And the Winner is.........NIKE!!

The Primal Quest adventure race has been going on all week (see my June 25 post). The teams left from the base area here at Big Sky last Monday morning, climbed up and down Lone Peak, riverboarded the Gallatin, then headed for Paradise Valley, the Crazy Mountains, the Bridger Mountains, Castle Rock, Spanish Peaks, Ennis Lake, and back to Big Sky. Two teams, Nike and Merrell broke away from the pack in Paradise Valley and really never relinquished the top two spots for the rest of the 548-mile race.

Nike crossed the finish line last night at 9:30 pm, 5 days, 11 1/2 hours after they started, and we were there cheering like crazy people!! It really was very exciting to watch them ride in on their mountain bikes, right up to the mall, headlamps blazing and TV cameras rolling. They were even smiling!!

This little girl ran straight for her Dad and screamed, "Did you win, Daddy?!" All of them immediately popped a cold one, and this same child looked at one of the team members and said, "How do you like that beer?" She was clearly enjoying the whole spectacle!

Earlier in the day, on our way back from Bozeman, we stopped at the Storm Castle checkpoint to talk with the Primal Quest staff and volunteers. We caught Team MOAT (currently in 5th place) getting ready to head up the mountain for the orienteering section of the race followed by rapelling down the Storm Castle headwall. If you look closely at the picture to the left, you may be able to see the Primal Quest banner hanging on the cliff face. Now, that means, first of all someone had to go down that wall to hang the flag; secondly, all the teams must pass that flag on their way down. Exciting, huh??

We headed down to the Caribiner for dinner at about 7:00 and had some wine on the terrace. We were pleasantly surprised to find an excellent singer/songwriter, Greg Aulden, from New York City. He has a regular gig at The Back Fence, a corner bar in Greenwich Village. His set list included lots of covers from some of my favorite singer/songwriters such as Jim Croce, Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, etc. So, he was a big hit with me and with the audience in general. I'm sure we will check out The Back Fence when we next head up to NYC.

After we finished dinner, and just as the sun was setting, we headed over to the mall to watch the winning Nike team ride in. Once again, I am so in awe of these amazing athletes. I hope you will enjoy exploring their website and keeping up with the rest of the race. The race ends on Thursday and I'm sure we will be watching many other teams come in. It makes a marathon seem like a piece of cake - good inspiration for me!!

Wildflowers in Big Sky

Today was the annual wildflower hike sponsored by the Big Sky Hikers. This is a group in Big Sky which meets every Thursday morning for organized hikes with knowledgeable leaders. Our hike today was led by "Dr. Jeff." Jeff is a retired pediatrician who practiced for 30 years in Helena, MT, and has put a lot of energy and passion into studying and identifying wildflowers. And, he made it fun for all of us to understand the characteristics of the wildflower genus and species in a very user friendly way.

We had plenty of time to examine the details of the flower, but there was also ample time to gaze at the beautiful landscape which surrounded us. I picked out some of my best pictures of the individual flowers to share with you, left to right, below: Heart Leafed Arnica, Calypso Orchid (Fairy Slipper), and Crazyweed.

In addition, one of my fellow hikers has posted a photo album on Kodak complete with labels identifying each flower. The wildflowers will peak over the next 3 to 4 weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy!!

Fast Cars and Primal Quest - Are You Kidding Me??

This has been an exciting few days in Big Sky.

First, there was the Bullrun Rally on Sunday. This is an invitation-only road rally where the participants pay $20,000 for the "privilege" of driving their high-powered exotic cars (including 2 - not 1 but 2- $250,000 C8 Spyders) from Calgary, Alberta to Scottsdale, AZ. 100 cars left Calgary Sunday morning for the first leg - 600 miles to Big Sky. On Monday morning, they left Big Sky for Aspen, CO 780 miles to the south. They expect to be in Scottsdale by June 27. Yes, conspicuous consumption is alive and well here - even Paris Hilton turned out for this one.

Now from the ridiculous to the sublime. On Monday, Primal Quest began here. Here is a video of the race start from the base area. This adventure race is generally thought of as the Super Bowl of adventure racing - the hardest race out there. Teams of 4 have up to 10 days to run, kayak, mountain bike over 500 miles. Sleeping is not required. It's not a relay. The teams have to stay within 100 meters of each other and must have at least one female team member. The elevation change over the entire course is approximately 90,000 feet (3 times the height of Mt. Everest). Now, you tell me, who's crazy??

