Jackson Family Robinson

Off to Euroland!

2012-01-24T21:44:00.001-08:00

We leave in the morning for another epic winter trip to Europe to watch Marco race in World Cups in Garmisch, Germany and Chamonix, France!!! Yeehaw!

We are gone for 2 weeks, but in the meantime, you can keep updated on Marco's results on these sites...

Live Race Timing

Ski Racing results/articles

One benefit of an early load

2012-01-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

...has to be sunrises like this! We caught this beauty over the weekend while working a ski race up at the Village.

WC skiing in Jackson?

2012-01-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

The World Cup ski season is in full swing. We watched what is in our humble opinion the "coolest" downhill on the circuit, Wengen, Switzerland, last weekend at Rolfe's house with a few of the most dedicated Marco Rocks fanclub members!

Marco, on the big screen charging.

It might not have been live, we already knew the results, but it didn't matter, it was awesome watching Marco and all the rest of the guys throw down.

Marco, "paused" catching air. At this point, Marco was winning the race by .26 and we were pretty psyched.

Not all work

2012-01-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

Chels and I spent the weekend working a ski race at the Village, but....., I did manage to sneak in a sled mission on Friday. Drew and I found the best conditions skiing and or sledding I have seen this whole winter. We were pleasantly surprised.

Drew, laying a fatty on a virgin slope.

Sun and fresh snow never gets old.

Wyoming Through a Ford Taurus Windshield

2012-01-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

At least once a month I set off into the "Big Wonderful Wyoming" hinterlands to see kids for work. Luckily, I have a state issue Ford Taurus and satellite radio to keep things entertaining. The trips normally are a few days long and admittedly are better in the summer months as the roads are clear and I manage to sneak in rounds of golf after work. The trips take me to places in Wyoming that Jackson residents would normally not go to and scoff at. Wyoming has a ton of awesome places outside of Jackson!

Heading east, over Togwotee Pass early in the morning en route to Sheridan (9 hours from Jackson) with the snowplow trying in vein to move what is almost non existent snow banks.

The views were good out my office this morning!

Heading toward Thermopolis from Shoshoni. Big Horn River Canyon.

Interstate in WY? Yep, the nearest Interstate from Jackson might be three hours away, but I found I-90 between Buffalo and Sheridan.

Back through the canyon the next day heading home.

Always a welcomed sight......The Tetons on the drive back home after a white knuckle struggle in the Tauras.

"Black Betty" pulled into the empty (not open on the weekdays) MeadowLark Ski Area in the BigHorn Mountains, near the awesome town of Tensleep, WY.

Johnny Rips Lips

2012-01-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

Holy shit!!! Scope this lake trout our buddy Johnny Ripley caught up on Jackson lake earlier this week! Well done Ripper! Rip threw it back after fighting it from the depths so it could be caught another day.

Why not

2012-01-10T22:16:00.000-08:00

Last day of Katharine in town and we had planned on maybe skiing at the Village, but who wants to spend $80+ when the skiing isn't even that good? Not her. So moving on to Plan B...nordic skiing on Jackson Lake! Why not, huh?

Kat and Trev looking pretty excited about the wide open expanse in front of their skinny skis!

And look who it is....the only others we run across out there just happen to be Hager and Emily and her parents, entrenched in a riveting day of ice fishing...what are the odds. (Apparently, the odds of the fish biting where less that day than running into friends while doing something very random.)

Spotted. The perfect log for our lunch-time sit and ponder life session.

I think we may have pondered what was on our feet more than life.

Yay!

Someone had to bring the bright colors and you can never count on Katharine for that one.

We totally look like naturals, right? Alright, Kat's ski poles might be the dead giveaway that we don't do this activity that often.

Into the great wide open...

Sleddin n Skiing

2012-01-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

Katherine and I went up to Togwotee to search for her first powder turns of the year. After a bit of road building by yours truly, the track was set to the top of Angle Mtn and the pow turns were found. Kat getting some with the Buffalo Valley and the Tetons in the background.

Aspiring sled-head? Kat did some driving, but it was a little too techy for her to climb to the top. Luckily for her, I am more than happy riding the sled and dropping her at the top and letting her try and find soft turns.

Lunch time reflection looking into Yellowstone.

The Wyoming-ites thought we were in a heat wave, the Californian thought it was freezing cold. Hmmmmm..

Hasn't snow yet again in longer than I care to remember, but if you hug the northerly aspects that have been in the shade, you can still find the goods.

Digging for the white gold.

We had a pretty solid set up going riding double to the top, then I would fire back down the road I built and Kat would pick a line of her choosing, then we would meet back up at the lower meadow and do it all over again. Poor man's heli strikes again.

Kat-Dogger in the Hole

2012-01-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Katharine Lange Transue here, guest blogging live from Jackson Hole, WY. Just spent an awesome, spur of the moment, long weekend here hanging out with Chels and Trev. We have no snow in Tahoe, which means no tourists and no business in the restaurants (my weekend job). So, when I found out I was getting called off for the weekend, I just jumped in my car and headed for Jackson and the white stuff! Even though the locals don't think they have much snow here either, they actually do, and we took full advantage...Chels and Trev never fail to show their guests a good time! Day One started with an early morning hike up the Glory Boot Pack up on Teton Pass for me and Trevor. The snow conditions on the ski down weren't necessarily epic, but it was still the best skiing I'd had all year! One great adventure was followed by another as we headed up Granite Canyon on snowmobiles to dip in the hot springs. Riding with Trevor was quite the wild ride, and the hot springs were warm and gorgeous, even with the sub-40 degree creek crossing!

Early morning views from the top of Teton Pass.

Katharine checking out the valley below after a great hike.

Katharine and Trevor, all smiles after reaching the top.

Katharine, Jim, Blaire, and Chelsea heading up Granite Canyon...what a bunch of sled heads!

The lack of fresh snow made the boot pack track a little icy and treacherous in places, especially for someone in rubber-less ski boots!

After the cold creek crossing, you couldn't jump into the hot pool fast enough!

Armed with the appropriate supplies, we settled in for a nice long afternoon of soaking and relaxation.

Yay, so happy to finally be hanging out with Chelsea again!

Our gang of 5 was definitely the perfect number for this little pool...Katharine, Chelsea, Trevor, Blaire, and Jim.

Chelsea and Katharine...all warm, cozy, and smiley, even after a slippery and freezing crossing back through the creek.

Ring It In

2012-01-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

I skied in the torchlight parade at the King while Chels documented. It was as awesome as ever.
All the tourches headed up the Cougar lift.

At this point in the parade, you are just pumped if your torch, which has been reduced to the size of a cigar, doesn't catch you on fire!

We LOVE our very own "town hill", Snow King.

Bring it on 2012!

Only in Jackson

2012-01-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

can you have moose sharing the trailhead with you before you take off sledding. Note to all of those that think snowmobiles "disturb wildlife." The moose literally came right up to the idling sleds and were not spooked in the least bit. Pictures paint the picture........Dad.

Cold westbank sunrise warming the sleds up.

The ride up Mosquito Creek proved to be as much exploration as anything. A lot of the creeks have yet to fill in yet and have really steep/committed entrances and exits. Not to mention, running water. Here is my bud Drew, on his new, badass 12 RMk navigating across Mosquito Creek.

We do have snow, and it is a ton better in the backcountry than at the Village. This shot illustrates what happens when you have a bunch of fresh snow and little to no base underneath it to support it. This was Tim's trench he threw in sidehilling past me. Easily 3 feet deep. The technology on the new sleds are amazing!

Bullwinkle and his buddy coming to say hello, despite "all the noise" from the idling sleds.

Better than others....

2012-01-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

While it seems everyone around these parts can do nothing but bitch about the snow, or lack thereof, at least we are pretty much 100% open! Chels, heading out into Rendezvous Bowl for the first time this year on Monday.

