Teton Canyon

July 9,
Idaho Falls, ID

Hello, I'm still alive and well. Haven't done much post-worthy lately. I picked up a second massage gig at a nail salon. The owner and employees are all Vietnamese. As one of my clients put it "You're the first Caucasian I've ever seen working here." I hang out there when I'm not busy at my other job, (which is quite often) and do chair massages. It's entertaining listening to them talk to the customers in broken English, "You want massage? He very good." On Sunday my co-worker John (from the other salon) and his roommate Brian, and I drove back out to the Jedediah Smith Wilderness area and hiked along the Teton Canyon trail. The cool breeze blowing through the valley felt like outdoor air conditioning. It's been a little on the warm side here lately, but not nearly bad as y'all in the Midwest. We also stopped at Falls Creek along the Snake River on the drive out and saw this neat waterfall.

A Stroll In The Snow

June 10
Idaho Falls, ID

This weekends expedition took me across the state line into Wyoming and the Jedidiah Smith Wilderness. Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer and explorer of the Rocky Mountains. What I originally intended to be a short, leisurely walk turned into a five hour hike. Once I sighted the snow capped peaks I couldn't stop until I reached the top. On the descent I decided to leave the trail and go straight down the side of the mountain...it was a lot steeper than it looked. The snow, loose rocks, mud, and bushes didn't make matters any easier, but I managed to slip-slide my way down without any broken bones or muscle strains. I think even ol' Jed himself would have nodded his approval.  By the time I made it back though my legs felt like a couple of rubber bands. As I walked to my car a couple of hunters in an SUV pulled up and asked if I'd seen any bears. I replied no, the only game I'd seen was a red fox with a freshly killed bird in its mouth. Satisfied with my bear sighting abilities, they drove away confident that there were indeed no bears in the area.

Last Sunday I camped in the Targhee National Forest. I found a nice spot on a ridge to set up camp, and just as I was about to slumber for the night, I was greeted by a nearly full moon rising over the mountains and the serenade of some owls hoo hoo hooing in the distance.

Eclipse

May 28
Idaho Falls, ID

We had a partial eclipse of the sun a week ago Sunday. Mark and I drove out to the hills overlooking town and watched the event unfold. It wasn't too impressive, actually we didn't even notice except for a little dimming of daylight. Not too much else has happened lately. I'm starting to get a few clients, and they all like me so that's encouraging. I've been volunteering at St. Vincent DePauls thrift store on my days off, going through donations and sorting clothes. I still have lots of free time for reading and watching movies. This weeks recommendations are Tom Brown Jr's "The Quest" (book), and Stephen King's "The Stand" (mini-series and book). I tend to go hiking on the weekends. Last week I drove out to the Targhee National Forest. Today I had planned to drive to Mt. Lookout, but the rains (and snow in the higher elevations) we had over the weekend thwarted my plans, turning the unimproved roads a little too muddy for my Sentra's taste. So I decided to ad lib and find another hiking destination. So down the backroads of Idaho I traversed, taking a right at a likely looking intersection, and less muddy than the previous road. As I gained in elevation the snow got deeper. The tire tracks on the road were clear, but the snow in the middle kept dragging up under my low clearance carriage, so I found a suitable place to turn around, and back to the crossroads and another right. A few miles down this road and my progress was again impeded, by some cowboys on a cattle drive down the roadway. Not having a particular destination, and no set time to get there, I chose to turn around and explore the last remaining option at the crossroad, another right. This time success. I drove a ways and then pulled off and ate the lunch I had packed, and as I was relaxing a convoy of about a dozen semis with livestock trailers rumbled by, on there way to another roundup I suppose. I finally found a decent spot and spent a few hours hiking, seeing a couple of mule deer, and hearing the "drumming" of several grouse. On my drive back I saw a lone moose as I was descending the hills toward town. It's dark coat really stood out against the light color of the wheat field it was in.

Shadow Days

May 13
Idaho Falls, ID

It's been a discouraging week. In my first week at the salon (three days) I tallied a total of 0 clients. I expected a slow start, but this is ridiculous. In spite of my special introductory offers, no one seems interested. I've gotten settled in and am learning my way around town, including a nightly trip to Walmart to pick up my housemate Mark, while his truck is in the shop. I also filled out some paperwork for Habitat for Humanity, so on my days off I might do a little volunteering. On a side note (no pun intended), I stopped at the music store (ha ha) featured in John Mayer's new "Shadow Days" video, and saw the chair he sat in during the filming. I'm not exactly rubbing elbows with celebrities, but its a start. Today I drove out to Jackson and Teton Village, WY. If things don't pick up here maybe I can get a job at one of the resort spas there.

Idaho Falls

May 6
Idaho Falls

I've decided to hang my hat (for a while anyways) in Idaho Falls. I'm renting a room in a house in a nice subdivision and will also be renting a space at the Root Forest, a friendly salon in town, doing massages there three days a week and then going full time when the other therapist retires in July. I'm excited to be only an hour and forty-five minutes away from both the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone. I believe I'll have to get a seasonal pass to the parks so I can recreate there frequently.

"Back In The Barn Again"

May 1
Hansen, ID

"When I was a younger man I got lucky with a rock 'n roll band, struck gold in Hollywood all that time I knew I would. Get back to the country, back where it all began. Get back to the country, back in the barn again."
Neil Young - "Get Back To The Country"

My headquarters for my job search this past week has been a remodeled 100 year old barn on the outskirts of the small town of Hansen, ID. Other than dropping off and emailing resumes, going to an interview, making lots of phone calls, and doing some gardening / landscaping, and remodeling projects, I've been pretty much a bum. I did check out a few local attractions though. I went hiking in the Sawtooth National Forest just south of here; although it didn't have many trees. I also went to the Hagerman Fossil Beds west of here, and walked in the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail, and I viewed Shoshone Falls on the Snake River, which winds itself through most of southern Idaho and provides lots of water for the farmers irrigation systems. Hopefully I will find employment by week's end either in this area, or somewhere else in the state.

Spokane

April 24
Hansen, ID

I spent last week at the Brick House farm in Spokane, WA. My main project there was rebuilding the chicken coop, named "Alcatraz", so the fiendish fowl could no longer escape and vandalize the nearby garden, and to prevent Nym the egg stealing dog from eating their precious bounty. There were also sheep and a horse on the farm. Liz, my gracious host provided some delicious meals, and lent me a couple of books to read, "The Hunger Games" and it's follow-up "Catching Fire", which I highly recommend. Friday night we toured downtown Spokane and had some sushi and saki. On Sunday we drove to nearby Mt. Spokane and did a little hiking in the snow. I checked on a couple of job opportunities in the area, but not being too impressed with their potential, I've returned to the Twin Falls area to see what it may hold.