Living A Dream

summer updates!!!

2009-08-07T15:46:00.009-04:00

Sadly, Carlee had to leave us and moved back to Salt Lake City for a job, family, boyfriend, dog, etc.....but we did have one last great adventure with her on the Snake River the weekend she left. Nothing like season high water, freezing cold water, hail, pouring rain, lightening and thunder to make for an unbelievable white water rafting trip. Despite the conditions it was by far the best river trip I have ever been on and one I'm not going to forget anytime soon.

Carlee, Jenny & I ...... last roommate picture

Couple photos from Arches National Park. Went down to Moab with Carlee and her family for Easter and did a 10 mile hike through Devils Gardens on Easter Sunday...Kinda ironic.

Devils Garden - Arches National Park - Moab, Utah

Me at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park

This summer started off with Megan and Jennifer "moving" back to Jackson for the summer. Was hands down probably the best month I have spent in Jackson over the past two years. The day before Megan flew home we did one last hike up Taylor Mountain. It was a little steep but we were treated with amazing 360 degree views from the top.

video from top of Taylor Mountain

Megan and I on top of Taylor Mountain

View of the Grand from Taylor Mountain. It was a little hazy so the photo doesn't really do the view justice.

Last weekend I did my first big solo hike and climbing Hanging Canyon to the Lake of the Crags. I'd heard that it was really steep but I had no idea just how steep this hike was. Let's just say that it was 5 miles round trip but it took my longer to hike these 5 miles then it typically takes me to hike 10 miles. It was probably one of the top 3 hardest hikes I've done here but it was well worth it once I made it to the lakes. Absolutely beautiful and I was completely alone which was kinda cool. Never been like that in the wilderness before.....not going to lie I was carrying my bear spray in my actual hand instead of my pack cause I was kinda scared.

Looking down out of Hanging Canyon....Jenny Lake in the distance

Ramshead Lake...Lake of the Crags is just over the rock scree

Our first backpacking trip this year was a mellow 12 miles to Green Mountain Lakes. I don't think I will ever get over the reflections of mountains onto the still alpine lakes.

Green Mountain Lakes - I think this is the lower lake

On my way up Green Mountain Lakes for the night - nothing like hiking in snow in the middle of July in shorts and a tank top

Me, Brendan, Trey, Paul, & Megan on our way to Green Mountain Lakes
Trying to hoist the bear bag up in the air so the bears don't get our food.....

Meredith, Jennifer, Megan, and me at Goodwin Lake. Just an easy 6 mile day hike....was hoping to swim when we got there but it was a little chilly.

One of the absolutely best things about the past month is that Michelle Reising and Ashley Hartsook got to come out and visit. The three of us have only been together 3 or 4 times since high school so it was amazing to get to catch up in a place like Jackson. Even though they were only here for 2 days we still had a blast and crammed a weeks worth of activities into those two days and nights.

Michelle, Ashley, and I in Garnet Canyon on our way up to the Meadows....I was super impressed that these two knocked out 10 miles at high elevation on their first day with no problem

Ashley, Michelle, and I on our way up to Garnett canyon....

Michelle, me, & Ashley at the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert at the Teton County Fair

Michelle and I rock jumping at Phelps Lake in Grand Teton National Park

I know this isn't the best picture but it sums up the whole weekend perfectly...and Michelle loves this photo

Ashley, me, Jennifer, Michelle, Jenny, and Megan at happy hour before heading to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Concert

Michelle, Ashley and I at the signature Jackson Arches

Amy, Me, Jenny, Megan, and Jen before competing in the 4th of July 10K run....I love that Megan and I hadn't ran in months and ran the entire 10k in 70 minutes and were still 3rd to last out of over 200 people....people here are crazy fit!
Did I mention that I've been learning to rock climb???? Here's a photo from Rodeo Wall which is where I had my first outdoor rock climbing experience. I joined the climbing gym here but climbing outside is so much more fun then the gym....now if only I could get some upper body strenghth so I could actually make it to the top!

Melissa, Jennifer, Megan, me, and mallory out on Jackson Lake.

Bike decoration!

2009-05-05T13:58:00.002-04:00

So, since spring seems to absolutely refuse to come out, I decided to go ahead and make a little spring for myself and decorated my cruiser bike with flowers.....now if only the rain would let up so I could actually ride my cruiser bike around town!!

Updates......long overdue

2009-04-28T14:09:00.019-04:00

So after some hounding by my friends and family here is a condensed overview of what has been going on lately...I guess the best way to sum up the past 4 months is through pictures.... For Christmas Allen bought me some cross country skis that I am absolutely obsessed with. I guess it started a trend b/c shortly afterward Jenny and Carlee both purchased some Nordic skis as well. This past Sunday I put all my winter gear up and was so sad to put them up especially because I don't know when I'll ever get to use them again. At least I know I definitely got my use out of them this winter. I never got to XC ski to Granite Hot Springs though which was one of the big things I wanted to do this winter.

Don't laugh at my pink headband!! A hat is too hot to wear when cross country skiing but I needed something for my ears and this was all I had.....This was taking while out skiing on the dyke by the Snake River. A really popular easy access place to go skiing.

The roommates!! Carlee, Jenny, & I cross county skiing out in Grand Teton National Park....was an absolutely beautiful day and we were down to our t-shirts by the end of the trip.

Allen and I decided one weekend to go on a snowshoeing trip with all the dogs from his house but it failed miserably. It took us longer to get ready and to find a place to go then we spent on actual snowshoes......Francis (the boxer) did NOT like the snow very much so we ended up turning around really quick.....still had amazing views and I thought this picture was really cool.

Shortly after Christmas, Ben (Carlee's boyfriend) came up to visit and we all made a trip to the other side of the Tetons to spend the day skiing at Grand Targhee. Targhee has probably some of the most amazing views of any ski mountain in the U.S. and we were blessed with a perfect bluebird day and warm temperatures.

Jenny, Me, & Cindy on the chair lift...

Ben & me at the top of the mountain with the Grand behind us. We are standing on the West side of the Tetons and we live over on the East side so this is a different view then what we are used too on the East side. The infamous timed "car shot" that seems to be a requirement on any car trip over 30 miles.

Shortly after this trip Allen and I broke up. Not going to go into detail but basically it sucks. Luckily the week we broke up I also had a trip planned to Park City with my roommates and other friends. A girls trip out of town was definitely needed and I couldn't have asked for it at a better time. Carlee's family has a condo in Park City that we rented out and I had a great time with "All My Single Ladies"!

Yet another timed car picture

About five minutes after we arrived in Park City the power in the entire town went out. So we did what any group of girls would do.....we opened a bottle of wine and busted out some food, all under the romantic light of a flashlight hung from the ceiling. We may or may not have spent 45 minutes dancing and singing in the parking lot after a day of skiing at Solitude.....I think we played "All My Single Ladies" about 15 million times that trip.

Goofing off in line.....Solitude is the first place I have skied that had these automatic pass scanners that you had to pass through....You just put your pass in your pocket and it automatically scans at all the lifts...kind of cool

The Roommates!! Goofing off some more at the car.

This year, Snow King Resort (the ski hill right next to our house), hosted the 1st annual Pond Skimming party in which people ski down a hill and try to make it across a man made pond. Lets just say that it was pretty ridiculous some of the stuff that went down. Some people made it but the majority defintely fell in the freezing cold water. See the videos below for a better idea.

For Easter Carlee, Gabe, Travis & I loaded up and drove down to Moab, Utah where we met up with Carlee's family and Ben for the weekend and camped like kings in RV's. There was about 20 of us that went down in 3 RV's and we had a blast. We were planning on doing a good bit of road biking down there but we ended up only riding one day. Gabe and Travis were much better then Carlee and I and the went mountain biking every day. The first full day that we were there we went to this place called Potato Salad Hill where jacked up SUV's attempt to make it up a pretty steep hill. People came out super early to set up their spot and just sat and drank beer all day watching these vehicles. We only stayed for about 30 minutes but what we saw was quite a debacle and we even saw one vehicle flip over a couple times. The video below is from Potato Salad Hill.

After we went to Potato Salad hill we headed up to Arches National Park to see the famous Delicate Arch.....

Carlee & I at Delicate Arch
An old building we passed on the hike to Delicate ArchThe next day, Easter Sunday, we hosted all of Carlee's family at our campsite for an Easter breakfast before everyone packed up and headed back home.

The Jackson crew (plus Ben) on Easter Sunday

Carlee's family chowing down at our campsite. They cooked dinner for us every night so it was nice to be able to make breakfast for all them.
Carlee's mom even planned an Easter Egg hunt for us....You might think that we were too old for an Easter Egg hunt but you'd be surprised how into the egg hunt we all got....and the eggs were very hard to find...they weren't just in plain sight like when I was little. Here's a picture of us opening all the eggs we found.
After Easter breakfast and the Easter egg hunt, everyone packed up to head home. Gabe, Travis & I decided that we had nothing to get back to in Jackson other then rainy/cold weather and opted to tent camp another night in Moab and take advantage of the warm sunny weather. Gabe and Travis opted to go for a long mountain bike ride and I decdied to go back to Arches National Park to do another hike by myself. I was going to go for a bike ride but figured I'd hike instead because who knows when I'd ever make it back to Arches National Park again.

Therefore, I spent the majority of Easter sunday hiking by myself in some of God's most amazing natural creations....oddly enough the hike I did was called Devil's Garden.

Picture of Devil's Garden

Landscape Arch....I guess people used to be able to walk up underneath this arch, but in the late 90's part of the arch collapsed while people were under it so it is no longer deemed safe to go underneath and eventually will collapse all together.

Another view of Devil's Garden

Double O Arch
Parts of the trail were very trechorous and I defintley got on my hands and knees for some parts. This photo is looking straight down off the trail that was about 3 feet wide. The photo doesn't really do it justice but it is pretty much straight down off the side of the trail.

And last but not least of my recent doings was my birthday last week. A group of friends and I went to the Cadillac for 2 for 1 happy hour and then to the Blue Lion where I had an AMAZING steak (yummy!!). Sadly, I didn't really take many pictures from the night.

Below is a picture of a few of us having a glass of wine waiting for our table. The blond girl on your left is actually from Amarillo!! Was kinda fun when I learned that. Not everyday you meet someone from Amarillo, especially in a small town like Jackson!
I think my new goal is to update my blog once a week and to make myself take more pictures. Even though I have been here over a year there are still so many amazing things that I see everyday!

