Family Vacation: RV'ing Turned ATV'ing

RV on Swett Ranch Loop Road - our new homestead

Notice fine print "road NOT maintained for low clearance vehicles"

Swett Ranch Loop Road - 8 miles!

Clara driving the boat on Flaming Gorge

Family vacations are great. They create such memories, and sometimes even family legends that your kids will tell to their kids someday.

We like to travel in our RV. This past week we made a trek to Flaming Gorge, Utah for five days. It was Joy, Clara and myself. Clara's two older brothers are off doing their "thing" so it was just her stuck with her parents in an RV for five days and no internet connection. And, she lost her phone a day before we left so no texting her friends!

But this is the making for a family legend.

We have been in some tight and precarious spots with our RV. I was a novice with an RV when we bought the rig in 2006 and still am only slightly better than a novice now. If you have watched the Robin Williams film RV, that is us. Well, maybe not exactly and to the extent that was depicted in the movie, but close!

I have gone around corners only to have dishes fly out of the cupboards. I even had a jar of spaghetti sauce come sailing out of the cupboard and the spicy red sauce shatter all over the inside of the rig. That took hours to clean up.

I have gotten pretty adept at hooking up the water, sewer and electrical. Normally I can do it in 12 minutes flat. However, once while flushing the "poop" tank, I got distracted and filled the tank to the point it overflowed out the toilet inside the rig. That took hours to clean up.

I came close to high-centering and low-centering the rig on a narrow road in the Smokey Mountains National Park on the 11 mile loop road to Cades Cove. I drove down a road in Tennessee that was so narrow with a rocky cliff on my left and a 30' drop down to the Nolichucky River on my right that one of the dual wheels on the rear was hanging over the edge. In the dark. And we had no choice but to continue because there was absolutely no place to turn around and there was no way I was going to backup the rig on this road for 5 miles....in the dark!

This week in Flaming Gorge we had another "RV story" but this one really tops the others.

I had it under high recommendation from a friend to visit the Swett Ranch while we where at the gorge. We took a drive on our second day to circle around the south end of the gorge, visit the Swett Ranch and go over the Flaming Gorge Dam.

Along the way we found the turnoff for the Swett Ranch. It was a dusty, gravel road but in good shape to accommodate an RV. We drove for about a mile and got to a closed gate with a sign posted "No RV's Beyond this Point." The Swett Ranch was closed for the day.

Since visiting the ranch was not an option, we decided to continue past the ranch road and proceeded along the gravel road knowing that it circled back to the highway. Joy kept insisting the road was paved. I told her to look out the window. The road wasn't paved. So much for her navigation and map reading skills.

As we progressed along, the road got worse. As I said, I have been in a few precarious spots in the RV but this was getting bad. I thought for sure I was going to high-center the rig or rip the top off from the tree branches any moment. If I didn't do one of those things, I certainly was going to break an axle or blow a tire on the spiky rocks below. We would be stuck and I would just have to homestead the property and live out our days there because no one was going to find us.

I was hunched white-knuckled over the steering wheel while Joy and Clara were in the back trying to catch things that were sailing out of the cupboards. Clara heard me swear for the first time in her life as I yelled "oh shit!" while we dipped down into a gully and up the other side. I inched the rig slowly over big boulders, up steep slate-rocked hills and washed out gully beds to finally reach the end of the road and the paved highway.

Once we got out into the parking lot, I got out to the read the signs leading into the road we just came out of. "ATVs and high clearance vehicles only." I pulled up the route we had just taken on my GPS and we traveled 8 miles on this rocky round trip route past Swett Ranch that we never got to visit.

But we made it out unscathed. The Rolling Bounder got us through another circumstance of our own stupidity without a scratch.

But it also created another family legend that will be told around campfires, family reunions and Thanksgiving dinners for years to come. And that makes it all worthwhile!

Cheers,

Dale

Follow You Anywhere

"End of a Tough Day's Ride"

Last week was my wedding anniversary. Joy and I have been married 25 years. Ironically, our wedding anniversary date was also my final paid day at Intel. I was laid off and am officially unemployed for the first time in my working life. It feels good.

To celebrate, our anniversary that is, we visited Seattle where we met and were married. We also took a side trip to Whidbey Island and a tour through the San Juan Islands. No kids, just Joy and I with our bikes and the RV.

Up until this trip, Joy and I have cycled together exactly three times in twenty five years. The second time was very uneventful, however the first and the third were both quite an adventure.

