Just Another Day at the Ranch

Nothing new to report.  Tuesday and Wednesday were regular ole days at the ranch.  Just when our trips were booking up a bit, we had high wind advisories this afternoon which forced us to cancel all of our float trips scheduled for after 1:00pm.  Cancelling a float trip reminded me of cancelling an athletic event.  I had to call all the clients, raft guides and van drivers to let them know that the afternoon trips were cancelled due to high wind advisories.  With the cancellation of the afternoon and evening trips, my shift ended about an hour early.  The wranglers had just put the horses out to graze on the front acreage, forcing me to drive right through the middle of them.  The horses did not seem bothered one bit.

Driving out of the ranch

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Ranch horse

Ranch horse

I am eagerly awaiting the Thursday night arrival of Kate Murphy and her friends from San Diego!  Should be a busy and great 4th of July weekend with all of them joining me on the Jackson Hole Adventure!

Me and Kate Murphy in Aspen last summer.

Lunch in Downtown Jackson and Dinner with Alex and Karen

Consignment Store Shopping

I have had a wonderful day off which I spent shopping and lunching in downtown Jackson Hole.  It was a beautiful day and the warmest I have had so far this summer.  I think it got as high as 75 degrees with no humidity.  The sky was a beautiful blue and made for a perfect day to enjoy a few slow hours in the town square.  I began my window shopping at a local consignment shop that I had read about.  I was hoping to find a neat belt or cool pair of boots.  I walked away empty handed.  I did see some really nice looking boots, but unfortunately they were not my size.


I continued walking around the town square checking out the art galleries and simply watching the people.  It was so nice out that I decided to eat on the outdoor patio at the Town Square Tavern.  The food was only adequate but the people watching was great.  The Town Square Tavern had great views of the entire town square.

Stage Coach ride across from the Tavern

Looking to the left from the patio

Looking to the right from the patio

After lunch I continued my window shopping and walking around the downtown area.  I found a great little shop that had unique belt buckles and other interesting odds and ends.  I bought a cool glass belt buckle for a friend (can't put picture on blog because it would ruin the surprise for someone) and I hope they find the buckle as cool as I did.  I of course had to buy a cool glass belt buckle for me too!    I enjoyed my stroll around town on a most beautiful day and the interesting things I saw.

Smoothie Stand I will have to try a a later date.

Loved the sign!

When my strolling came to an end, I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner.  Last night I received a message from Katie Occhipinti (my former Pingry student whose idea it was to create the blog) to tell me that her friend Alex was going to be driving through Jackson Hole with her cousin Karen.  Karen recently finished her graduate work at UCSD and is headed to DC to start her new job.  Alex flew to San Diego from Jersey to help Karen drive from San Diego to DC (taking a interesting route through northern California, Washington and Wyoming).  I had met Alex on my visit to Jersey in January to see Katie O play a few basketball games.  Alex also played basketball for the college of New Jersey.  I was happy to offer Alex and Karen my two extra bedrooms and a home cooked meal.  As usual when I meet someone new, I am reminded just how small the world really is.  During her graduate studies at UCSD, Karen lived in the campus housing which is right across the street from my Athletic office at LaJolla Country Day.  As we talked over dinner, I also found out that Karen attended Marist College in NY with my niece Kathryn.  Go figure! Alex and Karen get back on the road in the morning to continue on their journey back to the east coast and I will get the guest rooms cleaned up and ready for my next guest who arrive on Thursday!

Alex Gregovek and Karen Grunstva 

I Fought the Grass and the Grass Won

Trevor (Head Pro) explaining how the tournament would work

My day started off simple enough....greek yogurt, berries and flax seed.  Then it was off to Teton Pines tennis Center to participate in the club's "Summer Solstice Showdown" tournament.  It was more of a social gathering then a tennis tournament, but a nice way to spend a few hours meeting new people.  The tennis club is about 30 minutes away from the house and on the other side of the mountain range.  During the 4 hours of the tennis tournament, it was cloudy on that side of the mountain range.  

As I made my way back to my side of the mountain range, I found the sun and it was beautiful.  As I pulled into my driveway, I realized that the time had fianlly come to "take on the grass."  I was really hoping that the buffalo would return often and eat as much as they wanted, so that I would never have to "take on the grass."  The buffalo still roam the neighborhood from time to time, but they have not ventured back through my gate to snack on my grass.  As part of the lease for the house, I agreed to cut the front yard and the owners left a lawn mower in the garage.  With music in my ears and beautiful sunshine all around, I headed to the garage to find the lawn mower.  Imagine my surprise when I found a lawn mower that belonged in a different generation.

The home owner's joke of a lawn mower

Once I found the lawn mower and saw that it was from the 1920's, the front yard looked a lot bigger than it ever had before.  I was not going to be beaten by an old lawn mower, so I started pushing it around and cutting the grass.  It was a lot harder than it looked but I kept going and thought of it as a work out since the tennis tournament had not been much exercise.  I lost track of how long it took me to get the front yard done, but it was way to long.

