When it Rains, it Pours... First me, Now Pam...

I have now mostly recovered from my recent operation and am doing much better than before. I can swallow and 'talk' better and all, in all, am quite happy with the results.

Now, its Pam's turn on the table... She has been having these horrible neck and back pains that would numb her arms and cause various other symptoms for many months. It actually has been bothering her for years, but was further exasperated last year when she was trying to build a rock garden. She went to the doctors about it then, which resulted in spending a lot of wasted time doing physical therapy and Chiropratic adjustments and taking lots of meds. But, the bottom line was that all that work didn't resolve much and it kept getting worse as time went on, requiring more meds to keep it 'livable' and function on a daily basis.

Well, things sorta came to a head, and we went back to another doctor that referred her to one of the specialists at the Spine Institute of Idaho. He checked her out, doing various test including an MRI and EMG - a really fun electro-shock test that checks out all your nerve functionings. I had one of them done some time ago, and its sorta like some of the torture techniques I have seen them do in Vietnam movies, but you have to pay them to do it on you...

Anyway, the bottom line is that her spinal cord is severely compressed from cervical disks 2 through 6 in the neck. The disks between the vertabras have degenerated to the point of where there is little to no spinal fluid cushioning the spinal cord and are causing nerves that come out from between the vertabra to be pinched. Altogether causing continous pain and intermittent loss of all feeling in her arms. In addition to that, she has bone spurs on all of her cervical vertabras, which makes it even more painful. During this whole process, they have also concluded that she has very serious carpal Tunnel syndrome (CTS) in both wrists.

So, the CTS doctor wants to operate on the CTS immediately, but that is being postponed, with the addition of wearing special wrist/arm braces on both wrists, for the time being until the primary neck problems are resolved.

Which, brings me to the 'bottom line' of all this mess. On Wednesday, November 8th, they are going to operate on her at the St Lukes Hospital in Meridian, a burb of Boise, to resolve all the neck issues. My understanding is that they will be going into the front of the neck, and will end up replacing 5 of her discs with bone pieces that have been formed to replace the removed discs. I am not sure where, or from whom this bone comes from, but it doesn't sound like too much fun in any case. Then, as I understand it, they are going to somehow fuse, or link, her vertebra together with metal 'butterfly' looking plates held in place with screws. This is all suppose to happen in a one-night hospital stay with minor resulting trauma. Most of the existing symptoms are to be immediately resolved and she will have to wear a full neck brace for a few weeks. This all seems a bit too 'magical' to me, after all my medical 'fun', but I guess we shall see...

Here is a link to a website from which you can view the animated proceedure that Pam will be having on 5 disks. Once you get to the website, choose "Spine", then under Region on the right, choose "Cervical", then choose the last one listed "Anterial, etc... http://www.understandspinesurgery.com/template2/v_site.asp

So, I guess now I will have to get a nurse's uniform to go along with my French House Bitch one...

On a happier note, I have been doing a lot of sturgeon fishing now that I have figured out where and how to do it. I have been down there 4 times now and have caught at least one nice sized one each time - which pretty much wears me out. The first 8 footer is still the largest, but all the rest have been in the 6 to 7 foot range and are very impressive fish. The littler ones jump more, which is great fun to watch. I did see a really large one surface close to me the other day, so there are still larger ones down there. Its getting colder here, so the fishing 'season' is winding down without having to gear up for cold weather. I hear the Sturgeon always bite, so its just a matter of how much weather I am up for.

This is my last one. It was between 6 and 7 feet long and did some great jumps. I really must figure out how to get them on video on of these days. They are quite spectacular.



Here is a good picture of just how weird these Sturgeon look. This one is about a 6 footer. The rod handle is about 28" long to give you some perspective...




They came and blew out the sprinkler system with a high pressure air compressor a couple of days ago. They do it every fall to get all the water out of all the lines and fittings so it won't freeze and crack all the plumbing during the winter. That event usually signifies the onset of the cold winter here in DaHo...

Finally!! - I Found the BIG ONEs...

I have been talking to fishermen, searching maps and Google Earth for hours, Reading everything I could find and dreaming about the Large Idaho Snake River Sturgeon for weeks - as you probably know if you read this BLOG or know me. I have been tracking down and catching smaller ones, 3 to 5 feet size, for weeks, while learning about their big brothers.

