Miles of memories on Gunsight Pass trail

It was a treasure of mountain peaks, meadows, streams, rivers, waterfalls and wildflowers. It seemed every time we rounded a turn, broke out into the open, we were greeted with yet another stunning scene, new terrain, new grounds to navigate.

What I hate about North Idaho

You see, I live for summer. I was, am, and always will be a summers kind of guy. I wait anxiously through late fall, winter, and spring for my favorite season. It is then I take a deep breath, look around, and give thanks. It is what gives me hope during the seemingly endless 40-degree, soggy days of January and February. It is what drives me when I look out the window and am greeted with rain in March and April. It is what keeps me in North Idaho, because there is no better place to call home in the summer than North Idaho.

C'mon over to play 'Red Rover'

Now, in case you have no idea how to play Red Rover, it’s pretty simple. It was a game we played often as children, a staple of my childhood. You split up into two teams and line up facing each other from a distance of about 10 yards. Then, you decide who gets to go first. Once that is done, you’re ready.

Ironman 70.3 CDA: 'Ooh, what a lucky man he was'

Just 24 hours earlier, it was filled with weary runners and energetic volunteers. Our yard was filled with family and friends, kids and grandkids, who came to root for us in the running segment of the race, which goes right by our home. As I recall, it was the best of days.

Last call to a crazy beautiful brother

More than anything, he loved being around family, a trait he inherited from our father. His smile and laughter filled the house. He could hug and say, “I love you” with such passion that you knew he meant it. They weren’t just words.

With age, comes one question: 'How old are you?'

He went on to tell me I shouldn’t be running too much as I was getting older and in fact, another guy our age, a good athlete, had knee surgery and can’t run anymore because he overdid things. “You don’t want to wind up like him,” he said. My friend, once a fine runner, no longer could and instead took up cycling. He looked to have put on quite a few pounds.

Fight to the finish at the Milwaukee Marathon

Milwaukee is a beautiful city that sits on the shores of Lake Michigan and is home to the Brewers and the Bucks. People are committed to the Green Packers and come football season, many make the 120-mile drive to Lambeau Field. With tree-lined streets, older homes, plenty of taverns and the Milwaukee River running through it, in my opinion it resembled a big version of Coeur d’Alene. It’s a place where summers are celebrated, even coveted, and winters are proudly accepted and worn like a badge of honor.

'Do you miss them?'

Grandson's question sparks reflections on parents

Grandson's question raises memories of long ago.

Opening day and days on the diamond

It marked the time when all the kids in our neighborhood, and there were a lot, began our nightly rituals of gathering for games on Fridays and Saturdays. Come summer, we would stay out until well after dark, pitching, batting, running and shouting under the streetlights just outside of our homes until a neighbor would holler at us to quiet down and get to bed.

Life is better with a few good friends

My wife kids me that I don’t have any friends, to which I respond, “I do, too. I have three.” She seems suspicious of this claim. To prove it, I name them: Don Witulski, Keith Erickson and Mike McLean.

Ironman: Old man versus the kids

I am excited, and yet, I also have reservations about swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 and running 13.1. The primary concern is I don’t do a lot of swimming or biking, which explains why I am slow at both.

The favorite child debate lives on

Rumor has it that my mom, the youngest of 10 raised in the Highwood Mountains in Montana, was the favored one of her parents. For sure, a relative told me, the most spoiled one. Got whatever she wanted. I’m sure she deserved it.

Boris opened the door to the world of chess

Spassky was nearly as brilliant. His was a household name among those who who grew up playing chess. It was a game that received scant attention in the U.S. until Fischer, a defiant, angry man who disappeared not long after his big win, put it in the spotlight. The 1993 movie about chess prodigy, “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” remains a favorite.

Eva's faith washes away doubts

After learning what she had, this girl did not faint with fear. Instead, she wanted to get a ninja obstacle course built in her town of Meridian. The reason she wanted this was because she said, “it really spreads the message that you can overcome obstacles.”

Here's hoping 'Old Notre Dame will win over all'

At the center of it all, the ringleader, the master of ceremonies, was my father. He wanted people there. The more, the merrier. He wasn’t passionate about Notre Dame.

Newspaper career started in the streets

They also offered what were called Bonus Bucks. Carriers received two Bonus Bucks each month and if you saved up enough, you could order something from their catalogue. My best prizes were a renaissance chess set, of which I still have a few pieces, and a Kodak Instamatic 126 camera, my first.

Sweet 16 running shoes not included in decluttering phase

There is one area where I struggle the most when it comes to cleaning house, one area I anguish over each time I try to surrender just a few of them: Running shoes.

Marathon of memories

The Seattle Marathon started near the Space Needle. Nearly everyone, it seemed, had a phone and they were either taking selfies or holding their phone high and capturing the crowd.

Dad's grocery store didn't last, but it raised a family

As I recall, he quit his job delivering mail for the Postal Service to go out on his own. He had a wife and six kids and not much money in savings, but he was determined and believed he could do it. It was a simple dream and no one worked harder than my father.

The many names of grandpa and beyond

Finally, having heard enough, especially because she’s almost always winning in our one-on-one battles, Hadley will proclaim, “Grandpa, you are not Michael Jordan!”

A boy, baseball and Pete Rose

I will say, now, Pete Rose was my hero. I worshipped him through my boyhood. I don’t know exactly when I became obsessed with the Cincinnati Reds and Pete Rose. Maybe when I was about 8 or 9 years old and growing up in Seattle.

Holding Beau, regrets fade away

Family better than Hawaii

Boise bound? Pick your path

Long-distance road trips a matter of choice

Boise or bust

Running into people is good

On any given day, there are a number of good people I have come across while running

Keeping up with the grandkids

It's a losing battle, but a joy to try

These are active, fit kids involved in numerous sports, including gymnastics, soccer, flag football, basketball and Taekwondo

A year without beer

Here's to a 2023 without even a Hamm's

I don’t think I’ve ever mowed my lawn, worked in the garage or shot baskets out back without a beer nearby.

The call of The Plunge

New Year's Day dip into Lake Coeur d'Alene always an adventure

On New Year’s Day, I will dive into Lake Coeur d’Alene. Yes, I admit it. I’m a proud Polar Bear Plunger, one of those who finds it fun to strip down to shorts at Sanders Beach and at noon charge into the icy water, dive in and come up screaming.

Recalling the joy of Christmas morning

Parents shared the greatest gift of all

The gift of Christmas while growing up

Fixing a flat can take a village

Kind-hearted strangers get cyclist back on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes

The beauty of biking on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes cannot be overstated. In the 10 miles from the Medimont trailhead to Harrison, the fall colors are brilliant. The solitude is calming. The surrounding scenery is stunning. It is peaceful and perfect on a Sunday afternoon. And then came a flat tire.

A new life for Little Foot

Dog flies from Kauai to home in Coeur d'Alene

Dog flies from Kauai to home in Coeur d'Alene

THE FRONT ROW with BILL BULEY: Pride in defeat during an eventful Ironman

I was satisfied knowing I hadn’t quit. They had to stop me.