The most exciting news of this blog is that my two girlfriends from high school, Michelle & Ashley, just booked flights out to Jackson for this summer! The 3 of us have all been together only once in the past 8 years and we have talked and talked about doing a reunion trip for years and it's finally happening!! If you can't tell, I'm just a little excited.

Michelle, Ashley & me on July 4th, 2007....the last time all three of us were together

Alot of the wildlife is starting to make it's way out for the summer and there have been alot of sightings lately so this weekend I'm hoping to go out and see some....stayed tuned for more and I promise I'll start posting more frequently.....

St. Baldrick's Day & Christmas

2009-01-30T11:23:00.004-05:00

On March 19th, 2009 Allen will once again shave his head to help raise money for kids with cancer. It's a national fundraiser that has raised over $50 million in 9 years. Allen has been growing his hair out since September, which is a couple months longer then what he did last year, so his hair should be the definition of ridiculous by the time March 19th roles around. Below are some pictures from last years event. To learn more about St. Baldrick's day or to donate to Allen's fundraising goal visit http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/shavee_info.php?ParticipantKey=2009-59664

Allen getting his head shaved

Before shaving his head last year

OTHER HAPPENINGS....

Unfortunately I was unable to go home for Christmas because of financial reasons and because I had just been in Atlanta for two weeks over Thanksgiving. Luckily though a ton of Allen's family came to town so I still got a 'family' Christmas just not with my own personal family. His family was awesome and welcomed me with open arms. Altogether we spent 3 1/2 days filled with good food, scrapbooking, & games with his family. Under the circumstances, I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.

Soon after Christmas, Megan and Jennifer flew to town to spend a fun filled week acting like tourists....we pretty much just skied, ate, danced, and ate some more. White they were in town we all took our first trip on the new tram. The new tram takes 100 people up 4,100 vertical feet in just 9 minutes.

More photos and stories to come I promise!!! Allen got me an entire cross country ski package for Christmas (skis, bindings, boots, & poles) so I have some fun and beautiful pictures from my cross country skiing adventures.

The new tram on its way down. You can't quite tell buy Jenny is actually riding the car back down and is waving at us from the back window.

Jennifer, Rachael, Megan, and I skiing

New Year's Eve in Teton Village
Sarah, Carissa, Jennifer, Megan, Jenny, & me

Allen and me on New Year's Eve

Updates......finally

2008-11-30T18:20:00.004-05:00

So, I guess you could say that I have been really really bad with updating my blog lately. I don't have internet at my house and I don't have the extra time at my new job to update my blog at work like I used to. Enough with the excuses though......Summer and fall have finally wrapped up in Jackson and we are getting ready for winter. Although the summer was absolutely amazing, surprisingly, I did greatly miss the warmth and humidity of the south. Most of you know that I have been dating a Wyoming boy since May and things have been going really well. The first weekend in November we flew to Atlanta to surprise my mom and to go to the Wyoming versus Tennessee football game in Knoxville, TN. It was a super short visit but was a ton of fun. I was back in Jackson for less then 2 weeks before I flew back to Atlanta for Thanksgiving, a good friends wedding, and the Georgia/Georgia Tech game. I flew in on Wednesday and Allen came down on that Saturday and spent the entire week in Atlanta and Athens with my family and friends. Below are a few pictures from our two trips.

Allen and me at the Tennessee/Wyoming game.

Allen and me at the Atlanta Aquarium

Allen's 'surprise' birthday dinner at Calico in Jackson

Allen's birthday cake....yes, I made it

Allen and I at my parents house after the Georgia versus Tech game
The girls at Jackie and Cleve's wedding reception
Allen & I in Athens, GA during our 'tour' of campus
Allen and I at the Georgia vs. GA Tech game
The view of the Teton's right before I came home for Thanksgiving......fall is gone and winter is well on it's way

TYLER'S VISIT TO JACKSON!

2008-08-12T17:09:00.005-04:00

My brother finally got to come out to visit me in Jackson a couple weeks ago. He flew for the first time by himself and even had a non-stop flight from Atlanta to Jackson. I'm kinda pissed about that because I've flown out of Jackson a few times now and I have yet to have a non-stop flight either leaving or coming to Jackson. Regardless, he made it to Jackson with no problems and we had a great week. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, white water rafting, hiking, and "buffalo hunting" were just a few of the things we did. Luckily I was able to take off the whole time he was here which allowed for some great time together.....probably the most time we have ever spent together actually.

Also while Tyler was here Megan, Jenny, and I went paragliding in Teton Village. Basically we took the Gondola up to the top of the mountain, strapped on a parachute, and then ran and jumped off the side of the mountain. It was a pretty cool experience to just be hanging out in the air looking down at the Village but was way too short. Supposedly people that go paragliding on their own (not on a paid for trip) can stay up in the air for upwards of 5 hours and travel hundreds of miles.

Tyler and I at Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park

Tyler really loved seeing all the buffalo up close. I took him on multiple nights to an area that is a known feeding grounds for some of the buffalo herds in town and each night we were treated to seeing hundreds of buffalo right off the road. A ton of them actually crossed the road less then 10-20 feet from my car. I'm not going to lie there were a couple buffalo that did get to close for comfort.

Tyler and I hiking on the Ridgeline Trail

The wildflowers on the Ridgeline Trail hike

Me right before I went paragliding

I took this picture of Jenny when we were paragliding. She was just flying just below me.

Jenny just after she took off on her paragliding trip. She was the first one to leave the ground so I was able to take a couple pictures of her.

One of the geysers at Yellowstone National Park. I couldn't get over how clear the water was.

Fair and Summer Fun!!

2008-07-29T11:39:00.005-04:00

The past couple weeks have absolutely flown by. The 4th of July we played out at the lake and then went to a friends house for a cook-out and fireworks. The week afterwards was Jenny's birthday so we threw our first party at our house and of course it had a Redneck theme. Two weekends ago I drove out to Denver with a carfull of girls for the Mile High Music festival which as two full days of music. We saw Gavin Degraw, Citizen Cope, Steve Winwood, Josh Ritter, O.A.R., Michael Franti, Moe, the Black Crowes, Leftover Salmon, John Mayer, Colbie Caillat, The Roots, Martin Sexton, Tom Petty, and Dave Matthews. Needless to say it was a pretty amazing weekend despite the 100 degree weather and no shade.
This past weekend one of my college roommates who now lives in Salt Lake City drove up to Jackson for a long weekend. As always, it was a ton of fun showing someone around town who has never been here. It never gets old seeing peoples expressions and reactions to seeing the Tetons and the surrounding area for the first time....words just don't do it justice. While Jen was here the Teton County Fair was going on which was a ton of fun. The fair grounds are directly behind my house so we were able to easily walk to everything. I never though that a pig wrestling event could be so big but it was.

At the golf course just south of Alpine, WY....Allen and his dad have been teaching me and I'm actually not half bad. The girls on the 4th of July

Sitting on the lakeshore on the 4th of July

View of the Tetons & Jackson Lake from Signal Mountain

Out on Allen's roommate's boat

Kelly (Allen's roommate) skiing.......The Grand is directly behind him
Becca & me getting ready to go tubing on Jackson Lake

View from Garnet Canyon. The Grand is almost directly behind us and we are facing the valley. What looks like water under the clouds in the distance is actually the neighboring mountain range.

Allen's neice (Cadence) participated in the pig wrestling event at the fair. Supposedly it is really popular to do and it was packed with people watching. There is a drawing to get in because so many people register. Teams of 4 have between 60 and 90 seconds depending on their age to get a greased up pig into a barrel in the center of the arena.

Jen & I on one of the rides at the fair

A car on fire at the Figure 8 Races at the fair

Some strange breed of long horn at the petting zoo at the fair. The spread was over 4 feet wide!!

Video from the figure 8 races at the fair

Where Has All The Time Gone???

2008-07-01T19:44:00.005-04:00

I swear I went to sleep last night and it was May and I woke up this morning and it was July...I have no idea where the time went but I do know that I have had an amazing past couple weeks filled with tons of friends and family visiting. There is so much that has been going on lately that it would take hours to write about so I'll be brief and let the pictures do the talking. It started off with my mom's side of the family coming out to visit. Dinkie, Papa, Tomi, Ross, Mike, and Adam all came out over Memorial Day Weekend. It was cloudy and rainy everyday they were here but it still was a great trip just way too short. After they left I had about a week to try and catch my breath before my mom and her friend Sybil came out to visit. It was snowing the first two days they were here (thankfully that was the last time it has snowed) and then overnight Summer hit and we have had Sunny days and temps from the mid-70's to 90's everyday since. The day my mom and Sybil left I joined them at the airport and flew down to Austin to visit yet more family and finally get a taste of the humidity and 100+ degree temps I had been missing in Jackson. The day I got back to Jackson I started my new job with the Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard club as their event manager....oh yeah, did I mention that I got a new job??? Check it out at http://www.jhskiclub.org/bio.php?id=1071
So that is a very very brief summary of what has been going out here in Jackson....doesn't do the past month justice by any means but I'm way to far behind in my blog to write in detail about everything....I'll be better this summer!!
Below are just a few of the wonderful pictures from the past month. If I can figure out how to put them all online I will.

Papa and me looking out over Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

The whole group at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park

Sybil, mom and me riding the Gondola up IN THE SNOW on their first day in Jackson.

Me, mom and Sybil outside the Church of the Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park

Church of the Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park

Horseback riding at the Heart 6 Ranch

Our Intramural kickball team before our first game

Getting ready to head down the Snake River on a scenic booze cruise

Atop Inspiration Point overlooking Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

At the start of our 9 mile day hike into Garnet Canyon in Grand Teton National Park

Looking up at the Grand from the meadows near Garnet Canyon
Jenny and I taking our lunch break before turning around to head back to the trailhead.....We are in Garnet Canyon and the Grand is directly behind us (or so we think)

CAMPING IN WARM WEATHER....FINALLY!!!!!!

