Overheard from a student

It hurts so much lifting up the poop. (While working at horses)

Travel and Belated Haiku

One of the perks I have as the Principal is that every year we get to take the Level 5's at school on a super trip. This year we only had 5 boys and we took them to Zion National Park where we were lucky to be able to hike the first 2 hour section up to Wall Street. If you have never been to Zion you need to plan a trip because it is spectacular in and of itself. Last year we took the kids on a few hikes in Zion but were not prepared to do the Narrows. We planned the whole year and had a great time this last weekend. We took lots of great pictures but I can only share a few with you because of confidentiality reasons. I wish I could explain and show you what the narrows is all about but it is something to be experienced not told about! Imagine you are standing in a river with 300-1500 foot walls on either side of you between 10-50 feet apart. It was incredible and an experience I will not soon forget. the only thing I didn't like about the trip was the fact that I couldn't bring Kris and Logan along to experience it too. Next year I am planning on taking Kris so that she can have this awe inspiring experience too. Here are a few pictures of the trip both in my campground and in the Narrows. I am also including Haiku Monday since I was traveling yesterday and could not post.
From right to left is Abraham Issac and Jacob, the Three Patriarch in Zion National Park.

This is a view from my tent in Snow Canyon State park, just outside of St. George Utah.

Me standing in the Virgin River in the Narrows. This is the middle of the "Trail".

A co-worker and friend, Dr. Brinley show the perspective of how small you feel on this adventure.

A massive roof. Look at the people standing closer to get a feel for how big this thing is.

A beautiful section of Wall Street.

An unforgettable experience. I hope this inspires at least one reader to go out and see this beautiful creation! And now for Haiku Monday... on Tuesday:

The Zion Narrows
Have no words to describe them
God's own handiwork

LOTOJA Find

What could be better than finding an uneaten Clif Bar after riding 206 miles?Finding a whole case!

Colorado and Haiku Monday

Time off is always
Best to spend with family
Colorado Rocked!

Haiku Monday

Fall leaves breathtaking
Alpine loop morning joy ride
Singletrack Heaven

Fishing!

This morning I was rained out of my training ride but it was also nice to come home early. I decided it would be a great day to take Logan fishing since it stopped raining. I knew that I had to go with little or no expectations for myself but I really wanted Logan to catch his first fish and boy did he show dad how to catch a fish.

We went down to Hobble creek in Springville and i rigged up the rod and Logan and I set out on our fishing adventure. I carried him most of the way but he wanted to get in the water so he ended up walking with me some of the time. We would go from hole to hole and I would kneel or he would sit in my lap while we cast the fly in. We got a few strikes and saw TONS of fish. In the last hole we put a small caddis fly on the water and... WHAM! A big fat 15 inch rainbow hit it and we brought him to shore. I got Logan to hold it but it flopped out before I could get a picture and he didn't want to hold it again. So I had to hold it. He wanted to know where the "fish go?" all the way back tot he car and i had to keep telling him he went back to his family. Logan is now satisfied that the fish is safe and with his family.

We had a great time and I hope that there will be many more fishing trips with LoLo in the future. Here is the Guide himself with his trophy 'Bow"!

2009 Tour of Utah

This week we welcome local, national and international cyclists to the Tour of Utah! The tour is labeled as Americas toughest stage race! The coolest part about it is that I have ridden many of these roads and can testify that they truly are tough roads to ride, let alone race. On Tuesday night Curtis Thacker and I took Logan up to Salt lake to see the opening Time Trial at the Capitol Building. We had a great time and got to see many Cyclists including Dave Zabriskie, Floyd Landis (Winner of the 2006 Tour de France) and many others. Here are some photos from that night.

Floyd Landis warming up with some tunes.

Dave Zabriskie at the start gate. (He came in Second and was awarded the red jersey for the best Utah rider time.)

Logan enjoying the race with us!

The Podium after day 1

Today was another fun day at the Tour. I went into work and then came home to pick up the family and meet the Cooks, Curtis Thacker and Ryan Amy at the top of Mount Nebo, the finish for stage two of the tour. When we got home I went back to work and Logan and Kris crashed for a good afternoon nap. I was able to finally meet one of my cycling heroes in person, Floyd Landis, and get his autograph as well as meet the race leader and former team-mate of Lance Armstrong, Fransisco Mancebo, and get his autograph. As a side note Floyd Landis is a very nice and kind person. He was very sincere and seemed like the kind of guy you would like to hang out with sometime. One of the guys taht was near us said that you couldn't find a nicer guy in the peloton than Floyd.

Kris and Logan waiting for the racers to get to the top.

Mancebo cresting the summit to ultimately take second on the day!

Fransisco Mancebo, Yellow Jersey and my pick for the overall win! Click here to find out more about Rock Racing.

The Real Podium Winners! (Ryan Amy, Ben Parker, Curtis Thacker)

Floyd Landis and Fransisco Mancebo Signatures on my Jersey. I plan on wearing this jersey at LOTOJA this year for a little extra mental support and to say that two pros "Have my back".

It has been a fun couple of days and some really fun times with family and friends. If you ever have a chance to see a pro bike race... do it! You will have a blast!