Blackberry Tragedy - a poem by John Butcher

Alas, my B-b, I knew you well.

You kept me on time until sadly you fell into septic slime.

You knew all my friends, When and where I should go;

Photo-ed my grins Climbing the Tetons snow.

But now you are gone, No more to see the Jackson Hole dawn And old Mr. Moosie

A new B-b's in hand And catching on fast, As long as I promise Not to multi-task.

Things I have seen in Jackson Hole This Week

The adventure continues.  Here are some pictures from my week in Jackson Hole.  A few strange things around town.

Boyd is the name of the bird.  The other guy is Boyd's owner.

Elaine meets Boyd

Two guys just needing a dip to cool off in the summer sun

I played tennis on Thursday at Teton Pines in the "Thirsty Thursday Ladies" tennis night.  I have not played in a few weeks, so being back with the ladies was fun.  In the continued experience of "Six Degrees of Separation,"  one of my partners for the evening was Anita Saul.  Anita is from Dalton, Georgia and her daughter is 40 years old.  Her daughter's name is Mindi Erwin and she attended both Camp Skyline and Saddle Rock!  Can you camp buddies believe that?  CRAZY
Did any of you have Mindi as a camper at Saddle Rock?  Much to my surprise, Anita did not know what club Mindi was in.  CRAZY

Anita from Dalton, Georgia

Yesterday while heading home from work and talking on the cell phone to my friend Dianne back in Sarasota, the sun was setting with beautiful colors while a large herd of elk were hanging  near the road!
Jackson Hole ....... it is a great adventure.

On my way home from work

Horseback Riding in Teton Valley

Wrangler Buck - our guide for our day through the Teton Mountains

Mary Ellen, Ranait and Sara were departing Jackson Hole on Monday afternoon.  Before they left, we still had time for one more adventure.  We had an early wake up call and headed north past Moran Junction to meet Buck, our wrangler for the day from Yellowstone Outfitters.  My friend Vicky from Sarasota joined us for the 4 hour ride through the beautiful trails.

Me, Ranait, Vicky and Sara  (Mary Ellen and Elaine sat out of this adventure) 

It was great fun to share this horseback adventure with Ranait.  I can still remember her at our first basketball practice together when she was just a little 7th grader.  Actually, she was never little, but a very tall 7th grader.  We had a great time during our two seasons of Middle School basketball together as Ranait lead the team to two undefeated seasons.  There were many times on the horse trail when 20 year old Ranait laughed and cut up just like she did in the 7th grade.  I am glad we could have this fun together.

Ranait in a fit of laughter

As usual, the scenery of the mountains was beautiful.  Unfortunately, there was a fire in the Gros Ventre mountains and the smoke from that fire obstructed our view of the Grand Tetons.

Ranait and Sara "yucking it up"

Pingry girls and an outhouse ????

 A packing trip we ran into on the trail

As we know, all good things must come to an end.  The end of the trail ride meant that we had to head back to the house so that Ranait and Sara could get ready for their departure back to the east coast.  We did have just enough time to grab the worls's best smoothies at the Lotus Cafe in downtown Jackson.  If you are ever in Jackson Hole, make sure that you stop at the Lotus Cafe for a smoothie!

I am not sure the traveling crowd on Monday was ready for Ranait and her cowboy boots on the ride home!  I can only imagine the looks in the Newark airport that she created.

Loving the boots!

Boot Shopping and Dinner at Snake River Grill

The group (Elaine, Sara, Mary Ellen and Ranait) enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning.  After a busy Saturday of whitewater, a lazy Sunday morning was in order.  It was great to wake up slow and enjoy a breakfast at home as we all enjoyed a slow start and the view of the Tetons.  Once everyone was ready, we headed into town for an art fair of local artist.  We all did a bit of "art shopping" and were ready to go in search of the perfect cowboy boot for Ranait Griff.

Ranait in search of the perfect pair of Cowboy boots

Ranait had decided before even arriving in Jackson Hole that she was going home with a pair of cowboy boots.  We walked the town square and checked out a variety of pairs in each store.  Ranait found the magic pair in the Boot Barn located on the south end of town.  Finding just the right pair of cowboy boots calls for a bit of a "boot dance."

"Boot Dance"

With new boots in hand and on our feet, we enjoyed a tasty dinner at the Snake River Grill.  It was a very good ending to a fabulous day.  Good wine, good food and good friends ......  it doesn't get any better than that!

Dinner at Snake River Grill
Ranait, Sara, me, Mary Ellen, Elaine

A Day with Former Students and a Whitewater Rafting Adventure!

A wonderful aspect of my Jackson Hole Adventure has been the fun I have had reconnecting with old friends and former students.  On Saturday, August 20th, Elaine and I headed into Jackson Town Square to have breakfast with one of our former Greenhill students named Macey Small.  While I worked at Greenhill, I taught Macey PE, coached her as a member of my Varsity basketball team and served as her advisor during her ninth and tenth grade years.  I also spent many days house sitting Macey and her brother and sister while their parents traveled to a variety of places.  Elaine taught Macey seventh grade history and coached her as a member of the Varsity Cheer squad.  Those were all great years (1986-1992) and I cherish the memories that I had with Macey while I lived in Dallas and worked at Greenhill.  Macey is now a lawyer.  She is married and has a beautiful daughter named Campbell.  Macey and her family were here in Jackson Hole for a long weekend and I feel lucky to have had the chance to spend a few hours with her!

Elaine and I enjoying time with former Greenhill student Macey Small, her husband Steve and daughter Campbell

After catching up with Macey and having a great breakfast, Elaine and I strolled around the town square and enjoyed the Saturday morning Farmer's Market.