A couple of days ago, while playing pool, this guy was telling me about this place where some big ones hang out about 45 minutes away from here in Bliss. From his directions and hours of studying little roads and trails on Google Earth, I had a pretty good idea where this place was. I called this guy I met a couple of weeks ago while fishing, Pam's mother calls him 'The Old Drunk', to go fishing since it really takes at least two people to deal with these large fish. So, it was all planned to go yesterday. I showed up at his house and it was freezing. The wind was blowing about 40-50 mph and the wind chill was at 35 degrees and he didn't want to go. His dog had also bitten him on his big toe the night before, so anyway, he was a no show.

But, since I was already to go and all pumped up for this exploration, I went anyway. I drove all the back roads as shown on the Google Earth maps and finally got close to the desired spot on the river. The road was called a 4 wheeler only road, which was saying it mildly in some spots. The picture below is an example of the 'road' and was really much worse from the bottom. I took this picture after I have gotten over this mess, and after having to add a few rocks to fill in some 'holes' so I could get over the large rock in the middle of the road...



Anyway, by keeping one foot on the brake and the other on the gas, and creeping over a couple of miles of this stuff, I arrived at the desired location on the Snake River. This section of the river is the longest stretch that is dam free and also has the largest sturgeon population, per all the reports on the internet. It runs from the Bliss Dam about 100 miles to the CJ Strike Lake. At this specific location, the river is just opening up after running through a fairly deep canyon. There is this wide spot that is probably 100 by 150 yards around that is a very deep hole. The depth is probably around 100 feet or much more, based upon the way the fish dove. Then, after this wide spot, there are some pretty shallow, wide rapids that continue river. The shallow rapids keep the fish in the area of the hole since they are usually bottom creatures and don't seem to like white water too much.

After all the nasty roads to get there, the actual spot on the river is quite nice. Lots of low type trees and nice flat spots to pitch a tent or two. There was the usual fire pit or two and a past beverage containers strewn here and there. There is actually a place to put in a boat, if you could ever get one down there. I assume it would have to be one you put in the back of a truck or on top of a 4X4.

Someone has actually built a couple of rod holders in the rocks out of PVC pipe and cement, which makes it very handy. All in all, the nicest fishing place I have been to lately.

So, I got my two rods all setup and casted them out into the hole. I cast them about 60 yards and let the line run and the line ends up going almost straight down when it all settles. Another indicator of how deep it was there. I put out both poles hoping that one would get a bite and turned on the radio and opened up a coke and was just checking the place out. After about 10 minutes of no activity, I got up and walked over to my new little 8' heavy action pole and was going to recast it into a different spot. Right as I touched it, the rod tip dove down almost to the water and the reel started 'screaming'. Line was coming off at a very high speed. So, I grabbed it with both hands, and got it out of the rod holder and got it hooked into my belt holder for the butt of the pole.

This one didn't jump, but just keep running off line. It finally slowed down and I started pumping line back in when I could, but it was usually going out faster than I was bringing it in. Then, it finally stopped and the line went slack. I started reeling in line ASAP as it was coming back at me to try and release the hook. All the Sturgeon hooks must be barbless so without pressure on the hook, they can easily dislodge. I was able to keep up with him and didn't loose him. Then, when he got closer to the surface, he turned and took off again with the reel screaming. Then he would stop and I would drag him back in for a while until he would take off again. A few times, I could feel him rubbing the line on the rocks down in the hole trying to break the line and sometimes he would just stop and I would have to just wait until he moved again. Luckily, I had just filled the spool with 100# test super braided line that is very good about handling such abuse. This went on for about an hour and a half. My whole upper body, especially my surgeically reduced right arm, was worn out, but by switching arms while he was in his 'lounging' periods, I was able to get some blood and strength back in it.

Then, during the middle of fighting this fish, my other rod hooked up and started dancing. I was having as much 'fun' as I could handle and just had to let it be and try to get as far away from it as possible. Then, the fish must have gotten off and it went slack, which was great news. It would have only ended up in some sort of disaster, I am sure.

Finally, after about 10 runs that peeled off about half of my line each time, he was done and I was able to drag him in and beach him in shallow water. Here is a picture of him below...



