Table Rock

There is a mountain near the Grand Teton that for me as a child was legendary.  It was the mountain that my older brothers climbed for scouts.  When I heard people had hiked to the top I would think two things, first, "they are CRAZY, why would anyone want to do that?" and second, "I wish I could do something like that, but there is no way."  Three years ago Troy and I and some of his family decided to go ahead and hike that mountain, Table Rock.  We did it again this summer, we took J.T. along and it was a fantastic day.  One I will remember for a very long time.

We went up "the face", a little steeper but you save miles for sure, we started up and were met with this sign...

This was one of J.T.'s summer goals, I loved that he knew it would be hard but still wanted to push himself.  I want him to know that he can do hard things, and succeed.

Crystal and Norm went with us.

To be fair I am sure I am doing this as well, I just did not make it into the frame of the picture.  It is a really steep climb, I think the elevation at the top is about 11,200 feet.

There is a giant rock field right before you get to the final climb.

Nothing tastes as good as lunch does at the top.  It took us about five hours to get to the top.

The wind was blowing and it was pretty cold at the top.  J.T. was AMAZING!!!  He did not complain once, he kept moving and did so well.  We had such a great time together.

Do you like the death grip I have on J.T.?  Seriously, I don't love heights but the views are usually worth it.

Speaking of the views, there were so many fires that smoke filled the sky and you couldn't see much of anything, which was disappointing.  The Tetons are only about a mile away from the top and this was all you could see.

Table Rock from a distance, it's kind of fun to think at one point we were on the top of that.

Vince and Kaylee hiked with us the entire time.  We probably held them back a little, but I am sure glad they stuck with us 'cause they were fun to talk to.

THE END,  stiff, sore and a little tired.  I'm guessing some toenails were lost but it was well worth it.

Camping

I didn't know that I even liked camping until Troy and I had the opportunity to go on Trek three years ago.  I realized I didn't mind sleeping in a tent, I liked cooking in a dutch oven and there was great freedom in not wearing any makeup.  I wanted to go with my family and create memories that I hope will last a life time.  Since then we have tried to get at least one night away every summer.  This year we made it to Teton Canyon campground, which is one of our favorites.

Troy only spent a little time trying to find a signal to send an e-mail.  The rest of the time we had his undivided attention.

One thing I love about camping is being away from everything electronic.  No DS's or i-pods allowed.  We spend time reading or playing card games.  I wish we could camp more often,

Sara spent some time with my camera.  She found some great  shots.

There was a creek near our camp site and J.T. and Cambelle loved playing and exploring.

J.T. started our fire, and both Troy and I kept trying to give him advice.  He just said, "I got it."  Troy and I looked at each other knowingly that he was doing it wrong.  That stinker, totally got it started the first time.  He did a great job. 

We didn't want to take the camp chef, so we decided to cook EVERYTHING in tin foil on the fire.  Salmon, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, carrots, and for desert brownies baked in the peel of an orange.  So yummy.

We had eggs for breakfast, Cambelle does not like eggs, therefore she made a peanut butter sandwich. 

J.T. made a fish trap on the creek that we needed to check before we left.

Before we headed for home we went to Jackson Hole to ride the Alpine Slide, always a huge hit.

Wicked

Last December Troy purchased tickets to Wicked, for August 10th. It finally came and not a moment to soon. I could not have loved the whole experience more.

We started the evening at one of my favorite restaurants, Bambara's.  I love the ambiance and the decor and the food is always the perfect melding of flavors.

At some point I will remember to take the picture before I start to cut and eat ,
I just get so darn excited.  And who can blame me, right?

The show was phenomenal.  I loved every moment of it.  I knew the basic story, but I had stopped anyone from telling me the details, and I am so glad I did,  because it felt like unwrapping the best present ever as the story unfolded.  I loved every twist and turn and the performers were so fantastic.  Troy loved it too.  He didn't quite know what to expect but he really enjoyed it.

We didn't get pictures the night of the performance because it was so crowded, so we walked past on our way to breakfast and took pictures the next morning.

Thank you Troy for a very memorable night and weekend, I love this guy!!