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.