Being by myself and having to hold the line tight and try and take pictures, it was hard to get a completely accurate measurement, but I was able to use the rod and he was just short a few inches of the length of the rod, which is 8 feet long. In the internet Sturgeon length/weight charts, he weighted in the 200 to 250# category...

I have been fishing all of my life. I have caught some pretty large ocean fish, but this one was the largest fish I have ever caught and there are much larger ones out there, just a few miles from home here in DaHo...

The Weekend Fishing Trip...

The fishing trip was totally underwhelming. I still don't know what all this night fishing crap is... All these guys use these giant 15' long rods with large open face ocean type reels and 70-100# test line. They use railroad spikes, they pickup along some abandoned train track, as their weights and really large hooks that barely fit in your hand. More like High-Tack than High-Tech. We camped there, and before setting up the tents, had to clear out all the cow patties, or at least the softer ones.

Then there were the weeds in the water. Where we were, the river is very wide and very fast. I have never seen a deep river run that fast before. Right down stream from us there was a little eddy that ended up causing the water to swirl around in front of us. And, did I mention the weeds. They were all over our lines and a constant problem.

We build a big fire and had hot dogs, Smores and had a big time with all that. One of my friends ended up bring 5 kids and a three month old baby, so there was always lots of trauma and drama for all. About the only real excitement, late in the evening after everybody but the fishermen were in bed, was when I had finished a plastic coke bottle that had some Jack and coke in it. My friend threw it into the fire, sealed up, and it blew up sending coals and ashes all over the place.

There was only one strike from the sturgeon during the whole trip, and I got it. It was when we had first gotten there, while I was attempting to set up a new tent. They started yelling for me and I ran over to hear my reel screaming. It was on the telescoping 12' Cabela's pole, which I have never gotten a bite on before, and started working the fish. Well, maybe 'working' is the wrong word - It was just going. I could feel its tail movements in the line, the super braid line is so responsive to feel. I was down to about 1/4th of the line left, that's about 250 yards out, and did a couple of jerks and slacks to try and slow it down and then the hook came loose. You have to use barbless hooks and typically have to keep pressure on, but in this case, it was not going to stop. After I finally reeled all the line back in again, the large 7/0 hook I was using was slightly bent out.

As I understand there are three classes of Sturgeon. The little ones are called 'Shakers' since they shake their heads as they fight - these are usually in the 'up to 4 feet' category. Then there are the 'keepers', which we actually don't get to keep in Idaho, but thats what they are called - They do the normal run and jump stuff, and they run in the 4 to 6 foot category, Then, the biggest ones are called the 'Strippers' which are the ones that just take, read 'strip', all your line off your reel and you cannot stop them, unless you have the serious hardware to stop them, or a boat to keep them in range. They usually are the 7 foot and larger ones.

So, I am still trying to figure out what I learned from all this, besides I don't plan on ever going back to that place again. I assume that I had a hold of a large 'Stripper', that was running with the current of the river and I really don't know if I could have ever stopped him, or if I did, could ever bring him back. And, I really don't know if any setup could have brought him back, that wasn't hooked to the front of a 4X4, which I hear was a widely used sturgeon fishing method here in DaHo, before all these laws started.

I also learned again that camping was sorta fun. Storm and I destroyed the cheap tent I had gotten for the trip, trying to get a blown up queen size Aero bed in it, but we did finally get it in and it worked out well. Then, yesterday, on the way home, we stopped by Sportsman's Warehouse to return it and ended up getting a real nice one for future trips. It's even got a remote controlled light and doggie doors, both of which should come in real handy...

Well, currently I am pissed at the sturgeon, so I went back to my regular fishing hole today to beat up a couple of their little brothers and pull out some mental 'stickers' from the weekend. But, didn't even get any good bites all day - again...

New Home Security System and more Sturgeon Fishing...

We got us this new Idaho security system. The instructions read:

1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots.

2. Place them on your front porch, along with several empty beer cans, a copy of Guns & Ammo magazine and several NRA magazines.

3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.

4. Leave a note on your door that reads; Hey Bubba, Big Jim, Duke and Slim, I went to the gun shop for ammunition. Back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls -- they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it but it was hard to tell from all the blood.

