Not a Hike but Does it need to be

The Hole Tourist, that's the name of the blog, and as we all know tourist just don't hike. They go to plays, movies, see some sites. To be honest, few tourist probably do hike, or a least make that their main priority.
Anyway I figured I would add in a quick blog about some other stuff we do here in Jackson.

Jackson is an amazing community town, that being said we have some amazing community centered organizations that provide activities to do, and occasionally are kid friendly if not oriented. Once such organization is the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. They are responsible for putting on numerous plays, ballets and shows throughout the year and recently they have added a digital media center. Which is essentially a movie screen and surround sound to go with it.

Anyways the On December 19th they put on a free day to show off their new technological advancement. Kevin and I took the girls to go see one of their free movies "Curious George's Curious Christmas". Before the show they were giving out cookies, cupcakes and other sweet snacks as well as water and juice boxes, and that made for a nice environment for the kids to mingle and meet. We even ended up seeing some "old friends" that the girls went to pre-school with. It was nice, the movie was the exact right length for kids to stay focused on and the atmosphere somehow seemed more kid friendly than that of the typical movie theatre. The best part, no snacks in the theatre; which meant that instead of worrying about getting a fair share of popcorn, or when they get their candy ,or their drink being all gone the kids could actually focus on the show. Another upside was that it was full of kids and parents, thus the laughing, the giggling, the talking, and even the occasional crying wasn't as disruptive as it typically is in a theatre, it didnt have that feeling of condenming eyes that typically follow a chatty child in a movie theatre. After the show the kids were each given a goodie bag, which just summed the whole trip up as a success as far as they and I were concerned.

As an adult the added benefit of this new entertainment system at Center for the Arts is all the added concerts and shows that we may now be able to participate in without leaving town. Not many big acts come to Jackson, Willie Nelson comes about once a year and we hosted Tom Petty I think a few years back, but mostly its has-beens or wanna-be's that come here to play.  Not that I blame the big guys, its treacherous to get here in the winter and in summer its so busy and its not like we have a venue that can allow for a grand concert, that can be kept to paying customers only. So in my opinion I am happy for the development. Center for the Arts has always been an outstanding place for this community to get its fill of the Arts, with the new system I am sure it will only add to the opportunities it provides to this valley.

An Accidental Adventure

The weekend of December 11th we took the kids up Fall Creek road to go sledding. We took the Wilson entrance and followed it up past Red Top Meadows. Parts of Fall Creek are unmaintained in the winter due to heavy snow, steep hills and the lack of necessity to plow it. We of course didn't let a  foot or so of snow stop us, so we kept on going, and headed for the infamous sledding hill that is somewhere between the Canyon and Red Top Meadows. We made it all the way to the base of the hill and then got stuck. It wasn't too bad and with a few minutes to clear out some snow and some heavy pushing on Kevin's behalf we were free. Until I turned the wheels of the truck too sharp and promptly parked the truck in a ditch. On my behalf I didn't know there was a ditch as the four or five feet of snow had filled it in. Alas with that we started our inadvertent adventure.
There was a small burm where the truck was parked so we sent the kids down it a few times on the sled. After a few minutes of discussion we decided to hike and get a cell signal. So we loaded the kids in the sled all bundled up, grabbed a bottle of water and some snacks and headed out. The kids didn't last long in the sled, apparently they like the snow, and running and playing in it is no problem as long as there is a path and they don't have to dig through it. So we walked and looked for a signal.

Yes thats the kids way out in front!

After we hiked for about a mile or two and still had no signal, the kids and I stopped and took a break and Kevin climbed a hill to see if he could get better reception. I stayed and hung out with the kids, which I have to say was much preferred to Kevin's task. After about 45 minutes he came back with the unfortunate news that he was unable to get service. At this point we had some tough choices to make. 1. We could all keep on hiking until we had service, 2. One of us could keep hiking on, the other stay where we were with kids or 3. One of us goes on, the other takes kids back to car.

