adventure. Fun for all ages!!
The entire water park was indoors and kept at a constant temperature. There was more than enough for everyone. We stayed one night and the boys had unlimited passes for two days. It was great.
Tony
See the split in the copper on the bottom section.
The next shot is of the north facing stairs and remaining wall that connects to the BBQ porch on the north side of the house.
The stairs were the hardest part of the process. Placing the rock properly was a learning process of building, dismantling and rebuilding. Now we wait while winter does it's thing and helps the soil pack down. In the spring we will bring in more gravel for the foundation of the patio slab.
We shaped out the outline for the back raised patio with string, tweaked it a bit and then started building. At first I was using the "tractor appreciation" technique of two hands, a shovel and a wheel barrow. That was fun. After spilling the wheelbarrow several times and in frustration lofting the thing across the yard, I began to search out other more mechanically advantaged options.
I accepted an offer to borrow a tractor from Jon's soccer coach, KUBOTA ROCKS!
And in 6 short hours I pretty much multiplied my progress ten fold. (Below is a shot of the begining of the stairs that will lead from the patio to the back yard. At this point the wall will be about 4 1/2 feet tall.)
I WANT A TRACTOR! Then the snow started falling today. It is pretty but I really wanna keep working out there although the cold and wet is not to attractive. (Below is a shot from the other side where I decided to dismantle the base of the wall to gain access with the tractor.)
The main issue is that we have Thanksgiving parking to think about, not to mention it's kinda fun driving the tractor. The rock and gravel seems to be somewhat blocking the vast majority of the driveway and needs to be moved. So maybe later today and the next few days will provide time to clear out the driveway and get the backyard presentable for Turkey Day.
We welcomed the buses and lead the kids to the holding pond for the introduction and fertilization demonstration. Gabe soon realized his tour guide vest was upside down and in need of a little attention.
It was a great couple of days and the boys shined with their knowledge and entertaining ad libs. In all they led four tours of groups from 30 to 10 kids. The tours were organized through their Four-H club, Bicycle Tree, and hosted by a chapter of WSU's environmental studies program....
We began with a short van ride to the put-in point where the boats were already waiting for our arrival. The weather was cool with what would become a strong tailwind and thankfully no rain. Our group of nine included writers, river guides, travel consultants and me, a firefighter.
After a short paddle lesson and introduction to David's mistress (the Spey), we paired up and began the day on the river. I shared a boat with a freelance writer based in San Fransisco, Don, he was a great paddling buddy with just enough experience to make it a fun day. That's us, I'm in the blue Smurf hat.
We floated the initial easy water and listened to David's descriptions of early Scottish river life. As we passed various geographic features, plants and homesteads David would expand his stories to included botany, geology and intriguing descriptions of bloody battles fought on local soil. Most of the names and titles allude my English speaking tongue but the pronunciations sounded romantically beautiful. Even if it was just a rock on top of a hill. The river led us through farmlands supporting sheep and cattle. Long ago the river banks were thick with trees resulting in a new fly fishing technique suitably called Speyfishing. Due to the dense woods at the fisherman's back a special style of casting was invented to eliminate the need for the traditional fly fishing back-cast. Eventually the local land owners mowed down the trees for improved view and easier river access. So today the dense woods are more like spots of random trees. 
The river meandered lazily through the country side and soon expanded to form a wider body of water. Just prior to crossing the open water we stopped for a breezy lunch of tea, coffee, homemade sandwiches and biscuits sweets. The company was friendly, the weather was lovely, and the service was over the top personal. David's wife had lovingly prepared three different sandwiches for the lot of us to enjoy and enjoy we did. There was mature cheddar with fruit chutney, salmon lox and ham sandwiches to choose from. 
All were equally as delicious. After lunch we made our way to the open water choosing not to tie up and raft but to make our way as several separate boats. The threatening whitecaps reached higher and higher as we crossed the lake. 
Thankfully we all reached the far side with not one capsized boat. Safely back in the calm waters of the Spey river main channel we continued our float toward the awaiting whiskey tasting. The next section of water brought with it a couple small areas of textured water requiring a greater level of concentration. 
Having cleared all but the final rapid we were welcomed to the take-out point by a set of pipes belting out into the heather and aspens.
Yet we still had a small section of technical water. The romantic sound of the pipes combined with the late hour and the anticipation of some of the world's finest whiskey distracted us all resulting in a rather hilarious log-jam of canoes at the sharp left-hand bend. 
All went well and again we averted a capsize. After a small duty of loading boats we were led like piper-mice to our destination nestled in a carpet of ferns and heather. 
