Teton Park Sept. 2009

This past Saturday we got the hell out of town to take advantage of what was probably the last good weather of the fall season and headed to Jackson and Teton Park.

We took the kids across Jenny Lake via the shuttle boats and hiked to Hidden Falls. It's a short hike and the kids did fine. Ethan and Madi loved the boat ride the best of all.The weather was spectacular – 68 degrees, full sun and no wind. Unreal. I was salivating as I kept eyeing climbing routes on the big peaks. Fall is the best season to see the park. Hell, fall is the best season to do anything outdoors around here.

The park was crawling with other outdoor enthusiasts and it always makes me chuckle when I see the ones that are all gussied-up in non-outdoor attire and smothered in cologne/perfume. Enough to make the bears run for cover.

There was a forest fire north of Jackson Lake that made things a bit smokey but diffused the light enough that if one were a competent photographer, (that would not be me), they could have produced some nice pics. The park has a "let-it-burn" policy as long as structures aren't threatened, so as the wind picked up a bit in the afternoon, the fire intensified making for some dramatic smoke clouds. Nothing like a forest fire to enhance a trip.

There's a new pathway from the park's entrance to Jenny Lake (about 8 miles one way) that I think we'll try and hit on the bikes before it gets too cold.

Here are some more pics of the day trip we took: Teton Park

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Quick Update

Here's what's been going in the TeNgaio Manor as of lately:

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Maple Canyon Labor Day 2009

We spent the long weekend in Maple Canyon, UT with other smelly, dirty climbing families and such. It was awesome. I've spent some time there on previous climbing trips but never with the family. We stayed with my friend Troy and his family and a few of their friends from Pocatello so it made for an enjoyable stay having other adults to converse with. Ethan and Madeline, however, were the only little ones representing our campsite. No problem though, being so young everything OUTSIDE is play worthy – especially dirt. They both had dirt mustaches on their faces, marshmallow goop in their hair and scratches to boot. Combined evidence of a good time camping.

Ethan got to climb on a wall that someone had been kind enough to set up anchors on sometime ago that allows for easy, yet, somewhat technical climbing. He's had no problem going up, it's the being lowered down to the ground while trusting in the rope that has freaked him out (at least at Heise), but at Maple he lowered down like a pro.

Ethan earned himself a new title of "Master Marshmallow" as well. He HAD to cook everyone their marshmallows for their smores – and he did a good job too.

Madeline had a blast playing with Troy's 2 dogs, Roxy and Maya while getting just as dirty as the dogs did. She loves dirt. Period. I tell you, for a 2 year old that girl is tough and strong. She keeps up with her big brother very well and can hold her own. We had to get her to come down off the rocks as she wanted to keep scrambling up some steep boulders. Yup, I can foresee many family climbing trips in the future. Oh, and evidently little Madi loves marshmallows too. A lot.

On the way home on Monday we almost rear ended a car on the I-15 and ended up running off the road into the grass-filled median! Pretty freaky. The people in front of us were too close the people in front of them and slammed on their brakes, causing us to do the same but my anti-lock system kicked in and there was no stopping. We and the truck behind us ended up on the hillside. Everyone was o.k. but goddamn those Utah drivers! Morons. (sorry if I offend anyone, but come on folks!) Then we ended up in just about standstill traffic on the Interstate right after. It took about 45 minutes to travel about 5 miles. Lame. Oh, and then we ate the the worst Sizzler (no surprise there) I have ever encountered in Woods Crossing. Small prices to pay for such a great weekend I guess.

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