Team Photos Dibs and Pops are in town!! Ended up having to rack the first 40 miles or so of today’s ride in the interest of time…had to get in early for whitewater rafting :-) Little did we know we were in for an extra treat…those last 40 miles were some of the best riding I have ever done…flat, super-smooth road (maybe even a little downhill) with a tailwind so we’re effortlessly flyin at about 25-27 mph…AND the Jackson hole valley and Teton Mountains are off to our right the entire time….just simply awesome. We get into Jackson, a little touristy town nestled in the mountains (reminded me a lot of Gatlinburg, TN for those in the know) in no time.
I swept today so we were the last group to pull into the local Presbyterian church, where the team was waiting (as planned, of course :-) ) with Dibs and Pops. Steve came through with the dozen rose purchase, which I give to Dibs as we all take a knee to sing her the rose…it was perfect…happy bday Dib!! Also gave her the moose poops (awesome chocolate from Yellowstone) and a signature doodled card.
I have to give a huge shoutout to Jill Quinlan…who organized everything for us here in Jackson. She self-contracts her time to help support local individuals with disabilities, and has been a long-time supporter of the Journey of Hope. I’ve never met someone so good at rallying support from the community…she pretty much got all of our activities/meals sponsored for free!!
We had about an hour to unpack before hittin the river…so I headed over to Sports Authority with the ‘rents and Brent to pick up some water shoes (very key). We met back up with team at McDonalds for lunch…an amazingly delicious quarter pounder (I had to go for a second it was so good). Jill brought one of her friends, Sydney, a little sweetheart who was pretty psyched to hang out with a group of good lookin guys.
After lunch it was time for the big event of the day…whitewater rafting on the Snake River. Took the bus about 10 miles further south of town (an interesting ride with good commentary from Gray (our to-be river guide) and the most eccentric bus driver I’ve ever seen…talking borderline creepy with his long French-tipped fingernails ::shudder::)
Piled into the 16 man boats (we had a couple other “civilians” on our boat) and shoved off. Gray was absolutely hilarious…only 19 years old at Hampton Sydney college…this was his first official summer as a river guide). Bill, the guide for the guys on the other boat, turned out to be a Pike and was apparently crackin some pretty out-there jokes. The Snake river was beautiful and the rapids rocked (not as intense as the Gauley back in WV, but pretty good). Got to see a bald eagle along the way which a first for me. One of the best moments of the trip had to be Geren’s absurd tackling of Wes off the other boat…we’re talking completely rocked). It was also funny seeing poor little Dibson get soaked even though she tried to avoid it by sitting in the middle of the boat :-)
After rafting we headed back to the church to get cleaned up and relax for a little. Around 6ish a feast of dominoes showed up at our door which we gobbled while having a brief team meeting. Went over the next few days of cycling (which are apparently pretty intense) and shared some stories from the trip. Brendle and Holley are headed off until Casper for family affairs so we’ll miss them for a few days. After the meeting we did a Kids-on-the-Block dry run, which is a puppet show intended to teach children about the abilities of people with disabilities….pretty hilarious watching our amateur puppeteers try to do voices and move around the (surprisingly heavy) puppets. Dibs and Pops showed back up to catch the tail end of the show.
Afterwards a bunch of guys hit the hay, but the rents and I, along with Ezra, Justin, Farley, Grant, and Cockrell were ready to hit the town. First we had a little pre-game action in the ‘rents pad at the Sundance Hotel…total 1970’s style interior…pretty hilarious. Then it was time for the Million Dollar Cowboy bar…a hoppin place with saddles for bar seat. Did some honky-tonk dancing to the live music, Justin and Ezra spit some unsuccessful game to some ranch girls…all in all a great time. At about midnight we decided to change venues, and after discovering the Silver Dollar was closed Pops suggested going to 43 North, a place a little away from downtown. Momma and poppa decided to turn in, but our crew trudged on down the residential street, almost giving up hope that this place didn’t exist before happening upon it in such a random area. This place was hoppin too, so we had a few more drinks before luckily catchin a cab ride from Grizzly Adams’ twin before curfew at 2 am.
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