Appropriately enough, the teams are headed into the Crazy Mountains today. The course today called for them kayaking the Yellowstone River, but the near crest conditions on the river forced the course change to biking through Paradise Valley. I think their experience on the Gallatin River here was enough to make believers out of all of them. The water conditions here are such that I would certainly not venture into them - but, hey, compared to these guys I'm a super wimp!!

If you are familiar with Lone Peak and Liberty Bowl, you will appreciate this statistic. Word is that Team Nike made it up to the 11,166 peak from the 7,500 base area and back down Liberty Bowl to the base area in 2 hours. Good grief!!! I am in total awe of this accomplishment. To put it in perspective: when we hike Mt. LeConte up the Alum Bluff trail, we gain 2,500 feet. We were amazed when our 16-year old son reached the summit in 1 hr 50 min - and that was just one way!

The race concludes here and we look forward to seeing these warriors return. If you want to follow the race, the tracking map is available online. Also if you click on one of the YouTube videos and follow the links, you will see some amazing videos of the course and this beautiful country surrounding it.

Barack Obama and The Road Ahead

I just came across this You Tube video of Barack Obama speaking to his headquarters campaign staff in Chicago, shortly after winning enough pledged and super delegates to become the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for President. It's about 13 minutes, if you choose to watch it.

Much has been said in the media since he declared that he would not participate in the public financing system, including Friday's op-ed piece by one of my favorite columnists, David Brooks at the New York Times. Brooks generally "tells it like it is" in a concise and often tongue-in-cheek manner, and this column is no exception, in my opinion. I agree with Brooks that Obama is far from "naive". I think that he has decided that this election is the primary cause of his life (replacing campaign financing according to Brooks).

This is where the video comes in. As he says to his campaign staff: "If we had lost Iowa, it would have been OK. One of the other Democrats would have emerged... and we would have moved forward. But because we won, ...now we don't have a choice, because, now, if we screw this up, all those people who I've met, who really need help, they're not going to get help... Now everybody's counting on you, not just me... the whole country is counting on you to change it for the better."

My takeaway is this: Obama has decided that this is the real deal, and whatever it takes, he needs to win. We are witnessing, I believe, his coming of age politically. Faced with the choice between accepting the $84 million in public financing and whatever the Democratic National Committee might be able to add vs. the Republican National Committee's very deep pockets, vs. the ability to raise hundreds of millions from his 1.5 million small (public) donors, I believe he made the only choice he could make. Politically, it was certainly the correct strategy, but how do you tell 1.5 million supporters that their millions of contributions (averaging less than $100 each) don't count?

Now, as one of my good friends said lately, "I thought you liked John McCain." I still do. I admire his record of "straight talking" and not always toting the party line. I have always loved mavericks (big surprise!!) And, had it been any other candidate other than Obama, I probably would have supported McCain. The deal breaker for me is the "vision" thing.

Obama's vision is born of his community organizing experience and his belief in the power of the grassroots community to effect change. This may be the first time a "naive" community organizer has had enough political savvy to actually get elected. Try to think of it as a combination of the positive points of Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter - strange as that may sound. I voted for Richard Nixon (yes, I confess) because he knew how to navigate Washington, and I voted for Jimmy Carter because of his idealism.

Let the games begin!!

First Day of Summer ?!!

We are having a gloriously beautiful first day of summer here in Montana. Everyone here is commenting on how much snow is still on the mountains. In the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, our local newspaper, there was a picture on the front page showing one of their reporters skiing in only shorts on the first day of summer!! Of course, the lifts are not operating so he had to hike to the top of the mountain to have the thrill of skiing downhill. For me, I'm just not that avid of a skiier.

Here in Big Sky, as you can see in the picture to the left, Lone Peak is still covered. I even heard an avalanche control blast this morning. There's a wilderness outdoors group here this weekend, and they are up on the mountain. An avalanche would not be good - there has already been one avalanche last week in the bowl.

We went on a 3-mile hike yesterday and found the first sure sign that summer is here - the glacier lilies are blooming! They are the first wildflowers that pop up after the snowmelt. That's Jim's hand holding the flower. We also spotted some spring bulbs in front of Huntley Lodge - spring, summer??? I'm confused!! However, the snow is beginning to melt, and running off the mountain in huge volumes. We had temperatures in the 70s today. If that continues, the snow will soon recede to 10,000 feet, a more normal summertime altitude.

Down in the Meadow Village, the North and South Forks of the Gallatin are overflowing their banks. Thankfully, there's no flooding, and probably won't be. But, the power of Nature is so visible and present here. I think that's one of the things that draw me here every summer. When I'm in the beautiful Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee, it's easy to forget what it's like being here. The Cumberlands are my roots, my home and the most comforting place in the world to me. But, the raw, powerful, majestic beauty of the Rockies just leaves me in awe and uplifts my spirits as I stand in its midst.

