A Very Hot Bike Ride to Yelm and Back

I really wanted to go on a bike ride and Mom just got her new bike so she could get exercise other than walking all the time.  I called her up and asked her if she wanted to go on a bike ride over the weekend and she said sure.  We agreed upon Sunday.  Ben was on a 24 hour shift at the fire department.  We knew it was going to be hot but we didn't know it was actually going to reach 100 degrees that day (which would be the hottest day of the year for us).  I knew I had to replace some of my caches along that part of the trail so I made sure to put a bunch of containers into my back pack so I would have them.

I got up around 9:30 and got ready to go.  I had a small breakfast and then packed up everything into the Escape including the recycle, my bike, replacement caches, water jugs and back packs.  I brought over the last of our pulled pork and beans to share with everyone because Ben and I weren't eating it very fast and we didn't want it to go bad.  I stopped by the recycle on the way to Rainier, dropped it off and made it to Mom and Dad's house around noon.

Doug and Dad were going to spend the afternoon doing garbage today.  I'm glad I didn't have to do that because I went about a month ago on one of my Friday furlough days.  Doug had gotten there before me and Mom decided that we should make some lunch before we started doing our stuff for the day.  I mentioned to her on the way over that I was going to bring leftover pulled pork and beans.  We heated them up and everyone ate some food.

We took Mom's bike out of the trailer in the font yard and managed to stuff it in the back of the Escape with my bike.  We drove into Rainier and parked behind Rainier Market near some shade.  We unloaded the bikes and put the stuff we needed into my back pack.  We got onto our bikes and headed east on the Yelm-Tenino trail towards Yelm and it wasn't quite that hot yet.  We managed to ride all the way to Yelm before we stopped for water.  Most of the trail is covered in trees so we had plenty of shade.

When we did get to Yelm, it was approaching 100 degrees so hardly anyone was on the trail or at the skate park.  I've always wanted to ride by bike on a vacant skate park and today was that perfect day!  It was too hot for everyone else!  I rode up and down some of the ramps and mom took some pictures of me.  It was fun.  

Afterwards, we crossed the main intersection in Yelm and headed down the back roads to the Dollar Tree.  We forgot our bike locks so Mom stood outside waiting for me to bring some cold water and some Twix ice cream bars.  It was nice to stand in line in an air conditioned building for a few minutes. 

We stood outside and ate our ice cream bars and then dumped our cold water into our Nalgene's.  We threw away our garbage and then headed back the same way we came back to the trail to ride back to Rainier.  We saw that the temperature actually reached 100 degrees on the reader board at the bank.

We stopped a few times for water breaks, since it got hotter and I wanted to place two new caches along the trail where there were open gaps.  The first one was Highway 507 and 105th Trail Cache (GC8YF5W) and the second was Curious George (GC8YF5Z).  They were both simple caches hidden just off the trail.  I took the coordinates and wrote down some hints and then asked mom what we should call them.  We came up with those names.  I checked on a few of my older caches as we rode by just to make sure they had a good logbook inside and that the container was actually still there.

After we crossed Manke Road, we took a rest and water break near some rocks in the shade.  We sat on the rocks and took some swigs of water.  We were probably here for about ten minutes or so.  It was nice to take a break.

We got back to the Escape after a 12 mile bike ride, loaded up the bikes and headed towards Tenino to grab the cache at McIntosh Lake, Lake McIntosh CITO Bonus (GC89R6X).  The last time I was here I couldn't find it and then because of Covid the gates to the boat launch were closed until June so I had to wait to come back to get it.  Ohjoy had fixed it by then as well.  We had to go the back way on Military Road to Tenino because someone had T-boned someone by the Vail and Hwy 507 intersection and the road was closed for a while.  We got to the lake and I had to orient myself so it wasn't super obvious because there were a bunch of people parked there getting ready to play in the lake.  I knew exactly where it was, grabbed it, signed our names and put it back quickly.

We drove into Tenino so I could check on my caches there.  All was well thank goodness.  Since we were in Tenino, I stopped by the fire station to say hi to Ben and to find his cache, Tenino FD 12 (GC8N3PM).  It wasn't hard because I was with him when he placed it back in March before Covid closed everything.  I told him we were there and he came out and visited for a bit while I found the cache and signed our names.  He was glad I stopped by but I told him it had to be a short visit because Mom was in the Escape and was hot and wanted to go home.  I gave him some hugs and kisses and told him I would see him when he got home after work the next day.

We drove back to Rainier to Mom and Dad's house.  I filled up my water jugs, Dad and Doug just got done at the dump and pulled up as we were putting Mom's bike back in the trailer.  I was really wanting a sandwich but Meconi's was closed on Sundays so I decided to order one from Jersey Mike's on their phone app.  I have never ordered a sandwich on an app before.  Yay Covid and contactless fast food!  I drove into Lacey, picked up my sandwich and headed home.

