Telluride Academy

That went by rather quickly. Owen finished up his final day at camp and was awarded the best reptile handler at the awards ceremony. That honorable recognition was due to having caught the most creatures during the past two weeks: 5 lizards, a snake and countless crawdads.

The name of his camp session was The Mighty Miguel and the theme was water. The San Miguel River rises out of the San Juan Mountains and is a major tributary of the Dolores River. The headwaters can be seen above Telluride to the west in the form of Bridal Veil Falls

Most of the weeks' activities took place in or near the river. The weeks' activities:

Monday: canoe Trout Lake and bouldering in Illium

Tuesday: meet w/ Nature Conservancy to learn about the watershed ecology, make slip-n-slides.

Wednesday: hike to Bridal Veil Falls and drive to overnight camp area in Miramonte

Thursday: crawdad fishing and ropes course

Monday: paint tubes and then float through town and play water relay games

Tuesday: white water rafting

Wedneday: drive to overnight area down river, water games, learn to make bow drillfires

Thursday: Rock climbing at Bilk Creek

But really, Telluride Academy is as much for us as for Owen. It is well worth the $400/week to have from 9-5 off-duty and hiking, riding and enjoying the mountains. Can't wait until next year.

Crack Canyon, Ophir

This past Sunday Clay, Jenny, Owen and I went climbing in a popular canyon in Ophir, not too far from Telluride, that is know for its long crack lines and is appropriately named Cracked Canyon. There is something for every level here with routes ranging from 5.6- 5.12. There is a steep, scree approach that is a little sketchy but once you pick out your spot and settle in it is quite comfy.

This was Owen's first day-long, outdoor climbing experience so Clay wanted it to be some place fun that he (and I) would not get discourage by too difficult of routes. We were the first climbers at the area but within a couple of hours about 5 other parties showed up. I don't know the name of all the routes we climbed but we stayed on the west wall until the last climb. These routes were challenging, for me, but not impossible.




Right before we were about to leave Clay decided he wanted to do a more challenging route, Orange Peel 5.10a, on the east wall that a couple had just evacuated who were obviously seasoned climbers. The guy made it up no problem, but the girl struggled and finally gave up less than half way up. That did not bode well for any attempt by me and I figured Owen would not even make it too far off the ground. Well I was right about me and wrong about Owen. I did not make it past the crux and Owen sent it like he'd been crack climbing for years. All of us who were watching were slack-jawed. He was entirely nonchalant about the feat and now wants to know when he gets to go to Indian Creek to climb.

Life at Altitude

I DNFed the ride today. I feel like a loser. Clay was so psyched to do an epic ride when Tony arrived and I thought I was too but my legs did not agree with me. After 45 minutes of climbing, most of which I was too pumped to stay on my bike for more than 100 yards at a time, I waved goodbye and headed to the Steaming Bean for a cup of french press.

I'm not always so lame. Last week I rode every day at least two hours and even did a four hour ride up in the clouds. Maybe my body is just saying, "Enough already".

The base elevation in Telluride is 8,750. Unless you want to ride the single track valley floor trail every day you are going to need to consign yourself to a big climb, or even many big climbs, if you want to experience the best trails the area has to offer. My favorite trails are on the north side of the valley. That's probably be because I know them without getting lost. You could be lost for a long freaking time by taking a wrong turn in these parts.

Here are some images from my long ride in which I took Sheep Creek to the Whip Line to Penelope's to Rudy's to the Water Line. I did not ride non-stop by any means. I stopped often to just catch my breathe and to take in the amazing scenery. The views of the valley on this ride are the best since much of the last two trails run along the edge of the canyon wall. It's a bit scary in a couple spots because a crash could result in a big tumble in which gravity would really take control.

Note all the tents in the field. A few hundred cyclist from the Tour of the Rockies were setting up camp all over town.

Camp Wendy

I had the brilliant idea, if I do say so myself, that what Idaho Falls is really missing is a viable, outdoor based, adventure option for kids in the summer. There is not a single day camp in IF (that I am aware of) where kids are outside all day playing while their parents are working for a living. I'm not talking about contrived "outdoor experiences" for short durations each day either. It's really absurd because, god know, there are a LOT of children in Idaho Falls. I mean a lot. Families with 5 or more kids is not unusual in the part of the country!

How did I get this brilliant idea? Plagiarism. This will be Owen's second summer doing a 2 week day camp at Telluride Academy http://www.tellurideacademy.org/ , which happens to be the ultimate in outdoor fun and I got to thinking, "Why can't we do something cool with kids in Idaho?". We have the outdoor playgrounds necessary to make it work: mountains, rivers, national forests.

So I am starting small, out of necessity. Five weeks, five different themes and lots of fun. This is how Telluride Academy started, word of mouth, kids of friends. Now the academy has celebrated 25 yrs and has over 50 programs that offer epic outdoor adventures for kids both locally and abroad.

The Lowdown on our first week.....

Mountain Beaches: The weather did not really cooperate for us enough to truly enjoy immersing ourselves in water. That is not to say we remained dry. It rained on us plenty at pleasantly hypothermic-inducing temperatures of mid 40s-50s. Did that hinder our fun? You bet not. It just made for copious quantities of mud. (Just ask Hollis; sorry again Hollis). As we all know, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices. That was my mantra for the week. Here are some photos of our fun.

Day 1: Packsaddle Lake, Driggs




Day 2: Upper and Lower Mesa Falls, Ashton/ St Anthony Sand Dunes









Day 3: Wolverine Canyon and Happy Birthday Carly

Day 4: Lower Palisades Lake

This was our hardest and muddiest day. Unfortunately my camera's batteries died. We successfully hiked 8 miles. Owen was disappointed not to be able to go on his favorite hike but he was paddling in snow flurries with the Jackson Hole Kayak Club this day. By the end of the day the only kid not dragging was Carly. That kid is amazing.

Here is a photo I took the morning of the hike.
Day 5: Falls River, Swan Valley

Saying Goodbye Saying Hello

Two years ago I did not think it was possible; I fell in love with St Louis. It's the Midwest for god's sake, no mountains, crazy humid, lots-0-mosquitoes. We did not make many friends (we never do) but the ones we made are golden. I could not have asked for a better school for Owen. Anywhere else will be a real adjustment for Owen and will never compare more favorably. The house, the neighbors, the location within the city...I could not have asked for better.


Our final week included (in between packing boxes)......

....as much time as possible with my wonderful friend and commuting buddy, Lynnea.

.... a year-end school picnic at "the farm"


.... a trip to visit my cousin at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in north eastern Missouri.





Yet I am SOOOO glad to be home. Because home means Idaho and our best friends and the Tetons and no mosquitos. We love mountain biking and hiking and traveling to other places out west. We even love being liberal in a conservative stronghold. Times are changing here in good ole Idaho Falls and I like being part of that change.