago. Today, I got ambushed by a pair who are just four and seven years old! As I lay there, sweating, caked with sand and feeling like a beached whale… I smiled.

This is life. This is life that’s worth living. These kids, the grandkids–I love them. They’re what keeps me young. Sure, I wish I could still do my perfect cartwheel, but lying in the sand with the grandkids piling on and laughing with me… that’s what makes this tough day at the beach worth it.