The weather did get significantly cooler and rained a tiny bit.  The sunset and sky were pretty colors of oranges and pinks.

I logged my caches, created my new caches, ate my sandwich, watched hockey, talked to Mom and Trish for a bit on the phone and got cleaned up.  I worked on my blog for a bit and then went to bed because I was exhausted from being out in the heat.

Next Adventure:  A Weekend with Trish and Ed

Grandpa's 85th Birthday Party

Grandpa's birthday was approaching fast and I knew we had to put together a celebration for him.  You just never know how much longer he is going to be able to stick around.  He's had a rough few years and we wanted to make his day special.  I called up Dad and asked if he could ask Grandpa (he has been going over there three times a day to make sure he eats well and makes it to his appointments, etc.) if he wanted to have a birthday party this year.  I told him that we could do it outside in his front yard so he didn't have to walk very far and we can bring KFC or something so we wouldn't have to make a giant mess.  Dad said he would ask.

Dad got back to me later on and said that Grandpa would love a birthday party in his front yard.  He said he didn't matter what we ate as long as everyone came.  This would be the first extended family gathering since Covid started but since it was going to be outside, we would be able to social distance easily.  I emailed everyone to let them know what we were doing and everyone got back to me stating that it was a great idea.  I started to plan out the next few days.

On Friday, I logged off of my work laptop and gathered up the recycle to head into Rainier.  I dumped off the recycle first and then headed to Mom and Dad's to get Mom motivated to go with me to mow Grandpa's lawn.  She drove the truck and I drove the Escape over since it had all the folding tables in it.  We picked up the poop first and then we both mowed the lawn.  She was on the push lawn mower while I was on the riding lawn mower.  We got it done pretty fast between the two of us.

We went to the back yard and found some of the tables we used to use during our parties several years ago and started washing and rinsing the outdoor debris off of them.  We walked them around to the front yard to stage and let them dry for the party.  I took my tables out from the back of the Escape, some of the chairs and set them out.  We grabbed one more table and a few chairs out of the motor home and wiped them down.  Mom left to go get dinner for Dad and Grandpa.  When she came back, we fed the cats, dogs and walked Roscoe down the road.  

All I needed to do was decorate and social distance the tables.  Mom and Grandma would bring the KFC from Yelm.  

I woke up the next day, picked up Erika and headed to Mom and Dad's house so we could go to Katie's baby shower at Gastropub in Yelm.  It was a drive by baby shower.  We hopped into Mom's Expedition and drove out to Yelm.  We sat for a while and waited our turn.  We chatted with Katie and Amy for a bit, handed them the baby gifts we brought and then Amy brought out the food.  We didn't expect to see that much food when she handed us the to go containers.  The food was pretty good too.  We headed back home and gave Dad some of the leftovers so he could have some and he could take some to Grandpa for lunch.

I took Erika back to her apartment and I headed to the Dollar Store to pick up a few things and then I drove out to Tumwater to visit Grammie for a little bit and then headed over to Grandpa's house around 3ish.

Dad met me over there and helped me decorate tables and set up the decorations.  I put out a garbage can, brought paper plates, silverware and cups just so we didn't have to create waste or make a mess in the kitchen.  Everyone started to trickle in around 5ish and Mom and Grandma showed up with the food.  

 We set it all up and then had everyone come and dish up.  Dad grabbed Grandpa and sat him down at a table and made a plate for him.  You could tell Grandpa was having a great time.  He absolutely enjoyed having everyone over visiting and sharing a meal with him on his birthday.  He stayed out there for a while chatting with everyone but had to go back in the house and sit in his chair because the chairs outside didn't support his back and hips very well.  Before he went into the house, he thanked us for the wonderful birthday party and for coming over.  

We cleaned up everything off the tables and sent some of the leftovers home with Doug and Jenn and Mom took some home for her and Dad.  I was sad there wasn't enough for Ben and I to take some home but it was okay, we would live.  Everyone who came over thanked me for putting together a birthday party for Grandpa and everyone headed home for the evening.  It was super dry outside but nothing was on fire...yet.

I sure hope Grandpa starts to feel better so he can come to family gatherings again.  He hasn't come to anything since last Christmas but Covid has kinda altered the way we celebrate holidays this year.  It was important that we celebrate Grandpa this weekend.

Happy 85th birthday Grandpa!

Next Adventure:  A Very Hot Bike Ride to Yelm and Back

The Second Worst Day of My Life: Losing My Kitty Calvin

It has taken me most of the day to come to grips on what happened over the past few days.  This morning I had to put my kitty, Calvin, to sleep and I was absolutely devastated that I had to make such a choice.

