TYLER'S VISIT TO JACKSON!

My brother finally got to come out to visit me in Jackson a couple weeks ago. He flew for the first time by himself and even had a non-stop flight from Atlanta to Jackson. I'm kinda pissed about that because I've flown out of Jackson a few times now and I have yet to have a non-stop flight either leaving or coming to Jackson. Regardless, he made it to Jackson with no problems and we had a great week. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, white water rafting, hiking, and "buffalo hunting" were just a few of the things we did. Luckily I was able to take off the whole time he was here which allowed for some great time together.....probably the most time we have ever spent together actually.

Also while Tyler was here Megan, Jenny, and I went paragliding in Teton Village. Basically we took the Gondola up to the top of the mountain, strapped on a parachute, and then ran and jumped off the side of the mountain. It was a pretty cool experience to just be hanging out in the air looking down at the Village but was way too short. Supposedly people that go paragliding on their own (not on a paid for trip) can stay up in the air for upwards of 5 hours and travel hundreds of miles.

Tyler and I at Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park

Tyler really loved seeing all the buffalo up close. I took him on multiple nights to an area that is a known feeding grounds for some of the buffalo herds in town and each night we were treated to seeing hundreds of buffalo right off the road. A ton of them actually crossed the road less then 10-20 feet from my car. I'm not going to lie there were a couple buffalo that did get to close for comfort.

Tyler and I hiking on the Ridgeline Trail

The wildflowers on the Ridgeline Trail hike

Me right before I went paragliding

I took this picture of Jenny when we were paragliding. She was just flying just below me.

Jenny just after she took off on her paragliding trip. She was the first one to leave the ground so I was able to take a couple pictures of her.

One of the geysers at Yellowstone National Park. I couldn't get over how clear the water was.

Fair and Summer Fun!!

The past couple weeks have absolutely flown by. The 4th of July we played out at the lake and then went to a friends house for a cook-out and fireworks. The week afterwards was Jenny's birthday so we threw our first party at our house and of course it had a Redneck theme. Two weekends ago I drove out to Denver with a carfull of girls for the Mile High Music festival which as two full days of music. We saw Gavin Degraw, Citizen Cope, Steve Winwood, Josh Ritter, O.A.R., Michael Franti, Moe, the Black Crowes, Leftover Salmon, John Mayer, Colbie Caillat, The Roots, Martin Sexton, Tom Petty, and Dave Matthews. Needless to say it was a pretty amazing weekend despite the 100 degree weather and no shade.
This past weekend one of my college roommates who now lives in Salt Lake City drove up to Jackson for a long weekend. As always, it was a ton of fun showing someone around town who has never been here. It never gets old seeing peoples expressions and reactions to seeing the Tetons and the surrounding area for the first time....words just don't do it justice. While Jen was here the Teton County Fair was going on which was a ton of fun. The fair grounds are directly behind my house so we were able to easily walk to everything. I never though that a pig wrestling event could be so big but it was.

At the golf course just south of Alpine, WY....Allen and his dad have been teaching me and I'm actually not half bad. The girls on the 4th of July

Sitting on the lakeshore on the 4th of July

View of the Tetons & Jackson Lake from Signal Mountain

Out on Allen's roommate's boat

Kelly (Allen's roommate) skiing.......The Grand is directly behind him
Becca & me getting ready to go tubing on Jackson Lake

View from Garnet Canyon. The Grand is almost directly behind us and we are facing the valley. What looks like water under the clouds in the distance is actually the neighboring mountain range.

Allen's neice (Cadence) participated in the pig wrestling event at the fair. Supposedly it is really popular to do and it was packed with people watching. There is a drawing to get in because so many people register. Teams of 4 have between 60 and 90 seconds depending on their age to get a greased up pig into a barrel in the center of the arena.

Jen & I on one of the rides at the fair

A car on fire at the Figure 8 Races at the fair

Some strange breed of long horn at the petting zoo at the fair. The spread was over 4 feet wide!!

Video from the figure 8 races at the fair

Where Has All The Time Gone???

I swear I went to sleep last night and it was May and I woke up this morning and it was July...I have no idea where the time went but I do know that I have had an amazing past couple weeks filled with tons of friends and family visiting. There is so much that has been going on lately that it would take hours to write about so I'll be brief and let the pictures do the talking. It started off with my mom's side of the family coming out to visit. Dinkie, Papa, Tomi, Ross, Mike, and Adam all came out over Memorial Day Weekend. It was cloudy and rainy everyday they were here but it still was a great trip just way too short. After they left I had about a week to try and catch my breath before my mom and her friend Sybil came out to visit. It was snowing the first two days they were here (thankfully that was the last time it has snowed) and then overnight Summer hit and we have had Sunny days and temps from the mid-70's to 90's everyday since. The day my mom and Sybil left I joined them at the airport and flew down to Austin to visit yet more family and finally get a taste of the humidity and 100+ degree temps I had been missing in Jackson. The day I got back to Jackson I started my new job with the Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard club as their event manager....oh yeah, did I mention that I got a new job??? Check it out at http://www.jhskiclub.org/bio.php?id=1071
So that is a very very brief summary of what has been going out here in Jackson....doesn't do the past month justice by any means but I'm way to far behind in my blog to write in detail about everything....I'll be better this summer!!
Below are just a few of the wonderful pictures from the past month. If I can figure out how to put them all online I will.

