Grizzley Lake Hike

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Grizzley Lake Hike

Click here to view these pictures larger

Pablo Neruda

"We need to sit on the rim of the well of darkness and fish for fallen light with patience."

- Pablo Neruda from The Sea and the Bells

Hiked to Holly Lake

Holly Lake is a 13-mile roundtrip hike in Grand Teton National Park. A little tough if you're not in shape but definitely doable. Great views, some risk of running into black bears in the early fall.

Marmot

This yellow-bellied marmot was munching huckleberries in Grand Teton National Park in early September. He/she could not have cared less about the humans standing by taking pictures.

Nachos at Signal Mountain Lodge

After hearing for years about the legendary nachos Signal Mountain Lodge, I finally tried them in 2009. Twice actually. Three women made dinner out of this pile and had to leave some on the plate.

Gnomes at Home

Who can be sad when garden gnomes roam the home?

Weekend at Targhee

Two nights at the annual Bluegrass Festival at Grand Targhee Resort in Alta, Wyo., is a new thing for me. Great music, great company, great camping.

The little tent pictured below is the one I slept in. And that group of tents is the "community" that sprang up for the duration of the festival. Given the close proximity of one tent to another, I was pleasantly surprised at how civilized and considerate everyone was of their neighbors.

Volunteered at Snow King Hill Climb

Since I volunteered at a mountain bike race a month ago, it's probably stretching things to call volunteering at the Snow King Hill Climb today a "new thing." But it was my first time, so I think it qualifies.
Although the course is only 2.3 miles long, this is a foot race I'll never try. Runners start at the Town Square in downtown Jackson head towards Snow King. That part is a flat half mile, easy enough. But then it climbs 1.8 steep miles over alpine terrain and switchbacks, a path I don't find easy even just walking. I helped other parks and rec employees at the finish line up top, recording racers' bib numbers and times. Wish I could say I'd run the race, but volunteering counts for something, too, especially when it involves getting out of bed at 6 a.m. on a Saturday.

Attended an AMK Ranch talk

Mount Moran is my favorite peak in the Teton range. It was a cloudy evening when I took this picture, but the scene was so beautiful I couldn't resist.

I passed it on the way back from a science talk on "fluidity in gender" at AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. The talks are held every Thursday for eight weeks every summer. For years I've wanted to go and finally did.

I didn't bring my camera to the talk, so I didn't get shots of the ranch.

This herd of cow elk and their young were hanging out near Leeks Marina in the park In a month, the bull elk will be herding them into harems for mating. For now the cows can just eat, relax and enjoy summer.

Biking in Tetonia

The good thing about biking gear is you can post your picture on the Web without fear of anyone actually recognizing you.
From Teton Valley, Idaho, you get views of the Tetons that may not be as in-your-face as on the Jackson Hole side but are still pretty great.
Tetonia is a fun ride in July. Big blue skies, farm fields that are still bright green. There are a lot of what my friend described as "gently rolling" hills. Not so gentle: My legs are killing me.

Molly Marx

I hope they make this book into a movie. I picture Isla Fisher in the role.

Molly Marx is a 35-year-old New Yorker, recently deceased, who worked as an interior-design stylist for magazines. She and her husband, Barry, have a young daughter, and Molly also had a boyfriend on the side, Luke. The story is about Molly's life but also the mystery of her death. From the great beyond, called The Duration in this book, she watches her parents, husband, lover, twin sister, best friend and cute detective deal with her demise.

Sally Koslow is a wonderful writer. My favorite passage is when Molly tells her marriage therapist what she wants from marriage:

"I want to come first. We can count off my flaws from here to the Fourth of July but I want him to find at least some of them endearing. ... I want him to feel that the happiest accident he every had was meeting Molly Divine, that I'm in every breath he takes. ... I need to feel my husband is absolutely bonkers about me. ... "

Well put, Molly Mark (Sally Koslow). Seem simple .. but, ahhh.