A bit of music at the Farmer's Market

After enjoying the Farmer's Market, it was time to enjoy a whitewater adventure with another former student of mine.  Ranait Griff and her mother Mary Ellen Phelan arrived in Jackson Hole on August 18th.  I met Ranait and Mary Ellen in 2001 when I began my Pingry years.  Ranait played basketball for me at Pingry and is currently in her 3rd year at Fordham University and a member of the basketball team.  I am lucky that I have been able to travel up to the NY/NJ area each year to see her compete for Fordham.  It was awesome that I could now share my Jackson Hole Adventure with Ranait and Mary Ellen.  

We had quite a gang on this whitewater adventure.  Joining in on the action was Sara, Elaine, Ranait and Mary Ellen.  We were ready to meet the rapids on the south end of the Snake River.

Ready to meet the rapids on the Snake River.
Sara, Mary Ellen, me, Elaine and Ranait

Our trip down the Snake was great.  We had wonderful weather and lots of laughter as we navigated the river.  I only wish that a camera would survive all of the water because I would love to share pictures of us riding the rapids.

Our day ended with a home cooked steak dinner.  It was one of my best nights here in Jackson Hole.  A casual dinner at home with great friends.  The conversation never wavered and fun memories were made.

Jenny Lake Hike in Grand Teton National Park

The "New" Blackberry

With Elaine, Mary Ellen, Ranait and Sara in town, it was time to explore and hike Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton National Park.  Last Friday, August 19th, I managed to trade another office worker for a day off.  Mary Ellen and Ranait were only scheduled to be in town for a few days, so I wanted to maximize my time with them.  The day started off with a beautiful sunrise.  I had been sleeping on the sofa and woke up to beautiful colors in the sky.  With a house full of sleeping guests, I did not want to move around to much and create noise, so I just hung out on the sofa and enjoyed the view.  Once the others started moving around I jumped off the sofa and began the day.  I never expected the problem that would soon rear its' ugly head - I dropped my blackberry in the toilet - just imagine my shock when this happened!  With no blackberry, I had no Internet connection to up date the blog.  Jackson Hole is a small place, so small that they have no Sprint store.  Tough to replace a Sprint blackberry when the closest Sprint store is over 90 miles away.  It took a team effort, but a replacement blackberry finally arrived late Monday night.  With the new blackberry providing Internet connection, the blog can now resume !

Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

It was a beautiful day for another great hike.  The group headed out to explore the Jenny Lake Trail.

Ranait, Sara, Mary Ellen and Me

Elaine, Ranait and Mary Ellen

Crazy things we ran into

The Jenny Lake Trail is just over 3 miles to walk half the lake.  At the end of the 3 miles, you can turn up and climb to Inspiration Point or continue on the trail until you reach the boat dock.  At the boat dock, you can board the boat for a quick ride back across the lake to the Jenny Lake entrance.

Meeting Captain Jack at the boat dock !

Enjoying the view

On the boat dock clowning around for Captain Jack !

After walking half the Jenny Lake Trail and taking a nice boat ride back to the entrance of the park, we were ready to dig into the picnic lunch that we had packed earlier.  With outstanding weather, beautiful views and great friends, how could lunch be anything but spectacular!

Lunch view

Lunch view

Mary Ellen, Sara, Elaine and Ranait enjoying our picnic

Beautiful Lunch View

We had a great day at Jenny Lake.  At the time I could not have imagined how it could have been better ..... and then we started the drive back to the house.  On the drive back to the house, we saw a big moose enjoying a "dip" in the Snake River !

Mr. Moose enjoying a cooling off dip in the Snake River

After cleaning up and resting a bit at the house, it was time to extend the adventure and head to town for dinner.  We had reservations at a restaurant named 43 North which is located at the base of the in town ski resort Snow King.  The restaurant had a lovely outdoor deck where our table was located and we enjoyed the views.  The food was good.  The conversation included much laughter.  The service was horrible ...... I guess two out of three is not so bad.

Elaine, Mary Ellen, Sara and Ranait enjoying 43 North

View of a ski run at Snow King

Kickball game taking place across from the restaurant

The Pingry connection at 43 North

Hiking The Summit Trail with Sara

Sara and I were going to make it to the top .... 7.2 miles up

On Wednesday, my office shift was from 1:00pm - 8:30pm.  It had been two weeks since I had gotten in a great workout and my body was craving some good exercise.  I knew that I could convince Sara to wake up early to tackle the Summit Trail.  In order to complete the hike and get to work on time, we needed to be on the trail by 7:00am.  The trail is 7.2 miles long and has an elevation change from 6300 feet to 10400 feet.  It is a great hike and a great workout.

Sara taking a water break

The mountain was so quiet and pretty in the

morning.  The were tons of birds chirping

We hiked so early that the hot air balloons were flying

and other neat mountain sounds.  We saw some wildlife and interesting animals.

Deer

Sara and I had set a goal of making it to the top in 3 hours.  This was not going to be an easy thing to do and required us to keep a fast pace up the mountain.  We were pretty impressed with ourselves and feeling "all that and then some" until we were passed by a guy running up the trail.

The guy who passed us running up the trail

There were beautiful views and flowers along the trail.

We were feeling pretty great completing the first 5 miles of the trail but knew that we still had the toughest 2 miles of the hike ahead of us.  The last 2 miles of the hike climb straight up.....ouch!

This is when we knew the tough part of hike was ahead

Looking up at the last 2.6 miles

                                                                                                                                                                                      




It was a great day and a great hike.  We were also happy that we made it to the top in 3 hours and 2 minutes.  We loved the calorie burn. 

On the way back to the house, driving along Moose Wilson Road, we saw a pretty big moose!

Mr. Moose along the Moose Wilson Road