July 12, 2020

Maine Time

We are now mountain people. We spend most of our lives in Utah, surrounded by mountains. I have always loved mountain towns, and their culture. But both of us grew up on the ocean, in Marblehead, Massachusetts. So it’s a little odd that we find ourselves 1,000 miles from the nearest ocean, and 2,000 miles from the ocean we grew up on. Generally, I don’t miss being on the water, but that may be in part because every summer for the past 38, Gail and I have spent time at her family’s cottage on the coast of Maine, about an hour northeast of Portland, on the edge of a resort,…

July 3, 2020

The Perilous Life of a Fisherwoman

Rippers have to learn to be flexible when weather conditions interfere with plans.  So when monsoon rains prevented me from teeing off one morning with my friends, I headed for the pond, rod in hand. One of my goals has been to catch a fish with a fly.  Ever since I saw the film, A River Runs Through It, I have longed to recreate the river scenes with me as the leading actor. Luckily, I have access to prime trout streams both in Utah and the Pocono Mountains.  A while back, pre-Covid, I took advantage of a three-day clinic for women given by the High Country Fly Fishers, a chapter of Trout Unlimited. Patient…

June 21, 2020

Sidney is 100!

My dad, Sid Rose, turned 100 on June 15! Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway. Especially since this is Father’s Day! First, an update. Some of you may have noticed we have been missing in action for the past few weeks. In fact, it’s been over a month since we last posted Mountain Biking My Way. We haven’t lost interest, but we have been busy! Gail was wrapping up her stranger-than-fiction school year, and we were getting ready to head east for almost 2 months. We drove from Park City, camping for 2 nights, until we arrived at our cottage in Buck Hill Falls, PA, where…

May 16, 2020

Mountain Biking, My Way!

This post is dedicated to one of our favorite Senior Rippers, Charlie Dixon, from Buck Hill Falls, PA, who passed away this week from complications due to Covid-19. Charlie always lived life to its fullest, with a smile on his face, and an encouraging word. We will miss him dearly. Good fortune blew a small group of “Rippers” to the base of Powder Mountain Ski Area on a warm Sunday afternoon.  Our intention was to mountain bike, but the parking lot was deserted. Two loose dogs led us to an open door where fortunately their owner knew enough to point us up a newly paved road. We landed on top…