Trevor's Transformation

Trevor decided to shave his beard yesterday (yay!), but not before going through all the mustache phases in hopes that I might like one of the looks...ya right, he should know me better than that!
Hurray for clean-shaven!

Things I Am Looking Forward To

While it has been 80 degrees here the last week which has been amazing, I am looking forward to winter coming and skiing with my ripping wife!

I feel even luckier than normal in the winter hanging with this one.

Another Fall Flotilla

It has been so beautiful lately that we can't help but try to eek out as much goodness from our weekends as possible...hence, another afternoon float on the Snake. We did the "whitewater" section which I had never floated before (I think Trev may have done it a time or two before) and it was awesome. We definitely got wet and one man went overboard, but that was totally his fault. ; )

The three rafts that made the trip, Ted's "Party Barge", Trevor's "Yet To Be Named" and Cody's "Red Rocket".

Jess at 7 months pregnant, taking the reigns in the front of the boat, ready for more rapids!

Of course the guys found rocks to jump off...Trev soaring.

And some fall prettiness.

Even though we pulled off the river close to dark we were lucky enough that it was still pretty warm all the way til the end of the float.

The girls were definitely outnumbered on this one...3 to 9.

Soaking it up...not many of these days left!

Best of the summer!

I have been trying to play as much golf as possible this summer. As strange as it sounds, the most affordable golf option for me here in Jackson is actually over in Idaho a good 45 minute drive away. All the local courses here are either private and or too expensive. I tried to go over at least once a week after work and when I could on the weekends this summer. My game has been showing signs of improvement.

This morning was one of those rounds that was as fun as golf can be. I was first on the course and had it all to myself. I started off slow and was 2 over after 3 holes, but then hit a hot streak and was 3 under par going into 18. The Links (course I regularly play in Idaho) is a par 71, so, all I had to do was make a bogey and I could have shot my first round in the 60's since high school when I was playing all the time. What do I do, go and hit it in the water and make a double bogey and shoot 70. It was still my first round of 18 holes under par in a long while. I was super stoked!

Rex Does Jackson

We took Rex out on his inaugural mission here locally to Grand Teton National Park tonight after work. Chels made an awesome dinner to go and off we cruised.

The worst of the fire season has been late coming this year, but we are starting to see a fair amount of smoke associated with fires close to Jackson.

Rex looking smooth as the sunsets.

Dinner with a view!

A shot of the interior of Rex from the back looking towards the front. You can see the stove, oven, refrig, two beds, etc. He is a beauty.

Rooting for Anna!

My favorite spectator sport both live and on TV is about ready to kick into high gear. Ski Racing and all the World Cup athletes are either down in South America and or New Zealand getting back on snow, skiing on new equipment and getting ready for the long season ahead.

We are so amped for Marco's girlfriend, and our favorite Canadian Ski Team member, Anna Goodman to crush it this winter. She is coming back from a knee injury and is just now getting back on snow after last skiing in February at the Olympics.

Besides being a rad girl and a ripping skier, she has a bitchin blog that is well worth following for all of us fans of ski racing and the lifestyle associated with being a World Cup athlete. Congrats to Anna for all the hard work in the gym getting back to this point and all the best luck for this upcoming winter.

Here is Anna's cool blog.

On the Horizon...

Here is a video I made from "Beaverfest" last year (when a large group of us go to Beaver Creek, CO to watch my brother race in the World Cups). It is a wild, fun crazy time of skiing, cheering, dancing and fun. Anyone interested this year?

Meet Rex

Well, I finally realized a life dream this weekend. After a love affair that has dated back to well before meeting Chelsea, I am now the new owner of a Toyota Recreation Vehicle! I have been researching seriously going on a year now trying to find the right Toyota RV that was in our price range and had the amenities we were looking for. I finally located one down in Salt Lake City for sale and Chels and I drove down on Friday, stayed with friends in SLC Friday night, and then picked it up on Saturday. Needless to say, I am a really happy guy right now!

It is a 1989 Toyota Odyssey. It came with 60,000 miles on it and the guy we bought it from was on his 3rd Toyota RV. Toyota made these beauties through the 1980's and into the early 90's. They are absolute classics! Everything works on it including the refrigerator, stove, oven, air conditioning, heat, shower, toilet, lights, et. We got a generator from the guy we bought it from too so Chels could " use her hair dryer" while camping!