As I mentioned, Joy and I met and were married in Seattle. We lived there in the early years of our marriage. We had been married less than a year when we decided to go on a small cycling day trip. At the time, neither of us were big cyclists but we were young and thought it would be a good spring afternoon activity to do. However, one minor point that I cannot fail to mention was the fact that Joy was three month's pregnant at the time.

Be that as it may, we were still newlyweds so it didn't matter. Our plan was to drive to the Edmonds - Kingston ferry, ride the ferry with our bikes, cycle to the Hood Canal Bridge, and then return to the ferry and back home. An easy, pleasant afternoon ride.

However, to make this long story a bit shorter, I insisted Joy just "follow me" to take this "shortcut" to find some friends at their condo and ultimately get a ride back to Seattle with them. I thought it was a cool, spontaneous addition to our trip. The two flaws in this plan, well, maybe three flaws, was that it was no shortcut, the route was full of undulating hills, and our friends were not home at their condo. Many, many miles, hills, and a long ride much further than we intended, we ultimately made our way back to Seattle.

Joy has never let me forgot this ride. We never cycled again until a few years ago in Salt Lake City. And I am no slow learner, I made sure the second ride was on flat ground and short.....and that Joy was not pregnant at the time!

Fast forward to last week. We were staying in a little RV park on the north tip of Whidbey Island WA, just south of Deception Pass Bridge that leads north to Anacortes WA. We took our bikes in hopes of taking short cycling trips around the towns and ferries in the San Juan Islands. I googled a short little trip from our departure point to Anacortes and pointed out to Joy it was "just" 7.2 miles via this "shortcut." Joy has learned over the years to never trust what I say. Normally Joy would follow with a brief interrogation challenging my judgement and ability to plan a simple trip but this time quickly acquiesced in agreement and said "that's great."

Off we went. And quickly we took a wrong turn making 7.2 miles into something much further through undulating hills and a Northwest misting rain. I knew I was starting to get into trouble when we were more than half way to Anacortes and Joy informed me she didn't think she would be able to make it back. I reassured her that we needed to make it to town at this point and perhaps we could find a taxi back to the RV. I would have paid anyone any sum just to make sure we would make it back.

But God was looking over us with favor that day. We finally made our way into town (but still 4+ miles from to the center of town) and stopped at a park and ride. Upon studying the bus schedules, we realized there was a bus going into the center of town as well as one that goes directly back to Whidbey Island and our RV park! All for the cost of two dollars.

But here is the total redeeming part. Joy and I took the bus into old town Anacortes. It is a quaint little town with many beautiful shops, galleries and restaurants. After wandering around a bit and feeling relieved we had a plan to get back to the RV without having to ride the entire 12+ miles back, we found this delightful cafe bakery to sit down and have a cup of coffee before going back to the bus stop.

I walked in and thought we just landed in heaven. In the bakery case were the most gigantic cinnamon rolls I had ever seen. Without looking at the menu, I just knew this place served "comfort food" and it had to be good. I asked the waitress for some coffee for Joy and I and then my eyes drooled over the most wonderful-looking Key Lime and Coconut Cream pies I had ever seen. Both of these pies happen to be favorites of ours.

I ordered one slice of each pie along with our coffee. The Key Lime and Coconut Cream pies were the best we ever tasted, they simply were to die for!

I was redeemed! A bus ride back to the RV park, a nice little visit through quaint Anacortes WA, and the best pies we ever tasted!

By the way, if you are ever in Anacortes, La Conner, or Mt. Vernon WA, you have to go have some pie at the Calico Cupboard Cafe & Bakery. Later in our trip we ate lunch at their La Conner location and it was delightful. And a big thank you to the waitresses in both locations as they are so friendly.

You can find the Calico Cupboard Cafe & Bakery on the web at www.calicocupboardcafe.com. Check them out, they are terrific!

Since this day's adventure, Joy has continued to cycle with me. But I follow her rather than vice versa!

Cheers,
Dale

Naked Cowboy

" Naked Cowboy"

Times Square, New York City

Only in the Big Apple, or Vegas.........

My Bentley

"1957 Bentley"

I am not a huge car buff. But I do like beautiful cars, particularly older ones that display class and style.

I was walking up Broadway in downtown Portland, OR one evening this April. The evening was just lovely; sun shining, warm air for Portland in April, and the streets were filled with people enjoying a rare moisture-free Oregon evening. I came across this 1957 Bentley parked curbside in front of a little boutique hotel that was holding a formal event. Of course, I talked to the driver and had to take a few photographs. The image above was my favorite.