We decided that option three was the best, so the kids and I went back to the car and Kevin walked on to find help. Kevin and I had decided when I got to the truck I would start a fire to keep warm, instead of using the heater in the truck and wasting all that gas. So when the kids and I arrived back at the truck we settled in a willow patch and I made a fire.

The next four hours wasn't all that eventful. The kids and I hung out at the fire, they played house and dug and made snow figures, never once complaining or whining about being stuck on the side of the road in the dead of winter.  I spent the entire time finding dry willow branches for the fire, not an easy feat keeping a fire roaring with only willow twigs for fuel.  All in all I was successful, and I'm proud to say the fire didn't die once. (I would have used actual wood if any was near by, but I was not comfortable letting kids out of my site to go find real wood, so I made do.) Eventually the kids got tired and bundled up on the sled in front of the fire, then  somehow drifted off to sleep.  I had considered moving them to the truck but they were warm and weren't complaining so we just stayed out in the cold by the fire. Once we heard some howling that was most likely a coyote, but we never saw what it was.  he only true scare came when I mistook Emma's snoring for the sounds of a hoofed beast snorting.


I can't really say what Kevin did for those four hours besides walk. He said he was nearly to Red Top Meadows (10 miles from us) before he got a signal, and instead of calling and walking back he kept going in hopes of maybe finding someone to help before the tow truck found him. Unfortunatly he was unsuccessful, the first cars he ran into were a pair of State Troopers that AAA called, to alert them to our situation. About 30 seconds behind them was the tow truck. It was about 8:00 when the tow truck and Kevin emerged from the darkness and came to our rescue. The truck was pretty stuck and it took an hour to get out, at this point I was grateful that we chose to stay by the fire, having the kids in the truck while trying to get it out wasn't an option. To have moved the kids once they were asleep in a warm truck, and then toss them out into the cold winter night would have been.   As it was we stayed safe, warm and dry while the two tow truck people and Kevin rescued the only thing in need of help, the truck.

 As a side note, being stuck on the side of a deserted road in winter with three kids is never fun. But being prepared and using reasoning skills and thinking through things, versus just acting, and reacting without thought makes a world of difference. We just stayed positive, keeping our spirits up and never letting ourselves doubt the possibility that all would end well. As a testament to the absolute difference preparation can make Lulu has asked the we "go camping again where we got stuck" for her birthday as it was the most fun she has had since Washington! There mere fact that our our four year old considered this unexpected an unplanned adventure "camping"  and wants to do it again for her birthday makes me both proud and humble.

Until next time, Be Safe & Be Prepared!

Sleeding in Bondurant

So this post is a little late, but forgive me, afterall it is the Season of forgivness is it not. Its been a busy month, we've not had a typical hike yet but we have had a few snow adventures. I will get around to posting them all. Kevin and I have been pretty busy, we have been spending all of our free time at a new endeavour. But we have still made weekends about family.


Anyway on with the blog, on December 3rd we headed down the Hoback canyon. First we were going to go up Fall Creek road but when we arrived at the point where the road dead ends and there wasn't a place to park it was so full of cars. So we turned around and headed through the canyon keeping our eye out for a place to sled. We eventually wound up in Bondurant, there is a place to park on the side of the road pretty close to a Ranger Guard Staion. The parking area was full of construction vehicles but we found a place to park and headed out anyway. The Guard Station is closed in the winter and the road up to it is not plowed so don't try to drive up it. After we parked we got the sled ready and all the kids, as well as our selves bundled and set out.

This hike was by far the most difficult hike we have done. Not for the distance we went in, which wasn't far, maybe a mile, but snow is not a very easy thing to hike through. Knee deep snow that's thick is even harder, then try towing three 30+ pound kids on a sled as you are trying to wade through it well, lets just say its strenuous. It took us about 20 minutes to get up to the ranger station from the parking lot where we all took a break. The kids got out of the sled and had a blast making snow angels, snowmen and a  general enjoyment of the snow. Kevin and I just sat and rested.