First trams of the year always make you smile, no matter the conditions!

The Village social director himself taking some time away from his duties to take an end of the day "trammer."

Chels and Jason discussing the finer points of the stem christie turn?

Not always perfect

2012-01-03T04:50:00.000-08:00

Sledding is an imperfect science to say the least. Sometimes it is the most fun you can have imaginable, other times.............., you blow a belt 10 miles to the nearest road on a good powder day! It had warmed up Friday enough to make the two foot of fresh snow pretty nasty. Both Tim and I burned belts trying to get after it.

Tim getting stuck going downhill. For those of you that have never been on a sled, imagine getting stuck going downhill on skis......You get the point, it takes a lot of snow and maybe not the best quality either!

Yep, the belt in shreds by spread around the clutch. Ugh......

Some days sledding are expensive.

Taking care of injuries

2012-01-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Broomball, skiing, sledding, seems all these fun things add up to a host of nagging injures throughout the winter. Luckily, Cody had a really pimped out hot tub installed in his backyard this summer.

Yea, the lights change colors. Club Cody rocks.

Signing off 2011

2011-12-31T21:02:00.000-08:00

Trev got a little attention on one of the first powder days at the Village...he was photo of the day on the JH website. What a year, thanks 2011, can't wait to see what the new year brings!

In case you didn't see it

2011-12-29T20:53:00.000-08:00

Scope THIS VIDEO.....it is really awesome! In case you are not the dedicated ski racing fans that we are, you might have missed this from today's slalom race in Leinz, Austria. Sarah Schleper took her last WC run of her career (she retired today) in style! Congrats to her, 15 years strong on the tour is an awesome accomplishment.

First for everything

2011-12-26T15:59:00.000-08:00

My good bud Ben Jones had his family in town for X mas and they wanted to go sledding. Turns out it's not a hard sell to get me to go sledding on a Monday! Togwotee is still the only place to ride in these parts right now. More sun, no snow.......repeat...Ugh....

Ben crushing it on his first day on a snowmobile!

Tim ripping some month old pow.

Ben's dad Rob, Ben, and Ben's brother Ryan. They rented some 2012 "Cats" for the day.

Rolling deep.

Mixing things up.

2011-12-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

Decided to take a bit of a break from two stroking Christmas eve to head up into Grand Teton National Park for a tour/ski. It was freaking freezing, but, we found some decent snow, had kick ass views, and the beer tasted all the better after a 5 hour mission.

Ben's bro Ryan, in town from Whitefish getting some coffee on the summit of "25 short."

Ben throwing on layers with Buck and Static in the background.

Getting to the top...

Kinda tough to put the boots on in the parking lot when it's this cold.

Jeez, I am kinda bright!

Just a bit of new does the trick

2011-12-23T16:13:00.000-08:00

Started off a 4 day weekend in style today. We got a few inches of new snow a couple of days ago which essentially tripled the previous month's output. The upshot of now much snow is definitely that it doesn't take much to get you stoked.

Me, finding some pow.

Tim, sidehilling away from the sun. Things have been "inverted" here. It was in the 20's at 9,000ft when we were riding today and below zero most of the day 3,000ft lower down in town.

Booojah.....

Deep trenches are cool.

More meadow madness.

Tim arcing a fatty.

Me, really pumped I was sledding instead of working on this Friday.

Broomball reigns supreme

2011-12-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

Yet another season of punishment is in full swing. Broomball has taken over. Twice a week we brave below zero temps because running around on ice without skates seems like a good idea.

The challenge is to keep the beer warm enough so it doesn't turn into slush.

The ice is different every game. Sometimes you can actually get a bit of grip, most of the time it is slicker than snot.

The proud, the mighty, the strong, the gifted, the magical, its.........D and E Cabinets. This motley crew is sitting at 5-1 this year going into the Christmas break. We made it to the city championship last year only to loose by a goal to a bunch of Vermonter's (The 802's). Our ragtag outfit has no uniforms, we have no cheers, we have the oldest player in the league, and damn it, we are good!

One of my favorite days of the year

2011-12-21T16:21:00.000-08:00

Strangely enough the shortest day of the year is probably one of my favorites. It ushers in the official start to winter, and, it is awesome because for the next 6 months the days only get longer. What better way to celebrate the shortest day of the year than a post work skin and ski up Snow King in the dark.

You don't need a sign to tell you we need some white stuff. The town of Jackson in the background.

Last bit of light hitting the top of Saddle Butte on the way up.

Yep, I don't regularly carry a tripod with me, sorry about the blur. Town of Jackson looking toward the north with everyone settling in for yet another night of below zero temps.

Going no matter what.

2011-12-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

The snow might not be deep, but the good times had are a given. We are pushing on through this "low tide" lack of snow as if it were deep pow....is there any other way?

Sledding shots from Togwotee last weekend.

Bean and cheese burrito cooking on the pipe....tasty, note to self, turn off the sled to avoid two stroke fumes in your melted cheese.

We rode 50 plus miles strong on Saturday.

'Tis the Season

2011-12-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

...for gingerbread houses!

Me, Debbie and Jenna getting started on our architectural masterpieces.

Cody laying the foundation for his abode.

Some may have been making fun of my small beginnings...

But it's all in the details.

Right Stevie?

And the first collapse of the night on Debbie's 2-story mansion!

I told you to start small!

Jenna, perfecting her courtyard.

Oh ya, just putting up the mailbox.

And Cody adding his solar panels.

Our finished beauties!
Clockwise from top left: Debbie's Hurricane Katrina mansion, Cody's eco-green solar abode, my Candyland cabin in the woods, Jenna's awesome exotic sugar shack and Trev's helicopter-landing pad bunker.

Yay for the holidays!

All we want for X mas is some snow.

2011-12-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

Chels and I went out for a groomer mission at the Village today. At least their is blue sky to wash away the "has it really not snowed in a month" blues.

Chels, trying to set an edge in what suffices as "firm" snow for Wyoming.

Skiing with Chels makes me feel lucky.

Too Damn Long....

2011-12-13T19:16:00.000-08:00

since I last got the sled out! It had been since the middle of June actually. Even though we are lucky to have a ton more snow right now than a lot of other areas in the western U.S., things are still pretty thin. My sleddin bud Tim and I went up on Togwotee Pass on Saturday to poke around and see what the conditions were like. Hmm.....we need snow, but there was still a ton of fun pockets of good snow to tear up!

Tim, chilling with Breccia Cliffs in the background.

Tim, laying a fatty in some good ol Wyoming smoke.

A year older

2011-12-13T10:05:00.000-08:00

And wiser, of course! Sunday was my birthday so Trev and I decided to grab the snowmobile and head up to Granite Hot Springs to soak away and get a Christmas tree. It ended up being a perfect mellow lounging day, just what I wanted!

On our way up the hot springs...go bright colors, huh?

Throwing on the galoshes and getting ready to walk across the icy creek to the hidden hot pools on the other side...this is NOT the fun part!

Almost froze the little tootsies off, but we made it...lounging and de-thawing!

The steam and heat felt so good on a chilly day.

Trying to regulate the heat was the biggest challenge of the day.

Of course we had a little Champers to help us celebrate!

Aaahhhh...never want to leave.

But we did.

And we picked out the perfect Christmas to tow back on the back of the snowmobile.

Now that was an awesome day.

Thumbs up to a great day and perfect Christmas tree and another year of awesomeness!

Beaverfest Merriment

2011-12-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

Once again, Beaverfest has come and gone in a blur, taking us out for the count (both Trev and I got sick!) but good times nonetheless! How could there not be with this cast of characters? Here is a glimpse into the shenanigans of last weekend...

Official Beaverfest credentials.

Preparing to cheer on Marco in the morning

We have arrived...the finish of the Birds of Prey downhill.

Me and Anna.

Of course, eating like Kings...this was the night of the winning meal team with a Marco-roccan Pita Bar theme...jingle skirts and all!