Before

After

After the front yard was done and I took a well earned water break, I moved to the back yard to give it a go.  As per the lease, I am not responsible for the backyard beacuse the property manager said it was natural habitat and not grass.  The buffalo enjoy snacking on it, and it has been growing like a weed and needed a cut.  I took the old lawn mower to the back yard and gave it a go.  Where I got was no where!  The mower could not make a dent in the growth of the back yard and I could easily see defeat in front of me!  I know better than to fight a war I can't win.  The property manager will be called in the morning so that a landscape company can take over.  I knew there was a reason I do not have grass at my house in Sarasota!

The still over grown back yard.

Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying"

Open Play Tennis at Teton Pines

That song describes my day perfectly.  I have had a great day and I continue to LOVE my Jackson Hole Adventure.  The weather has turned and the sunshine and 70 degree temps are absolutely wonderful.  My day started off with "Open Tennis" at Teton Pines Tennis Club.  We played for about 2 and half hours.  It was all good fun.  Because it was such a beautiful day, I just had to stay outside and enjoy it.

I initially thought that I would buy a bike when I arrived here in Jackson Hole so that I could bike to and from work at the ranch as much as I could.  The purchase of the bike has not taken place yet because my schedule and the cold weather when I first got here prevented that plan from ever happening.  The ranch is about 20 miles from the house, and since I need to be at work twice a week at 7:00am, the bike riding never took place.  The owners of the house have left two bikes in the garage, so I decided to take one of them out for a an afternoon ride to Moose Junction to continue to enjoy the beautiful weather and have lunch.

The first bike I left the neighborhood riding had no gears that worked.  I figured 16 miles on a bike with no gears would not make for a pleasant ride, so I turned around to give the second bike a try.  After taking 20 minutes to figure out how to inflate the tires with the special adapter left for me by the owner, I headed out to Moose Junction once again.

Bike with no gears

Bike with gears....yea!

It was a beautiful ride and I had fun music playing in my ears.  When Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying" played in my ears I felt like he was singing to me.  That is what this adventure is about.  I was surrounded by beautiful views, a blue sky, warm sunshine and temperatures in the 70's with no humidity.  The ride was awesome.  Before having lunch at Dornan's, I stopped at the Visitor's Center at Moose Junction to pick up hiking maps of the area that I can share with my house guests.

View while riding

Another view from the ride

Lunch at Dornan's was awesome.  I sat on the roof top
patio and quickly found myself talking to the people at the other tables near by.

Lunch at Dornan's

  

We were all enjoying the great weather and comparing winter locations when it turned out that everyone spent the winter in Florida.  Not just Florida, but the two younger ladies live year round in Tampa and the older couple live in JH in the summer and on Anna Maria (near Sarasota) during
the winter.  CRAZY but so much fun to spend some time talking with them.  After lunch and conversation, it was back on the bike for a nice ride home.

Floridians who summer in Jackson Hole ! Can you see that the guy's hat says Anna Maria?

 In the words of Tim McGraw, "Live Like You Were Dying."

Thirsty Thursday Ladies Tennis

Morning view after the storm

Earlier in the week I received a member's email from the Teton Pines Tennis Club.  It listed a bunch of their upcoming activities.  When I read the following, "Thursday from 6:00 - 7:30 marks the start the summer season for the Thirsty Thursday Ladies Playday.  We will be providing great doubles action and free snacks and beverages, along with a fantastic raffle prize each week." how could I not plan to attend.  

Tennis with a view

On Thursdays I work at the ranch from 7:00am-1:00pm.  I have also been having a tennis workout every Thursday at 4:00 with Bob (one of the pros from Teton Pines).  When I saw the info on "Thirsty Thursday Ladies Playday" I figured I could do both to increase the calorie burn and meet new people.  We had a storm on Wednesday night and some rain clouds hung around all day, but the sunshine continued to improve all day, so "Thirsty Thursday Ladies Playday" was played outside with beautiful views of the mountains.


The tennis was organized by Juniper (one of the female pros).  She was enthusiastic and provided good snacks and alcohol!  We played 3 different sets and changed partners each set to meet everyone.  After we finished playing, snacking and drinking, there was a raffle for a Maria Sharapova "pink" tennis set that could be given to a little girl.  I didn't win the raffle - they must have known I did not have a little girl!  It was all a lot of fun and I enjoyed meeting new people.

Juniper holding the raffle prize

Some of the "Thirsty Thursday Ladies"


When tennis was over, I joined a few of the ladies and husbands over in the clubhouse.  The clubhouse was very nice and every Thursday they have a piano player and a "ladies buy one get one free" drink promotion.  It was a lot of fun and gave me the opportunity to get to know some of the folks better.  It turns out that some of the ladies have a strong Friday morning drill with one of the pros, so now I am on that sub list and look forward to jumping into that when needed.  It was a good night!

Life is Good! I Should Say Life is Great!

Today was great.  The weather was perfect and that started off all of the greatness.  I worked the early shift (7:00am - 1:00pm) and left the office in time to enjoy a bit of a nap in the sun on the back deck.  Did I mention it was 70 degrees and no humidity?  After my nap it was off to the tennis club for a few hours of Tuesday Night Men's Doubles.  Yep....I was able to talk my way into that group and it was fun/good tennis.  Since it is the longest day of the year, HAPPY SUMMER SOLISTICE, there was time for a cold beer on the deck to enjoy more of the beautiful sunshine.  Did I mention it was 70 degrees and no humidity?  Life is good!

