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Sometimes you have to listen to what Mother Nature is trying to tell you.
Our original plan was to head east to Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia for a couple days
of skiing. But this was an unusual February. Temperatures that week
were hovering in the low 40's with a forecast of light rain and mist.
At the last minute, we changed our plans and decided to head up to Boyne
Mountain Ski Resort in Northern Michigan in hopes of cooler temperatures and the
possibility of snow. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all ...
Click on any
picture to enlarge (best viewed in 1024 x 768):
We were looking at an eight hour drive so
we decided to stop off in Flint, Michigan to
split the drive in two segments. It
gave me a chance to show Rita where I lived back in
the 1980's. That's my "crackerbox"
rental home on the left and the first house I ever
owned on the right. It looks MUCH better now than when I lived there!
And you can't stop in the Flint area without
a short drive North to Then the next morning
visit the German town of
Frankenmuth, MI. Some dinner at the
we were on our way! As
Bavarian Inn, watch the Glockenspiel and
some serious sightseeing! we
approached Boyne Mtn,
I was getting concerned about
the lack of snow this far North.
Boyne Mountain, MI
We stayed in The view from our
No one else on the
Trail Map
The Main Lodge
The Edleweiss
lodge
lifts? I should have
at sunset
Lodge at the
recognized that as
Mountain's Base
a warning!
Rita on the ski
So far we're And later that
day it happened. One minute I was skiing along loving
lift.
having a great this sport and then
I was tumbling down the hill. Heard a "pop" in
time!
my left knee and that sinking feeling that, "This wasn't going to be
good." After finally stopping and making sure everything was still
attached, I tried to stand ... but my left knee wouldn't support any
weight. Ski Patrol to the rescue! And I have to say that the
Boyne
Mtn Ski Patrol did a great job. They were on the scene in minutes.
So off we went to Northern Michigan Hospital in
Petoskey, MI. The CAT Scan made my knee look like a jigsaw puzzle.
So an MRI was done to determine the extent of damage. Diagnosis:
A fracture in the tibia (shin) bone where the ACL ligament attaches.
No surgery or cast was needed, but I did go through several months of
physical therapy. It's the end of March as I write this and the
crutches and splints are long gone. Docs expect me to be 100% by the
end of May. Each week getting better than the previous.
That's life I guess! Sometimes things don't
go quite as planned. But you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself
off ... and keep on smiling! And you can bet I'll be back on those
slopes come next year. :-)
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