The usual, stalking our favorite ski celebrity.

Cute things.

No one can say we don't get in the spirit....M...A....R...C....

......O!!!!!

Sisterly love.

Keelan and Trev ready to ring some cowbells.

And yes, we even brought our own beaver this year. Yes, maybe he was a little ghetto and not the best role model for all the children wanting to hug him, but he was cheering for Marco!

These girls gave us a run for our money in the who is Marco's #1 fan department. We won, we brought a beaver.

We came, we cheered, we conquered and no one can say they missed us. Marco rocks!

Good luck to Marco and Anna and all the rest of the US Ski Team this season!!!
We will be cheering loudly!!!

Not Even A Cloud.

2011-11-30T22:15:00.000-08:00

It seems pretty rare to be able to do something new in a place where you have been going to for over thirty years....., but, since my Uncle Tim got a boat a few years back, he has been itching to take us over to the Channel Islands to explore. We went over to the island of Santa Cruz (25 miles) with the aid of UT's badass 250hp Yamaha outboard! Tim, Chels, and my other uncle, Pete were along for the mission.

Seals fighting for the high rent district in the SB harbor.

El Capitan Uncle Tim, me, and Uncle Pete, flush with motion sickness pills and ready for the open ocean crossing.

We arrived after a kinda bumpy ride with no sickness, ready to explore the "Painted Cave."

It's kinda tough to get perspective on how huge this cave was. We kayaked into it with flashlights and a bunch of seals barking at us.

Then we motored to another little inlet, anchored down and took kayaks and surfboards to the shore.

And went on a hike. We bushwacked the hike and didn't see another footprint the whole way. Looking down at Tim's boat below.

Three of my favorite peeps!

Chels on her way back down to the boat hoping we don't get too cliffed out after taking a different route back down to the boat than we came up. If you look really far off in the distance you can just barely see SB across the channel.

Thanks again UT for the amazing day out to the Channel Islands. Next time we will stay overnight and get a good surf session or two!

Back safely on dry ground, it was time to get down to the business of Thanksgiving. My Uncle Scott showing Jeff how to get things done with the BBQ.

And of course, no beach house mission is complete without a Trike ride.

Cramming 40 plus people into a small house can only be done with a tight knit family!

This will be a Thanksgiving distinguished and remembered for the unreal sunsets every night. Pete and Tim catching the last of the day out surfing. No photo shop help with any of these shots, yep, it was that amazing!

My dad and sister, just back from a session in the water.

Is it a seal, no, it's pop-eye, nope, it's just my dad.

There has been an explosion of kids into the family the past few years, so, of course, Smores had to be added to the mix this year. Tim showing Ashlynn the finer points of Smore roasting.

And the kids then, all hopped up on Smore sugar broke it down on the dance floor.

Chels boogie boarding.

Yea Chels.

We got a visit from Lizzdogger and Jess who were in the L.A. area and brought their hot selves and even hotter ride to the beach to hang for a couple of days. Killer rental car!

Skylar enjoying another amazing evening on the beach.

Ummm, don't really know what to say. Amazing. We had huge low tides in the evenings and not a cloud in the sky every night we were there which made for shots like this.

"Ashy" learning how to properly flip a "Poppy Pancake."

Sunrise on our final morning. We LOVE you Beach House!

So Cal Is Da Bomb!

2011-11-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

We just got back from an extended jaunt to Southern California seeing family over Thanksgiving. It was AWESOME!!

Started things off by visiting my 90 year old grandma "Grannie-De" in San Diego. She isn't 90 strong for no reason. She still gets into the weight room almost everyday!

We stayed at my grandma's retirement home and spent a ton of time in the pools messing around with the self timer on our camera.

Hiking near Torrey Pines.

My Mom was down in San Diego too. I guess going on a big ol hike wasn't enough exercise for my mom and Chels?

My mom and her college roomate "Susanna" who joined us on the hike.

Got to squeeze in a round of golf with my bud George who lives in San Diego too.

Did I mention we spent a lot of time in the pools?

Swimming with a friend is not only "encouraged", it's a ton more fun.

Pink was the color of the day, clearly. At the train station in Solana Beach saying goodbye to Grannie De.

Me, on the upper platform waiting for the Amtrak to take us north up to Santa Barbara.

Some of the killer views out the window on our train trip from San Diego up to Santa Barbara.

Yes......! Beach House arrival after a day of train travel.

Hunkering down

2011-11-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

Winter has arrived and Stevie has decided this is just where he wants to be for the next 5 months...

Under the covers.

Sand in the Toes

2011-11-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

More of our weekend adventures from Destin, Florida...

Not bad, not bad.

Our morning stand-up paddleboard sesh starting right out of Adam and Katie's back door. (The all-natural censor patch on Trevor's butt is quite appropriate. : )

And we are off for an epic lap through the canal, around the jetty and into the open water where I almost fell off my board into a swarm or jellyfish, no big deal. A pic from Tony's (waterproof) camera.

Next up...yoga on the beach! Well not really on the beach, but so close! It was such a cool experience with butterflies flying around us and the sound of the waves a hundred yards away.

I was the only taker for yoga, so while I did that...Trev and Tony took turns taking Adam's bike for a spin down the coast.

And some surf! Even though it was choppy and windy, Trev takes what he can in the ocean nowadays.

Another action shot from Tony's camera of Trev about to get tubed (haha, is that what they call it?)

And why not another round of golf? Trev did travel with his clubs after all. Tony hitting it far.

Tony escorted us (while Adam and Katie went to a wedding) on a little cruise to Rosemary Beach an hour or so away. We took the cruisers and set off exploring the ritzy hoods.

Then we stopped and grabbed lunch at the food Airstreams, pretty awesome.

Me and Tony eating our picnic lunch on the beach with our toes in the sand.

Trev and I with cool sky in the background.

Soaking this in.

Yay! Jumping and waiting for the sunset.

Yes...here it comes!

And it was amazing. We couldn't help but take a million and one photos of it. Sorry. But look at the colors in the water and the sand!

Trev contemplating life.

Now that was an awesome long weekend. Thanks Tony, Adam and Katie...Destin is not too bad.

Destin.....seriously?

2011-11-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

Yea, we know.....pretty random. Destin, FL for a long weekend? Yep, that's how we roll. We just got back to snowy/cold Jackson last night after 5 epic days in Destin, FL visiting my high school buds Adam (and his fiance Katie) along with Tony who came down from Alabama where he is stationed in the Army.

The well beaten path down to the beach to check the surf, just past Adam's house.

And the sweet ass view of the Gulf of Mexico from the end of the path. Hmmmm, weather and water temps in the 70's.

Katie cruising down toward the beach, easily under the retirement age, but still chillin on a Friday morn as if she was yet another Destin retiree!

Adam flies C-130's for the Air Force and his base happens to have a golf course, and we happened to squeeze in a round there.......

before heading up the beach to Pensacola to watch the Blue Angels perform on Veteran's day. It was a badass show and all the better being with good friends, of which, two of them (Adam and Tony) are both Vet's of this fine country of ours. And for that guys, Chels and I salute you!

The Angels, getting their freak on.

America, F Yea.....

I love new experiences in life.....like, going to Florida. However, I am bummed to say, things I will probably never have the opportunity to do include......dunking a basketball, and/or.......flying a Blue Angels jet. Damn it.

Adam and Katie along with the Robinson's.

Ohh yea, did I mention Adam and Katie's house is literally right on the water in Destin? Well, it is. Here we are, on the front deck, getting ready for a stand up paddle board mission in the back harbor of Destin.

Me and Tony charging out into the night.

Ghosts of the dark....night cruising on "Earl", which is Adam's "I don't know if Katie is claiming him" pontoon party boat that we took out a few times to go scare up some cocktails.

Damn Grace, lifting weights and eating right really has "pumped you up."