Papa and me looking out over Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

The whole group at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park

Sybil, mom and me riding the Gondola up IN THE SNOW on their first day in Jackson.

Me, mom and Sybil outside the Church of the Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park

Church of the Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park

Horseback riding at the Heart 6 Ranch

Our Intramural kickball team before our first game

Getting ready to head down the Snake River on a scenic booze cruise

Atop Inspiration Point overlooking Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

At the start of our 9 mile day hike into Garnet Canyon in Grand Teton National Park

Looking up at the Grand from the meadows near Garnet Canyon
Jenny and I taking our lunch break before turning around to head back to the trailhead.....We are in Garnet Canyon and the Grand is directly behind us (or so we think)

CAMPING IN WARM WEATHER....FINALLY!!!!!!

Finally it happened...after months of freezing weather and serious doubts on my part about spring/summer existing in Jackson a warm weekend finally came. It was in the 70-80's all weekend and not a cloud in the sky.....absolutely amazing!!! Of course we decided to pack up our summer gear and try it out for a night of car camping out past slide lake. We could not have picked a better night as we were wearing short sleeves and flip flops until the sun went down and even then just a light jacket was fine. It was a nice taste of what is to come this summer and I can't wait for more!

Some sights driving to our campsite which was a little over 12 miles down a dirt road.

Alli, Jenny, and I hanging out around the campfire

Allen and I

Jenny and I in the tent getting ready to go to sleep.

View from our campfire....we couldn't have picked a better car camping site.

RIDING, RIDING, RIDING

The past two weekends my friend Katie and I have gone on bike rides up in the National Parks. We figured now is the time to go before all the tourists get to town and because there is still so much snow in the mountains that hiking and mountain biking are still not options yet. The first weekend we went up to Grand Teton National Park and then last weekend we went to Yellowstone National Park.

Me at the turnoff to Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

View leaving Yellowstone National Park.

At the Continental Divide...we ended up crossing the divide 4 times on our ride to Old Faithful in Yellowstone. Elevation: a little over 8,300 feet

I guess they weren't kidding when they post signs that say beware of bison. This was taken about 20 feet from Old Faithful Inn which by the way is the coolest hotel/inn I have ever seen and I highly recommend going.

Ridiculously high snowbanks we passed as we were driving back home to Jackson......This was taken Sunday, May 11th...just in case you are wondering we have no more snow in town where I live and it has been in the 60's (supposed to be 75-80 this weekend). Yellowstone is 70 miles north of Jackson. If Jackson still had snowbanks like this in May I would have moved back home already.

Nauseating Rent Prices.....

When I first moved out here I about choked at how much money I was going to have to pay for rent ($1700 for a three bedroom). Everybody I met out here kept telling me how cheap that was and that I was so lucky and shouldn't complain. Still I had a hard time coughing up that much money every month in a town as small as Jackson. Now if I was living in Atlanta or a big city $1700 for a 3 bedroom doesn't sound that unreasonable but for a town of 8,000 people it seemed outragous. However, lately I have been reading the classifieds in the local paper and am in even more shock at the rent prices I see listed there. I have yet to see a listing that was less then $1000 a bedroom. Not only is the average rental price in Jackson $1000 a bedroom but available units go extremely fast and it is very hard to find housing here. Many of my friends who currently pay less then $1000 per bedroom have commented that their landlords have recently told them that their rent will be going up to $1000 per room when their lease is up. So I guess currently we are paying approx $1300 less a month then what we should be.......I'm crossing my fingers my landlord is not paying attention to the rental prices in jackson because if he is we are screwed when it comes time to renew our lease.

I HATE SNOW!

Yep guys, you heard me right. I officially HATE snow now. Many of you thought I'd only last a couple weeks in the snow and then go running back to the warm weather but I didn't. I made it, actually I LOVED it, all winter long...let me repeat that, "I loved it all WINTER long"...however, it is no longer winter. By every definition it is Spring and therefore it should not be snowing. I don't mind the snow on the ground that it slowly melting but I do mind the new snow that keeps falling from the sky! I just came back from spending 10 days in 70-80 degree weather and on my first morning back in Jackson I wake up to the ground covered in snow!!

Someone once told me that Jackson has 4 seasons.... winter, more winter, road construction season, and then winter again....I'm starting to believe them. I've given in that Spring in Jackson Hole is really just a figment of my imagination and that in order to experience spring you either have to a) leave town or b) imagine it. However I am still clinging to the thought that Summer does exist here in Jackson.

ATHENS TWILIGHT & ATLANTA

I ventured back to my old home, Athens, this past weekend for the 2008 Athens Twilight. It was, as usual, an amazing weekend in Athens. Pretty much everybody I have met in the past two years in the cycling industry was in town so it was amazing to get to catch up with everybody at one time. My only complaint is that two of the girls I wanted to see the most were swamped with putting on Twilight so I didn't get to spend much time with them. All in all it was a great weekend and I am so thankful for everyone that was in town. I've been looking forward to this weekend for months now and it did not let me down. They only way it could have been better is if one of my friends had won the race instead of Rock Racing.

Computrainer finals on Friday night...John Murphy (closest) of course dominated everyone.

Right before the start of the men's race.

The video on the left is the start of the men's race and the video on the right is the finish.

On another note I went to Atlanta on Sunday to watch the finish of the Tour of Georgia bike race. These are photos of some of the damage to the buildings down by Centinnial Olympic Park form the tornado that hit a couple weeks ago....crazy