Montana State of Mind

We are sitting on the deck, looking at the snow-covered mountains. The outside temperature is 60 degrees, and the high today was 68. Snow continued to fall up until last week, and combined with the low temperatures (41 degrees last night), the snow line is at 8500 feet. Even the ski runs off the top of Andesite Mountain - Ambush, Tippy's, Hangman's and Silver Knife - still look skiable!!

This has been a very wet spring for Montana - much needed drought relief. As we drove up the canyon yesterday, we were amazed at the raging torrent in the Gallatin River. Snowfall this winter was 150% of the snowfall in the previous winter and the runoff from the snowmelt combined with the high spring rainfall has the river rolling. We actually saw some rafters trying to tame the white water rapids - they had quite a ride!!

It's good to be here. Before we left TN, the goldfinch were absolutely flocking to the thistle bag outside the second floor window. I think they were trying to convince us to stay. We will miss them - and you - while we cool our heels here in Montana!

Father's Day

Three generations gathered for Father's Day on Sunday. We are having so much bird activity up here that we decided more birdhouses were in order. So, after brunch (prepared by yours truly) the three men took charge of installing 2 bluebird houses on the bluff. Although we are overrun with goldfinches, chickadees and hummingbirds, we shall see whether the bluebirds might be interested as well.

Lisa and I spent a quiet, after brunch couple of hours. I am finishing Barack Obama's autobiography Dreams From My Father, and the second floor deck was an excellent spot to relax and enjoy the breeze. Lisa's quiet time was interrupted when Will decided it was "tickle" time - I'm not sure who squealed the loudest!

Later in the afternoon, Jim and I spent a few hours with Arlyn Ende and Jack Hastings in their home, Deepwoods Studio. Arlyn and Jack are both working artists - click on their names for more information. Arlyn and I met through the Obama campaign. Jim and Jack, being fellow cynics, got along famously. For me, it's such a treat to be in the presence of two people who have lived creative lives - they just see the world from a different perspective and, I think, see things that more practical souls like me don't always see.

We leave for Montana tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the cooler, less humid climate and to seeing our Montana friends. As always, you have an open invitation to come see us!

Will's Birthday

Can you believe our little boy is 5 years old already?!?!! Wasn't it just last year that we were rushing home from San Diego because he was making an unexpected early arrival? WOW - If time flies when you're having fun, we must be delirious!!

Will's birthday party was at the almost-finished new house. The most exciting gift, by far, was the trampoline. Jimmy, Lisa and Ros (otherwise known as "Little Papa") spent two hours Saturday morning getting it put together. And, Will wasted no time getting his jumping legs in gear. Even Mom got in a few flips - hope your knees are ok, Lisa.

Marci and Ryan (or as Will says, "Rymie") made the biggest hit of all. Weeks ago, Will had asked them for a Star Wars sword, and, of course, they delivered. When Will opened the package and saw the sword he said, "Wow, Marci and Rymie, you're awsome!" The sword turns green and red, deploys with mock bayonets around the handle, and makes a magical sound that sounds for sure like "The Force".

We got him his first bicycle. The latest trend in bikes for beginning cyclers is not to use training wheels. The pedals are removed, and the child learns to balance first without pedaling; then, as he learns balance, the pedals are put back on and off they go. Will kept trying to find the pedals and didn't seem too keen on the whole process. This will take time!!

Mimi and Little Papa gave him a 4-wheeler - battery powered, light-weight, and definitely 5-year old friendly. And, notice that he does have the helmet on! Right now, there is a vacant lot next to their house, so he should have a great time 4-wheeling it around.

Happy Birthday, Will!!

More Smokey Mountain Memories

I just got a couple of great pics from my son-in-law, taken from his fishing day in the Smokies. There are so many beautiful places in the park. One of the great side benefits of fly fishing is the stunning beauty of the surroundings and the peaceful stillness waiting for the elusive trout! Thanks, Ryan, for sharing your photos.

Our final night in Townsend we were treated to a wonderful meal prepared by Marci. I must say, she has become a wonderful chef. She and her dad really shine in this department. I may never cook again!!! The meal was delicious and low carb - well, except for that Sweet Potato Pie!

I know you won't believe it - but, the Turkey Meatloaf was really delicious and was topped with a yummy sauce. Maybe Marci will share her recipe on her blog??