The Coeur d' Alene posse looking like a day hasn't gone by since 1995.

More pictures later this week of sunny Destin, FL. Ugh....now back to work.

Visiting #4

2011-11-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

We are off to Florida today!!! Short story, we had 2-for-1 plane tix and wanted to go somewhere random where we had friends to stay with, so Adam Grace and his new fiance Katie in Destin, Florida were the lucky winners of our vacation! Plus, a couple months ago we saw this Good Morning America poll and thought we had to go see for ourselves if Jackson Hole really deserves #5!

ALSO...here is Jackson's cold forecast for the weekend.

I think I would rather be here...Destin, here we come!

Sometimes I Like To Hang Out In The Kitchen

2011-11-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

Shout out to Anna.....Sorry Rena, I have used your tried and tested banana bread recipe for years now, but, after Anna hooked me up with a bit of a healthier version (no butter, no sugar) I don't think I am going back. Applesauce was used as a substitute for butter and I didn't notice a difference in taste.
Seemed to spend a ton of last weekend in the kitchen making things.

Goodman, another shout out. The monster marshmallows you got in Evanston, WY are now.......

melted into this goodness! Rice Krispy treats with peanut butter and coconut. So freaking good.
Did I mention something about "healthier" earlier? Two sticks of butter in that pan of awesomeness.

Winter is coming......new gloves need to be waterproofed.

As mellow as a weekend can be.

2011-11-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

It's pretty rare that we do nothing but chill for a weekend, but with not enough snow in the mountains to go ski and sled on and it being too cold to do any summer type of activities, we used this weekend to catch up on projects. This is going to be our last weekend in Jackson until the middle of December, so.........thought it was a good time to winterize the dirtbike.

Nope, we don't have a garage! It is one of my biggest "wants" in life, but the mini-storage is the next closest thing. BTW, anyone that is interested in a kick ass, dependable, fun, and 70 miles per gallon mode of transport for next summer......my dirtbike is for sale! Spread the word. I am wanting to upgrade to a bigger bike, and need to sell the current one to swing it.

Tinkering on the bike replacing the oil filter. Holy &%$# the bolts are really small on a moto!

If it can't come naturally....

2011-11-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Then sometimes out of a hose has to be the next best thing. This winter is getting off to a slow start here in Jackson. It has been doing a whole lot of being nothing but really cold and really clear. A bad combination when you are looking for your base to start setting up.

The guns are running over across the street from my office at Snow King. Apparently we aren't the only ones with lack of snow, saw today were the World Cup races next weekend in Levi, Finland have been canceled due to lack of snow. Bummer.

Denver

2011-11-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to drive down to Denver this weekend to visit friends and it was a great time. I stayed with Liz and her sister Meredith was in town with her cute little baby, Isaiah. While Liz worked one day, Mere and Isaiah and I explored the Denver Art Museum.

Meredith looking modelicious, as always.

And we saw the NPR Story Corps van parked outside! But, they were never around to talk to so alas, our amazing stories will have to wait for another day.

Some cool museum-isms.

I think my cheesy smile was more interesting to Isaiah than the art.

Posing.

All three of us agreed, that was quite enjoyable. Except maybe my back which was definitely feeling Isaiah's cute little rolls by the end of the day. : )

And we got to see Lil' Kar! Always looking good in The North Face.

A little Halloween wig time. Predicting Isaiah's future hair color, I say it is a perfect match.

Not really sure what Liz and I were trying to be, but always fun opening up the costume box.

We also got to Boulder for a day of strolling and tea drinking. Here we are sipping some delicious chai at the Russian Tea House...look at the ceilings!

A happy auntie.

Beauty. Thanks for the fun weekend girls!

Same Same, but Different

2011-10-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday was more of the same.....moto, but a little mellower and with a different crew of riders. I hooked up with Joe who works at the alternative high school and Matt who works at the high school for a ride that started at Joe's house in Victor, ID and ended up 5 hours later back there. We rode a sweet mix of double track, single track, and at some points, river bottom!

Joe, at the start of the ride before things got interesting.

Joe leading and Matt following about ready to descend into the headwaters of the South Fork of Rainey Creek in the BigHole Mountains.

After a epic journey on some nice single track, we got into the crux of the ride which consisted of countless technical stream crossings, each one with a drop in elevation getting bigger and deeper.

Joe, powering through one of the first crossings.

Matt got the all star award for the day. He hadn't really ever ridden anything "techy" before, had what were essentially street tires on his bike, and still managed to get after it. He took one pretty good digger that only resulted in a broken tail-light and is now officially "hooked."

Joe riding out the trail of gold.

Pretty sure Matt had dry feet up until this crossing.

Four hours later, out Rainey Creek Canyon we emerged and back to civilization......., well, Swan Valley, population 84. The beauty of our bikes is they are dirt bikes that are street legal, so, instead of having to battle back up the gnarly trail we just rode out, we just jumped on the highway, hammered back 25 miles to Victor and had celebratory beers.

I HEART MOTO!!

I am afraid this might have been the last ride of the year, its now snowy and cold here in Jackson. Ohh well, that just means sledding season is just around the corner.

Riding dirty in Idaho

2011-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

All my buddies give me shit about being the "activities director." Guilty as charged yesterday! Managed to get in a sweet moto ride up in the BigHole Mountains just outside of Victor, ID and a round of golf in too. Anytime it's in the 50's and a few days away from November in Jackson, one has to take advantage!

The Bigholes had some unreal single track. Drew, heading north along the Big Hole Crest trail.

Bikes cooling down after a big climb with the Teton Valley and the Teton's in the background.

Drew scoping the view toward the Swan Valley.

Pretty sweet. Nothing but buffed single track as far as the eye can see.

Looking back toward ground already covered.

I spent most of the day trying in vain to at least keep Drew in ear shot. He is a badass rider and I am not, so, of course, I had some battle wounds from trying to keep up.

Steel toed moto boots against a rock, the rock won.

Went from the mountains down to the valley for some golf to round out the day.

The moto is pointing right toward the golf course down in the valley here.

Give me the weekend

2011-10-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

This week seemed extra long.....what better to do to celebrate the weekend that have two full days of moto planned. The bike, loaded and ready for tomorrow.

Bittersweet day today. Helped Case and Jess pack up their lives after another awesome summer hanging with those guys. They are headed back to their year round home in Denver. Going to miss you guys and lil' Bucky. Plenty of rivers and campgrounds to meet up in down the road guys. See you at the Beav!

Katbreath Update...

2011-10-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Chelsea and the Golden Stallion at the Beach House in Santa Barbara last April.

This classic shot is just one of many new ones on our good friend "Kat-Breath" Katharine Lange's blog. She doesn't update much, but when she does, it's always fun to see what she has been up to.

We better see you at the Beav Breath.

Good to the Last Oar Dip

2011-10-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

More South Fork shots. Cody, searching hard for late night snacks.

The boys discussing world peace, how to be better people, and what volunteer opportunities they will be seeking out next.

Apparently all the "do-good" conversation made Connor "all tuckered out." He managed to grab a two-hour cat nap by the warmth of the fire!

Still discussing the finer points of world activism.

Des, taking a momentary break to get us some fuel for the fire. Yes, although dangerous, splitting wood at night is a lot of fun.

Woke up to a chilly, foggy, sunny, and beautiful day.

Fish eye Cody.

Active fish, warm weather, fall colors, doesn't get any better.

Can't get enough.....

2011-10-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

If the weather is awesome, why not go floating and fishing? Yet another S. Fork overnight trip this past weekend yielded sunburns, decent fish, and a lotta smiles.

Releasing my best fish of the weekend to be caught another day.

We rolled with two boats and 6 dudes. It was hard to believe the calendar is creeping toward November with awesome, sunny, warm days.

The new boat in all her glory!