2008-05-20T10:21:00.004-04:00

Finally it happened...after months of freezing weather and serious doubts on my part about spring/summer existing in Jackson a warm weekend finally came. It was in the 70-80's all weekend and not a cloud in the sky.....absolutely amazing!!! Of course we decided to pack up our summer gear and try it out for a night of car camping out past slide lake. We could not have picked a better night as we were wearing short sleeves and flip flops until the sun went down and even then just a light jacket was fine. It was a nice taste of what is to come this summer and I can't wait for more!

Some sights driving to our campsite which was a little over 12 miles down a dirt road.

Alli, Jenny, and I hanging out around the campfire

Allen and I

Jenny and I in the tent getting ready to go to sleep.

View from our campfire....we couldn't have picked a better car camping site.

RIDING, RIDING, RIDING

2008-05-16T10:33:00.004-04:00

The past two weekends my friend Katie and I have gone on bike rides up in the National Parks. We figured now is the time to go before all the tourists get to town and because there is still so much snow in the mountains that hiking and mountain biking are still not options yet. The first weekend we went up to Grand Teton National Park and then last weekend we went to Yellowstone National Park.

Me at the turnoff to Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

View leaving Yellowstone National Park.

At the Continental Divide...we ended up crossing the divide 4 times on our ride to Old Faithful in Yellowstone. Elevation: a little over 8,300 feet

I guess they weren't kidding when they post signs that say beware of bison. This was taken about 20 feet from Old Faithful Inn which by the way is the coolest hotel/inn I have ever seen and I highly recommend going.

Ridiculously high snowbanks we passed as we were driving back home to Jackson......This was taken Sunday, May 11th...just in case you are wondering we have no more snow in town where I live and it has been in the 60's (supposed to be 75-80 this weekend). Yellowstone is 70 miles north of Jackson. If Jackson still had snowbanks like this in May I would have moved back home already.

Nauseating Rent Prices.....

2008-05-12T11:47:00.002-04:00

When I first moved out here I about choked at how much money I was going to have to pay for rent ($1700 for a three bedroom). Everybody I met out here kept telling me how cheap that was and that I was so lucky and shouldn't complain. Still I had a hard time coughing up that much money every month in a town as small as Jackson. Now if I was living in Atlanta or a big city $1700 for a 3 bedroom doesn't sound that unreasonable but for a town of 8,000 people it seemed outragous. However, lately I have been reading the classifieds in the local paper and am in even more shock at the rent prices I see listed there. I have yet to see a listing that was less then $1000 a bedroom. Not only is the average rental price in Jackson $1000 a bedroom but available units go extremely fast and it is very hard to find housing here. Many of my friends who currently pay less then $1000 per bedroom have commented that their landlords have recently told them that their rent will be going up to $1000 per room when their lease is up. So I guess currently we are paying approx $1300 less a month then what we should be.......I'm crossing my fingers my landlord is not paying attention to the rental prices in jackson because if he is we are screwed when it comes time to renew our lease.

I HATE SNOW!

2008-05-01T11:58:00.002-04:00

Yep guys, you heard me right. I officially HATE snow now. Many of you thought I'd only last a couple weeks in the snow and then go running back to the warm weather but I didn't. I made it, actually I LOVED it, all winter long...let me repeat that, "I loved it all WINTER long"...however, it is no longer winter. By every definition it is Spring and therefore it should not be snowing. I don't mind the snow on the ground that it slowly melting but I do mind the new snow that keeps falling from the sky! I just came back from spending 10 days in 70-80 degree weather and on my first morning back in Jackson I wake up to the ground covered in snow!!

Someone once told me that Jackson has 4 seasons.... winter, more winter, road construction season, and then winter again....I'm starting to believe them. I've given in that Spring in Jackson Hole is really just a figment of my imagination and that in order to experience spring you either have to a) leave town or b) imagine it. However I am still clinging to the thought that Summer does exist here in Jackson.

ATHENS TWILIGHT & ATLANTA

2008-04-29T14:26:00.006-04:00

I ventured back to my old home, Athens, this past weekend for the 2008 Athens Twilight. It was, as usual, an amazing weekend in Athens. Pretty much everybody I have met in the past two years in the cycling industry was in town so it was amazing to get to catch up with everybody at one time. My only complaint is that two of the girls I wanted to see the most were swamped with putting on Twilight so I didn't get to spend much time with them. All in all it was a great weekend and I am so thankful for everyone that was in town. I've been looking forward to this weekend for months now and it did not let me down. They only way it could have been better is if one of my friends had won the race instead of Rock Racing.

Computrainer finals on Friday night...John Murphy (closest) of course dominated everyone.

Right before the start of the men's race.

The video on the left is the start of the men's race and the video on the right is the finish.

On another note I went to Atlanta on Sunday to watch the finish of the Tour of Georgia bike race. These are photos of some of the damage to the buildings down by Centinnial Olympic Park form the tornado that hit a couple weeks ago....crazy

Birthday Celebration #2......

2008-04-24T08:37:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everybody who called and sent me birthday wishes online....I truly appreciate it. As most of you know I came back to Atlanta for my birthday and have had a wonderful trip so far. My mom took off for my birthday and we spent the day shopping and dining on fajitas and margaritas before going to see the Braves play the Marlins later that night. It was the first and probably the only Braves game I am going to get to go to this year and it was a ton of fun. I am getting ready now to head to Athens and cannot wait to see all my friends up there.....

Lexi wanted me to take pictures of Chipper Jones, so......

Playing around with some of the color filters on my new camera.

My mom and me at the game.

Lexi (my little sis)

Jeff with his rally cap on....it didn't work

Birthday Celebration #1.....

2008-04-22T22:05:00.002-04:00

Finally after 4 months I got to go back home to visit my family and friends....unfortunately though I was going to be gone on for my 25th birthday. Luckily for me I have such great roommates that they threw a birthday celebration early so that I could celebrate in Jackson.

Blowing out my candle on my birthday dessert.....which was AMAZING!!!!

Hanging out at 43 North for my birthday...

Cake, candles, balloons and jumbo birthday card the night before I left Jackson

SERIOUSLY...THE LAST DAY OF LIFT SKIING

2008-04-15T11:15:00.005-04:00

This past weekend was one of the best that I have had in Jackson. Saturday morning I got up early and headed out the Grand Teton National Park where the roads are only open to cyclists and pedestrians right now. I rode about 30 miles on perfectly paved roads with zero cars...that in itself would have been amazing but add in breathtaking views of the Grand Tetons and it becomes the definition of epic. A great ride on Saturday could only be topped off with one of two things....1) another great ride on Sunday or 2) a great ski day. Since the number of days I have left to ski are numbered and I have all summer to ride I opted to go lift skiing one more time. So Sunday morning we made the 1.5 hour trek to the other side of the mountain to ski the final day at Grand Targhee. As you may remember this is where I skied my first day of the season since they opened a couple weeks before Jackson Hole did and it was my last day of lift skiing this season. I hope to "earn my turns" and do some hiking this spring for a little bit more skiing. We had already heard rumors of the crazy warm temperatures on the other side of the mountain and were stoked to FINALLY be able to shed our heavy winter coats and ski in t-shirts and sweatshirts. Once we arrived we realized the rumors we had heard were true and most of us skied in t-shirts, no long-underwear, light hats, and sunglasses instead of goggles. Needless to say it was AMAZING to finally feel the warm sun on my skin after such a long winter. I do think that this is the most I have ever appreciated Spring and sunshine in my entire life. Don't get me wrong I am in by no means complaining about the cold and snow because I seriously just got done with the most amazing winter of my life. Nothing beats skiing fresh powder almost everyday of the winter....except maybe the warm sunshine after a long record-breaking winter.

On another note, I fly home on Monday and cannot wait to see my family and friends and really get into some warm (and humid) weather. I never thought the day would come when I would crave humid weather but I actually do. My skin is the driest it has ever been in my entire life and is in some desperate need of moisture. This is really odd considering there is MASSIVE amounts of snow evaporating everyday....I know that the snow is evaporating into the sky so one would assume that with all the snow melting it would make the air a little less dry....but nope, it's drier then I have experienced all winter....go figure!

Megan and I about to descend our last Ski Resort run of the season....A wonderful end to a wonderful season

Megan and I at the base of Targhee for the last Apres Ski event of the season.

The Grand.....I want to climb the middle peak this summer!

Goofing off before our final descent

I love that my final fall of the season is while trying to get into position to take a picture....can we say graceful!

Yep! There I am facefirst in the snow...lovely

Still trying to maneuver myself over to Megan

More end of season pictures....

2008-04-11T10:20:00.004-04:00

Did I mention I bought new skis a week before the mountain closes?? Nothing like waiting till the very last minute....view of my new skis on my last Gondola ride of the winter season

View of Sundance Run from the Gondola

Apres Ski party outside Nick Wilsons and the VC on the last day of ski season.

Rachael and I on the last day of the season....I am dressed like this on purpose! Rachael is dressed up too but you can't tell b/c of her jacket.

First sighting of SPRING!!!!! Green grass outside our office!!

END OF A SEASON....

2008-04-09T10:18:00.003-04:00

This past weekend marked the end of an epic winter. Not just epic in the amount of snowfall we had but epic in the sense that it was the best winter I have ever had in my entire life. Below is an account of how we ended up by the end of the season....
1. one torn ACL
2. one pair of stolen poles
3. two pairs of lost goggles
4. one lost glove
5. nothing lost off the ski lifts...which is surprising considering how many times we took pictures or used our phones on the lift. I thought for sure that someone would loose their phone by the end of the season.
6. 1 ski patrol escort down the mountain
7. 1 time having to hike out of a cliff area we accidently got into
8. a million memories that will last a lifetime

Check out the article link below regarding Jackson Hole's epic record breaking season in Freeskier Magazine
http://community.freeskier.com/articles/article.php?article_id=2260

Although Jackson Hole is now closed our ski season is not quite done. Megan and I hiked up Snow King yesterday morning to ski down and we have plans to go to Grand Targhee this weekend to partake in their season closing festivities and skiing.

More Pictures from Gaper Day....

Megan, Rachael and I goofing off before getting on the Thunder Lift

Rachael and I on the ground after Jay (the guy in orange) pushed us....total Gapers!