PS - I locked all four of 'em in the house. Better wait outside

I haven't been sleeping very well lately. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and just have to get up. I come in and play with the computer for a while and usually get tired again and go back to sleep. Weird.

My throat is finally starting to bet better as far as the soreness goes. That is very good news. You can only have soooo much fun waking up wanting to scream, but too sore to do it...

Last night, was my new 8-ball league. We had to travel to a local town to play at a new bar. It was a pretty nice place compared to lots of other ones I have been to. The owner is an older woman, which seems typical and they all seem to look and act alike. Anyway, we did real good. We have to play 16 games - each of the players on the 4-person teams have to play each of the other team's players one game. We ended up winning 13 out of the 16 games. I played well, winning all 4 of my games, but no table runs.

After returning back to our home base, the Pocket, I saw my Melanie, one of my fishing buddy's wife. He had gotten his 2nd, or maybe 3rd, DWI a few weeks ago and ended up going go jail, except for work, until after the first of the year. Bummer Dude...

Speaking of fishing, this Saturday night, we are going big time sturgeon fishing with Storm and Jenny and the USFG fish biologist I met at Storm's house warming party last week. We are going about 35 miles up river, toward Boise, where to big boys live. I have been wanting to go up there for some time, but that are no maps available to show you where to go - its one of those hand me down sorta things from people that have been there before. I still don't know what the big deal is with fishing for them at night, since the bite all the time, but everywhere I have been where people fish for them, there are always fire pits and lots of beverage containers around from past trips. I sincerely hope to catch a large one or two to validate that I, and my new fishing tackle, is up to the challenge. The average fish up there is in the 5 to 7 foot range, but there are some that go up to 11 feet there. I would hate to get one that large, since the chances of landing one that large, without a boat to keep them close and much heavier equipment, are slim and none. They are called 'Strippers' since that is usually what they do to your fishing line. In any case, it should be big fun and educational.

Pam started her new position as a trainer at Dell this week. She is now off of the phones and all the craziness that goes along with them. She loves the new work and I love how much better she feels about everything. She went to the doctor and is being sent to a specialist to hopefully resolve her constant back pain problems that have bothered her for months. Life is good, and getting better by the day, here in DaHo...

Recovery in Progress???

Ever since we returned from Kalifornia, my throat has been really sore. After the operation, it was screaming for a few days and then started getting much better. Then, from my one week post-op doctor visit as we were leaving for the trip, it has been screaming again. I guess its the 'passing' of the staples and scabs that the doctor mentioned, or at least I hope so...

I haven't been able to get any good sleep for days and the constant pain is getting very old. In addition to my physical problems, there has been a lot of emotional problems from family issues that have been in play. Craziness at many levels...

But, there have been some highlights in the middle of it all.

On Thursday, during my new 8-ball team league, I did real good. I hadn't really played much since returning from the trip. The only other time I played was the Wednesday night tournament, but that was aborted. Anyway, I had to play 4 games and ended up with two table runs, one run to the 8-ball that should have been another table run, and a game where the 8-ball was directly on the lip in a end pocket that made the game last for probably 30 innings, but I finally won.

The only other time I was out was on Sunday. We went to church with some neighbors, Boyd and Ann - my first time doing so in many, many years. After that, we went to an orchid show - yep, they even have such things in DaHo... We ended up getting a beautiful plant that will be a great addition to our collection.

After that we went to a house warming party at Storm and Jenny's new house. That was about the only 'fun' I have had lately. There were a number of long term Sturgeon addicts there and I learned a lot and heard many stories. They mostly go down the river towards Boise where the larger fish are - Ones in the 8 to 11 foot category that weigh from 200 to well over 400 lbs... One of the guys there was a fish biologist with the US Fish and Game Service. I also learned a lot from him about all sorts of fish stuff. It was a good afternoon all around. Hopefully, I am going with some of them this weekend and meet some of these large Sturgeon.

A couple of the guys there were planning a day trip in a couple of days, when deer season opens, to go deer hunting, duck hunting and sturgeon fishing - all in the same day. I guess that is the way they do it here in DaHo...

Kalifornia Surprise...

Thursday, we packed and left for Boise. Then flew to Southern California for our son's 39th surprise birthday party on Saturday.