One of the cooler aspects of going to the S. Fork in the fall is the flows out of the dam are so small that the river drops 4 to 5 feet from its usual summer flows. This exposes sand bars, ledges, and habitat that normally is under water. And......, you can actually wade some parts of the river.

Cody's dog, Colter, standing guard in the river watching us haul in brown trout.

Always bummed to think this might have been the last night of the summer/fall that I sleep in a sleeping bag, but......., if it happended to be, it was a solid camping and fishing trip to wrap up the summer season with.

The crew, bs'ing over cold beers.

Des, with a nice brown right in front of our campsite.

Travis Pastrana I Am Not!

2011-10-19T19:47:00.001-07:00

Yep, I know, super gross! Riding moto is like nothing else. It requires a ton of stamina, strength, and agility! I wasn't sure what to expect getting a dirtbike this summer. Suffice to say, I am hooked. However fun it might be, nobody would argue "diggers" are not part of the learning process.

Footage of the crash. Ooops.

Bear Lake Rendezvous

2011-10-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend with Marco and Anna in our vicinity (Park City) we decided to head back to Bear Lake to meet up with them and Shannon and Matt and Jess and Case.

This was our 3 RV gathering . This is what we call luxury camping.

Me and Little Buck chilling in Rex.

Case and Trev with golf clubs on the back of their bikes, off to squeeze in a round of golf.

Case cruising the greens.

Meanwhile, me cruising around the campground on "Scoot Scoot"

Here is what the real moto-ers were riding....Shannon showing the boys how it's done.

Trev, Case and Matt mid-moto stop to pose in front of the fall colors

A crafty afternoon...tie-dye by the fire!

Beautiful Bear Lake. This is what it looked like when I took off to go kayaking...ten minutes later it was white-capping over the sides of the boat, extreme kayaking!

Good times! Our camping crew, minus Jess, Case and Baby Wyatt who had to leave early.

That was fun!

Sending the South Fork

2011-10-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

My bud Des and I managed to squeeze in an overnight mission over to the S. Fork of the Snake last Sunday and Monday. It was typical October on the S. Fork, no crowds and good fishing.

Me, with a nice lil 'bow.

And yea, that is the old Squaw Valley USA beauty pageant staff issue. Jealous?

Right abut when you think you are doing something sweet, you normally get one upped... Well, just when floating down the S. Fork on a sunny day in October was floating our boat, then a pack of Cessna's came charging down the river buzzing the tower really low.

It's a rapalla, no, its a............"fish of the trip." Des with an absolute monster.

The "P. Slayer II" looking like the fine craft that she is. Sure a lot of you remember the "P.Slayer I", may she R.I.P of blog fame from years gone by. Well.....she sank to the bottom of the Grand Ronde River this summer out in Oregon. Luckily, I have a ton of really cool buds who were on that trip and helped to contribute to the purchase of the "P. Slayer II." So, to all you guys, big, big thanks, and come out to JH to take a float on your fractional ownership with me guiding!

We got into a pretty thick Blue Winged Olive hatch.

No competition for campsites when it is getting down to the low 20's at night.

Foggy river shots are cool.

Des, with a close second to the aforementioned........"fish of the trip."

One Last(?) Time

2011-10-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we headed up to Jackson Lake to take the kayaks out for one last outing on a gloomy day.

With a little snow in the mountains we were the only boats on the lake.

Pulling up to an exposed sandbar to play around.

This is my "I'm excited for ski season, I think" face

The good old pretty-mountain-reflection-in-the-lens photo

Yippy, let's try some yoga poses!

Trevor, reflecting. Or scoping the weather. Or thinking, "How did I get so lucky to marry such a kick-ass chick?" Yep, that is definitely what he is thinking here.

A "wheel" for the Tetons

After many failed jumping poses and some hilarious takes...

...we got our groove on camera. Here's to levitation!

Why hello there.

Kind of color coordinated in a random way?

Trevor's best leapfrog

On the drive out...some elk next to the road. Careful guys, hope you make it through hunting season!

It's Beaver Time!

2011-10-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a little bit of the fun and rowdiness we call the Beaverfest...an annual rendezvous of 50 of our closest friends to cheer on my brother Marco at the Beaver Creek Birds of Prey World Cup ski race.

Who is in this year? : )

More Mamacita

2011-10-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

The rest of my mom's trip, in living color.

Trevor and my morning meeting in Rex...what should we show my mom next?

Rasta trees.

How about some local road blocks? Trevor approves of bison crossing.

And a moose. I think he is winking at me.

Then we decided we should float the whitewater section of the Snake, because we could.

Self-portrait from the back of the bus...there is a lot of down-time while floating, okay?

And why don't we throw in a mountain goat just for good measure on the wildlife viewing scale.

Now for a hike up Josies, behind our house.

No shortage of color!

Trucking along with High School Butte in the background.

Trevor getting artsy with the grass.

Now that is what I call pretty.

Another moose, handsome fella he is.

My mom and I decided we would do a little bike ride in the Park out to Jenny Lake on her last day.

Cruising right along

Can't get a much better view than this....great visit Mom, we love you!

Happy Birthday Teddy!!!

2011-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

This Day Rules!
And we miss you.

A quick interruption

2011-10-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

in pics from my mom's trip because THIS happened.

One Mamacita in Jackson

2011-10-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

My mom made it here the end of last week for some amazing fall weather and fun...

First up, we took Rex out for an overnight...this is the beginning of the wildlife tour, posing in front of bison at the Warm Springs.

Rex in fine form cruising through the fall colors.

Mom enjoying the view.

Mom modeling our camping spot at Slide Lake

Our afternoon kayak mission was amazing with the colors

Alright, this might have been taken with the "vivid" setting, but this is really what it looked like!

Cruising by the Beaver Hilton

Beavers everywhere...Mom kayaking closer for the pic.

And a little evening wine and reading, not much more we could ask of this awesome fall day.

Peace, homies.

And casserole cooking in Rex...did I say luxury camping? Yep, it was.

Enjoy your weekend!

2011-09-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

San Diego with the fam

2011-09-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

I managed to only bring my phone down to San Diego last weekend for my cousin Clai's wedding, so, the pictures aren't all that awesome. But....., it was a good time, saw a bunch of fam, and hung out on the beach!

Mom, sister, and dad, all leaving me in the dust at Black's Beach, San Diego.

The wedding was up in the hills above Pacific Beach and Mission Bay. Pretty sweet view.

The wedding party.......Clai got hitched in cowboy boots, showing the fact he is a Nor Cal native transplanted to So. Cal!

Soloing

2011-09-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Trevor was gone for the weekend, so I took advantage of the beautiful summer sun and went adventuring...

Doesn't this kind of look like the beginning of a fairytale?

I took pictures of pretty trees.

I took not as cool pictures of myself with a layer of wildfire smoke in the background.

I reveled in my surroundings and practically skipped down the trail because it was just pretty out.

And more not very exciting pics of myself...I guess I had to prove I was there, right?

I was just seeing beauty everywhere.

Even under the chairlift.

And then I went kayaking. And beached up and read the afternoon away.

And in the early evening on my paddle back in, I hung out with beavers who were swimming all over the place and then...

Slap! They would make a big deal of themselves and do an underwater swim and pop up 5o yards away. It was fun and the best adventurous relaxing day ever. I love you September.

And there we were, just walking to get the mail...

2011-09-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

With a phone...

2011-09-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes technology amazes me. I took this shot two nights ago with my cell phone while golfing. It was from the 18th tee at the Links GC over in Driggs, ID looking toward the setting sun over the Big Hole Mountains. Pretty rad way to end the day.

What state are we in?

2011-09-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

Seems like the whole time you are hanging at Bear Lake you are always wondering if you are actually in Utah and or Idaho. The border literally runs right through the middle of the lake. Regardless, both sides kick much ass.

Rex and me, hanging on a sandy beach on the very far northern reaches of Bear Lake, Idaho.

Shannon and Chels, still in Idaho......