The limousine company that owns this piece of art is English Classic Limousines (http://www.englishclassiclimos.com/). What an experience to tour the Oregon wine country in a car such as this. And then perhaps go to a dinner and show in downtown Portland. What a lovely date that would be!

What would be your ideal, romantic date? If you are in Portland, perhaps give a call to English Classic Limousines. I am sure they will fix you up.

Cheers,
Dale

Hair on Fire

"Hair on Fire" Qibao, China

Sometimes a motorcycle ride can put your hair on fire. This woman certainly is a portrait of that image. But when we think of our "hair on fire" on the back of a motorcycle, we have visions of going fast on some mean, screaming machine with a real "need for speed."

This is a man and woman are riding solely for transportation in the streets of Qibao, China, outside of Shanghai. The "hair on fire" of this woman is not from a fast, exciting motorcycle ride but rather just a by-product of a bad hair day at the stylist.

Have you ever had a bad hair day?

Cheers,
Dale

Mellow Yellow

"Mellow Yellow Bicycle"

I was walking down the street in the city one day and spotted this bicycle. It was this cool yellow, painted with beautiful accents and had a rear wheel cover.

The bicycle was lovely, though not the type for a long bike ride or road race, but rather for a quiet ride through the neighborhood to a friend's house for a glass of iced tea and cookies. Of course, on a sunny summer day with a cool breeze.

I think I will go get some iced tea and cookies and dream of riding through the neighborhood on a bike like this.

What do you like to do on a sunny summer day?

Cheers,

Dale

More In Flight

Mt. Hood, Oregon

Mt. Hood in Oregon is a stunning sight. I was fortunate to be leaving Portland on business one day and got this view of the mountain out my flight window.

I used to work in a high rise building in Portland years ago and had an office that looked to the east. On clear mornings, the sun would rise in the background of Mt. Hood. In the evenings, the orange sunsets would glow off of the snow cap. It was always an extraordinary sight.

I am so glad I got a window seat this day to catch this view of the mountain and spark memories of all the previous times I have seen Mt. Hood.

What is one of your favorite sights or views that evokes special memories or beauty?

Cheers,
Dale

Portraiture

"American Patriot"

I have gotten into watching Ovation TV (channel 274 on the Dish Network). Ovation TV covers art, creative design, and photography.

In particular, the channel has some great pieces on photography. There is one "must see" piece called "The Eloquent Nude" on Edward Weston. I learned so much about Weston's life and loved seeing Weston and Ansel Adams carry around 4x5 cameras with their boxes of sheet film.

While watching one photography series on Ovation, I was struck by a piece on Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and his portraiture. The segment showed photographers behind the scenes and exclusive interviews on how they go about their work. Timothy's portraiture is done with an 8x10 view camera and one light. Timothy learned his lighting techniques from Alfred Hitchcock and Hitchcock's lighting director. Not bad teachers! The set up and Greenfield-Sanders technique is very simple but the finished product is stunning.

You can find Timothy Greenfield-Sanders work at http://www.greenfield-sanders.com/

Today's photograph is called "American Patriot" and is taken of a young man from our church who joined the Marines. I wanted the image to be a simple portrait, simple lighting, but yet dramatic. Like Greenfield-Sanders, the pose, the expression, the lighting is all very simple but yet creates a mood and emotion of the subject. I think the portrait evokes an emotion of toughness, sternness, and hardness of a Marine while being in dress uniform.

This portrait had very special meaning to me personally. Kyle, the Marine in the photograph, is someone I have known for most of the past decade as he grew up. Kyle's parents are very good friends. When I took this portrait, Kyle was about to be deployed to Iraq. I had this fear that this portrait would be one of the last photographs taken of him and he would not return from Iraq alive. Fortunately, our prayers where answered as Kyle has returned home and is finishing up his last days as a Marine.

Portraits and those photographs you take of family and friends have such lasting value. It is as if you capture a person's soul as of a point in time. The person will never go back to being the same person at the point that photograph was taken.

Do you have photographs that have this kind of meaning? Who are they of and what do they represent to you?

Cheers,
Dale

A Generational Affair

As a kid, I wished I paid more attention to my father.

My father was not educated beyond high school but he knew how to fix and build things. My version of fixing things is to tell my wife, Joy, to "call somebody."

