Washington D.C. and Baltimore

Ann and I flew to D.C. to attend her friend Katie's wedding on August 30th. While there, we were able to explore both D.C. and Baltimore while staying with friends of Ann's in both cities. We dashed through the capital mall, took the train to and from Baltimore, and ate some crab cakes (along with boatloads of other stuff) in Baltimore. The east coast feels like a foreign country, especially compared to Jackson, but we had a great time exploring. Thanks to Ann's pals Alex in Baltimore and Jon and Julie for housing us; we loved seeing the cities from your perspective.

new year = new students

I met my third class of graduate students at Teton Science Schools on August 24th. The biggest class yet of 24 students, is outgoing, smart, and motivated to absorb as much as possible in their 50 weeks in Jackson Hole. Things won't be the same without my friend Kevin Haspela around but Josh and I are excited to take on this new group of motivated students.

Sandy visits!

My Mom visited! We had so much fun galavanting around town - I love my Mom!

Wetsuit wiggle time

Swimmin' in String Lake

Rendezvous hill climb

On a whim, I decided to ride in the annual Rendez-vous mountain hill climb. It is a mountain bike race that consists of a climb from the base of the mountain in Teton Village up to the top of the gondola; about a 3,000 foot elevation gain. It kicked my butt but was fun all the same. Don't look for me in next years race, I think once was enough.

Graduation Day

It is hard to call this an "update" since it is a month old but we recently graduated 16 students from the Teton Science Schools graduate program. They were the second full class for which I was the Director of Research. As usual, it was a bitter sweet event as the students moved on but I also had to say goodbye to my good friend Kevin Haspela.

Recent Happenings

I apologize for not updating this more frequently. I'm going to try to do it once a week...keep me accountable!

Events of the weekend...

- Listening to bagpipe music (the Scottish Festival took place very close to my cond0)
- Picked up my roommate Susannah from the airport (She spent the summer in South Africa and is now returning to be with her family in Portland since her Dad's pancreatic cancer is worsening.) She looked more beautiful than ever and it was fun to hear her stories from Africa and update her with all the Jackson news. I'm sad to see Susannah go, but I'm so blessed to have Shauna Petersen as a roommate. Before she left, Susannah, the girls and I had a night on the town. For me, the night ended at a random Reggae concert.
- Watching Les Jeux Olympiques! We're Olympic-junkies! In high school I was voted, "Most Likely to be an Olympian." Perhaps trampolining is my calling...
- Dale did a 4 mile long 2,800ft elevation gain mountain biking race! He finished in the top 20. Sexy!
- Church, one of the best First Baptist sermons I have heard
- Went to String Lake for some canoeing and another attempt at doing an open water swim. I do not swim like Michael Phelps.
- Hung out with John and Embere. Wonderful company.
- Worked last night...

My Mom comes today! She'll be here in about four hours! Yipee!