Vikes beat the Cowboys, Bears, Lions, and Pack loose

Yesterday was better than Christmas. The Bears and Lions get beat in close games, and the Pack drops a heartbreaker to Miami at home in overtime. Ha! The purple headed warriors showered themselves in glory at the dome, beating the worthless Cowboys. Take that, America's team. This was what the team needed heading in to next weeks national game at Lambeau. Go Vikes!

Goblin Valley S.P., Utah

Check this sign out. Good thing we had a *vicious* goblin-munching doodle with us!

Three happy goblins, one is furry!

She sat on a goblin's head! (he looks upset)

This would be very cool at night in a full moon.

Goblin-riffic!

Bob Marley Break

That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all,
Without regard to race -
Dis a war.

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace,
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued,

But never attained -

Little Wild Horse Canyon

The schmig stepped up and organized a trip out to Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon. I had not heard of either, but I am sure glad we went. Little Wild Horse is an easily accessible slot canyon cut through the San Rafael swell in south central Utah. There is a nice loop hike the exits out Bell Canyon, the next one over. It had rained heavily a few days earlier so there were some stretches of standing water in the narrows. There are also a dozen or so obstacles to get over/down along the way. We took it pretty easy and the hike lasted ~5hrs. The October weather was perfect, and earlier in the season, this would have been a scorcher.

Erica & Adam.

Rufus, Ollie, and a Schmig!

The puppy *LOVED* it and spent the days jumping in mud puddles and running back and forth "exploring" the canyon. He's gonna make a good trail dog for sure.

The Narrows.

More crazy rock features.

We ran in to our neighbor, Ben, half way through the hike.

The campsite on BLM land just outside Goblin Valley State Park.

UT-AAAAAAHHHHHH!

Brewing 'Reggaemilitus' Stout

Decided to brew a batch based on a clone recipe for Sierra Nevada's version of Stout. I just wanted a dry, hoppy, easy drinking stout for the fall weather.

This was my little filthy brew-buddy for the day. He was a huge help!

The Mash.

The Boil.

O.G. 1.068 (recipe called for 1.066) on a 5 gallon batch. Not too shabby. I'll post the details if it comes out ok.

That's right, Mark Sanchez is gettin' dirty tonight when the Vikes lay the beat down in New York. The odds on the game reversed with the addition last week of Randy Moss, with the Vikes a 4.5 point favorite with a 40 point over/under. It's gonna be a big one on Monday Night!

Rodgers gets popped as 'Skins hustle Pack in OT

In another blow to their season, the Pack are reporting that Jermichael Finley is going in to have his knee scoped, Nick Barnet will have (possibly) season ending wrist surgery, and Aaron Rodgers suffered a concussion in the last play of Sunday's loos to the Redskins. Rough day for the Pack. While I never want to see a guy get hurt, I do hope that Rodgers gets fielded in "The big helmet" next week. Ho Ho, Pack Buddies! Any more starters drop out, and it's going to be even harder to beat Detroit next time!

Moss to return to Vikes, Pack said to forfeit NFC north as of 3pm CDT

Hola Pack-Buddies! And with a quick bye-week manouvre, the Vikes pull Moss out of New England and back into the dome. He ain't 24 any mo, but dude has legs, height, hands, and attitude. Anybody else remember when he wiped his crack on the upright at Lambeau? It was a thing of beauty. In related news, the Pack and Bears have reportedly conceded the NFC north as of 3pm CDT. Next Year, fellas.

Signs of Fall in Durango

A sure sign that despite the warm weather, fall is here. On stage left sits my first attempt at Sauerkraut, complete with local juniper berries in the jar. To the right of that is this years batch of hard cider, made with molasses, brown sugar, cinamon and cranberry juice - that one should be potent! To the right of that is the "Red X" Hempen Ale, a Robust Porter made with hemp seed and cascade hops. Finally, on stage right, a yeast starter growing out some Sierra Nevada Yeast (*THE* chico ale) for a SN Stout clone I plan on getting to later this week. I'll post the recipes if they warrant posting. Check out the "Brewing" category for some of the recipes I have used in the past.

Durango to Silverton RR

Took a private ride up the tracks today.

The weather was perfect and the colors were below prime in town, at prime in Cascade, and just past up top.

My kind of work!