My father would try to show me how to do mechanical repairs, electrical or woodworking projects. I never had the time of day for it, thus that intelligence never passed to me. However, while I would never hang around while my father built things for me, I do remember the excitement I felt when it was done. My father made me some really cool stuff. I had the best go-kart in the neighborhood!

Is an older generation making or repairing things for a younger generation universal? Global?

I captured the images above on one of my trips to China in a small village outside of Shanghai. My Chinese driver and friend, Billy, knows I like to go to places off the beaten path to capture photographs of the sites and people of "real" China, not the tourist sites of metropolitan Shanghai (although I have done plenty of that too!).

This little village is called Qibao.

As I walked down the streets of Qibao, I came across this grandpa and father fixing a flat tire on a bike for their two little boys. As grandpa pumped up the tire and father made the final adjustments, the two little boys looked on in anticipation of being able to ride their bike.

I stopped and took many photographs of this generational affair. My presence just heightened the delight and importance for the two boys; a "foreigner" is taking pictures of us! As I took my photographs, a large crowd of locals began to gather around me. This just created even more excitement.

My Chinese is "yi dian", or "very little", so the family or the crowd and I could not communicate verbally but the smiles and energy of my audience said it all. Everyone would erupt with laughter when I would take a few photographs and then show them my digital captures from the back of my camera.

In the end, the boys' bike was fixed by grandpa and father. Now the boys could ride! And ride they did…………to show off for the "foreigner" with the camera!

Do you remember your father, your mother, or one of your grandparents teaching you life skills when you were a child? I hope you didn't blow them off like I did and learned something!

Cheers,
Dale

Oregon Coast

I am going back to my Oregon theme today. I took heat for my previous blog post on Oregon (see "Five Truths About Oregon" posted on March 30th). While my previous post was written with "tongue in cheek" humor, I was poking a little fun at Oregon and Oregonians. However, those Oregonians take Oregon jokes very personally.

Today's blog post is to portray the beauty of Oregon. My photograph is an early evening capture at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. The sun was setting (though you can never actually see the sun setting in Oregon behind the clouds…..oppps, there I go again!) and there was a slight mist in the air (like there always is in Oregon……oh, slack my hand, I just can't help myself!). The natural colors were not very inviting or dramatic so I planned to put this into black and white when I took the image.

Most of my post-processing was done in Adobe Lightroom with some finishing touches in Adobe CS3 Photoshop. The key post-processing step I took with this capture was to run the "clarity" slider way down to give the image a very soft look. The softness really emphasized the evening light and ever-present mist in the air. I was really pleased with the final result.

I also printed this image on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Photo Rag Satin paper with my Epson R2400 printer. The final print looks spectacular and am looking forward to mounting, matting, and framing the image with a very professional, exhibition quality look.

A few more images like this one and I will need to find someone interested in sponsoring and providing a location for a photographic exhibition. Any offers?

Go visit Cannon Beach, OR. It is a spectacular place and the community is delightful.

Cheers,
Dale

In Flight

In my day job, I have traveled extensively. At times, I have traveled up to 50% of the time, traveled to many places around the world, and lived in China and India for a brief period. I love to travel to exotic and interesting places. And of course, I bring my camera with me.

Things have changed these days. My career is in transition and I do not travel anywhere to the extent I used to in the past. In fact, I rarely travel now.

However, this past week I had to make a short trip to San Jose, CA. The trip was for business but also allowed me to connect with Kathy Waite, Waite Associates and Adobe, and a high school friend, Cindy Emond Fay, that I hadn't seen in over 33 years. Cindy and I got reconnected on Facebook about a year ago. It was great to see both face-to-face and visit with them for a while.

It is always great to connect with friends and colleagues and my blog post is to share the photographic inspiration I receive from other people.

I met and heard Jay Maisel at NAPP's Photoshop World in Las Vegas in September, 2008. It was the first Photoshop World I have ever attended. It was an awesome event. See my guest blog post regarding Photoshop World at my good friend, Rich Legg's, blog at http://www.leggnet.com/2008/09/photoshop-world-recap-by-dale-welcome.html

Jay's work is inspiring and his words of wisdom are equally so. Read Jay's guest blog post on Scott Kelby's blog http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2009/archives/3814 . Jay's website can be found at http://jaymaisel.com/ . At Photoshop World, Jay left me with several thoughts:
- You cannot take photographs unless you carry your camera with you - take it with you everywhere
- The best photographs are right behind you - turn around
- Give yourself personal photographic assignment challenges

Jay's words have stuck with me to this day.