Me and Chels, yep, two feet from where the last picture was taken, still........in Idaho.

Wait, what happened? Shannon and Me, a few miles away from the last pictures, high up in the Cache Mountains, now.......in Utah!

Matt and Shannon, with Paris Peak in the background. We went on an epic 30 mile single track loop, where, the trailhead was in Idaho, but the riding was in Utah. Didn't matter, it was all the same....badass!

High up in the mountains, looking over the other side toward Logan, UT.

Just because something isn't safe doesn't mean it isn't fun.....Me, trying to keep the stereotype of moto fanatics alive, using blatant disregard for warming and authority!

Matt took all of these shots with his phone, so, they are a bit fuzzy, but the sweetness of this ride with variance of terrain (big, technical climbs, mud, stream crossings, big open 4th gear meadows, etc.) was crystal clear.

Meanwhile, while we rode dirtbikes and punished the environment in the name of fun, Chels, the far better steward of the world than us, soaked up the rays and gorgeous waters of Bear Lake.

Bear Lake Bonanza

2011-09-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Another fun weekend soaking up the Indian summer sun while we have it! We loaded up Rex and headed down to Bear Lake to meet the Happes which was a great almost-halfway point between us and Salt Lake. Good company, kayaking, motos, board games and rv's...what more could you ask of an awesome weekend?

Rex looking pretty styled out.

A little beach-front morning reading and brekkie...not bad, huh?

I think we could call this water-front.

A little kayak on the great Bear Lake.

The water levels were still so high that we were paddling through a deciduous jungle, it was a little crazy and pretty all at the same time.

Trev and Matt grabbed an afternoon moto sesh while Shannon and I had a wild time of it back at the campsite.

Umm, no complaints here.

Matt and Trev hanging in the red light district.

Four!

2011-09-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

What? It has been four years since this day and as Trev loves to say, it feels like a week ago...haha. It just keeps getting better all the time, love you more than ever Trev!
Happy anniversary!

One for the books

2011-09-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

It had been a couple of years since I rallied over to this spot for a mission, which is way, way too long given how freaking badass it is. Case and Bubba joined on Sunday for what ended up being one of the best days of fishing any of us had ever witnessed.

Case, at the top of the "slide" getting ready to rig the raft for it's hour long belay down into the canyon and the river below.

Bubba packing things up. I know the only peeps that actually read this blog are friends and fam, but just in case there are others, the name and location of this float are still being withheld!!!

The primary reason why you don't see anyone floating this section and why the fish are so unaccustomed to seeing big dry flys! It's a full on ordeal just getting your boat down to the river to float.

Case running the belay and Bubba guiding er.

Putting the raft warranty to the test! We took Case's 16 foot boat which was as big of a craft as you would ever want to try and navigate down this lil gem of a river.

Yep, it really is that steep! Case, in the shot two above, belaying it down the final pitch.

Bubba, trying to get a shot of the final slide down to the river.

And........., finally, Eureka.......pot at the end of the rainbow. A river all to ourselves with nothing but a ton of fish to keep you company.....And ohh yea, rattlesnakes too! I literally came within a few inches of stepping on a rattler that was shaking his tail like he meant business.

Gotta air it out whenever possible. Case, taking a break for fishing for a swim.

Oh yea, and then there was the epicness of the fishing. It was non stop good. Literally every single fly that we pulled out of the fly boxes worked. It was just one of those days.

The cutty's here look like no other cutty's I have seen elsewhere. All kinds of funky spotting to em.

Bubba, getting ready to release.

Hell yea Case.

We didn't catch any absolute monsters, but the sheer volume of fish made up for it.

Did I mention not only was the fishing off the charts, but as an added bonus, there are multiple entertaining runs of class III whitewater too!

The fishing was so hot we were catching fish literally in "dead" water that had no movement to it and was infested with weeds.

"Huh, that looks a little tight for the 16 footer."

Case, scouting the last rapid. Nope, that isn't a walking stick. It's a "watch the f-out for rattle snakes" stick.

I made a commitment to come over and do this more than once a year. It's just too good not to.

Umm yea, there isn't any sort of boat launch at the take out, just a 4wd road that is pretty gnarly that gets you about 50 yards from the river. So, you kinda have to get creative getting your boat back on the trailer. Using the climbing rope on the winch to make it happen.

Have moto, will shuttle.

Coming to a close

2011-09-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Some of the best moto trails closed this past weekend with the start of elk season ramping up. Kinda a bummer, but something to look forward to next spring.

Nate, Nick and I went for a ride last week up Munger.

Nate, on his big ol 650 Klr making it happen to the top.

Topping out, tired, knowing the ride down will be in the dark.

Nick, descending down toward the Snake River.

Fill it up again.

2011-09-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

Tis the last of the backpacking shots from last weekend. All the rest of the pic's are from the day we hiked out from Basin Lakes to the White Grass Ranger Station.

Me, grabbing some fresh runoff water. We have been messing with many of the modes on our new camera.

Heading to Static Divide from Buck Divide. There were a couple of sketchy zones along the way.

Chels getting close to Static Divide. I am biased, but I think this is the best and most amazing section of trail in all of the Tetons.

Hell yea, so sweet. Looking down into the abyss that is Death Canyon.

On top of Static Peak, with Buck and the Grand Teton in the background.

It was sunny and warm and close to 12,000ft. Pretty rad.

What backpack would be complete without some huckleberry gathering? We filled two Tupperware of the delicacies for this winter and making waffles.

Yes Sir, Some of that please

2011-09-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

Just past Avalanche Divide, there is a cave, it's pretty well hidden, but if you have been there enough times before and know what to look for, you can find it. After lunch we went on a mission into the dark world.

Right........., I mentioned we got over 700" of snow last winter.

The entrance to the cave with Avalanche Canyon and Iceflow Lake in the background.

The cave runs a legitimate 200-300 yards back into "The Wall." At the very back end of it is an ice chamber. Chels, cooling off on the ice.

Literally chillin at the end of the maze.

Hiking back to our packs after the cave en route to our camping spot for the night.

There was a "shortcut" that I promised Chels would save time to our camp! But....., it was super steep with tons of loose shale rock to contend with. Always fun when tired and carrying a heavy pack.

Loose enough rock to give you the one step up and two steps back feeling.

Pineapple Pass, top of the shortcut, just before dropping into the fabled "Alaska Basin."

En route to skinned knees and Alaska Basin.

The mountains are confused. Even though it is early September, the snowpack, wildflowers, berries, water, etc....all think it is still the middle of July.

The Wyoming state flower....the Indian Paintbrush. Your fun fact for the day.

We hoofed it up and out of Alaska Basin and over to the nearby Basin Lakes area to set up shop for the night. In need of a swim, I went for it in the easily named "Mirror Lake."

Chels' happy place. Beautiful scenery, book in hand, and me, cooking dinner!

This Day Ruled.

Once, not nearly enough

2011-09-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

I guess once a year going on a backpack is enough......, but not really! Seems like walking long distances with a really heavy pack was all I did in the summer for about a decade, so, maybe that is why I haven't had the urge to do it as much in the past few summers. But....., Chels and always manage to sneak one backpack in a summer. We took advantage of the long Labor Day weekend and did a Teton classic. Up Cascade Canyon, up the S. Fork of Cascade, into Alaska Basin, and then out Buck Divide and Death Canyon. It kicked ass!

Chels climbing up Cascade Canyon on the first day.

Chels with the Grand Teton in the background.

Rounding a corner with the N. Fork of Cascade Canyon in the background.

Our first night camping we had a family of deer sharing the site with us.

Alpenglow sunset to finish the day off.

En route to Buck Divide.

There was more snow in September than I had ever seen up there despite years of leading trips in the same area, even though I was normally taking those trips up there in July and August.

Chels, with the bulk of the Teton Range in the background climbing up from our first nights camp.

