Celebrate America @ Huntsman Springs

Last night was the annual Celebrate America festival at Huntsman Springs.  This year they toned it down a bit from previous years.  It started at 4pm, instead of lasting all day, and their were less vendors, shows, and no air show.

4:00pm	Gates and Parking Open
4:00pm	Pre Show Entertainment Bounce Houses & Inflatables, face-painting, magicians, food & more!
7:00pm	Dueling Pianos
8:30pm	The Surf City All Stars The music of the Beach Boys, feat. founding members Al Jardine & David Marks
10:00pm	Fireworks Extravaganza Featuring a patriotic tribute by Lee Greenwood.

Fishing the South Fork

I fished the South Fork from the dam to Spring Creek yesterday with Sean Doyle.  It has been hot the last couple of days and we had heard the stone flies might be migrating up the river.  It seems the heat produced a fantastic PMD hatch in the riffles during the late afternoon, but we didn't see much evidence at all of a prolific stone fly population.

We put on the river at 3:30pm and beat the bank with big hairy attractors for a few miles with no luck.  Finally we came across a pod of rising fish at the tail end of a riffle feeding on PMD's.  A quick change of flies produced some success.  With more river miles to go, we took off in search of more riffles, PMD's and rising fish.

We beat the bank between riffles with no luck.  By the time we got the to the next good looking riffle, the hatch had turned off and there was no rising fish in sight.  It seems the hatch ended around 4:30 or 5.

Sean put on a big parachute adams for the last stretch from the braided section just above the falls to the take out.  He was able to turn a few on the grassy side of the river along the highway at sunset.  We took off around 9pm.

The "ladies"and kids had a collective dinner at the Doyles.  Nancy and the kids rode their bikes.  Coming home in the dark, Sean had just dropped me off and ran into them on the road.  So, Maggie rang her bell all the way down the lane to announce that she was coming so I would know.

Sheep Bridge Bike Ride

With Maggie at gymnastic camp, we took this opportunity to take the boys on a mountain bike ride.   Since this is Connor's first, we chose the Sheep Bridge trail (also Brady's first a few years ago).

After crossing a raging Teton Creek (on Sheep Bridge), the trail gradually climbs through stands of pine, aspens, and meadows filled with wild flowers to the Boy Scout Camp.  Here we stopped for a big break, stories, and explored the river.  The return trip is a nice easy down hill back to the bridge.  Connor did great and we had a wonderful ride.

This was not only a first for Connor, but also Nancy.  She hasn't been on single track since the famous Fire Lookout ride in outside of Sisters, OR that we did the summer before our wedding.  That summer, Nancy and I toured the west in my VW Golf with sleeping bags, bikes, and running shoes.   After a few short warm up rides around Bend, we decided to tackle a longer ride, 10 miles to a fire lookout and 10 miles back.  The ride out was fine, but it was hot and dusty so the return trip was difficult.  At the very end, Nancy fell on a switch back in the fine powder dirt that stuck to her sweaty body and was a mess.  Needless to say, that was the last time she was on a mountain bike on a single track.

On today's ride, we told this story as well as the first time I took Brady mountain biking on this trail.  He scared me with his fast descent---a lot like the first time I took him to the top of Mt. Sunapee when he bombed to the bottom without turning.

We're all here

Connor and I picked up Brady, Maggie, and Nancy at the SLC airport on Wednesday.  They had a smooth trip with no delays.  Promptly after descending into the valley off of Pine Creek Pass we were sitting at a booth at the Brakeman which still has the best hamburgers and fries in the Valley.

Summer 2013 has Started!

It's official, the summer of 2013 has started.  Connor and I made it across the country in our land yacht (the F250) and we are in Driggs looking at the Tetons.  I left Andover with Connor on Friday, June 14, and he had more than two weeks of school and his league playoffs remaining.  Nancy, Brady, and Maggie stayed behind while Nancy finished New Administrators Workshop and other odds and ends.

Connor and I left Friday, June 14, the day after graduation.  Our first stop was Toledo and a night with a graduate school friend Tod Shockey.  He is teaching at he University of Toledo.   His wife, Kim, and 12 year old son, Sam, were at a lacrosse tournament in Buffalo, NY.  So, Tod and his daughter who had just finished 10 grade hosted us for the evening.  We grilled Toledo famous Paco hot dogs and burgers ate ate them under the stars.  Tod gave Conner a few (read 5) Arnold Palmers for the drive.  Needless to say we stopped every two hours as Connor drank them all the next day.

After a stop in Iowa City for lunch, we made it to a campground just outside Kearney, NE by night fall.  The highlight of the evening was the cool ranch and nacho cheese Dortitos tacos from Taco Bell.

An early departure meant we arrived in Lander early afternoon.  We proceeded to the City Park for a catch at the same baseball field that I played Little League.  Parched, we dragged ourselves to the Campbells for Lemonade and cookies.  We also visited with the Gilbertsons.  After picking up provisions at Mr. D's we headed though "the Res" and over the pass.

We arrived in Driggs by 8pm. on June 16.  Just enough time to take a good look around and fix dinner before the sun set.  It's good to be back.