Rendezvous

According to Mr. Smith a rendezvous was an annual gathering of mountain men for the purpose of fur trading between the years 1920- 1940. Besides the usual bartering and selling that went on during each Summer gathering, there were games, conversations, adventures, and ultimately traditions. While those were the aims of the rendezvous, I'd hate to skip over the overwhelming importance of food at the rendezvous. In between every activity, there was food, and a lot of it. In short, a rendezvous was an annual, traditional party.

I'd like to suggest that Oakley, Idaho on the 24th of July is a type of rendezvous. We gather for games, conversation, adventure, and ultimately tradition in the form of the Goose Creek Run-Off, the Rodeo, the parade, and the Oakley play. We eat. Then, we eat again. We disregard any stomach pains and keep enjoying the joys of penny candy, trail mix, and Aunt Linda's cookies.

This year was the same, with one dramatic difference: Harry Potter's collision with the Oakley Rendezvous. Harry Potter conjured a silence spell when the books were picked up from the post office. After reading the first chapter aloud to the gathered family at the post-race breakfast, the whole weekend was quieter because so many people were buried in the pages of wizards and muggles. Those that attempted to openly discuss the book were immediately hushed and told not to ruin the ending. And so it was with the rendezvous and Harry. [Side note: I thought the book was an appropriate conclusion to the "epic tale" and loved it.]

We missed so many of you though: Clinton, Lisa, Natalie, JJ, Julianne, and Joe. Don't worry, Will and Owen, we missed you too. In my case, I kept thinking about all of you and about Mom. In Oakley there is a closeness to family not felt anywhere else. I kept feeling grateful for the times we've shared there and for the memories we are sure to make next year and the year after that. It's a great place, that Oakley is. Let's rendezvous next year too.

New Web Contributor: "Learning Thrills"

Today while checking out the blog I noticed we have a new contributor: "Learning Thrills". I am anxious for this new identity to reveal him or herself with a post to the blog.

In addition, I would like to share some photos from our fabulous adventures in the Bay Area and Yosemite. I know Joe has the best photos from the trip, but these will have to do for now.



the sleeping arrangements. cozy, huh?

Will's two best friends

At the SF Giants game, thanks Dad! And thanks too for the train ride up to the city.

On the way home from the Giants game and an afternoon in Union Square

The crew at Yosemite.

4th of July in Provo

We had quite the celebration yesterday. With all the usual entertainment: parade, swimming, barbeque, and fireworks, but we got it all at an upgraded level. We had VIP status at most everything thanks to generous donations of time and money by Fillmore Spencer. It was just Dad, me, Eric, and Ryan- Alicia is at EFY and loving it I'm sure.

At the parade, we sat in shaded bleachers on Center Street. Yes, if you can believe it, we had tickets to watch the parade in the important-people seats. Afterwards, we went to Deseret Towers pool for the annual swim fest with the cousins. The next adventure was at Nan's house for an incredible barbecue of rotisserie chicken, steak, and hamburgers all prepared in Carl's outdoor kitchen. We left the barbecue a little early because we had tickets for the Pre-Show Stadium of Fire Reception. We were a little late, but the food was great. Due to our slight lateness, we missed meeting the celebrities at the reception, but Brooks & Dunn did pass about 5 feet in front of us as they made their way around the stadium to their trailers. Although in truth, we didn't really need to meet them at the reception, we were pretty close to them just by way of our seats for the evening. We sat on the fourth row, on the east side, right in the middle of the action. And action it was-- skydivers, a man propelled by a rocket, Corbin Bleu from high school musical, a top-notch country concert, and of course fireworks that you wouldn't believe (I could swear they get bigger and better every year). The ashes rained all over our clothes throughout the show, but I thought the ash precipitation added a whole new realm to the show. We were right in the middle of it. The Post-Show reception fed us once again, but we didn't complain. The ice cream was delicious.

We made fantastic new memories, all of us singing along to Brooks & Dunn (thank you JJ for encouraging us to look up their songs), feeling bad that Alicia wasn't there to see Corbin Bleu do his "Push-It" dance, and dusting ashes off our clothes before going into the post-concert party. Yeah, we felt pretty special.

Desert Diversions

May I recommend mountain biking in the Texas Panhandle? So it may not be as good as Bolivia, but it costs a lot less to get there. Who knew that Texas actually had beautiful places like this? In fact, they almost made this area a National Park. Check out our Picasa album for even better pics and if you want to be really jealous of our Texas vacation.

Even Lisa had fun mountain biking. Really, just ask her. Okay, maybe not this day. But the second day she did.








As I stood on this bridge over the Rio Grande gorge (one of the tallest ever built), I could see myself becoming just like Dad. It freaked me out to see Lisa even start to look over the edge. So I made her back up and take the picture.







At the bottom of the gorge is this odd little site, a warm spring on the edge of the river along the old stagecoach route. We took a evening swim, watched birds, and enjoyed our quiet discovery.

New Mexican Adventure

Our first night in Taos, camping in a thunderstorm at 10,000 feet, 40 degrees and sleeting. Lisa didn't bring a rain jacket or coat, hence this fabulous outfit, including the $3 XXXL Wal-Mart flannel.


On top of Mt. Wheeler, at 13,160 feet, the tallest peak in New Mexico. This is the end of a one-mile climb of 2,200 feet. We were both a little tired, but the views were spectacular. Lisa borrowed my jacket, so I wore the "Petal Power" arm warmers. Dallas has inspired in us a new sense of haute couture fashion.



Like I said, the views were spectacular.




We climbed the side on my right. It didn't look that steep from the bottom; we were wrong. And next time, we are going to get two sets of trekking poles.