Rachael, Megan and me outside Nick Wilson's at the Gaper Day Apres Ski party

Nice face Megan

Gelande Quaffing World Championships

2008-04-03T12:39:00.002-04:00

Only in Jackson Hole is this what the Ski Patrol does once the mountain closes......atleast we hope the mountain is closed at this point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiBWWPbYZjo

GAPER FOOL'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111

2008-04-02T10:12:00.009-04:00

April 1st in a ski town = Gaper Fool's Day ...... oh how I wish there were words to describe the spectacle that I witnessed at the mountain on Gaper Day but unfortunately words do not do it justice. Imagine a couple thousand ski and snowboard bums dressed up in their finest ski attire (circa 1950-1990) and acting like the most ridiculous tourists you have ever seen all while drinking.....lovely mix as you can imagine. Not only does everyone dress up on Gaper Fool's day but they also act and ski like a Gaper (tourist) as well......It was by far the funniest and most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Below are some picture and video that I took on Gaper Day. Be sure and take the time to watch the videos....they aren't too long.

Hanging outside Nick Wilson's at the end of the ski day.

Some guys from work heading up the mountain early. Mike (the guy in the white) didn't even make it to the lift before he split a hole along the but of his pants and had to tape it back together with electrical tape.

Rachael and I on the Gondi heading up for our first one of the day....little did we know what we were about to experience.

Rachael and I atop Thunder Bumps

The view from Casper Restaurant at mid-day

Nick Wilson's Apres Ski Party

Crazy guy running across the base of the mountain. Good summary of how people were acting all day. We even saw a girl ski down topless and a guy in a girls 1 piece bathingsuit

View from the bottom of Thunder Bumps run....everybody just did laps on this run all day. Be sure your volume is turned on.

A crazy stupid guy jumping off the roof of Nick Wilsons......The mountain ended up closing Nick's early because it got too rowdy.

Mountain Festival

2008-04-01T10:25:00.004-04:00

In conjunction with the Hill Climb was the Jackson Hole Mountain Festival which was a week long festival at the base of the mountain that was topped off with a free outdoor concert by Michael Franti and the Spearheads. Everyday there was live music, races, and various other activities. The best by far though was the free concert Saturday night. The stage was set up against the base of the mountain and when the sun set it reflected off the snow and looked amazing. I wish I was able to get some better pictures of it b/c the ones I have don't nearly do it enough justice.

Megan, Rachael and I at Nick Wilson's Cowboy Cafe for the Mandatory Air concert.
View of the stage with the Mountain in the background.
Jenny, Megan and I at the Michael Franti concert. One concert where I did not mind being in the middle of the crowd......much much warmer

Megan and I goofing off at the arch after the concert before going out to the Tavern.Brief video of the concert.

Snowmobile Hill Climb

2008-04-01T10:08:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was one of the biggest weekends in Jackson during the winter. Just two blocks down from our house Snow King held the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb which is a 4 day competition where people race their snowmobiles up Snow King. This didn't sound too hard to me when I first heard about it but once you see how steep Snow King is you'd understand why it is supposedly such a big deal. People kept trying to tell me that I was going to be amazed at all the rednecks that would roll into town for the weekend....that is until I reminded them where I was from and then I'd hear "oh, well then you'll fell right at home".... and they were right, it did remind me of being back in the south and made me miss home....everywhere you looked this weekend there were big trucks and rednecks. Quite a change when I have gone all winter without seeing any rednecks or mullets....oh, yeah I forgot they aren't called rednecks here...they are called "Slednecks". If you have time I highly recommend you check out the video HERE....it is a video from last years hill climb and has some amazing crashes in it. Keep in mind these sleds they are crashing cost around 10 grand a piece.

View of Snow King from our favorite bar, 43 North. This is where we watched a good portion of the event because we could sit on the roof of the bar.

Megan, Jenny, Rachael and I standing outside our "2nd Home".

What redneck weekend would be complete without a snow sculpture.

Rachael, Jenny, Megan and I at the base of Snow King

One good thing about winter here is that you don't have to carry a cooler around with you at events......You just put your drink in whatever snowbank you happen to be standing by. This happens to be on Megan's back porch while we were watching the X-Gamer snowmobilers doing tricks......and yes that is Megan's christmas tree in the background.

This is a video I filmed from Megan's back porch. Many of the guys who participated in the X-Games came to Jackson this weekend as well to do some shows at the fairgrounds which just happen to be in our back yards. Megan's porch had the better view though so we watched from there. Be sure and watch the video all the way through (it's not long) so you can see the backflips......these guys are crazy!!!

WILL WE BREAK THE RECORD???

2008-03-26T12:53:00.002-04:00

Check out the article below about record setting snowfalls.....it would be amazing if the year I moved to Jackson was the year we broke the alltime snow record..........we are close and it is still snowing heavily outside

http://www.jhunderground.com/2008/03/25/will-we-break-the-record/#more-811

HIKING THE HEADWALL....FINALLY

2008-03-24T10:11:00.004-04:00

So after months of talking about it Megan and I finally set out to hike the Headwall in hopes of some end of season fresh powder. Seeing amazing skiers on a day to day basis can sometimes easily be intimidating and thus one of my main reasons for not hiking the headwall earlier this season. For those that don't know the Headwall is about a 20-40 minute hike depending on where you decide to ski down. It's famed because up until the late 1990's/early 2000's it was closed and considered out of bounds. Now however they do avalanche control there and have opened it up to those who are willing to strap their skis to their back and bootpack straight up in search of the ever sought out untouched powder. Once at the top of the headwall Megan and I had no idea where to ski down. We knew that there were cliffs everywhere and of course we wanted to avoid all cliffs so we just kept traversing across the headwall to the Crags which is on the complete opposite side of the mountain. While we were traversing we passed some guys who called out to Megan and oddly enough Megan had gone to high school with 2 of the guys. They were currently living in Chicago and were just in Jackson for a long weekend vacation. Talk about a small world. It was their first time on the headwall as well so we all ended up skiing the rest of the day together. Once we finally made it to the Crags we put on our skis and took off down the steep slope that was still knee deep powder much of which was untouched. Nothing like just letting loose and pointing your skis straight down knowing that the massive amounts of powder will help keep your speed in control and will provide a soft landing if you crash....which we did numerous times. Hands down it was one of the most fun runs I have done all season....the hike up was well worth it and I completely understand why some many locals are obsessed with backcountry skiing and continually hike up in search of untouched runs. If I had the money I would definitely invest in backcountry gear and opt for more out of bounds skiing then the tourist packed skied-out runs at the village. My only complaint and regret so far from the season is that I let intimidation get the best of me and didn't hike the headwall earlier in the season. We still had knee-deep untouched powder 2 days after the last snowfall so I can only imagine how amazing these runs were on days were we got feets of snow overnight. Next year I'll know better and will be waiting in line for those first tracks.

One of the guys with us took some video skiing down from the Headwall....if I can get a hold of it I'll post it up.

Looking up at one of the descents off the headwall.

Megan and I atop the headwall.....this was after about 20minutes of climbing...we still had another 20 minutes of traversing and slight climbing till we dropped in

Me atop the headwall

View of Corbets from the Headwall....I still can't believe they allow people to ski it

View of the Tetons from atop the Headwall

A DAY OF MANY FIRSTS....

2008-03-21T13:09:00.003-04:00

1. Yesterday was the first day of spring.....we also got 9 inches of snow yesterday........(545 total inches this year)
2. I saw my first cyclist out on the road training yesterday....still too cold for me though....39degrees on a bike on a road littered with snowmelt is not my idea of fun
3. I did however go running outside for the first time this year....SOOOOOO much better then being stuck inside on the treadmill or elliptical....

Now I'm looking forward to the first day I can ride outside and the first day that I see some color around town.....green grass, budding trees, wildflowers, etc etc etc

New Camera and New Ski Boots!!!!!!!

2008-03-19T17:57:00.005-04:00

So I finally caved yesterday and bought a new digital camera.....it didn't make much sense living somewhere as beautiful as Jackson and not having a functional camera or as in my case any camera at all..... I bought the highly rated Canon Powershot SD 750 and have so far loved it! It is the coolest (not to mention smallest) easiest to use camera I have ever seen.....since I bought the camera last night and had to work today I haven't had anything picture worthy to try my camera out....so, since I'm so bored at work I decided to take pictures of my new ski boots (well, they were new in January)....and since I'm on a rant about new products that I love, I am absolutely obsessed with my new ski boots...hands down the most comfortable ski boots I have ever worn not to mention that I have somehow been lucky enough to avoid any of the problems that most new ski boots cause....these fit my feet like a glove....too bad I don't have ski's to wear with them though :( why oh why does outdoor equipment have to be so daggum expensive?

Lots of fun end of season events are about to start happening and I

Its Official!!!

2008-03-15T10:07:00.003-04:00

The mountain is reporting 501 inches of total snowfall for the 2007-2008 winter season as of 6am this morning....... and we still have 3 weeks left of ski seasons

SNOWMOBILING!!!!!

2008-03-11T19:19:00.005-04:00

So, after 2.5 months of winter I finally got a chance to go snowmobiling. Rachael's parents came to town to visit and scheduled a snowmobiling trip and lucky for us since we work at Jackson Hole Resort Lodging we got to go free....just another one of our many perks. The day started off with a drive down to Alipine, Idaho where we ate breakfast and headed out into the National Forest surrounding the Grey's River. Megan and I got really bored riding in a line on a wide flat path...especially when were behind idiots that kept braking for the smallest thing. So we decided that we would have more fun stopping and letting the group get way ahead and then gunning it to see how fast we could get the snowmobiles to go.........the fastest I was able to get mine up to was right above 80mph. I'm sure they would have gone faster but that was about as fast as I was willing to go and that the terrain would let us go before the road would start to twist and we would have to slow down.
All in all it was a great trip with some great company. Rachael's parents were amazing the whole week they were here and even treated us to some of the best food I've had in Jackson.

What's a trip snowmobiling without some super posed pictures??? I'm the one in the light purple down jacket and black pants on the end.

MORE SNOWCAMPING PICTURES & VIDEO!

2008-03-03T15:36:00.005-05:00

Video of two of the guys trying to make the snowcave collapse the next morning.....

Galen making some coffee in the morning and me trying to stay warm..

A couple shots of the entrance to our snowcave.

