The Great Ankle Fiasco of 2013 is the gift that keeps on giving. At this rate it's going to be a saga worthy of a Monty Python film. I keep waiting for the Knights Who Say Ni to tell me my ransom is a shrubbery.

When I pitched this column to boss man Pappi Swarner it was as an adventure column. Daring mountain climbs! Epic hikes! Boating excursions! And that's what I wanted. I actively sought out adventure in my life and was thrilled with the idea of having the weekly column forcing that adventure to be ever present. And for a while it certainly was. But whenever you do activities that push your physical limits you push your physical risk. I've been pretty lucky in my life. I've had a number of smaller annoying injuries, but nothing major. No broken bones, surgery or otherwise major injuries doing what I love it.

Until now.

I'm going to spare you the gory details but lets just say it's not pretty. I'm working on four weeks in a cast, four weeks in a walking boot just to start. Take my advice, unless you have the coordination of a cat do not try doing dynos in the rock climbing gym. It never ends well, and often it end REALLY not well. As in my case.

However, this does not mean I will stop going outside. Without fresh air, nature and a little wildlife part of me starts to die. As you have seen from my columns the past month or so, there are lots of opportunities to get outside and enjoy the fresh air without doing crazy activities. So I'm going to keep writing about those options and about all of the little things that make me love living in the great Northwest. I'm also going to write about some past adventures I've done and live vicariously through my friends who do pretty awesome things on the weekends. I hope along the way I introduce you to new places and experiences. Never stop exploring, because sometimes when we get a little lost is when we find ourselves.

In light of getting my cast, this week I have a couple of activity suggestions:

Do you remember Manchester State Park? The perfect place to attempt movie scene recreation? Well May 26 there will be lots of fun happening up there. Take a journey back in time on a park ranger-guided tour of Manchester State Park's Battery Mitchell and learn about this historical site. And get your hands wet by exploring touch tanks with beach naturalists from Harbor WildWatch. The beaches at Manchester are great for tidepooling and exploring, but this is a chance to have experts explain what all of the critters are.

Closer to home, Metro Parks Tacoma celebrated the re-opening of the Old Town Dock. Located in the Old Town neighborhood of Tacoma, this public dock has been closed for five years undergoing a massive renovation. As part of the Ruston Way system, you can do more than just enjoy the view. You can fish off the pier, tie up your boat to the new dock, and the dock is kayak friendly.

Mark your calendars! June 1 is National Trails Day and to celebrate Washington is offering free admission to our state parks - anywhere you would need a Discovery Pass. In honor of this I'll be doing my next few columns on state parks to give you plenty of ideas on how to take advantage of this opportunity. This year is also the centennial anniversary of our State Parks system, and there are lots of cool activities going on to celebrate. You can check our their website and I'll be trying to highlight things all year.