Over the past two weeks he ate very little of his food so he started losing weight at an alarming rate.  I thought maybe it was the heat or he didn't like his food anymore so I bought a different kind hoping he would gain the weight back.  Unfortunately, he stopped eating all together.  He would only eat grass, when we let him outside, and kitty treats; hardly anything to sustain any real nutrition.  We knew something more serious was wrong with him.  I started calling clinics in the area and they were all booked solid for at least two weeks, the reason I have no idea but 2020 seems to be the year in which everything bad happens and you have no control over it.  I felt helpless.

Monday, I sat in an emergency parking lot waiting for our turn but was turned away do to emergency surgeries and long wait times.  I got really anxious.  I knew he was silently suffering.  Last night, I could not sleep so I woke Ben up around 2 a.m. so we could call the other 24 hour clinic in the area because I HAD to know what was wrong with him  Olympia Veterinary Specialists in downtown Olympia were the only people that would let us take him in to let them assess him.  We were so grateful.  We loaded him up in the cat carrier and off we went.  We sat in the parking lot and talked to two different people including the doctor.  She dais that they would assess him and then do diagnostics in the morning since they were at full capacity.  I paid the deposit and left him there with them which I really hated I had to do that.  Ben and I went home and tried going to bed.  I tossed and turned all night long worrying about what the verdict was going to be.

The next morning we got up, we were usually greeted in the morning by Calvin letting us know he was hungry, but not today.  I missed that.  I missed him sitting on my head above my pillow like a hat waiting for me to get up.  I went out to the living room to start work and Ben got ready and left to go to work.  He said to keep him posted.  It was sure lonely in the house by myself.

Around 7:45 a.m. the doctor from the clinic called to let me know what they found out from the tests.  She said she gave him some medication to keep him stable and comfortable over night because he was having a hard time breathing.  She continued to tell me that his glucose was high but they expected it to be, his liver was fine, cell count was normal, no heart failure, negative for feline infection or disease.  There was no blood in his lungs or stomach but there was so fluid in his lungs and stomach.  The x-rays they took showed signs of cancer his chest in the form of little nodules.  She added that he was on oxygen because he had a shortness of breath.  He wasn't taking deep breathes but short quick ones.

My heart sank.

She gave me several options of what I could do.  I knew if we brought him home he wouldn't have a very good quality of life and it would be cruel and selfish of us to do that to him.  I knew he was an older cat so any form of cancer treatment wouldn't make any sense, especially in his current state and his breathing situation.  So I picked the most logical choice even though I didn't want to.  I asked about the procedure and what would happed after.  She explained them to me very professionally.  She asked what I wanted to do afterwards and I chose to have him cremated with a paw print to remember him by.  She said she would let the receptionists know and to call them when we got there.

I immediately lost my mind.  I literally called my coworkers and told them that I had to leave.  My brain wouldn't work coherently so everything I said probably sounded weird on the other side of the phone.  They understood.  After working for about an hour I logged off and called Ben, Mom and Dad and told them what was going on.  I cried.  I was in a daze.  I had to put my cat to sleep.  I was hoping this wasn't real and a cruel dream. 

Ben came home from work and we drove down there.  We sat in the parking lot, paid more money and waited for someone to come get us and take us to a room.  We went through the side door and into exam room 2.  We waited a few minutes and then they rolled him in on a cat gurney for us to spend as much time with him as we could.  He was scared but glad to see his people.  I'm sure he wondered why he was there and what was going on.  It was so hard not to cry.  I didn't want to do this to him but we had to.  We had to give him a peaceful passing because it was the right thing to do.  He will not be silently suffering anymore.  We gave him tons of hugs and kisses.  We told him it would be alright and that we loved him.  We told him he is a good cat and we were glad that we were the ones that got to take care of him and love him.

We pressed the button to let someone know that it was time.  The doctor came in and explained the procedure.  We held him, loved him and talked to him until he wasn't with us anymore.  The hardest part was feeling him pass away and the realization that he wasn't with us anymore.  I cried harder.  This was so hard to deal with.  This is THE worst thing I've ever had to do in my life.  We petted him some more while the doctor told us what happened next.  She handed me his cat carrier and on the top was a piece of masking tape with his name written on it with black permanent marker. She wheeled his body down the hall.  I stood there knowing that this was the last time I would ever see him and it hurt so much.  That sight will haunt me for the rest of my life.  I'm sorry Calvin.

It was difficult to come home to an empty house without a cat in it.  A cat that I have loved over the past 12 years, probably the most difficult 12 years of my life.  He was there loving me back unconditionally.  There was no cute face peeking around the corner saying, oh hey guys.  There will be no more lap sits, no more window sunning, more more weird noises coming from the hallway, no more head sits in bed, no more Calvin snuggles and loves.  August has not been too kind to me or my family over the years and this year was no different.

I appreciate everyone who followed and are fans of my post about my cat.  Calvin was very loved and lived a great life. 

I miss you Calvin.

Next Adventure:  Grandpa's 85th Birthday Party