SNOW CAMPING

2008-03-01T11:33:00.004-05:00

So I finally got the chance to go snow camping this past weekend. I was kinda nervous about doing it because I get cold easy so I was afraid I was going to end up being freezing the whole night. Originally our plan was to snowshoe to Huckleberry Hot Springs and camp out there so that we could keep warm in the natural hot springs. However, after being the good citizens that we are and stopping in at the Ranger's Station for Grand Teton National Park we learned that not only could we not camp at Huckleberry hot springs but that camp fires were not allowed inside the National Park during the winter. Since obviously we weren't going to camp in 10degree weather with no camp fire we scratched that idea and opted to head over to the Slide Lake area in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Slide Lake is a natural lake that was formed in the 1920's by a massive landslide. It's a pretty cool story how the landscape was formed in this area and you can read briefly about it by clicking HERE. Once we backtracked over to the Slide Lake area we strapped on our snowshoes and our packs and started out across the frozen lake in search of the ideal campsite to build a snowcave. We snowshoed across the lake and up a steep slope searching for a spot. It was by far one of the hardest hikes I've done in awhile. I felt like I was on a stairclimber because the slope we went up was so steep and the snow was so deep that each time I took a step I ended up sliding further back down then where I originally started from. Not to mention the fact that I had a pack on my back as well. It ended up taking us about an hour or so to find a place to camp and by that time we were all dripping in sweat. Once we found our camp spot we immediately went to work setting up camp. All I know is that setting up a winter campground is MUCH harder then a summer campground. For those of you who don't know, when you go snow camping you build a snowcave to sleep in instead of a tent . This sounded like a fun idea to me but it ended up taking us about 2 hours of physical labor to build the cave. Then when we went to sleep I kept freaking out thinking the snowcave was going to collapse on us and we were going to be buried alive. However, luckily for us it did not collapse and once we tested the strength of the snowcave the next morning we learned that it was much stronger then we originally thought. Once we finished our snowcaves we built a fire and cooked a nice warm pasta meal . It was super basic (noodles and sauce) but I was so hungry from all the work that it could have been dirt I was eating and it would have tasted good. After dinner we sat around the campfire and talked and tried to dry out all our base layers that got soaked with sweat earlier in the evening. We ended up sleeping 3 in one snowcave and 2 in another snowcave and being the nice person that I am I volunteered to sleep in the middle of the 3 person cave so that I would have body heat on both sides of me. Our cave was so small that the 3 of us barely fit. I had to sleep on my side because there was literally not enough room for me to lay on my back or stomach. I was really surprised how warm I actually was throughout the night. Of course I slept in 2 pairs of long underwear, my ski pants , my down jacket, a fleece sleeping bag liner and my big down sleeping bag. Outside the cave it was probably around 10degrees but it was around 30degrees inside the cave. The next morning we were planning on cooking breakfast but opted to just pack up camp and head back to the cars instead. But before we left we decided to see how strong our snowcave was. There were 3 guys jumping on top of the snowcave and it was not budging. We finally cut holes in the side of the cave until standing on it caused it to collapse. The hike back out was so much easier then on the way in. We quickly realized that we were unable to snowshoe back down the huge slope we hiked up the night before so instead we sat on our bottoms and just slide the whole way down. What took us 30minutes to hike up took us about 30seconds to get down. Grant you I had massive quantities of snow down my pants and up my jacket from sliding down but it was worth it. All in all it was a great experience and was a nice little tease of the camping and hiking opportunities here in Jackson and has made me look forward to summer all the more.

Below are some pictures of our snowcave. I will post more pictures of the trip and a video once I get them from the other people that went on the trip with us.

The 5 of us sticking our heads through the holes we cut in the snowcave. The guys and me sitting in the snowcave holes.

Standing on the connecting snow pieces between the holes and it is still not collapsing.

NEXT POST.....SNOWMOBILING PICTURES AND STORY!!

Up Top To Corbets....

2008-02-19T10:35:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Megan and I made our first trip to the top of the famed "Corbets Couloir". For those of you that don't know, Corbet's is considered the hardest "inbounds" ski run in North America. It took us 4 lifts to get to the top and by the time we got there there was 30mph winds. It was so windy and steep that Megan took her skis off and crawled to the edge because she was afraid of falling down. We waited and waited hoping to see somebody drop in and just before we left a snowboarder came up and immediately dropped in without any hesitation. He didn't land it cleanly but he did it which is more then I will ever be able to say.

Dogsled race and more skiing..

2008-01-29T15:13:00.000-05:00

Friday night was the kickoff for the 2008 Wyoming International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog race so of course we ventured downtown to get our first look at dog sled racing. By the time we arrived the streets were already packed so we really weren't able to get a good look at the dog sleds but the atmosphere was a blast and we saw a ton of our friends....it seemed as if the whole town came out for the event....

Megan, Rachael, Simpson and me waiting for the race to start...

One of the dog sled racers taking off.

I wish you could see the cliffs we are standing below better but trust me when I say they are insane AND they are considered inbounds skiing. We are actually standing just below Corbets Couloir, which is considered the hardest inbounds ski run in North America. We of course did not feel like going to the hospital on Saturday so we decided not to actually ski Corbets and just went to the bottom of it to check it out....believe it or not, this was actually the first day that Megan, Rachael and I all got to ski together.

Megan and me atop Apres Vous before we headed down Saratoga Bowl for the first time.....a run that we probably should not have done...

Our friend John high atop Saratoga Bowl.....he is actually trying to help direct us around the cliffs...YIKES!!!

you know it is cold when....

2008-01-23T17:59:00.001-05:00

You know it's cold when you get to the gas station and you can't release the gas hatch on your car because it is frozen shut. This is a fun predicament when you are already late for work and you coasted into the gas station on fumes....
How to fix it.......
1st attempt: pry it open with keys
2nd attempt: pry it open with the edge of an ice scraper
3rd attempt: go inside the gas station filled with about 15 construction workers and ask for help...proceed to get laughed at
3rd attempt: punch the center of the panel in an attempt to dislodge the ice buildup
4th attempt: use a credit card to break up the ice around the edges of the cover = success!

A New Definition of Cold

2008-01-22T13:13:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of a school district canceling school because it is too cold??? The thought sounds ridiculous to me but that is exactly what happened today. I woke up to subzero temperatures (-10, -27 windshield) and to reports of school closings all around....They rarely ever close schools for incliment weather here but they do close if the temperatures in the morning are cold enough.....crazy!!
So to start of my day I had to get bundled up (baggy jeans today so I could put thermals 0n underneath) and walk to the bus stop to go to work...not only did I have to walk in the freezing cold but I got up to the bus stop just as the bus was pulling away which meant I had to stand outside for 12 minutes to wait for the next bus.....Awesome! my first time missing the bus is on the morning of -10 temperatures.
It's funny because earlier this winter I was hoping and wishing for sunny days because it just kept snowing every day and I missed the sunshine....now however I hate it when I see that it is going to be a sunny day because sunny days in the middle of winter here mean subzero temperatures so it ends up being a beautiful day outside but way to cold to do anything outside which is such a tease! Cloudy and snowy days here are usualy much much warmer, typically around 20-30 degrees which is super nice here.

"cold" and "freezing cold" now have new definitions for me!

SNOWSHOEING

2008-01-18T17:15:00.000-05:00

This week Rachael and I packed our backpacks and loaded up my car to go snowshoeing in Grand Teton National Park. We haver never been before and we were excited to get outside and do something new and different all by ourselves. Since we were by ourselves we didn't exactly know where to go. We researched some trails and found a moderate difficulty trail that would supposedly take us to Phelps Lake inside the park. We unloaded and started on our journey but the trail we were on quickly disappeared and we were left we no clue as to which way to go to find the lake. Therefor we pretty much just ended up breaking trail and going whichever way we felt like it. We weren't worried about getting lost because we knew we could always just turn around and follow our tracks back. We never found the lake but we did have an amazing time on a beautiful blue sky day in some of the most spectacular wilderness I have ever been.

Being the Georgia girls that we are we of course stopped to make snow angels along the way. Press play below to see the video of me making a snowangel.

We had no trail to follow so we just wondered around on our own, hoping all along we wouldn't run right into a moose.Breaking trail

I decided to take my snowshoes off and see how deep the snow was at one place. This was one of the shallower area. It was amazing how the snowshoes let us just walk on top of the powder that we would have otherwise sunk down to our waste in.

HOLIDAY PICTURES

2008-01-15T12:10:00.000-05:00

Long overdue but I finally got some pictures from the holidays. Megan, Justin, Trey and I were treated to a blue sky, powder day on Christmas Day! We could not have asked for better conditions on the mountain

The girls in the hotel room before going out for New Years Eve. Luckily through work we get $30 rooms at the economy hotel in the Village so we all chipped in and got 2 rooms for New Years Eve so we wouldn't have to make the 13 mile trip back to town. Plus we were already at the mountain to go skiing the next day.

Galen and me at the Mangy Moose for New Years

Rachael, Megan and me waiting for midnight.....if only we had Jenny with us the night would have been complete

CHRISTMAS IN JACKSON!!!!

2008-01-04T16:01:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve we were treated with one of the heavier snowfalls thus far. For dinner Megan, Justin and I went to the Cadillac Grill for dinner and took pictures at the arches in the town square.

We could not have asked for a better Christmas Day as we had blue skies and about 10inches of fresh powder. Justin fixed Megan, Trey and I breakfast before we headed to the mountain for a wonderful day of skiing and snowboarding.

Megan and me at the base of the Gondola

Justin and I riding the Gondola up the mountain on Christmas Day

Megan and Trey on the Gondola

Trip to Georgia!!!!

2008-01-04T15:42:00.000-05:00

After only being gone for a couple months I was already so homesick that I decided to come home for a couple days before Christmas...of course it helped that I found a super cheap plane ticket out of Jackson. My first night home I went out in Athens and got to see everyone (except Cleve). I had an awesome time with everyone and I can't wait to come back to visit again.

Also, CONGRATS TO KIM ON TURNING PRO!! Now I'm definitely never going running with you. Check her out at www.kimdunker.com

The girls at transmet..

Heading out from transmet to the Chapel....

Michelle and me trying on clothes at the mall and being idiots!!!

lots and lots going on....