The second person that inspired me was Julieanne Kost, Adobe's Chief Photoshop Evangelist. Julieanne's images are amazing and she is also a terrific teacher. I can see why Adobe made her their chief Photoshop evangelist.

You can find Julieanne at http://www.jkost.com/ and http://www.jkost.net/ . Check out her work.

Now, here is the connection with traveling, Jay Maisel and Julieanne Kost. Julieanne has done a series of images taken from the seat of the many, many planes she has been on in her extensive travels. Her book of these images, Windows, is worth checking out. Jay Maisel has inspired me to take my camera everywhere, look behind me and challenge myself photographically. Julieanne's idea of taking photographs from her seat on the plane out the window is a view of the world I had never thought of. I love the great ideas other people have and wish I could think of those things.

My photograph above, In Flight, was taken out of the plane window on my recent trip to California. Normally I get on a plane, turn on my iPod and fall asleep. Now, I get on a plane, turn on my iPod and look out the window. I used to always get an aisle seat. Now I always take the window seat. I took this photograph because I had my camera with me and I looked out the window.

Thank you Jay and Julieanne!

Cheers,
Dale

Five Truths About Oregon

Only in Portland - A coffee cup stuck in a mirco-beer cup in a bicycle water bottle holder on a bike chained to a tree in downtown Portland.

There are five truths about Oregon. I was reminded of them in a recent trip to Portland and the Oregon coast in my RV.

Truth #1: Oregon is the definition of green.

As I drove down the Columbia Gorge going from the high plains of eastern Oregon into the mouth of the Gorge, the green begins to overwhelmingly emerge and swallows you as progress deeper into the green bowels of the state. It is so GREEN it makes you want to puke.

Truth #2: It always rains in Oregon.

Sometimes you cannot tell its raining, but trust me, it's raining. Then there are times when it is clearly raining. Rain, soggy, wet, moist and mud. Rain is ever-present in Oregon.

Truth #3: Oregonians cycle.

Oregonian cyclists are everywhere. On every street corner, on the shoulders of the roads, in the coffee shop, on MAX..........everywhere. And remember Truth #2.

Truth #4: Micro beer is king.

Oregonians make great micro beer. You will be thrown out of a beer-serving establishment if you say "I'll have a Bud." There are as many choices of micro beers in Oregon as there are combinations to order your latte at Starbucks. Oregonians are probably so good at brewing micro beers because of Truth #2.

Truth #5: Wine is queen.

If micro beer does not cover your alcoholic tastes, Oregon wine will. Oregon makes great wines, particularly pinot noirs. Take a trip down the highway 99W corridor through the Willamette Valley tasting wine and you will see what I mean. Again, this probably has something to do with Truth #2.

Cheers,

Dale

Union Pacific

There are some brilliant photographers in this world. I am fortune to say I personally know some of them. I love staring at their prints in person far more than gazing at them on the web (though images posted on the web can be stunning too). There is just something about a finely displayed finished piece of work that I love.

I have always been enamored with the idea of managing the entire photographic process from capture to print to mounting for display. With color images, this has not been possible in the past. I could control as much of the process as I could but was handcuffed to sending a file off to the lab to make a print. Even with black and white film, completing the film processing and printing required an expensive and smelly darkroom.

Digital photography has changed all of this. And I love it! I can control the capture of the image in the camera, control the processing in Photoshop, print the image from my computer to a high quality printer, and complete the process of mounting, matting and framing the image exactly the way I want it done all within the cozy confines of my office. All the while, rocking to U2 or Bon Jovi in the background.

Today marks an event I have dreamt about for quite some time. I have completed the missing link to this whole process; printing. For my 50th birthday, my wife Joy, got me an Epson R2400 printer. It's a refurbished model from 2008 but in fine condition. I ran multiple tests, replaced ink cartridges, cleaned printer nozzles, aligned printer heads, bought a couple varieties of paper and printed my first quality print output. In fact, I printed two different images and am thrilled with the results.

I am now in control from capture to display. The first two images are amazing. The color, sharpness, contrast, and impact to the eye of these two images is just stunning.

The "Union Pacific" image above is one image I printed. The second is "Window" taken in downtown Salt Lake City. I am letting both completely set and dry before I mount, matte and frame them.

With my process now complete, I still have much learning to do in the printing process but can't wait to get started. My plans are to begin completing many of my China and India images to make a full fine art gallery collection.

