YeHaW!

Without going into too much overload... here's the picture recap of some of the ranch activities. I was about to type "highlights" but I think the highlights are an entirely different blog post... one with more reflection... requiring more time to think.

Our first day there, Scotty and I set up a climbing route on a giant Aspen tree for my rock climbing class. Daniel and I taught the class and practiced basic climbing skills on the tree the first day, and then took the kids up Darby canyon the second day. I loved having the experience to climb in Darby Canyon. It was a fun climb, and it was awesome to get the boys excited about climbing. I cleaned the route at the end of the day, climbing with a ridiculously swollen sprained ankle... I sprained it on the first day, and then I refused to acknowledge it for the next two weeks. I didn't miss a beat at the ranch... climbing... hiking... working... but I'm wondering if I did the right thing ignoring it because it's still swollen two weeks later!




Tin foil dinners in the fire pit. This is one of my favorite pictures of Sue and Dick, the Ma and Pa of this ranch!

Here are pictures of the three bunk houses Scott so skillfully took. Talk about a wild bunch! Being one of two women among these little animals was in some ways out of my comfort zone, but in other ways I feel like I fit right in!




It's so great to have Scott make the ranch part of him just as it's part of me. And I love how welcoming and loving Sue and Dick are to both Scott and me. I love that Dick steals Scott away the second he gets there and takes him off to do some sort of job. I am so grateful for Sue and Dick and the beautiful experiences they have created for hundreds of families and people. This was my eleventh year visiting the ranch. I am about as lucky as they come; I have so much to be grateful for.


At the trail head in Coal Canyon for Taylor Mountain... one of my favorite hikes! It felt good to know I can still cart my possessions on my back up a mountain and keep up with a bunch of energetic boys.

At the top!! We had a wonderful view of the Tetons and our itty bitty campsite below. We had a great group... no complainers... and everyone made it to the top telling jokes, laughing, and high-fiving each other to the peak.


Taylor Williams and Anders Taylor... competing for who got to be the Taylor of Taylor Mountain.


Scott was experimenting with taking pictures through the polarized lenses of his sunglasses. He's so creative! I love how it changed the coloring!

I just thought that this was an incredible feat of superhuman strength.... One to share with the world o' blogs.


Bringing up the rear, le photographer.


On the way to the Heron Project: gorgeous sites to be seen every day! With all the real estate flopping, Dick told me Scott and I had the chance to get our own piece of paradise. I told him I wish I could afford a down payment on paradise. I'm so happy I can soak up paradise each summer for a couple weeks.



It's so fun to be able to share the ranch with family! Kirsten and I grew up going together. My parents spent their first summer up there last year. Johnny would make a fantastic mentor. I'm so glad Bob and Dana brought their kids (minus one) to Victor to pick up Will at the end of the session. I've got such a great family!

Will was a little embarrassed to get a picture with Dick. I'll have to send this picture to Dana, though, because I think he'll be happy to have this one.


The Heron Project: Completion Date and Time: Saturday 3:34pm: After the boys had left!
This is an awesome fort/lashing project we had going with the boys. It's so they can sleep and camp-out it Dick's nature observatory where we have a Heron's nest and other wildlife living. The boys worked hard on it, but weren't able to finish everything by the time they went home. Taylor, Max, Scott, and I finished it up once they left. It felt so good to leave a finished project, and we hope it holds up over the winter! I am convinced that in the day that I have a backyard and a kid or two, Scott and I will attempt something like this in our yard. It was so fun to learn how to make!


A good-looking guy with a good looking truck... that truck belongs in the wide open fields.

So after leaving the ranch on Saturday evening, we got some shakes, made a stop to drop some backpacking gear off at the girls ranch, and head over the hill to Wyoming for some Jackson Hole time. After a long long long long search for reasonable hotels, we ended up camping out in the back of the truck, which was just as comfy as any hotel. The next day we wandered Jackson Hole like smelly vagabonds, though. Someone at the Jackson Holt Art Festival told us we look just like locals. My favorite part was the Art Festival, but we loved walking around the shops, eating at our favorite pizza place up there, and of course getting our buns in the Bunnery for breakfast. I love all of the memories associated with Teton Valley. The National Parks with my extended family... river rafting with my family as well as my friends in college... the ranch. And I love adding all of my good times with Scott to this list. This is our second trip to Jackson in a year and a half... I feel pretty good about that!

We're not really shoppers... but we enjoyed the window displays! I did walk away with one of my most desired purchases, however. A hiking guide book of the Targhee area... and identification pamphlets so I can identify local birds, flowers, and edible plants. I'm a geek, I know! But I've already gotten good use out of it. Scott and I saw a black bird on the roof of a shop. A crow or a raven? I whipped out my identification card and recognized the distinctive call... a raven. Man, good thing I had that kind of information on hand.

Scott had a crush on the happy mannequin.
I took this picture for my nephew. Andrew, do you know what kind of dinosaur head that is? I love how it looks like he's eating the fish in the background.

Waiting for lunch at a great Mexican place where we shared fish tacos and fried ice cream before heading home!
The typical JH shot. Sort of. I've got a weird back arch thing going on.

We drove home listening to Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen. I'm loving it. Scott was getting sleeping about two hours into our drive, and I finished the drive that welcomed us back to Utah. I was wide awake and enthralled at the kind of experiences I was hearing described on the ipod. I'm excited to finish the book and move on to Stones into Schools.

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and congestion... Looks like my body held out just as long as it needed to! I've got a lot of catch up to do! And before we know it, we'll be heading up to Vancouver to spend some more time with the Hannays! This is shaping up to be a busy and wonderful summer!