Water crossing

After Cynthia crossed this creek in Grand Teton National Park, I fell in the water and got my camera wet. It looks like a little stream, but the current was strong and the rocks very slippery. I'm a city girl playing with mountain kids, and sometimes bad things happen.

That's why this is the only photo from a nice bike ride on a beautiful day. I would have liked to have pictures of the old bison we had to wait out while he lingered near the trail, the herd of cattle we had to shoo away and the great views of Mount Moran we had the whole trip.

Oh well. At least my camera and phone dried out. From now on I'm putting any electronics in baggies when I'm recreating outside.

Volunteered at a mountain-bike race

Except for location, these photos have nothing to do with my volunteering at the Cache Creek to Game Creek Mountain Bike Race on June 24, 2009. But I forgot to bring my camera that day, and I was busy enough that taking pictures would have been difficult anyway.

The 11-mile race starts in one canyon (Cache Creek) climbs a divide and descends into another canyon (Game Creek). My race-day responsiblities consisted of setting up tables and a tent, putting out food and water, handing out bananas and visors, admiring the athletic bodies, etc.

Yesterday, my friend Cynthia and I hiked the race route at a leisurely pace. The temperature was perfect, there was just the right amount of sunshine, and thanks to all the rain we had earlier this summer, the wildflowers were out in great variety and beauty. After walking the short, steep, rocky portion of the route that climbs the divide, I have new admiration for the men and women who not only biked the whole trail but did it quickly.

'In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.'
- Edward Hoagland

Ate a home-grown salad

Yes!!! A fresh crisp salad of home-grown greens. Heirloom lettuce and red romaine grown in pots from starters purchased at a local greenhouse.

I've never eaten something I've grown. These lettuce varieties were crisp, delicious, fresh and pesticide-free. I'm totally sold on the whole growing-your-own concept.

Happy Fourth of July

A Fourth of July hike to Goodwin Lake in the Teton National Forest. Spring flowers at the bottom. Snow at the top. Stormy enjoyed the snow and the water. These are the things I like about Jackson Hole ... and dogs.

Said goodbye to a friend

"Fate chooses your relations, you choose your friends."
- Jacques Delille (1738 - 1813) French poet.

One night a week ago I had a phone conversation with my friend Christa, who I met in Chicago about 18 years ago. Our conversation was only so-so, but i just chalked it up to fatigue or bad moods and figured the next one would be better. Ten hours later I got a call from a friend that Christa was dead. So there's not going to be another phone conversation. It's a good lesson to never take anything for granted. We all hear that, at least I know I do, but rarely pay attention.

Christa's very excellent good friend Ron Berg wrote a beautiful eulogy. This is part of it:'

"Christa, I won’t use the term Free Spirit to describe you . It is cliché and overused. I will simply thank you for teaching me to roller skate, ,,, in the living room ... after midnight. I have learned the lesson that just because you are dressed for work, you can still do cartwheels. I will never forget that a summer downpour is a call to run out on the sidewalk and dance. You taught me that it is always better to go to a bad street fair on a ninety degree day than to sit home and watch TV. We discovered that a bad play at a storefront theater can be the most wonderful time if you want it to be. Christa, you have demonstrated courage to me time and again, by being the person who is the most terrified to fly and the most traveled. I thank you for standing by me and being my friend for all these decades."

Inspiration Point

My friend Cynthia and I took a short walk up to Inspiration Point in Grand Teton National Park.

It's been years since I did this particular excursion, and I'm happy to say the rain and clouds lifted and gave us three sunny hours.

Must learn to use camera and then get a better lens to get good photos of little critters like this chipmunk, marmot and mountain bluebird (the tiny splotch of blue in the trees). Meantime, I have no shame about posting these less-than-stellar shots.

Happiness quote

"At some point in your life you learned to beat down joy."

– Mark Obmascik, author of Halfway to Heaven: My White-Knuckled

– and Knuckleheaded – Quest for the Rocky Mountain High