2008-01-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

It's funny how during the off season I was really good about updating my blog but once the mountain opened my posts have dramatically descreased. Alot has been going on the past couple week so I'll try to keep it brief.
The week before Christmas I decided to fly home for a couple days. Only my mom knew I was coming so it was a ton of fun surprising Jeff, Tyler and Lexi. I flew in on a Wednesday and Casey picked me up at the airport and drove me straight to Athens where we ate dinner and went out with a bunch of friends. I was thrilled that everyone I wanted to see in Athens came out for the night (except CLeve)....even Fetty who was sick showed up for a bit. I love all of you guys and I had such a great time seeing you all!! Don't worry Shannon I will put up pictures once I find my camera cord!!

After spending the night in Athens Casey drove me back to Atlanta where I spent the rest of my trip mainly hanging out with my family and doing some (ok alot) of shopping. Casey and Michelle defintely win the best friend award. Casey not only picked me up from the airport but she also drove me all the way to Athens and then drove me home to Marietta the next day. Michelle drove down from Nashville Friday afternoon just to hang out with me for the night and then drove back to Nashville early Saturday morning....not many friends are willing to drive 4 hours each way just to hang out for a couple hours but I think it was worth it. I love that we can go months and months without seeing each other and then pick right back up where we left off last time we saw each other.

My trip was way too short and it would have been perfect had I not had to fly home on Christmas Eve......As I was packing to come home I was treated to an early Christmas gift when Jackie called me to tell me that she just got engaged to the guy I set her up with and asked me to be in her wedding...congrats again!!!!! I love you both!!!

Which brings me to Christmas......Christmas started off really hard because it was my first Christmas not with family and Rachael's flight got stuck in Denver so she wasn't going to make it back to Jackson and Jenny of course was still stuck in Atlanta awaiting knee surgery. Luckily Megan was still in Jackson and was my lifesaver (of course!). Megan and Justin let me tag along for dinner on Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day we opened presents together and Justin made us breakfast before spending the day on the slopes.....we were treated to a ton of fresh powder and blue skies on the mountain which was amazing!! It was one of my most enjoyable days on the mountain thus far.....

A couple days after Christmas I signed up for a free cross country skiing lesson through the JH Nordic Center. It was alot more difficult then I had imagined it being but I had an absolute blast. There was another couple in the lesson with me and they happened to be here on vacation from Atlanta and are Georgia grads. They took the pictures below and emailed them to me when they got home. I am signed up to take a women's skate skiing clinic next saturday and afterwards I will probably purchase either a cross country or skate skiing set-up.....since I can't really ride my bike outside this will hopefully serve as a nice subsititute....

I have alot more to write and a ton of pictures to post and will do so this week!!!
I love you all!!!

Christmas Tree time.....

2007-12-23T20:38:00.001-05:00

Last week our friend Dave took me out into one of the National Forests to cut down a Christmas Tree for our house which we then decorated with the "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments the my grandma sent me.....don't laugh at our tree!! I know it's a little sparse but it is ours that we cut down and we love it! (thanks Rachael!!)

No More Skiing/Boarding on Sunday's for us...

2007-12-17T15:27:00.000-05:00

Things here are starting to really pick up as the winter season is almost in full swing. There is an excitement in the air like I've never felt before and everyone is constantly looking towards the skies and watching the weather report hoping and praying for lots of snow. It snows pretty much everyday (although not a ton) and I have only been outside on one sunny/blue sky day in the past 3 weeks. Everyday more and more runs open on the mountain and hopefully soon the majority of the mountain will be open. I have been going snowboarding about 3-4 times a week and have started to see some slight improvements although the terrain here still takes my breath away.

Last Sunday Jenny fell on the cat track and had to be taken down on the snowmobile. She twisted her knee really bad and is most likely done for the whole season. She ended up flying back to Georgia last Thursday because her insurance is not good in Wyoming and she need to get an MRI. The doctor's think she completely tore her ACL (which means surgery) but we won't know the full extent of her injury until she gets the results of her MRI this Wednesday. We definitely miss her here in Jackson and Christmas won't be the same here without her but hopefully she will get to come home to us soon!

This past Sunday (yesterday) was my first day going up on Sublet which is one of the higher lifts on the mountain. It services a ton of runs but all the runs are blacks..... I had a deathgrip on the chairlift going up because looking down was so intense. I could not believe that people skied some of the terrain I was looking at much less that the mountain allowed people to ski it. It was Rachael and our friend Chapman going up and Chapman was going to take us on a "secret" run through some powder fields. We ended up on some black terrain that was super steep and narrow and we were constantly dodging trees and rocks. I didn't really turn much going down cause if I took a split second too long to turn I was going to nail a rock or tree and I didn't really feel like doing that. The powder was amazing up on this run ranging anywhere from knee to waist deep. Once we got down we decided to go back and do it again.....bad idea......Right near the top I hear Rachael screaming and look right behind me to see her completely wrapped around a tree. My first thought upon seeing her was "oh crap, the snowmobiles can't get in this area to get to her, how the hell are we going to get her off the mountain"....luckily though she ended up with just some massive bruising and muscle soreness in her leg and should be fine. Obviously she was hurting and scared to continue down so it took us forever to get her off the steep slope and back to the easy cat track. Luckily she wasn't hurt too bad and will be fine but we both decided that Sunday's aren't too good for us and that maybe we should stay clear of the slopes on sundays for awhile..... :)

LONG OVERDUE PICTURES OF MY NEW PLACE

2007-12-07T13:21:00.001-05:00

I figured it's about time I posted some pictures of my new place...I've been telling people I would do it for a long time now....

My new bedroom....

The outside of our place....it's a townhouse and ours is on the end
(left side as you are looking at the picture)Our dining room

Our living room

Last Thursday after our first powder day of the season.....

Jackson Hole Opening Day & New Job

2007-12-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

Saturday was opening day....finally!!! There wasn't many runs open yet (only 3) and the snow wasn't that great but it was still fun to finally be out on the mountain that I have been staring at for the past 6 weeks. I also started my 2nd job on saturday as a cocktail waitress at the local bar at the base of the mountain....we specialize in $6 pitchers of PBR for employees so as you can imagine it got pretty busy with all the locals. There's defintely places I could make better tips but I really enjoy working somewhere where all the locals come and I can hang out with my friends at work.

Tomorrow I group of us are going back over the pass to Grand Targhee to board....the snow conditions are the best there of anywhere in the US so it should be another great day on the slopes.

1st day on the slopes

2007-11-26T23:16:00.000-05:00

With opening day just around the corner here in Jackson (Dec. 1st), a friend and me decided to get in some early runs at Grand Targhee which is about 1 hour from Jackson. Jackson Hole has a deal with Targhee that lets employees of each mountain ski free at both mountains which worked out great for us. Originally we had planned to go on Thanksgiving but since the mountain opened the day before we decided to wait a few days and hear how the conditions were. As it turns out Targhee has the best conditions anywhere for the time being....as quoted in online.....
"Grand Targhee Resort currently offers 1,500 acres of skiable terrain, more than any other resort in the US Rockies which includes Utah, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. Ranking second in skiable acreage is Grand Targhee’s neighbor to the North, Big Sky Resort, who opened with 854 acres and third place honors go to Copper Mountain in Colorado reporting 159 skiable acres in operation.
The snow wasn't amazing but for the time of the year and considering the lack of snow in Jackson and elsewhere it was pretty dang good....

Seeing as it was my first time on my new board and I hadn't even rode for over two years I was a little apprehensive about my first run...just my luck we ended up going down the blues from the very start (never touched a green)...I was surprised how quickly I picked it back up: I guess it is just like riding a bike....I was however still a little tense on the board which made me nervous to go too fast....I'll have to get over my new found fear of going fast quickly seeing as the terrain at jackson is much steeper and unforgiving....We are planning on going back to Targhee on Thursday then partaking in the opening weekend festivities at Jackson this weekend.....

BRING ON THE SNOW!!!!

Me and me new board sitting at the top of my first black diamond of the year (yeah, it took me awhile to get down it but but I didn't fall)....the Grand is the tallest peak you see behind me and is what I plan on climbing this summer.

Another view of the Grand Tetons (the Grand is the tallest one again)

Me at the observation deck at the top of the mountain....

On another note........Megan and Jenny went to Targhee the day after I did to teach Jenny to ski..I think she had a rough first day, but she's super athletic so she'll be flying down the blues and blacks in no time!

Megan's Birthday and Hot Tub!!!

2007-11-26T23:12:00.000-05:00

Megan turned the big 26 on Friday and Rachael is turning 25 on Tuesday so we decided to do one cake and one dinnner out on Sunday.......We went to the sushi restaurant in town so of course I didn't eat anything (I will note for the record though that I DID try sushi this year....just didn't care for it).....after dinner we went back to the house and had funfetti cake.....I'd like to say that there is cake left, but no....the 4 of us managed to finish the whole thing in less then 24 hours.

Goofing off for the camera before heading out to dinner.

Below is a picture of the house where Megan has been dog sitting (a.k.a. The Mansion) and thus we have taken full advantage of their hot tub, cable TV, and massive kitchen.....

Sunrise in Jackson as seen from The Mansion

Hanging out in the hot tub....

Thanksgiving #2

2007-11-25T16:48:00.000-05:00

My roommates and I kicked off Thanksgiving my going out the night before....we ended up goofing off at our house for hours before heading out....since we have no cable we have to think of creative ways to entertain ourselfs....the entertainment choice of the night consisted of sitting on our kitchen cabinets talking for 1 1/2 hour because we have no chairs to sit in and then trying on our skis/snowboard set-ups.....atleast we didn't put our ski outfits on as well....
After we got bored of entertaining ourselves at home we headed out to Cuttie's for the weekly Whiskey Wendesday......It is defintely almost ski season time because the place was packed for once...I guess the rest of the seasonal staffing has arrived
(Me, Robbie, Jenny, and Rachael at Cutties)

After our fun night out we got up early Thursday morning to prepare for our second Thanksgiving dinner of the week....Our first stop of the day was to our friend Robbie's house where we hung out most of the day with a bunch of our southern friends.
(The girls at Robbie's house)
Joseph preparing the goose that he shot earlier in the morning....
(the whole group at Robbie's.....for once there are more girls then guys)
The view outside Robbie'sAs much as we wanted to stay at Robbie's and eat the AMAZING looking food we had already made prior plans to go to our bosses house for Thanksgiving dinner and celebrate with a bunch of people from work. Amy (our boss) had volunteered to make the entire meal which is a huge undertaking....