So, rock on U2! It's Friday, the weekend is here, and I am going learn more about fine art printing. I bet your weekend won't be this exciting?

Cheers,
Dale

Shanghai Woman

In the summer of 2007, my family and I spend an extended period in China, based in Shanghai. Our stay was an extraordinary experience and China is an extraordinary country. We gained many fond memories and friends.

China truly is an incredible country and many of its places, people, sites, beauty, smells and sorrows will remain burned into my heart and mind. This photograph is one of those memories I will never forgot.

I took this image while walking with my family on a pleasant Sunday afternoon on the "The Bund". The Bund is a very westernized part of Shanghai along the Huangpu River with high-end retail stores and expensive, exquisite restaurants. As you walk Shanghai, you are certain to see great wealth, grand architecture, crowds of tourists, and, unfortunately, poverty to levels in which we are not accustomed to in many parts of the Western world.

This woman was asleep on the steps in the heart of The Bund. I captured the image without her knowledge, otherwise, I could have expected strong objection on her part. This image represents to me the dichotomy of Shanghai and China. On the one hand, you have a very wealthy class of people with an economy growing at a unprecedented pace. On the other hand, the image is a stark reminder the country is largely void of a prosperous middle class and exhibits extreme poverty.

It would not be uncommon to see sites as this woman about Shanghai. In fact, often the sights were far worse. There were numerous occasions where we would see an full amputee, no arms or legs, placed on a old piece of cardboard laying on a hot sidewalk in ninety plus temperatures from morning to night begging for money. These sites broke my heart and I just could not bring myself to even take a photograph of such things.

Economic times are tough and these are unprecedented times for us in the West. Many are suffering. You may be one of them. Yet, despite these times we still live in a society of great hope for the future and prosperity.

I need to remind myself that while times are hard, I have a lot to be thankful for.

How about you?

Cheers,
Dale

Watched

Have you ever felt like you were being watched? In the cool of the evening, walking your dog at dusk and you feel the chill through your senses, that someone is watching you. Or that something is watching.

We are being watched every day. That eye is watching. It watches what you type on your computer. It knows you are surfing this blog. It sees you when you enter your building every day at work. It sees you as you drive down the freeway.

What do you want this eye to know about you, about what you do, or what you think?
What are you proud of? What are you ashamed of? Do you want the eye that is watching to know about you?

Be sure to look over your shoulder, in your rear view mirror, and do not think you are ever alone. Someone is watching.

What is it that is being watched?

Cheers,
Dale

Hope

Celebration in the hope of a new day.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

Middle School Girls Basketball

Have you ever watched a middle school girl’s basketball game? Wow, what fun! It is far more entertaining than wasting an afternoon watching those overpaid prima donnas in the NBA any day.

By the way, do you know origins of the meaning of prima donna? It is actually a term used by opera companies referring to the lead female singer, generally a soprano. “Prima donna” in Italian is “first lady” and represented the prime female role. Legendarily, these "prima donnas" (prime donne in Italian) were often regarded as egotistical, unreasonable and irritable, with a rather high opinion of themselves not shared by others. Funny how this term started in use referring to females. Mmmmmh, I guess I will save that for another blog.

The lead man in an opera, usually a tenor, is called the “primo uomo.” “Primo Uomo” in Italian means “first man.” Primo uomo does not seem to have the same kind of connotations or secondary meanings around the term like “prima donnas” when referring to females.

Interesting.

However, let’s get back to girls basketball. These teenage girls just play with reckless abandon, racing up and down the floor, diving for balls, whacking each other, showing brightness of skill and pure relentless determination. The scores are low; there are lots of fouls and traveling calls, and plenty of missed shots. However, there is never a moment where you can expect the unexpected to happen. It is just pure fun to watch.

My daughter, Clara, never touched a basketball until she tried out for the team. Her determination and athletic abilities from soccer got her on the team. However, the coach told her she now needs to learn the play the game. Clara plays basketball like it is soccer; hip-checking, pushing, shoving, and running over people. In two games, she almost fouled out both times. And she played less than half of each of those games! The coach told Clara that if they called everything, she would be out of the game in less than five minutes.

Clara is improving though. She earned a starting position in the next game this coming Saturday and we are proud of her. She just needs to remember not to throw her hips into the other girl to steal the ball.

Whether you have a teenage girl or not, do yourself a favor and just go watch a middle school girl’s basketball game. It will be a treat. You will never go back to watch an NBA game again!

Cheers,
dale