The tall trees hugged the small yurt where we were treated to mystically intimate tunes, wonderfully creative yarns of flavour planets, aging processes and the finer arts of Highland Scotch Whiskey distilling and aging. 
We had the immense honor of having Dr. Andrew Forrester, the Balvenie Ambassador to the UK, educate us on all that is Scotch Single Malt Whisky. 
So began our meandering of a path through the best of the Balvenie elixirs starting with the Signature moving to Single Barrel, then Double Wood. 
We made a short stop to examine the true pure spirit in its raw form before continuing on to the Portwood 21. Then a treat, we were blessed with a half dram of the wonderfully rare Thirty, a bottle of bronze goodness none of us would choose to afford. 
Finally we rounded out the pallet exercise with a tasting of the latest experiment of Peatwood, a malt with wonderful accent of peat introduced during the drying process of the barley. Our day of adventure ended with a late return to the hotel. We had passed the time of using the shuttle van and had to cram into David's personal vehicle, it was one last bit of fun before returning to the Summit.............................
We experienced firsthand the adventure of driving the narrow roads. Our arrival at the train station was announced by a whiplash U-turn followed by a staccato parking job. The bus emptied quickly and folks scattered in all directions: some heading to the station, others along the stone sidewalks and still more down stairs leading to the nearby castle. Cheryl and I made our way to the station and booked out train to Inverness. We grabbed a small bite while we waited in the station. Out tickets guided us to the proper platform for the train and we were surprised to find it already there and ready to depart. We boarded, stowed our bags and found seats for the four hour ride through the night. The train departed five minutes early into the evening. About forty-five minutes later the conductor made his way to our car and requested our tickets. We dug them out of our pockets and presented them only to hear, “You are on the wrong train.” In the country for only a few hours and we are already on the wrong train. We explained that the reader-board said Inverness and he confirmed that this trail will eventually end up in Inverness. It just takes a much longer route and stops at every town along the way. The more direct train left five minutes after the train we were on from the other tracks on the same platform. Oops. Yes, we would end up in Inverness but several hours later than expected. Now, we had booked a quaint B&B in town with a late check in time of 9 pm. The weather delay meant we would not arrive until close to nine. Now with our train blunder we would not arrive until roughly 1 am. I was becoming concerned about reaching our destination and not being able to get in.
We arrived as scheduled in Inverness. The town was mostly closed down and asleep sans the pubs. A few taxis waited outside the station for fares and random folks exiting pubs dotted the streets and sidewalks. We were not sure about the distance to the B&B and debated if we should take a taxi. The driver, hearing the address said if we didn’t mind a few stairs, it would only be a few minutes’ walk. We thanked him and made our way through the night. The rough hewn stone stairs were not too bad and soon we were at the top standing in an intersection analyzing our map in an effort to get orientated. A very friendly rather drunk man approached and offered assistance. We said he was walking home from the pub and was going our way. We found out that he and his wife, who by the way loves Americans, were married in San Francisco. We found the correct road; Southside. But we could not find the house, until another gentleman who was sober got us pointed in the correct direction. We parted with our new drunk friend and found 20 Southside Rd. The front door was cracked open allowing access to the foyer. We clicked the buzzer and were quickly greeted by a groggy teenage boy who kindly greeted us, took our orders for breakfast and showed us to our room. It was 1:15 in the morning. And we were asleep quickly. (Please take time to visit their site at: www.atholdene.com)
The next morning we awoke still tired from the previous days’ adventures with planes, trains and…buses. Breakfast was served in the main dining area downstairs. Cheryl had porage and I had a traditional Scottish meal of eggs, ham, sausage and black pudding. It was a heavy and calorie rich plate. Freddy, the man of the house, said he would tell me what was in the pudding after I had finished eating. It was more like a paddy of black oatmeal, onion and spices fried in bacon fat. But there was a more gamey flavor there that I couldn’t quite make out. Later I found out that was the pigs’ blood. Yep, that's the flavor I couldn't place. Here is a view of the front of the B&B.
Out the door and to the marathon check in. We made our way back through town, now in the daylight, to Bungth Park located in the center of Inverness.
The River Ness quietly bisects the town and provides for wonderful Atlantic salmon fishery. Above are a few shots of guys fly fishing in the traditional spey style.
Marathon check-in was just like any other check-in where you are asked to
show you entry info, check you name off the list, get your packet and confirm the correct race number. It was interesting being around runners from different countries. It wasn't all that different from races in the states, just different languages. The rest of the day was spent walking around the town. We stumbled on a small church hosting a wedding seen here with a few nervous gents outside,
found a local shopping area with a butcher shop and even a "pound" store,
and the local fire department (unfortunately they were out on a call).
As evening approached the city began to light up and present Cheryl with more photographic opportunities. 
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