Almost topping out at Avalanche Divide.....

And there.

Yea, not a bad place to chill and grab some lunch.

Dern Right.

2011-09-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

My bud Nick took me out to Munger Mountain a couple of nights ago and initiated me to the insane single tracks up there. WOW! Freaking so badass.

Nick, taking a break on the climb up from the Fall Creek drainage.

Nick and my bike, resting on top of Munger Mtn. I have ridden sleds up there countless times in the winter, so, it was sweet to see the top without snow.

Nick, starting to descend all the way back own to the valley floor.

You kinda have to search hard in the above picture, but you can see Nick just below the trees on the single track making his way up. Kinda gives you some perspective on how big the country we were riding is.

And yea, that was a ton of smoke in all the previous shots. Despite a record winter and really wet spring, we have finally been bit with the fire danger bug. I took this shot Wednesday from my bud Jason's front porch, pretty wild huh. In the last week, there was over 9,000 lighting strikes in the valley, hence, fires right in town!

Friends and Floatin...

2011-09-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

Once upon a random ski run in Austria almost three winters ago.........we met the Weikerts. They saw Chels and I skiing, immediately introduced themselves, and boom.......instant friends. Turns out they lived in Munich, but owned a house in Victor, ID. Small world, yes it is. Well, now, Andrea and Francesca are living here in Jackson while Francesca finishes up high school while their husband and dad, Manfred slaves away back in Germany dreaming of Jackson, powder days, and seeing the gals in his life! Mani, this blog is for you. Can't wait to take you out on the river and ski some powder with you this winter buddy!

Andrea and Francesca floating. School started Wednesday, so, we had to get Francesca out on the last day of summer on the Snake River.

A true Wyoming girl can handle the oars!

Francesca multi-tasking....

Francesca and Andrea, stoked, only wishing Mani was here with them. Soon enough.

After a bunch of failed attempts, Francesca nailed the rock huck shot.

That was fun guys, we are always pumped that you were so friendly that day in Kitzbuhel years ago!

Lake Time

2011-08-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

We have been all over the map this summer, so, this past weekend we committed to staying in the valley. I called up to the permit desk at GTNP on Friday and was able to SCORE a just turned in permit for Saturday night on Jackson Lake that someone wasn't going to use. Their huge loss, our massive gain....!

Rain droplets on our tent window.

Parking spots for our digs.

Yep, just as it looks. Nate, hanging out in the kids play pen.

The weather broke just enough for us to squeeze in a pre-dinner ski and wakeboard.

Jason, Finn, and Ben.

Jess, up first try on the single ski.

All of the camping sites on Jackson Lake are boat access only. Lucky for us, we have a collection of buds that have boats.

The backdrop looks fake doesn't it!

Our fearless Captain, Dan Walker, with Jess and a rainbow in the background.

Jess, letting it rip just before dark.

Me, wishing I could jump the wake!

Chels and I managed to grab a bunch of floating golf balls the weekend before on a kayak mission out by the Cd'A Resort Golf Course which has a driving range that you hit floaters into the lake. We snaked close to 10 of them and set up our own impromptu driving range off Elk Island. Nate and his boat in the background were both the target and the ball collectors!

Jason, Chels and Bucky, stoked on a warm, August morning on Jackson Lake.

At this point "Buck" is a well seasoned camper in his young age. The Brown Family, Jess, Case, and Buck.

Ben Jones hung around long enough before heading off to Mt. Rainer to finish up the guiding season there to score a sweet weekend in Jackson.

Our eclectic mix of boats. Little bit of everything.

I mean seriously, I challenge someone to find a more scenic wakeboarding backdrop.

Chels, chilling with the boys.

In honor of the U.S. Open...

2011-08-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Before camping this weekend we decided to go play a little tennis, something we have not done in quite awhile and it was so fun. Of course our action shots are totally staged here so be prepared for some awesomeness! : )

Hmmm, that's nice.

2011-08-26T17:38:00.001-07:00

Yes....., finally, a post work float mission. Proops made a cameo this week in the valley, so, no better reason to bail on work a couple of hours early and hit the Snake.

Tyler and Jules.

Hell ya Rolfe, reel it in.

Is that the Marlboro man?

Cd'A Up In This

2011-08-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

The run and gun show that has been our summer of 2011 pulled into Coeur d' Alene, ID (where I grew up) last weekend for a wedding. We stayed with my parents and had a complete blast!
Chels, kayaking downtown by the CdA Resort.

We found an island to chill on and swim.

Freaking Paradise! Cd'A is a pretty tough place to beat in the summer months.

Chels, self portrait, playing with one of the what seems to be thousands of settings on our small digi camera.

One of the best parts of a wedding weekend at home with good high school buds.......you get to see and hang with all your peeps that you haven't seen in way too long.
Adam G. took us out on Hayden Lake the day of the wedding for some wake surfing.

Really hope I put sunscreen on my bald dome? Wake surfing was a blast. You are literally 10 feet from the prop of the boat.

Yep, the wedding site was that badass!

My high school bud Joel and his bride in the making, Casey, sealing the deal.

Me and college roomate from Oregon and Montana, Brian Lockwood.

Goodness

2011-08-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Headed up the Gros Venture after work tonight with the boys for a lil wade fishing action. No huge fish, but plenty of "dinks" to be had.

Tyler and Brian.

Otis looking downriver at Hager.

Getting chased out by darkness and bugs.

There is a fire that started last weekend up toward the headwaters of the Gros Venture that is burning unabated right now. You can just see it billowing on the left hand side of this shot.

No mission to the GV is complete without a huck off "the rock". Me cannonballing!

Fruits of Labor

2011-08-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Our bud Ben Jones is back in town after being over in Nepal and Kenya for the past 5 months. He was guiding trips in both spots and now, well.......has a sweet ass Harley to show for his efforts!
Ben and I went for a ride tonight on our bikes up in Grand Teton National Park.

Ben used to have a Harley just like this one, only older years ago, but eventually sold it. Probably should hold on to that one, it's pimp.

Man....the days are getting shorter all of a sudden. We got caught by darkness on the ride home.

Friendies

2011-08-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Just got some more pics from the weekend, loved it! Now we are off to Coeur d'Alene for another wedding weekend. I guess being exhausted in the name of fun is nothing to complain about! Have a great weekend amigos!

Got some pics from ou

Doing it all

2011-08-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

Lucky for us, Jess's family has a huge ranch in Evergreen, CO (Where the wedding reception was). Her parents gave us the green light to bring the moto's and go exploring on all the amazing double and single track trails last weekend. It was ridiculous. Miles and miles of buffed trails all on their property.

Shannon, two time Olympic Medalist, recently retired, now, budding complete moto badass, with the boys, after loading up the bikes after sweet ride pulling off the keg from the night before.

Two hour moto ride, check. 9 hour trek home, ugh....

Denverlicious!

2011-08-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was awesome, besides it being too short and Denver being too far away (8 hours from JH)...we jam packed it with fun, as we like to do.

The reason for the trip: fun, friends (and Jess & Case's wedding celebration)

Water World here we come! This place was ridiculously busy, but was got to ride all the rides and it was awesome. Nothing like being a kid again.

Most of our Water World crew (minus Trev who is taking the pic and Jess, Case & Wyatt)...

Liz, Jason, me, Ted, Kari, Matt, Shannon and Kenyon

And that night we went to Red Rocks (which is probably the most amazing venue I have ever seen a concert at) to see John Butler Trio who tore the house down. Jess and Wyatt looking beautiful under the band's logo projected on the rocks.

Me and Lil' Kar with the stage far down below.

Look at this place! Oh and by the way, it was a full moon too. Ridiculous, huh?

They played to a packed house and the show was absolutely amazing. I honestly had never even heard of the John Butler Trio, but we decided to go to check out the venue and hang with the crew that night....SO glad we did, now we know an awesome new band too!