After we picked the Odyssey up we headed to Bear Lake which sits half in Utah and half in Idaho. It's been called the "Caribbean of Idaho" for good reason. The water is like no other lake around!

We kayaked both days and enjoyed summer like temps in the low 80's.

I couldn't help think that if you let your imagine run wild, Bear Lake was unbelievably similar looking to one of our favorite places we have traveled to before, the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Mexico.

Ahh yea, getting some fading light on Bear Lake on Saturday.

Chels piloting in the "mega cab" of the new Odyssey. She was a bit reluctant at first of "another gear purchase, don't we have enough toys already", but she became such a believer that I literally had to force her out of the drivers side to let me drive on the way home! I got her going 75 mph on I-15 on part of the way home, but the whole thing was shaking like it was going to come off of its "dually" wheels, so, we kept her at the nice 55 mph cruising speeds. You really can't be in any sort of hurry in it, but why would you be with a pimping ride like that.

10 plus years in the making, I am so fired up! Yes, the Odyssey's are generally owned by the "older" crowd, but we are bucking that trend!

The view from the inside of our luxurious abode.

Chels watching the sunset over Bear Lake. We had the whole campground to ourselves. We stayed on the primitively developed East Shore of the lake.

A thing of pure beauty!

We found a little beach to read and relax on today.

Above is a really cool shot of Chels swimming in Bear Lake, UT.

Fall is here! Another added bonus to the Odyssey is a back ramp that the previous owner built on to store his scooter when traveling. So, we can take our scooter or put bikes, coolers, etc. on the back.

Night Floating

Last weekend, while Trev was still on the Smith River with his dad, I got talked into a "late afternoon" float by Ted. It was a beautiful warm fall day and I wanted to eek the most out of my weekend, so why not?

Our crew, piloted by Ted...Jason, Brock (hiding behind Ted) and Andra also joined in the fun.

It was so gorgeous out that we had to pull over and enjoy the sunshine while it lasted.

Posing it up at our "Eddy Party"...go Giants!

And then the sun dropped and we still had miles to go and then it got cold...

Still pretty though...check out those Tetons in the alpenglow.

And then I was pretty over it. I don't really remember being this happy when we were rowing in the dark with a new moon, but I guess the good company kept me smiling.

This is more how I remember it. Okay, who wants to paddle faster? : )

But we made it (pulling out at 10pm) and it was gorgeous and although I am not the hugest fan of cold, dark, night floating, I have to admit I had a great time. Have to maximize the summer while it lasts!

Anniversary night

We had a great anniversary night, heading out with the kayaks to Slide Lake after work...

Here is a really bad panoramic I pieced together of Slide Lake, at least you can still see how pretty is was, right? : )

It was so beautiful out and not another person in sight.

We poured some champagne and strawberries and set off.

We paddled to the middle of the lake and hung out until the sun set.

Happy 3 years to us!

We paddled back in when it got dark and then went for a nice dinner. Such a great night.

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone!

3 years ago today

And I still love this guy to pieces! That's a good sign right? : )

Smith Solitude

Just got back from pulling off a power trip up to the Smith River in Montana with my dad. We took advantage of unusually high water conditions up there for this time of year and scored a second Smith trip for the summer.
We literally didn't see another boat for the 4 days we floated. The shot from above is of the empty parking lot at Camp Baker (the put in) which normally has a ton of trucks, trailers, boats, gear, and people all getting ready to launch.

The first couple of days were characterized by tons of fish, solitude, and well......cold ass weather!

Yep, not another human being in sight other than my ol man for 4 days straight! Paradise.....!

We had really good fishing and it was obvious the fish hadn't seen any sort of pressure for the last month or so.

My dad with a nice brown with the "Yuk Bug" still in his mouth. This was the fly of the trip.

The water flows were in the 240 cfs range. Optimal summer flows are around 400 cfs. A standard Smith trip is 5 days long. Due to work, we only too four days. So, with lower water and one less day, we were normally on the river by 8am and off by 8pm. We fished our brains off!

The sun came out the last two days.

I think this rainbow swallowed a football in honor of the start of the NFL season? Fat dude huh!

My dad lost count of how many Smith trips he has done a long time ago, but I am sure the number is easily in the 30's. I have gone on 11 of them now, and one constant remains, it always leaves you awestruck with how beautiful it is!

This morning on the way out.