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Show A-11 , The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, August 1-3, 2007 Lawmaker tops summit for charity A rustic commute PROVO, Utah (AP) - A Utah lawmaker and his brother plan to scale a 22,132 foot peak in Peru to raise funds for a nonprofit group working to fight kidney disease. Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, ROrem and his brother Nord Sandstrom, of Littleton, Colo., hope to generate $12,000 for the education and prevention programs of Kidney TRUST, by reaching the peak of Huascaran Sur, the lawmaker said. "It's an honor to help raise funds for kidney disease awareness and prevention while putting my body through an ultimate adventure challenge," said you're only halfway done with the climb," Stephen Sandstrom said. Stephen Sandstrom said. The climb is expected to take This won't be the first climb for five days. Huascaran Sur is the the brothers. In 2006 their ascent of three peaks in Equador raised highest summit in Peru. The difficulty of the climb is $8,000. An architect serving his first compounded by below-zero temperatures, weather conditions that term in the Utah House, Stephen can quickly change and the possi- Sandstrom said he was criticized bility of avalanches. An ice field at for the 2006 climb because it took 18,000 feet known as the Garganta him away from work and home. The lawmaker said helping a also presents a significant risk, 'charitable cause make the trips Stephen Sandstrom said.' Once on top, the Sandstrom worthwhile. Information from the TRUST expedition plans a short celebrastates that 20 million American tion before heading down. "The thing to remember, is adults live with chronic kidney when you get to the summit, disease and another 320,000 suffer from kidney failures that require regular dialysis treatments. Nord Sandstrom works for DaVita Inc., a provider of kidney dialysis, according to biographical information posted on the TRUST'S web site. DaVita Inc. founded the Kidney TRUST in 2006, the web site states. One hundred 100 percent of donations raised by the climb will be donated to the TRUST and will fund dialysis treatments for those that can't afford them, Stephen Sandstrom said. The brothers are paying for their travel, gear and other expenses, he said. Heaven lies in the stench of small, funky towns evaporated. How could it. when it rained High Country News so much? Long ago, Astoria My husband grew up in the dreamed of becoming the Pacific Northwest. Whenever salmon capital of the world. But we'd go back to visit the cloudy at some point, the dreamers skies of Seattle or Portland, he'd abandoned her, and let her go ask, "Can you picture us living feral. When I was there, much of here,?" and I would try. But I downtown stood empty, its always felt anxious. mossy inhabitants whispering He seemed so happy just pos- that Astoria would come back ing the question that I put my some day. trepidation down to that arthritis Turns out they were right. I - latent now - in my left got out in 2001, just in time, as thumb. that remote outpost of Lewis Then one day, the question and Clark let its revitalization changed. "What about take hold. Now, under the big Tacoma?" he asked. bridge where the hobos used to I felt instant comfort, as if I. relax, there's a deluxe hotel with were sinking into warm vanilla an on-site spa, its rooms replete bubbles. Turns out, it wasn't the with fireplaces and claw-foot arthritis that worried me. It was bathtubs. the prospect of living life in a Astoria may still be eccentric. hip, happening, Seattle-or- But those seedy, decrepit days Portland kind of city, a "lucky- are gone. Its promoters have you, can-I-come-too" kind of probably found a way to suck the place. fish smell from the air and I prefer a town whose fresh- silence those seals that used to ness date has expired, one with a bark me to sleep at night. slight funk, a little grit, a mysteThese days. I sleep in Billings, rious stench .wafting on the Mont. breeze. Such towns dot our great Billings isn't quite the sort of country, and I've lived in a few. town I embrace - Butte is probMy all-time favorite is ably more my style - but at Astoria, Ore., on the mouth of least Billings possesses some the Columbia River. When I humility. Although it's the pulled into town, it was just get- biggest city in Montana, it knows ting dark. People peered at me darn well nobody chooses to live from behind soggy curtains. It there. People move to felt shifty, mysterious, like I'd Billings for business, or stay stepped into a Twin Peaks because their family wound up episode, and during my time there three generations before there, that feeling never entirely and never scraped up the smarts By KAREN MOCKLER to skedaddle. In November, when the sugar beets burn on the edge of town, there's a singular stink to the air that almost smells like home. The apple of Montana's eye is Missoula. Everybody and her Labrador love that town. I don't blame people, but frankly, this Missoula .worship is tiresome. More tiresome still is Boulder, Colo., where I lived for a stretch. With Boulder's perfect array of ethnic restaurants, endless bike trails, sunny open space, enlightened public transportation, eclectic cultural offerings and those drop-dead-gorgeous Flatirons, I should have been in heaven. Correction: I was in heaven. Boulder is heaven on earth. Trouble is, some people don't belong in heaven. Some of us just don't fit in. How weary I grew of Boulder's relentless enlightenment, its herds of hippies nibbling their sacrosanct vegan concoctions, its fitness freaks with their far-toohealthy habits. You cannot argue with heaven, but like Lucifer, you can leave. I'm better off earthbound. After all, I was born and raised in Omaha, one of those towns like Billings or Tacoma that people - most of whom have never been there - crack jokes about. The jokes make them feel better about where they live, but all their negative energy just makes me stronger. I hardly know Tacoma, but the idea of it sits well with me; it's the kid sister to glamorous Seattle, passing a little gas al Easter dinner. Having spent my entire life as a kid sister, I know what that's like. Like certain towns, I'm perverse, determined not to do what's desired. Obstinate, we