We are back home for one week before heading off to Montana. Our summer birds have settled in, particularly the goldfinches and hummingbirds. I'm enjoying every minute of being here, looking forward to Montana, but already missing Monteagle.

Good Times in Townsend

Since we came down from Mt. LeConte Wednesday, we have been staying in a great place on the Little River in Townsend, TN. The family "compound" is owned by a family who is staying in our place in Montana this week. What a neat home exchange for us!! In addition to the main house, there is a 3-bedroom log cabin and two fishing cabins along with about 1000 feet of riverfront footage on the Little River. The log cabin, where we are staying, and the two fishing cabins are shown in this picture to the left. The porch on the log cabin, as you can see below, is within a stone's throw of the river and is furnished with rocking chairs. What a great way to spend the day.

By the way, we always have a celebration dinner the night we hike down from LeConte. Most years, we go to The Peddler in Gatlinburg and have a big old steak. This year, since we were in Townsend and didn't want to drive the 20 miles of winding road from Gatlinburg to Townsend after dinner, we took our host's recommendation and had dinner at the Dancing Bear Lodge. The property is beautiful, the accomodations quite luxurious (think kingsize featherbed) and our dinner was of gourmet quality. And, best of all, their rates are really competitive, so we would be very quick to recommend them for a weekend retreat. We think it's Blackberry Farm on a budget, so check out the link.

Marci & Ryan got here on Thursday night late. And, since we had the room, we put out the word that we were here. Sort of the "if you build it, they will come" strategy. So, on Friday Molly and Mark and their 1-yr old daughter, Loretta, joined us. If you were at Marci and Ryan's wedding in 2005, you will probably remember Molly as one of Marci's bridesmaids. Molly and Mark got married in December after Marci and Ryan's August wedding, and Marci was in their wedding.

Ryan wasted no time getting in the water. However, with a water temperature of 75°F and daytime highs of 95°F, the fish were pretty sluggish. So, Ryan and his friend Bill decided to look for the wild trout upstream to Elkmont inside the Park this morning - early - 5 am??? No - none of us got up to see them off. At this posting (6 pm) they have just returned and have had such good results that they are going back out while there is still daylight and the fish are biting.

The water temperature felt just fine to Jimmy and Will, so they took off in the tubes to float down the river. Three hours later they were waterlogged, and Will is still recovering by taking a rather lengthy nap. Jimmy slightly resembles a lobster - the sun was out all day and was very bright.

Late yesterday afternoon, our friends, Connie & Dennis, from Chattanooga called to say that they were in Knoxville and wanted to come over to see us. They had their 4-yr-old granddaughter Ryleigh and Napoleon (Nappie), their 4-lb papillon, with them. Since we had an extra fishing cabin open, they spent the night. Will and Ryleigh had a great time together. Their rare quiet moments were spent playing computer games on PBSKids.org. Otherwise, they were chasing each other and being typical active pre-school kids.

We said goodbye to Connie, Dennis, Ryleigh and Nappie this morning, and the rest of us will go home tomorrow. We have had a fun family week and we are grateful for the time we have together.

The LeConte Hike

This was the 25th anniversary of the hike up Mt. LeConte to LeConte Lodge. The first hike up was when Jimmy was 9 years old - in the early April of 1992. (We missed 2 years - once when I broke my leg, and another time when we lost our reservation). That first hike was accomplished by Jim and Jimmy in 9 inches of snow and, as Jimmy reminisced yesterday, he really was ready to just lay down and die before he got to the top. They made it, needless to say, and they were hooked and invited the girls to go along the next year.

So, what a thrill it is now to have 3 generations making the hike. Five-year-old Will hiked the entire 5-mile trail, both ways. In honor of the occasion, Will was invited to ring the dinner bell that evening. We made it up in 4.5 hours, spent the night at the Lodge, and then back down in 3 hours. I think Will was the only one who wasn't at all sore last night when we got down. Last year, at the age of 4, Will hiked all the way up the mountain, with the encouragement of his 11-year-old very pretty friend, Kensi. Kensi wasn't hiking with us this year, so we were concerned that his motivation might not be as strong this year. Everytime Jimmy asked him if he wanted to ride in the backpack carrier, he declined. We were so proud of him!!

We used the Alum Cave Trail both ways. This is one of 5 trails which lead to the summit. The elevation gain is 2,560 ft up to Mt. LeConte at 6,593 ft. The first landmark is the stairs through Arch Rock. This rock formation covers 33 man-made steps under the arch to the next section of the trail.

Alum Cave Bluffs are about half-way and we always stop there for lunch on the way up. Sandstone bluff overhangs provide shelter if needed and the views from the bluffs are really beautiful.

