Great hockey quote

One of the guys on my team got off the ice after two hours of clinic and stick time last night and said it about as good as it can be said: "I'm like a little kid playing in the mud out there. It's that fun."

That's right, brother. And I still think it's a complete travesty more adults aren't out there giving hockey a spin.

--S.H.

Death Valley Days

Mesquite Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park.

I took a few days off from hockey to visit Death Valley National Park and play around with my relatively new Nikon D5000. Despite its reputation for heat in the summer, the park is actually quite chilly in the winter and the Furnace Creek area -- with a swimming pool, tennis courts and golf course -- would surely benefit from also having an ice rink for those who need to practice their crossovers, stopping and basic ice skating.

Because, you know, nothing would be cooler than playing hockey at 200 feet below sea level in Death Valley. Except, perhaps, playing hockey in the Yosemite Valley.

The above photo, by the way, was taken this past Monday evening in the Mesquite Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells. If you plan on visiting the park -- and it's well worth a trip -- stay at Furnace Creek but spend an afternoon exploring the dunes and don't miss being there for sunset.

Here's another pic that I really like:

Since this blog's reader is primarily those who play hockey, I can't resist adding this image that will surely appeal to everyone's dark side -- a dead tarantula that someone had put on top of a cairn in Fall Canyon in the park. I have little issue professing to the fact that I'm a total pussy around spiders so my girlfriend had to take this photo while I stayed a good 20 feet away -- in case, you know, the little fucker came back to life and tried to smother me, a la "Lord of the Rings" or that one Brady Bunch episode. Even putting the photo on this blog is giving me the willies -- I'd rather take a slapshot to the nuts.

If you would like to fawn over my Death Valley photo gallery, be my guest -- here's the link to my Flickr page. And I'll soon post a short guide to Death Valley because when I'm not dreaming of hockey competency, I like the great outdoors.

And from the Department of Self Promotion: The above Death Valley photos -- as well as other landscape images -- are for sale at my SmugMug site.

--S.H.