turn away from what is right, good or proper. We persist in what's wrong. Perhaps this attitude is necessary to my economic survival. I've never been loaded, and I probably never will be, and my kinds of towns are almost always marked down for quick sale. Maybe if I had more money, I would embrace nirvana, but I doubt it. Money can mask your smell, but it can't change it. Underneath, it's always the same stink coming from your pores. So, Tacoma has its aroma, and I have mine. I believe it might welcome me with moldy, open arms. 1 know my arms, perspiration stains and all, will be raised in return. Karen Mocklcr is a writer, teacher and former HCN intern. She currently breathes the air of Billings, along with her husband and 3-ycar-old daughter. This article originally appeared in High Count ry Ne ws (www.hcn.org), which covers the West's communities and naturalresource issues from Paonia, Colorado. www.parlcrecord.com By SARAH KARUSH The Associated Press BLADENSBURG, Md. - As early-morning traffic outside Washington builds to a rush-hour roar, Gabriel HorchJer walks to a riverbank with his oars, pausing to admire a heron on the opposite shore. He removes his shoes, steps into his boat and takes off - slicing through smooth-as-glass water. So begins his morning commute. Horchler used to be among the frustrated souls on the frequently backed-up Anacostia Freeway, navigating his motorcycle through stop-and~go traffic and clouds of car exhaust. But one day the AnaCostia River - congestion-free and running parallel to the road - grabbed his imagination. Would it be possible to get to his job in Washington on the water, he wondered? Could the daily grind of commuting be transformed into something enjoyable and healthy? It's been more than seven years since Horchler. a trim 63-year-old, began rowing to work. He rides one bicycle from his home in Cheverly to a boathouse where he keeps his 21-foot-long fiberglass rowing shell. He rows 6 1/2 miles, then rides another bicycle from lhe river to his job at the Library of Congress. The whole trip takes about an hour-anda-half. Horchier describes his commute as few people do: "the" highlight of my day.1' The routine is only possible thanks to a flexible work schedule. The Library of Congress allows employees to arrive between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. _ a policy intended in part to help workers cope with the area's notorious traffic. At times of the year with less daylight, Horchler can wait until sunrise to set out. If there's a strong head wind, he can take more time. He arrives for his job as head of the library's law cataloguing team in shorts and a T-shirt. Then he rinses off in the library's employee shower and changes into work clothes he keeps in his office. Horchler rows one-way each •work day, weather permitting, from March until November. One day he rows to work and takes the Metro home; the next day he takes the subway in and rows home. He prefers the morning trip. "You arrive in a good frame of mind," he says. "Then the rest of the day you can sort of handle whatever comes along because you've already accomplished something." It's more than just exercise and a sense of accomplishment. The rhythmic motion, the sound of the oars in the water, the solitude - all add a transcendental quality to Horchler's routine. "I can think very clearly when I'm rowing," he says. "It^ almost like a meditation experience." Commuting by water is not without its hazards, however. Horchler has capsized a few times, including once ' in chilly December waters when he ran into an obstacle. After another incident, in which Horchler encountered unexpected ice and broke his oars, he stopped rowing in the winter. Horchler says his colleagues at the library think he's "a little crazy" for his rowing. But leaving aside his nontraditional commute, the Hungarian-born .father of five says he^s "a pretty conventional librarian." Even the motorcycle he used to ride wasn't evidence of a wild side; it was just easier than a car to park on Capitol Hill. Horchler had never done much rowing before he started his aquatic commute. He took a few lessons, but says his technique remains primitive. Despite his lack of experience, Horchler says he has always felt drawn to the water. "We grew up on the banks of the Delaware River in Philadelphia. As kids we would spend a lot of time on the water - usually rickety old boats, anything that would float," he recalls. When most people think of rowing in Washington, they think of the capital's more famous waterway, the Potomac, The Anacostia, though home to some college and high school rowing teams, is perhaps best known for its pollution, blamed for tumors found on more than half the river's catfish. On a recent morning at Bladensburg, the water near the bank looked foamy. Horchler often sees floating garbage and occasionally spots fish kills. His intimate perspective on the river has led him to get involved in the Anacostia Watershed Society, a local environmental group, and to "adopt" a piece of shoreline that he keeps clean. Despite the problems, the Anacostia can be glorious. Horchler is often accompanied on his rows by osprey and bald eagles. He recalls one fall morning a few years ago. He left his house right around sunrise with the sky "just full of purples." There were no other people on the water, but Horchler wasn't the only one enjoying the river. First he nearly bumped into a beaver, which was so startled it splashed Horchler with its tail. A little farther downstream, he saw a deer swimming. "That was one of those perfect days," says Horchler. "But there are many days like that." jhe Sllvel JLakz Office Lewis, Wolcott & Dornbush Real Estate Do you like O Jackrabbits? © Jack-in-the-boxes? © Jackpots? From left to right: 9> Linda McReynolds, Maire Rosol, Paul Schenk, Ruth Drapkin, Dennis Hanlon and Karin Gage <=Lei Dal expedience Be youk Cjulae NTRA.com Six top-producing, all-Broker, long-established, well-respected, award-winning Realtors invite you to contact them. These experienced FREE CLASSIC ROCK CONCERT! professionals welcome the opportunity to assist you with all your real Enjoy an afternoon at the races and groove into the evening with your all-time favorite rock songs. 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