Behind the Guard Station is a nice steep hill. Really steep, so we set out to make it up the hill. We did pretty good, until we were half way up the hill and the kids will and energy gave out. We decided to push them a bit further up the hill, because by now we realized that this was the one and only time up that hill. Finally we reached a point that we felt would be a nice long trip down on the sled and packed the girls on it. Jack had stopped about ten feet up the hill and decided he was done and laid down in the snow to take a nap. He and I hung out there and waited for the girls and Kevin to come back down.








Once we all dug our way back to the cabin at the guard station we had lunch and a rest. As we made a trail on our way in, we thought that a bribe might be able to save us some energy on the way back. We told the kids that whoever could hike all the way back to the car could earn a lollipop. I know bribes are "condoned" but as parents we all need to save our sanity as well as our bodies some strain sometimes. Besides knee-deep to Kevin and I equals thigh deep to Emma, waist deep to Lulu, and Jack, well he disappeared a lot and eventually (after 5 mins) we plucked him out of the snow and into the sled for safe keeping.

Lucy walked most of the way but Kevin felt bad for her, I dunno why she wasn't complaining or whiny but he tempted her with a ride and of course she caved (she still got a lollipop for her efforts). Emma, with her pride intact, refused a ride and made the whole trek on her own (she got a lollipop and a tootsie roll, figured that was only fair as she did make the whole walk). Jack fell asleep in the truck so he didn't notice that he didn't get a lollipop.

All in all it was fun, despite the deep, deep snow, and the ridiculous mountain we had to climb.

And They made it down!

The Raptor Reserve

 The Raptor Reserve, is essentially our front yard. We live right up the hillside of the banks of the Snake River. During the summer months this area is closed for as a raptor sanctuary, and we can often see, bald eagles, osprey, and a variety of hawks flying around here. In the winter however it opens up for public access. Though to get here you have to drive through our neighborhood.
Anyway its a bit of a climb down to the banks of the river, and very treacherous if you don't know whats underfoot. The bank of the Snake is a huge wide river-rock bed and has a few eddy's and pools where the river calms a bit. Once it snows though all these physical attributes are hidden beneath a blanket of white.

If you do venture down here, be very careful where you put your feet and don't go alone. Any step you take the rocks could shift and you can get hurt very quickly.

This was a short little hike to get us accustomed to the weather and the cold as well as build up Kevin's sled towing muscles for the winter. We hiked down to the river by way of an old river access point that starts just across the street from our front lawn. This hill would be a good one for sledding once the snow gets deeper, but this time we skipped it.

 Once we got to the bank, (about 5 minutes) We let the kids run around and play in the snow and try to throw snow, twigs and rocks into the river. The bank was pretty icy and we couldn't be sure exactly where the edge of the river was so we had the kids stand back quite a ways (which they weren't happy about).

Once they got their fill of the river we headed up to the sled hill that was our purpose. We made a deal with the kids that if they wanted to sled down the hill they had to pull the sled up the hill. We gave them the first on free and they all rode down together. After that we had the kids who weren't riding wait at the bottom for their turn.

First up was Lulu, Kevin gave her a running send off and she went barreling down the hill and a bit farther than she expected and got a little frightened. The sled stopped and she climbed off crying, we told her that if she ever needed to stop she could just roll out of the sled and she would be okay. A little distraught she was more than eager to hand over the reins to Emma.

Emma knowing what was about to happen and thrilled to see if she could zoom farther than lulu ran up the hill with the sled. Kevin gave her a running start as well and she coasted a few feet further than Lulu.

Jack having waited long enough for his turn was ready to go, however he wasn't very inclined to pull the sled. Kevin held his hand and walked up the hill with him, but still had Jack pull the sled. Fair is fair after all.

Each of the kids took a dozen or so turns before the were too tired to walk anymore, so we sent them all down the hill together one last time. Emma volunteered to pull up the sled but Jack and his independent ways thought that it was his job and threw a fit until we let him do it himself.

Once up the hill Kevin graciously pulled them all home.

A Great Simple Sledding Hike....

Next week we push it.