One thing that I found really amusing was the difference between the two meals we experiences. As I said, our first stop of the day was with our southern friends and the Thanksgiving menu consisted of: fried turkey, goose (that was shot thanksgiving morning and gutted on the porch while the Turkey's were frying), a variety of casseroles that were made with no less then a pound of butter each, a keg of beer, garlic mashed pototoes (again with a pound of butter), stuffing, gravy, and whiskey.......In contrast, our second stop of the day was with mainly northerners and the meal was prepared by a true northerner. The menu there consisted of: baked turkey, steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus, mashed pototoes (no butter), and wine....
hmmmmm....notice a difference in the way the southerners eat???

Regardless of how fattening or healthy the meal was, Megan and I still passed out within 20 minutes of eating.....we were such party poopers!!!!!

After Megan and I slept for an hour we finally arose and decided to head out. Luckily Megan was house sitting at the "Mansion", which is a huge house in the Village that Megan frequently house sits for. Therefore we all decided to spend the night there and enjoy the huge outdoor hot tub the Mansion has.

(Getting ready to run outside to get into the hot tub.....did I mention it was about 14 degrees outside??)
After the hot tub we all put on the plush terry robes the Mansion has and settled in to watch some cable TV...it's amazing how much more we appreciate cable now that we are too broke to have it at our house. ...didn't matter much though because we were all in bed by 9pm...

Megan's birthday was the day after Thanksgiving....Here's a preview of the pictures from her birthday!!

Hiking trip out my front door

2007-11-25T10:23:00.000-05:00

I had Wednesday off and as it was a beautiful (yet freezing) day I decided to go on a little hike right out my front door. I hiked up Snowking mountain which should have been about a 40-45 minute hike but cause of the snow it took me a little bit longer. The view from the top was amazing and I could see Jackson Hole Ski Mountain clear across the other side of the butte. Once I got to the top of Snowking I was going to follow the ridge around to a canyon but after being on top for about 10 minutes the wind starting picking up and the temperature dropped big time....plus I was damp from sweating on the hike up (it was a pretty steep hike) which made me even colder.....not to mention I was very thirsty and my water bottle had frozen on the way up.....so I decided to call it a day and started heading back down the mountain. I am excited for next summer when I'll be able to hike all around the trails up behind my house but I think the window for good weather hiking is all but passed for the winter..

View from the top of Snowking...

View from the top of Snowking...you can see Jackson Hole Ski Mountain off in the distance behind the butte

View from the top along the ridgeline....Jackson is directly behind me in this picture

The snowy trail I hiked along....it wasn't bad going up, but was pretty slippery going down

Fun Thanksgiving pictures coming soon!! as well as pictures from my first day on the slopes...

Thanksgiving #1

2007-11-20T19:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had our first Thanksgiving of the week...some of our friends were going to be out of town so we decided to go ahead and celebrate a little early so they could join in the festivities with us. Justin purchased an 18lb turkey the night before and then spent half the night trying to thaw it. This would prove to be all of ours first time having Thanksgiving dinner without family and we quickly realized that none of us had ever cooked a turkey before or knew how too.....luckily Rachael stepped in and got some family advice and made a wonderful turkey.....and YES!!! I did actually eat turkey yesterday and I have pictures to prove it. The food was unbelievably plentiful and the company was even more amazing... we will all be heading to the Village on Thursday to eat another Thanksgiving with all of our friends from work so I'm sure more pictures will follow....
MENU: turkey, homemade mac & cheese, green bean casserole, squash casserole, mashed pototoes, corn, deviled eggs, pea salad, stuffing, gravy, bread, cheese & meat platter (appetizers), homemade fudge, homemade pecan pie, beer, wine, and whiskey

REMEMBER: More pictures are posted online at http://picasaweb.google.com/victoria.glyn
Look in the "Jackson Fall" album for the most recent pictures.

Doing some final preparations for dinner.....

Cheating and tasting my homemade mac & cheese before we ate.....it passed the taste test

Justin getting ready to carve the Turkey...

All of us passed out (particularly me) after dinner....just think we get to do this all over again on Thursday

My Wyoming To-Do List

2007-11-19T12:12:00.001-05:00

Here is my list of things I want to do while living in Wyoming...I'm sure I'll add more things to my list the more I learn about the area

SUMMER:
1. Climb the Grand...the plan is for Megan, Jenny, Rachael, and I to all climb the Grand together this summer...would be nice to meet some people this winter that can take us up so we don't have to pay for a guide... click here for a blog about climbing the Grand
2. para glide
3. ride my bike up Teton Pass
4. Century bike ride
5. rock climb on an actual mountain and not on a wall
6. whitewater raft the Snake River
7. Scenic raft trip down the Snake River
8. feed a black bear....just kidding mom!
9. Cliff Diving
10. learn to play disc golf (and not suck at it)
11. go on an overnight mountain bike trip
12. fly fish on the Snake River
13. go kayaking

WINTER:
1. snowmobile through Yellowstone National Park
2. board 75% of the mountain...considering most of the mountain is black diamonds and cliffs this should be a lofty goal (Trail map of Jackson Hole)
3. Backcountry snowboard
4. Build a snowcave and campout this winter
5. cut down a Christmas Tree
6. build a snowman that is taller then me
7. have a snowball fight
8. go sledding
9. not break a bone on the mountain
10. go on a sleigh ride throught the elk refuge
11. go on an overnight snowshoeing trip

settling in....

2007-11-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

I am finally starting to settle into a nice routine here in Jackson....I could not have asked for better roommates (except for if Megan moved in) and they have really helped make Jackson start to feel like home.....we carpool to work everyday, go to the gym together and then go hang out at someone's house for the evening or go out. Everyone is so laid back and relaxed and it feels wonderful to be able to completely relax for once. My only stress right now is money and that is a huge change from the past couple of years.

Our new friend Bobby invited us over for a steak dinner....

The roommates and homemade wine....

Hanging out at Chapman and Robbies before going to Whiskey Wednesday...I love that we are 3,000miles from home and we hang out at fellow Atlantans houses....

Christmas help....

2007-11-15T15:59:00.000-05:00

I know it's hard to believe but it is almost that time of year again to start decorating and celebrating Christmas...this year will probably be the hardest Christmas ever for me since I won't get to spend it with my family at all. At least I am lucky in that I have amazing roommates here in Jackson that I will be with.

Being as that none of us get to go home for Christmas we want to decorate as much as possible here in Jackson in order to make it seem as much like home as possible. However due to our severe lack of funds that will be a little hard. We plan on cutting down our own Christmas tree and the girls that lived in the house before us left us a Christmas tree stand and skirt and that's pretty much all we have......therefore I am putting out an all points bulletin for old Christmas decorations...you know you have been meaning to clean out your Christmas decorations boxes for years now, so pack up that old stuff and send it on up to us in Jackson where it can get another lease on life......the tackier the better.....

Postal address
PO Box 7988 OR JHRL /
Jackson, WY 83002

or

FedEx/UPS Address
Attn: Tori Cervantez
3200 West McCollister Drive
Teton Village, WY 83025

wonderful weekend #3

2007-11-11T14:52:00.001-05:00

Despite having to work both Saturday and Sunday, this weekend was amazing.....of course it's hard to be a bad weekend when Georgia beats Auburn at home. Luckily I was able to get off work at 1pm which allowed me just enough time to get over to our friends house to watch the big game. About 10 Georgia fans piled onto the couch and settled in to cheer on the Dawgs! During half time we all went outside to partake in some Bocci ball and the guys gave us some lessons on how to split wood.

Jenny taking her turn at Bocce Ball

Learning to split wood...we got pretty good at it by the time we finished....now if only we had a fireplace at home so we would have a need to split wood

After the Georgia game we went home a took a quick nap and then headed to a party to watch the South Carolina/Florida game and then on to the Virge for an evening of dancing, pool playing, and people watching....we ended up walking 15 minutes home in the rain becaues we were too broke to pay for a cab ride home and we didn't have a car at the bar (we got dropped off). It wasn't that cold walking home so I was very surprised to wake up to find it snowing and the ground covered with a fresh layer of snow......

Being the Georgia girls that we are, Jenny and I immediately got out of bed and dressed to go outside and play in the 1 inch of snow that was on the ground. I'm sure our neighboors thought we were absolute idiots for gettting so excited over such a small amount of snow...

our first snowman.....and yes, he has on a Georgia hat...

Shooting Stars..........

2007-11-09T14:32:00.000-05:00

One of the top things I love about Wyoming.....the stars....I don't think I have ever seen so many stars in my entire life...even in the Texas countryside. I guess that's what happens when you live in the environmentally cleanest state in the US.

Last night we went to a hot tub and there were shooting stars everywhere. I can't imagine what it looks like during an actual meteor shower. I saw more shooting stars in 20 minutes last night then I have seen in my whole life.

Jackson update....

2007-11-08T12:08:00.001-05:00

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything so I thought I'd give you all an update on my new life in Jackson. I've finally settled in at work, splitting my time between working for the Home Owners Association and the front desk at Resort Lodging. Honestly, my job right now kinda stinks. It is still the off season so everything in Teton Village is completely dead...even the gas station in the village is closed for the off season. Therefore I basically come to work and waste time at the computer all day. There isn't much to do at the front desk when nobody is checking in, checking out, or even occupying in any of the units. I know that once the season starts (Dec. 1st) things will be different and this place will come alive with activity.
(FYI: I live in Jackson, WY......Jackson Hole is the actual ski resort and is located 10 miles from Jackson in Teton Village, WY. Therefor, when I'm referring to the Village I'm taking about Teton Village where I work and where the ski resort is. Jackson, WY itself is still very active right now).

Right now I am staring out the window at work at the slopes and they are completely dry. There is snow up on the mountain tops but absolutely zero snow in town and on the slopes (except where the snowmachines have been trying to make snow). During the day the temperatures have been getting up into the 50-60's which I take is very out of the ordinary for this time of the year (damn global warming). Rumor on the street is that snow is in the forcast for next week but since I am always skeptical about snow forecasts (too many years of Georgia weather forcasters getting my hopes up for snow that never came) I'll believe the snow forcast when it actually starts snowing. I defintely cannot wait to wake up one morning and there be a couple feet of fresh snow on the ground. Supposedly we are supposed to have an awesome snow year because of the La Nina effect but I have my doubts about that as well. In any effect, I cannot wait to get up on the mountian and start boarding again. I will have quickly get better on my board as I seemed to have moved to the town where the skiing/boarding is ranked No. 1 for Terrain/Challenge. It is said that the inbounds skiing is better here than out-of-bounds at most other resorts.....just great! Even the lower runs that come down into the village are all massively steep and our blacks. From what I have heard the blue intermediate runs here at Jackson Hole are comparable to the black diamonds in Colorado.....if that's the case, then what do the black diamonds here compare too?? I don't know if I even want to know. Regardless, I'll atleast leave town a MUCH MUCH better boarder...

