camp ..

we picked ellie up from camp at the end of june ..

her and all her stuff ..

she ..

 had the BEST time ..

can't wait to go back ..

made 3 new life long friends ..

knows how to pack for a 3 night stay in the mountains ..

conducted scientific research on clarks nutcrackers ..

can identify almost all the wildflowers that grow in the tetons ..

can read a topographical map and use a compass ..

i was exhausted just listening to her ..

adventure wednesday ..

last wednesday was adventure wednesday .. 

this included down hill mountain biking..

bungee jumping ..

the ropes course ..

and my favorite ..

the tower of death 

needless to say ... everyone slept like babies on wednesday night 

flat creek ..

the flat creek ran behind the house that we rented in jackson ..

every day after i got home from the park cash and i would go hang out at the creek ..

he would jump ..

and splash .. 

and launch himself off the rock .. 

for an hour at least .. 

and yes it was cold to !

the boulder

we took ellie and hiked back up to phelps lake today ..

she was at camp the last time that we went ..

this time we made it all the way to the boulder ..

despite the fact that a grizzly bear and her cub were in the area ..

no .. we never saw them .. 

instead the kids jumped off the boulder 427 times .. 

yes the water is cold ..

very very cold ..

but oh so worth it !

canoe day

cash and i rented a canoe the other day ..

i promise i will paddle cash says .. 

he did paddle .. 

backwards 

we ate oreos ..

we looked for rocks ..

and we enjoyed the views ..

37 years later ..

there are a million and 12 reasons why i love love love my 

summer job ..

reason # 489,320

i have meet people from all over the world who have 

come to the tetons for many different reasons ..

i love that they share each and every reason with me ..

they to feel connected to these mountains in the same special way that i do 

on sunday i meet a family from West Virginia ..

Billy and Willy .. they have been married for 58 years

37 years ago they brought their 2 children to the tetons for vacation .. 

they took a picture of their kids swimming in string lake .. 

on sunday they came back with their grand kids ..

katie, ashley, alexis and nick 

they wanted to recreate the picture from 37 years ago but with their grandkids ..

so i cleared the exact spot that their kids stood ..

we sent the grandkids and got them all lined up with the mountain

just like parents were 37 years ago .. 

how lucky am i that i was part of this very special moment ..

the grandkids did not think this moment was a cool as i did ..

but i assure you they will .. 

someday .. 

my lunch view and fly fishing

say hello to mount moran .. 

i sat and had lunch with him today ..

he's very chatty .. i was just trying to enjoy the view .. 

after work cash and i went "fly fishing" behind our house

cash has a stick with a pine cone tied to it .. that's his "fly fishing pole"

he flings it back and forth and back and forth ..

bringing the pine cone fly down not so gently on top of the water ..

he will most likely hit a fish on the head 

steve did not get to go .. he was busy playing with the neighbors dog

camp .. the sleep over kind

mom and dad left on saturday .. 

since then ellie has been packing for camp ..

camp was my idea .. last year when we were in the tetons i told ellie

i'm getting a job in the tetons and you are going to sleep away camp 

jeff was ok with the tetons idea but not camp ..

11 nights without her was not going to work for him

today was drop off day ..

instead they should call it drop off and kick the parents to the curb day .. 

this is the main cabin .. 

it has the "party room"

this is where we were kicked to the curb ..

there was no going to her cabin and helping her pick out her bunk 

or making her bed and getting her all organized for the 12 days she will be in their care ..

nope .. it was sign here and goodbye

just wait a minute i said .. 

i want to see where she will be sleeping .. i want to see inside ..

you can look thru the window mam ..

i heard these words as i was opening the front door to go inside ..

look thru the windows are you kidding me !!

you have to remember this is the same place where the kids fly in and are picked up at the airport

parents don't drop them off ..

actually ellie was the ONLY one dropped off ..

i think they were surprised to see me when i busted thru the doors .. 

i introduced myself .. told them that we are living in jackson for june and july and that i am only 41 minutes away .. i reassured them that yes i could find my way here in the dark if i felt the need to ..

say check on my kid ..

they didn't respond ..

ellie then jumped right in and introduced herself and told them how excited she was to have this opportunity to spend 11 nights in the tetons at sleep away camp ..

as she is saying this she is pushing me out the door ..

wait a minute .. i had to say again ..

i want a picture ..

with my big camera ..

with my phone ..

with my instamax 

i then got an eye roll, a head roll and a big PUSH

be nice i told her or i will put your 13 year old self back

in the car and take you back to jackson with me

NO ellie said

NO cash hollered !!

i was allowed one more picture .. with each device ..

jeff then asks the director .. what night would be good for us to come to eat dinner with her ..

without cracking so much as half a smile he says .. none sir .. finish your goodbyes.

i stayed another 15 minutes

just because i can .. 

this is her view .. 

tomorrow we take cash to camp .. 

a little hike, a big hike and a motorcycle

we have been taking short hikes the last couple of days ..

we didn't want to wear granny and grandpa out ..

wednesday we took a big hike up to taggart and bradley lakes ..

it was a 5.6 mile kind of day ..

there were several uphills but the views were so worth it .. 

you have to hike up to both lakes but you will not be disappointed .. 

we may or may not have worn out grandpa with our big hike..

so he opted to ride his motorcycle on thursday and friday

granny stayed home with the kids and hiked and played in the river .. 

mom and ellie took the car today and drove up to Lake Jackson ..

they spent the afternoon on a trail ride ..

since they had the car i had to find another way to work ..

no problem grandpa says .. i'll take you 

i have my own parking spot at work now ..

granny and grandpa leave tomorrow .. 

cue the sad kids please

they are not to happy about leaving the cool 64 degrees

weather of the tetons to head home to the 100 degrees plus humidity of oklahoma

they could stay ..

bar j chuckwagon

we took mom and dad to the leigh lake portage yesterday ..

mount moran was all covered up by rain clouds 

that didn't bother us ..

after hiking dad took us to the bar j chuckwagon for dinner ..

they way things are going this is going to be the only bear that i see ..

these are the dinner plates .. 

they feed anywhere from 300-700 people a night ..

they are open 7 days a week may thru september ..

it took us about 8 minutes to go thru the line ,, get our plate and our food .. 

they have it down to an art

baked potatoes, bbq chicken, brisket, steak, 

cowboy beans, appleasauce, buttermilk biscuits and spice cake

it was ALL amazing !

after dinner the wranglers come on stage and sing western songs ..

not to be confused with country songs .. country songs to have to worry about another guy kissing your wife .. western songs to have to worry about another guy kissing your horse ..

they sang and told jokes for about an hour ..

it was a fun night !