Just before the bluffs is a rock outcropping covered with heather which we have come to call "Squirrel Rock" over the years. Will learned the reason for this nickname this year and successfully fed a few friendly squirrels some pretzels. They seemed most grateful.

The last mile or so of the trail is spectacular but very rocky and the trail narrowly clings to the side of the mountain with cables attached for handholds in the most treacherous sections. Of course, Will held the cable with one hand and his Dad's hand with the other.

We were lucky this year to have a beautiful sunset at Cliff Top. Maybe one out of every 10 years do the clouds clear enough for sunset. Sunset was at 8:50 EST, so we hiked back down just in time for a final hot chocolate before bedtime.

It probably doesn't surprise you at all that Will is wearing an Obama shirt. He, of course, got plenty of comments, not only about his shirt, but also about the fact that he had hiked the entire 5 miles. One of the adult hikers asked him if he was for Obama, to which Will replied "I'm just for America, because I speak American!" Honestly, I couldn't be more proud of my grandson - a child who knows his own mind and isn't afraid to speak out. When I asked Will who was going to be the next President of the United States, he held up his hand and said, "I Am!!" So, you heard it first here - Will for President!

If you are ever interested in making this hike, I will be happy to talk to you about what we have learned over the years, including the best way to get reservations, which are very tricky to get. We also are happy for friends to make the hike with us, so just let us know if you want to go along. We usually go in early June, and will be going until our legs refuse to carry us. While I doubt that we will break the 1,001 trips made by Margaret Stephenson, who hiked the LeConte trails until age 86, we certainly expect to have quite a few more trips!

Memorial Day Weekend

Yes, I know . . . it was last weekend!! But, I just wanted to share what I did for the weekend. I've had a busy week!!

Jim was in North Carolina on his annual golf trip to Springdale. His team won the tournament! On Thursday, I went to Sparta and picked up Joy to come for a "girls" overnight at my house. She had not seen the new house, and I wanted her to have plenty of time to see it. I caught her in the elevator. She finally mustered up the courage to take a ride by herself.

We explored the surrounding area on Friday morning and stopped for lunch at the Blue Chair in Sewanee. Their carrot cake is the best, so we shared a single slice.

After lunch, we headed down to the Sequatchie Valley where a friend of Jimmy's owns a Pickett's Trout Ranch. He supplies organic (no antibiotics), farm-raised rainbow trout to restaurants and fish markets on the order of about 25,000 per year. The fish are raised in lakes fed by an underground stream that comes out of a cave just behind the house, and the water is really cold!!

Jimmy and Will were there for an overnight campout and for a competitive hash run on Saturday. Jimmy was preparing the route for the hash run Friday afternoon and asked if Joy and I could help out by entertaining Will for the afternoon.

We hung around the trout ranch for about an hour, fed the fish and played with the five dogs, one of whom chased every stick Will (or anybody else) threw until the dog was totally exhausted. Will won the endurance contest, but passed out in the car within 5 minutes of our trip to Sparta.

Will and I got back to the trout ranch in time for the cookout - hot dogs and hamburgers - and the tents were pitched and ready for a good night's sleep. For my part, I headed back up the mountain to my cool, comfortable, insect-free bedroom. After a good night's rest, I went back down to pick up Will before the adults had their hash run and this time Will spent the night with me.

We spent the afternoon working puzzles, water painting, reading and of course, riding the elevator. We decided to treat ourselves to McDonald's for dinner and then stopped at the park where there were some other children playing on the playground. This must have been parents' night out because all the kids were there with their grandparents.

I found out that Saturday night in the park is a big deal for the locals here, where everyone gathers to chat and wave at their neighbors who are driving by on the main drag through town. It sort of reminds me of the old folks (I think I am one now) sitting around the courthouse square in Sparta. Anyhow, it was a great time! We stayed until dark and Will had no problem being ready for bed.

I took Will back down to the trout ranch once more to meet his parents for the trip back to Chattanooga. Shortly after I got back, Jim called to say that he was on his way home from North Carolina. My friend, Connie, whose birthday was on Sunday, called to say they they were having a cookout Sunday afternoon at their house in Chattanooga, so I drove down and met Jim there and spent the night at their house.

Whew!! What was going to be a rather quiet weekend turned out to be quite a busy one. But that's the beauty of the retired lifestyle. Anything can be put off to the next day and often does! I somehow manage to get done what needs to be done, and I'm grateful to have the flexibility to live like we do.

Will's birthday was yesterday, and I have some great pictures which I will post shortly.