Our goodbye for now to Ted : ( who moved to Boulder this weekend for grad school.

i don't think I am actually sleeping here, just hoping for safety as I am definitely being picked up off the ground by not the most sober of hot guys.

Love this place!

Ted, the guy who is always having a good time.

A little bit of the Red Rocks hall of awesomeness.

The three amigos parking lot pee. Kinda an artsy pic, right?

And the real reason we drove down to Denver for the weekend...to celebrate Jess & Case's wedding (which actually took place in Turks & Caicos on June 1st)

Look at these handsome fellas, love a wedding party!

Dancing the night away! Thanks all for an awesome weekend!

Must Read

2011-08-10T20:40:00.001-07:00

I just finished this book and if you like Non-fiction books, put this one to the top of your list if you haven't already read it. Wow! Unbelievable tale of WWII, an American POW and his astounding life both before and after becoming a POW. Well worth the money. Get it!

Not nearly enough!

2011-08-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

As much as Chels hates it when I talk about it, living in western Wyoming at 6,000 ft, it seems...... "Fall is just around the corner." Some of the tree's are utterly confused right now and are actually starting to change colors, ever so slightly. You defenitely have to have a jacket on in the morning and in the evenings. Taking stock on the summer (or what has sufficed as summer this year), we realized we haven't gone kayaking nearly enough. So, two nights ago we boogied after work up to Slide Lake. Ended up having the lake all to ourselves and pure glass.

Chels, on her way out from the boat launch.

Standard kayaking fare....chips, salsa, et.

We managed to just avoid a huge storm that was brewing up toward Yellowstone.

Sunset on Slide Lake with the Tetons in the background.

The shot above, and the next few below were even better in real life! We caught the sunset perfectly. Don't leave summer, we like you.

S. Fork

2011-08-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Some things never get old....., such as heading over to Idaho and spending a weekend floating, fishing, and camping on the S. Fork of the Snake River. The catalyst for last weekend's float was to celebrate/spend time with our good bud Ted who is leaving Jackson for the next couple of years to go to grad school down in Boulder, CO.

Cody, Case, and myself on the first day of the overnight float, chillin.

Ahh, the beautiful canyon of the S. Fork.

The shirt says it all?

Nice Rolfe.

Our bud Jack made the trek up from SLC for the weekend. Stoked to have him aboard and slaying fish. Jacko caught the best fish of the weekend, an 18" brown, however, he let it go before we could get a shot of it.

Chels, Case, and Jack, pulled over just above our camp.

The crew pulled into our boat camp pretty early as the flows on the river are moving more like it is June instead of August. Luckily, that gave us plenty of time to indulge in swimming and celebrating Teddy!

Gormer Canyon #4 camp. Solid. We got a passing storm, but not bad enough to drive us from the fire.

The crew.

The Barber boat, with Colter keeping watch.

We swam like fish the whole float, stoked on the warm weather and cold water.

Case, with a monster!

Teddy, with a few reasons to smile. Classic Teddy! Can only hope somewhere in the depths of grad school Teddy you find a way to keep as stoked as you are in this shot!

Gotta little weather toward the end of the float on Sunday.

Case, on the sticks with Jacko searching for a big brown.

Moto Mission

2011-08-04T20:25:00.001-07:00

Took the moto for a spin last night up around Shadow Mountain. Fun cruise, until I almost ran out of gas and had to b-line to Dornan's to get some fuel.

Maximizing, Part 2

2011-08-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of maximizing and my dad and Marco's last day in town, we went out to the Village and caught the first tram up to the Top of the World...not a bad way to start the day!

I know we kind of look like we were dressed for the arctic, but the wind was blowing (that kind of explains my sweet hair) and we were at 10,000ft, what can I say?

My hair wasn't quite as sweet at this guys.
Jason Rolfe, kind of looking like the Joker here, modeling some awesomeness...nice.

Someone is excited.

Another waffle breakfast, what can I say, they just taste better up here...your three options are with Nutella, brown sugar and butter or strawberry jam and the official opinion of the waffle maker is that each one tastes better than the next.

I am not sure if Marco is afraid of anything, but doesn't that kind of look scary??

Standing on the edge between Corbet's and S&S Couloir.

My dad, Jason, Marco and Trev...not sure what their band name would be, but kind of looks like an album cover doesn't it?

The tram!

The wildflowers are out and so cute, I couldn't resist a hundred pics of them.

Another family shot, heading back down the tram for activity number 2...

A nice scenic float down the Snake in the rain!

We had tried to float the night before, but really got rained out, so a couple of dark clouds weren't going to scare us away today. See, everyone is still smiling even if we did get caught in a few sprinkles.

We rallied the troops and were joined by the Baby Barge on the left (Jess, Case, Wyatt and their friends Isabell and Will) and the Party Barge on the right (Ted, Catherine and Jason).

The Sullivans and the Tetons...yay!
Right when we hit the take-out, Marco and my dad drove straight down to Salt Lake and my dad caught his 10pm plane home to Tahoe. What a trip. So glad you guys visited!!!

Now, who's next?

It's all about maximizing

2011-08-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

So let the epic weekend begin. With not a whole lot of time to show off JH to my dad, we jam packed our weekend with fun and that it was...

First up, we rode our bikes to the Farmer's Market on the Town Square (of course getting the obligatory photo under the antler arches), picked up some berries and went home to make a Saturday waffle brunch, complete with some yummy farmer's market goodness to top them off.

Next up, tubing! Flat Creek here we come.

Here's the posse...ready for some under the bridges, over the falls, into the bushes, around the bend action.

Rained out from our original float the Snake idea, we hung out at Dornan's for the view and then jetted back to town to watch our buddy Jim rope some poor little calves in the Teton County rodeo. His partner couldn't cut it that night, but no one should doubt Jim's roping skillzzzz!

Bring on the bulls!

Then we headed over to the carnival because of course when the fair only comes to town once a year you tend to forget how sick all these rides make you feel and you want to do them again.

My fave, the ferris wheel, a good way to end the night and it's just cute.

Marco thuggin' it up with Trev and the Cheese Steak stand.

Have to get one of these shots every year, right?

And the cutest thing at the fair (besides Trevor), bunny and duck best friends!

Dad in the Hole!

2011-08-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Pretty hard to believe, but my dad visited us in Jackson this weekend for the first time!

(We have lived here for 6 years now...I know, crazy.)

So glad to finally get him here, we lived it up and wore him out showing him as many reasons as we could for why we love it here so much. Needless to say, I think he left tired!

On the first night, we grabbed some burritos and hopped in Rex (our killer RV) for a little cruise out for a better view of the Tetons.

We hit it right as the sun was setting and it was beautiful...yes, high five!

So pretty...sun still lighting up the Mormom Row homesteader cabins on the left.

Dinner with a view!

And the road blocks...bison galore just chillin' in our path. Pretty good reason to wait.

The next day we went up to the park to get some summer swimming in and that we did...check two lakes off the list! Here is my dad tiptoeing into Phelps Lake, yep there is still a good chill to that water!

Lake #2 = Jackson Lake....ahhhhhh, love it here.

(oh, and the swimming was much warmer.)

Yay for summer!

The Big SLC

2011-07-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

Last week we drove down to Salt Lake City to pick up my dad from the airport, but not before Trev surprised me with a date night to see Bela Fleck and Bruce Hornsby at the Red Butte Gardens in SLC!

What is a date night without your special little brother? Since Marco is living and training in Park City right now, he tagged along with to the show. Great night with my two favorite guys!

The scene. People had obviously done this before, they had their picnic scenes dialed.

Our hodgepodge of a picnic with....fried chicken?...really Trev? At least we had a Navajo rug to display our goods on.

Stoked to see some live music!

Not sure what says SUMMER more than cherries and ridiculous glasses.

Bruce Hornsby was awesome, even playing a cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb"....thanks for the great surprise Trev! Lucky girl I am.