Besides working I have been doing alot of other things. Tuesday my two new roommates finally arrived after driving over 3,000miles. After 2 1/2 weeks I am finally all moved into my new place and it is starting to feel a little like home. 30 minutes after Jenny and Rachael arrived we hosted a big cookout at Megan's house next door (we had yet to get a grill of our own to cook on) and then proceded to go to one of the local hangouts that is within walking distance of our house. The next night (last night) we decided to go check out a nice restaurant in town that has buy 1 get 1 free entrees and 1/2 price bottles of wine on Wednesdays.....yes, Athens people I have managed to find a place in jackson with 1/2 price wine on Wed......The place we went though is reservations only so we had to wait until 9pm to get sat for dinner....the girls were trying to convince the guys to just go somewhere else so we didn't have to wait. Thankfully they refused to listen to us and made us wait because it was by far the best meal I have had in Jackson thus far. I got the Buffalo chili (yes mom I tried buffalo) and it was absolutely the best chili I have ever had in my entire life. We ended up getting 6 entrees (all around $20 a piece) and two bottles of wine for less then $100 total (split between 7 people) which is really really good in Jackson. Just to give you an idea of the prices around town, the Wendy's "value" meals cost around $7-$8.

Besides working and hanging out at night the only other thing I have been doing is working out like crazy trying to get in shape for snowboarding these massively steep runs. I joined a local gym as a "couple" with Megan's boyfriend to get a discount so I've been trying to go there every morning and then riding my bike in the afternoon. Since my new roommates had purchased a National Park pass ($80 for the pass) I planned on doing a 3-4 hour bike ride through Teton National Park. I was real excited about this because I have yet to go to the park because I couldn't afford a pass. The park entrance is about 13 miles from my house and when I got there nobody was at the gate. I thought this was my lucky day because I was worried about trying to get in with Jenny's pass and license (you have to show a picture ID with your pass to get in)....so I just rode right on in thinking that I was just going to get free access to the park. However, after riding for about 2 minutes the pavement ended and I ran into a dirt/gravel road with massive potholes everywhere. Awesome! guess i didn't really scam the park that much.....so, since I couldn't ride in the park I turned around and rode out towards Wilson, WY. Once in Wilson I was trying to find the Old Pass Road which supposedly is a backcountry road that goes up over Teton Pass and that is seldom traveled since the finished the new highway. I never found Old Pass Road but I did end up on some back country road that followed a beautiful creek and was right along the edge of the mountains. I stayed on this road till it dead ended and it was amazing. The views were spectacular and I even saw a moose laying down on the side of the river.....One thing I have noticed about riding out here is that I don't have to worry about getting chased by dogs since for some reason they just don't chase cyclists, but I do have to be on the lookout for black and grizzly bears and moose because they do/will attack.....I ended up riding for a little over 2 hours and it was one of my favorite rides I have done so far but for some reason it hurt really bad. I think it was maybe a combination of not drinking enough water the day before, staying up late the night before, and maybe being on the verge of over-exercising and just being plain worn out.

thats about it for right now...I'll take pictures of my new place and work this weekend and post those up soon.

First weekend out in Jackson!

2007-10-30T12:32:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was my first real weekend out in Jackson and it could not have been better. Saturday morning Megan and I spent freaking out because we could not find anybody or any bar that had CBS East and was going to be showing the Georgia/Florida football game. Finally we found a local bar that was going to be showing the game. There ended up being about 30 or so Georgia fans at the bar which made watching the game really fun. Everytime Georgia had a good play the whole place went absolutely crazy. Of course it did help that the we actually won.......I would have given anything to be in Jacksonville for the game but Jackson was amazing as well.

After the game we took a quick nap and then quickly got ready for the biggest halloween party of the year and from what I had heard one of the biggest parties of the entire year in Jackson. We started off going to some girls house who were hosting a pre-party and watching the TN/SC game which ended up being a great game to watch as well. Afterwards we walked a couple blocks to Snowking, which is the smaller ski resort in Jackson), paid our $15 (yikes!!) and danced the night away with pretty much the entire town. There was not a single person at the party that was not dressed up and the winner of the costume contest won $1000.

2007-10-24T17:02:00.000-04:00

The baby and mama moose I saw on my second day of work.....our list of acceptable maintenance emergencies at work includes Moose Attacks....I guess that's why my lease has the stipulation "tenents may not feed wild animals"

2007-10-24T17:00:00.000-04:00

So Christi-An and I finally made it safely to Jackson and it's even more beautiful then I expected. I keep thinking that I am on vacation and that I have to go home soon....it seems unreal that I actually get to live in a place like this. On our second day in Jackson a new friend took us to the Snake River to give me my first fly fishing lesson. When he picked us up he told us that we needed to wear sandals because our feet would get wet so being as he was the "teacher" we listened and changed into Chacos....little did we know that it would be around 34 degrees, 10-20mph winds, and snow on the ground where we went fishing. Despite losing feeling in my toes for most of the day/night I had a wonderful time learning to fly fish and even caught a fish. I am already looking forward to next summer when I can go fishing some more in the warm weather.

Bonfire, smores and wine...yummy!!!

Yesterday (Monday), with temperatures in the 50's, I decided to go on my first bike ride. Originally the plan was to go for a nice and easy ride since we weren't quite acclimated to the altitude yet. However, 5 minutes into our ride we decided to climb one of the buttes located in Jackson. It didn't look like the butte was that high or steep but we ended up climbing for close to 40 minutes straight. It was by far one of the harder bike rides I have done in a long long time but we were rewarded at the top with some absolutely amazing views of Tetons and of Jackson.

REMEMBER THAT MORE PICTURES ARE ONLINE AT http://picasaweb.google.com/victoria.glyn

2007-10-19T22:35:00.000-04:00

Knitting a hat by the Arkansas River on our rest day...

View of the Arkansas river with mountains in the distance....we probably spent atleast 3 hours here today.

St. Elmo Ghost town.....we drove 8 miles on a dirt road through snow to get to this town...

Goofing off in St. Elmo....

Georgia to Texas to Colorado....

2007-10-19T10:41:00.000-04:00

As hard as it was leaving Athens I am very excited to finally be getting to Jackson. Right now I am in Buena Vista, CO for the day and will be making the final trek to Jackson tomorrow morning. Our journey started out early early Monday morning when we left Atlanta and drove straight through to Dallas, TX. The drive to Dallas was fairly easy except for the irate truck driver who kept harassing us and purposely went off the side of the rode to drive through a large gravel pile which then threw up rocks onto my car and cracked my windshield in two places and then had the nerve to flick me off. Sometimes I just don't understand people. Besides our incident with the truck driver we made it safely to Dallas, TX after a brief stop in Van, TX for some ice cream with my uncle and one of my cousins. I think the theme of our trip through Texas is FOOD FOOD FOOD....We ate so much wonderful food that I think I gained 5 pounds.
Before we left my parents house in Marietta, GA at 6am

The next morning Christi-An and I got up really early and tried to go for a bike ride around Dallas. This didn't work too well as the morning traffic was horrific on the side roads and the bike trails we found were really short and muddy....ended up spending 15 minutes cleaning the mud off our bikes and shoes when we got back to the house....regardless of the conditions it was still very nice to do something active after sitting in the car for 12 hours the day before and before getting back into the car for another 6 hours.
After our ride we loaded up the car again and started to head north to Amarillo, TX, our second stop of the trip. Halfway to Amarillo we hit the 1/2 way mark at a whopping 1,050 mile trip. In Amarillo we stayed with my grandparents who had a huge homemade meal ready for us when we arrived. One of my cousins drove up from Texas Tech and my aunt Tomi and uncle Ross come over for dinner as well. The next morning we again set out on our bikes thinking we would have a better ride since we had an actual destination.....the Cadillac Ranch. The Cadillac Ranch sits right off of I-40 and consists of ten graffiti-covered cars that are half-buried, nose-down, facing west "at the same angle as the Cheops' pyramids. I used to ride to the Cadillac Ranch when I was little so this was kind of a trip down memory lane for me. Although the ranch is only 9 miles from my grandparents house it still took us close to an hour to ride to them thanks to the 20-30 mph head winds we had to battle the whole way. Thankfully on the way home we had the wind at our back and made it home in less then 20 minutes. After eating my grandparents out of house and home we packed up the car again on Thursday and continued our trek north through the rest of Texas, parts of New Mexico, and half-way through Colorado to Buena Vista where we are now. Buena Vista has provided me with my first taste of winter weather this year with temperatures last night hovering around 34 and wind gusts at 20-30mph. Needless to say I was freezing which is not a good sign considering where I am moving. I'm starting to think if I brought adequate clothing for the winter in Jackson which is funny considered the quantity of clothing I bought. Anybody know where I can get some fleece lined, insulated jeans? We were planning on going for a bike ride or hike today but I know the bike ride will not happen considering the wind (we would easily get blown off it's that strong) and I'm thinking twice about going for a hike in this weather.....a nice book and a warm coffee shop is sounding pretty nice to me right about now......tomorrow morning we pack up and are heading the scenic route to Jackson. I'm not sure when I'll have free internet access again but I will post more when I do.

My grandparent and me before leaving Amarillo....

Leaving the South....

2007-10-19T10:35:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who made my last week (and the past 7 years) in Athens so memorable. Leaving town has been one of the hardest things I've ever done but I think that after 7 years in a college town it was time. I already miss you all and can't wait to come back and visit in April!!

My going away cake that Ashley decorated....it's supposed to a picture of me with a big "x" through it.

Goodbye lunch with old roommates in Atlanta......missed you Danielle!!!

Last night at Transmet/going away party

Last night out in Athens.....where's Ashley??