Brian's First Kart Racing Class!

We like to give each other "experiences" for birthday gifts... So Brian got a gift certificate for the intro lesson at Jim Hall Kart Racing School. It took him nearly a year to use it - but here he is getting ready to roll out for the first time: The track features banked curves, high- and low-speed sections and is about half-mile in length. They can re-arrange the lay-out for variety and challenge. Karts at top speed can pull up to 1.4 G's in the corners (but Brian didn't go that fast).
Brian had a smile on his face all day!!! So for his next birthday, he's getting a certificate for the day-two class!

Hiking The Virgin River Narrows In Zion

Here we are - Alan, Yvonne, Deb & Brian, at the trailhead of "The Narrows." Our friendly shuttle van driver took the photo. The Narrows is a one-way, 16-or-so mile hike down the Virgin River of Zion National Park through the famous slot canyons.
And we're off in seach of the famous slot canyons.
Brian dons his neoprene booties and special river hiking boots. It's time to start wading!
Marveling at the scenery...

Our home-sweet-home for the night!
Yvonne and Alan packed in french toast! It was cold, but delicious!Brian and Alan filtered our water for the day.

On the Zion Shuttle heading back to Springdale. Alan speaks for all us...

Adding Insult To Injury...

So... we get up super early and head up to Bogus Mountain for a wonderful 2 hour mountain bike ride. Being stuck in Boise isn't so bad! The mountain biking is wonderful! Smooth singletrack, beautiful wildflowers, great views! We'd have explored more trails (and Brian will, in the next day or two), but we had to get back to the hotel in time to shower, eat and get me to the airport for my 2pm flight home...
We arrive at the airport at 1pm, print the boarding pass at the self-service kiosk which reminds me to be at the gate 15-minutes before flight time, and sit at the only cafe in the terminal for a bit of lunch (and the food was actually quite good). Twenty minutes before flight time, we kissed goodbye and I head to security. With boarding pass and driver's license dutifully in hand, I waited less than a minute to hand my info to the friendly man who takes his job very, very seriously, making sure no terrorists get through...

He looks at my license, and then at the boarding pass, and then eyes me suspiciously and says, "Delta flagged you for 'special security.' Take this red card and go to the line all the way to the right." I ask him what's this about-- could it be because I bought my ticket the day before the flight??? Is that what terrorists do???

No problem. The line to the right is shorter! I put my purse and backpack and shoes through the security machine, walk through the metal detector and hand the little red card to the very serious-looking lady standing there waiting. "Step over there," she says. And then she gets on the radio and calls for "special security," which turns out to be an extremely slow-moving little old lady who asks me which stuff is mine and then directs me into a cordoned off area and tells me to lift my arms and spread my legs. She then talks me through every part of my body she pats down to check for implements of mass destruction. Then she pulls everything out of my purse and backpack and inspects it all with great care. At least fifteen minutes later, I'm free to go.

So I take my stuff and, literally, RUN towards the gate! S@#*T!!! My plane is at gate B20 - the last one down a very, very long hallway!!! By the time I get there the door is closed, the ticket counter vacated, and I'm SOL.

I call Brian's cell. It rings and rings and finally I leave a message, thinking he's still in the process of walking to the car. As I'm walking back to the terminal towards Ticketing, I ring Brian's phone at least 10 times hoping he'll hear it and pick up (or at least LOOK at it and see I've called 10 times). No luck. After changing the ticket for the next morning, I figure Brian must've left his phone in the hotel room, so I start walking back, the entire time calling Brian's cell phone, but hanging up before the voicemail picks up. I think I called at least 50 times; the last of which I actually heard his phone ringing as I opened the hotel door. The phone is on the desk. Brian is heaven-knows-where, most likely sight-seeing in Boise. Imagine his surprise when he gets back to find me here... (I've been back nearly 2 hours and he still hasn't shown up. Hmmmm....)

Here's the view from the hotel towards the airport. Good thing it wasn't a very long walk...
Here's what you get in Boise for $90 per night (including tax, breakfast, and milk & cookies between 8:30 and 10pm). Tonight I'm going to eat MORE than my share of cookies...

S*#@T Happens!

We spent the last days of our summer vacation back in Ketchum, Idaho, road and mountain biking, and again enjoying the company of Muffy Ritz (who just days ago won the National 24-hour Mountain Biking Championships with 4-woman team "Ketchum If You Can" - pictured below in their winner's jerseys).

All was well with the world until 7:30 this morning when Brian turned the key and, well, nothing happened. Well, something -- but definitely NOT the engine starting. After lots of time on the phone with the nice man from Volvo Roadside Assistance, it was finally determined that whatever was wrong couldn't be fixed in Ketchum, so Skip from Boise had to drive the 150+ miles to fetch us and tow us back to Boise, where we're now watching the Olympic Games at the Best Western Vista Inn.

As un-luck would have it, Volvo mechanics in Boise don't work on Sundays; so we're stuck here at least through Monday, and more likely Tuesday (since parts will most likely have to be ordered). That means, traveling Wednesday and Thursday instead of getting home Monday, as planned. Actually, only Brian is stuck here. Deb is taking an overpriced flight home Sunday as there is much Planet Ultra work piled up, and preparations to be made for the upcoming Tour of Southern Utah and Hoodoo 500.

Whew... What a way to end our trip... Memorable!

We were in a super tight spot at the RV Park. Too bad I didn't get a picture of Skip, the tow guy's, face when he saw what he was up against. But he was really, really good!

More Images From Glacier!

Here are some more wonderful images of our many hikes in Glacier National Park. It really lives up to its nickname - The Crown of the Continent!

St. Mary Falls (a 1.6 mile hike).
Hiking up on Logan Pass.
Hidden Lake Overlook, Logan Pass (3 mile hike).
Ptarmigan Lake, Many Glacier (taken on our 11 mile hike).Looking down on Ptarmigan Lake as we hiked up to the Tunnel.
Ptarmigan Tunnel - the only man made hike-through tunnel in the park. They'd never allow construction of a tunnel again - so this one has historical significance, and is also kind of cool!
On the summit, just on the other side of the Tunnel.
Paddling on Swiftcurrent Lake in Many Glacier. No hiking required (and thank heavens! Our feet have had enough!!!).

Glacier National Park - Highline Trail

We're back in the Good Ol' US of A - and winding down our incredible summer vacation. We'll spend another week exploring Glacier, then most likely backtrack to Ketchum for a few days and then finally head for home. We expect to be back in Southern California on August 11th. Until then, though, we plan to make the best of our meander south...

So here's a bit more of Glacier - the Highline Trail - which starts at Logan Pass on the Continental Divide - and meanders through forest and meadows on a one-way hike for 12 miles. The views were spectacular - and we were treated to close encounters with mountain goats, deer and bighorn sheep. The last four miles of the hike were a death march descent... super steep and knee grinding. But well worth the effort!

We ended up many miles down the Going to the Sun Road and picked up one of the new shuttle buses back to Logan Pass. In 2007, Glacier added a free shuttle bus system which is wonderful! It allows point-to-point hiking, but also makes for less traffic in the park. Gotta love it!

Glacier suffered a devastating fire in 2003... but has quickly recovered and is green and beautiful amongst the blackened trees.