First, in Boise, I had my one week post-operative doctor appointment. These ENTs have this little thing they do when doing throat checkups. They unwrap a gauss pad and tell you to stick out your tongue. Then, they wrap the gauss pad around your tongue and pull it out so they can get their instruments and mirrors down there. So, that hurt, and the doctor checked it all out and said everything was great. He also noted that the staples were doing fine and would 'fall out' in a couple of days. This brought up my first question - "Where are they going to 'fall out' too?". He just said, "O, don't worry, they will just pass..." Which brought up my second question - "Just Pass??". He explained that they are closed and 'shouldn't' be a problem... At that point, after analyzing it all in my head and pondering my options, I just let it go... And, then as he was wrapping up the exam, he said that the scabs were also coming along well and they would be falling off soon. And when they do, your throat will get a lot sorer again for a few days...

From there, we went to Cablea's. I needed to get a new sturgeon rod. I also found out that the sturgeon had broken the reel seat of my old one along with the reel. So, that made me feel a little better, but it was short lived...

Then, we were off to the airport. The Boise airport is very small and nice to deal with. We were there and all checked in within a few minutes. We were on a American Airlines flight, but had to check in at Alaska Airlines, and the flight was actually on a Horizon Airlines plane, so it was 'difficult' to ever figure out what was going on with the boards. When we walked up to the boarding counter, the lady said, "O, you must be the Keithleys?" - This is DaHo...

The fight directly to LAX was 2 hours on a prop plane. But, it did have two props, so that was good. The 'flight attendant' was amazingly large for such a small plane and really limited movement. I think that was their security system. The only other interesting thing about the plane was that there was only one very cozy bathroom up front, and if you could get past the flight attendant, the co-pilot had to get up to let you into it. (Just kidding on that last one...) Anyway, it was a good flight and the views of the Sierras and LA were awesome. Unfortunately, my throat was growing sorer with every air mile flown...

We got to LAX about sunset and had no problems getting our bags and shuttle to the car rental place. I rented from Payless, which looked just as good as all the other places on the internet... In the shuttle, we started going down little dark industrial streets. I noticed a couple of corners with gangster type lookouts. Then, about a block further down the street, there was this moving van with its ramp down and about 20-30 more gangster types milling around with some other guys in the van. They were unpacking motorcycles and pushing them down the ramp. Then one of the other guys would jump on it and take off, then another one and so on... I just turned the other way and didn't want to be seen looking at all that. I am guessing those bikes were not legal...

Anyway, we got there and Pam upgrades us to a Chrysler 300 and we were off to Palm Springs to see our other son, Ryan for the night. Well, Palm Springs is about 140 miles from there, but with all the traffic, it took us almost 3 hours of LA freeway traffic to get there. We were burnt...

Ryan put us up at the Hyatt Suites, which he is the Director of Events and Catering, after we checked out his new place and finally met Chris, his love. We also got to meet Carlos, their Porto Rican butler, again. All great folks...

After hanging out in Palm Springs for the morning, we all went to Newport Beach in the afternoon. Again, the traffic was totally crazy an made worse by having to follow Ryan through it all. When we finally did pick up grandson Oliver and get to the hotel - another one of those Grand Hyatt Resorts in Newport Beach, it was all good, except for my throat.

We basically crashed early and had a great room service diner on the patio listening to a jazz concert being played at the hotel. Then, in the morning, we lounged and finally met some of the relatives at the hotel and went over to the surprise party at Aaron's mother, Bev's house in Costa Mesa.

It was quite an affair. Bev had out done herself - as usual. There was a band and amazing decorations and food. There were probably 60 people there that have known Aaron throughout all his life. He was totally surprised by the party and a great time was had by all. One of the highlights of the party were a couple of hundred jello shooters that kept it all going into the late night. Pam and I had to leave early, about 8:30pm because I had talked too much and my throat was starting to bleed.

Then, on Sunday, all the family got together for a brunch at the hotel and then we all went over to Aaron's house to visit. We were late, because the hotel guys had brought up our car and ended up locking the keys in it with the engine running... So, a AAA moment later..., we were finally on our way.

The flight back was also relatively good, but way long. We left LAX at 7:50pm and ended up getting back home around 2am. It was all great fun, but we are very happy to be back in DaHo...