A cold one on the deck after tennis.

My view while drinking my beer

Below is a link that takes you to


pictures of my friend Katherine and her
nephew Turner white water rafting down the Snake River.  They were here visiting last week and had a great time.  The river is running fast and they had a great time.  I thought the folks who are coming out to visit later in the summer might want to check out the white water trip.


Gallery: 
http://www.snakeriverphotos.net/p591884528 

Turner and Katherine's Last Day

Today was a lazy day and provided just enough time for Katherine and Turner to pick up a few "trinkets" in town before their plane took them back to Birmingham.  We all slept in a bit and then headed to town for a hearty western breakfast.  On our drive to town we ran into a big moose who was enjoying the cool weather and misty rain.  He was right near the road and behind a wire fence on the acreage of the National Elk Refuge.  Peter Laughlin would have been proud of me because a very tall German man was standing next to me taking pictures with a very loud camera.  The moose decided he did not like the noise of that German man's camera and charged right at us.  Without thinking but simply reacting, I sort of pushed the German guy in front of me (closer to the moose) as I dove for cover.  The moose just wanted us to push back a bit, and after a bit of a nervous chuckle, I told the German man "sorry, but it was your camera that the moose was not liking."  The German smiled a small smile and gave me a laugh.

Mr. Moose !

After our late breakfast, we walked the town square and both Katherine and Turner bought a few souvenirs of their trip to Jackson Hole.  Knowing that timing is everything and knowing that Father's Day is opening day at Camp Skyline Ranch, we took the opportunity to pose for a picture in front of the Skyline Ranch in Jackson Hole.  For those of you who attended Skyline with Katherine and me, can you believe that the font on this sign is the exact same as the Skyline font from the late 70's..... crazy!  And since it is Sunday, I had to wear my club colors!  

Opening Day summer of 2011, age 47

Summer of 1976, age 11


The visit with Katherine and Turner was awesome.  All good things must come to an end, so I had to get them to the airport on time for their flight back to Birmingham.  It was great to reconnect with Katherine and to share all of our camp memories with Turner.  We aren't sure that Turner loved our camp memories as much as we do, but he did like hearing about all the cabin pranks that took place.

Fun Day Hiking, Jumping and Climbing!

At the start of the hike

No working for me today.  It was all about playing with Katherine and Turner and we had a great time.  The day began early with a 4 hour guided hike over and around Munger Mountain.  Our guide was named Jill and she did a great job.  The weather was nice and we enjoyed the hike and the beauty of Munger Mountain.

Getting Turner hooked up

Jill (a native of MA) educated us with facts along the hike.  She told us about the history of the area, the animals, trees and flowers.  Jill has been leading hikes in the area for 10 years.  I highly recommend her to any of my buddies who are heading this during my "summer season of adventure."

Locals out for a ride

We saw some beautiful and interesting things along the way.  

Remains of a deer that did not survive winter

Taking a break at the top - elevation 8000

Hiking for close to three hours and moving from an elevation of 6200 feet to an elevation of 8000 feet will make a person (especially a 12 year old boy) very hungry.  After the hike we enjoyed a nice Mexican lunch (Turner picked our location) back in town at the "Merry Piglets".  

With our stomachs satisfactorily filled, we headed off for the next adventure of the day.  Because it is Turner's vacation we let him pick the next activity.  So off to Teton Village we went to jump on the bungee trampolines.  Four years ago I had experienced bungee trampolining for the first time and had a blast.  I knew that Turner would love it and I was glad to see Katherine "jump" into the action too!  The weather had gotten cloudy and a bit colder, but that did not slow us down at all.  

After jumping for one tickets worth of fun, Katherine and I were ready to just sit back and watch Turner enjoy the fun.  He jumped a few more ticket sessions and then he was ready to face the climbing wall.  Turner was awesome and like a "Spiderman Kid from Birmingham".  He did so well strangers stopped to watch him climb!  

After the jumping and the climbing, a bit of shopping had to take place.  While Turner and I looked around the store and waited for Katherine, he made a new best friend!

Just Another Great Day in Jackson Hole

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

Katherine and Turner are having a blast out here in Jackson Hole.  They spent the day driving through Yellowstone National Park.  It is about an hour drive from the house and the scenery is spectacular.  They saw bison, elk, mule deer, black bear, grizzly bear with two cubs, and an otter.  They also enjoyed watching Old Faithful.  It is an amazing thing to watch.

For me it was also another good day.  The sun was out this morning and I enjoyed a nice drive to town for a good workout.  I passed one of the horse farms and they had the vet there working on the horses.

The vet working on the horses

 

Things at the office are picking up now that it is getting a bit later in June.  Lots of folks are calling to schedule trips and they seem to be visiting from all over.  I even spoke with two families from Sarasota/Bradenton.  My shift ended at 7:30pm and as I headed home the ranch horses were enjoying their "rest time" on the front fields.

The horses enjoying some rest after a long working day

The office is getting busy.