Faceplant!

Another glorious day in JH - sunny, no clouds, snow melting on mountains (it was 79 degrees yesterday - Indian summer I guess)...a perfect day to do some more unpacking! Did I mention yet that we have WAY TOO MUCH "STUFF?" Yikes, this is getting ridiculous. I guess we should have thought about the size difference in houses - why bring all the stuff from 41/2 bathrooms when you only have 2 and stuff from 3 offices/desks when you only have one - anyone need some towels, a stapler, pens/pencils/highlighters or tape dispenser? I think that we could furnish JH elementary school with supplies!

We spent the day yesterday getting more stuff organized/put away. We got all of our board games stashed for easy access when we are snowed in - hope that some of you will visit in the winter. Lots to enjoy outside & inside too! I may even have time to brush up on my Trivial Pursuit game skills (yes Jim, I may even know the answer to a question if I start studying the cards now)!

We had enough unpacking by noon and decided to head out on our hike. Before leaving we packed our handy dandy new backpacks (actually camelbacks, for those of you familiar with the "real stuff" that "real hikers" use...which you will see we are only trying to be at this point)! I had come across our bandannas and disposable ponchos (from Derek's days as an Indian Guide, and Ashley's as a Brownie - they are probably child size and disintegrated inside) while unpacking, so I figured that we would start to be responsible hikers and "be prepared." I also decided that I would try out my new water system that is built into my backpack. I filled the reservoir with 2 liters of purified, chilled water, packed nutritious lunches, and we were off (needless to say Barry did not find it necessary to use his water system - he brought bottled water....lazy).

We hiked a beautiful trail (about 4.7 miles) off the Cache Creek Trailhead called Hagen Loop and Putt Putt. This area is popular with mountain bikers and horseback riders, so we had to get used to sharing the trail with horse poop and bikers who had an uncanny ability to go up and down steep, rocky, narrow inclines with great ease (we were huffing it just to walk up at times). The trail consisted of varying terrain and scenery: some wide trails; some very narrow trails on the mountainside; beautiful, densely wooded forest with a creek, and majestic mountain views.

Another thing that was sprinkled all through the trail was this:

One very important thing that I learned yesterday was that if you want to enjoy the scenery, you should STOP first! Yes, I was hiking and enjoying the scenery at the same time and the picture above was not in my sightline....FACEPLANT! Oh it was not a pretty, or a fun event. I was in front of Barry, and according to him it was not graceful either (guess all those years of ballet did not pay off). So, there I was lying face first in the dirt and rocks - thank goodness it was in a wider path area...since we had not packed any ropes/stakes for recovering a man overboard...or whatever the term would be for one who falls off the side of a mountain while hiking. The good news is that I did not fall flat on my face, therefore protecting my nose from another break and the potential start of another Nelson Nose Breaking streak (for those of you not familiar; Derek, Ashley, and I all broke our noses within a 9 month span a few years back)! I also somehow did not lose my front teeth (talk about looking like the Clampett's) - but I took a nice chunk out of my lip protecting them. The best news is that I had thrown the bandannas in the backpack - great for removing dirt particles and blood and to apply pressure to keep my cheek from swelling so that I could see out of both eyes while hiking (we of course were about halfway in at the time of "event"). The rest of the hike consisted of Barry announcing every rock, branch, hole etc. and me stopping every few hundred yards to enjoy the scenery! I am sure that all who passed us along the way thought that I was just very hot due to the temps in the 70's and therefore had a bandana pressed to my face. Barry thought it would be a good idea to include a picture - I agreed; if you are willing to follow this blog it needs to be full disclosure (I know it is not a pretty picture - smiling was a bit painful)!

So hopefully I will heal beautifully in the next few days before we go to TCU for family weekend and I get to meet all of Ashley's new friends! Oh, and the beach in Cabo the following week will be great too with my bruised/scabbed knees and shoulder. I am thinking that if I am one big disgusting scab I will have to fabricate a better story:

1. Hiking and came across bear - he got in one swipe before I could get to my bear repellent
2. Mountain biking down Cache Creek and hit a rock slide
3. Rappelling the Grand (Teton) and lost footing for a few hundred feet
4. Barry got frustrated that I kept putting all of his stuff in the bottom drawers, and he has to bend over too much

So much for the minor bump in the road (literally) - all in all it was a great day. As we were enjoying the rest of the hike I once again had time to ponder many things (guess that I will have a lot of reflection time in my new life):

1. Why do you have to pick up after your dog, but not after your horse?
2. Why do they have ski patrol and not hike patrol?
3. Why didn't I figure out how to use my camelback hydration system BEFORE we left. I am sure that those of you who have them are laughing, it is probably simple to the "experienced," but I never did figure it out. Luckily Barry shared some of his bottled water!
4. Carrying 2 liters of water on your back for 4.7 miles adds to your cardio workout (and to the pain in your shoulder after getting dirt burn on it)
5. Glad that I did not pack bear spray today, since I realized that whatever I pack is what we need - not yet ready to encounter a bear!
6. I will pack advil in my backpack next time

Needless to say, by the time we completed our hike the art festival and wine tasting were winding down. Okay, even if they weren't, don't think that I looked the part to attend! We stopped by the store to grab some steaks for dinner and first aid stuff for me. Another question: why is Mederma (scar healing cream) more expensive than 2 steaks? We came home and tackled the garage - anyone need Christmas decorations....we have them in abundance.

Enjoyed a wonderful dinner and some good wine (that did make my injury feel better): Terlato - Syrah (2005), we would highly suggest it! Hope that today is not the day that the neighbors decide to come by for a visit. The face is not looking too good (why is the next day always worse).

I will leave you with another "sign" that we are definitely residing in Wyoming - saw this one yesterday:

Have a great week and remember to take time to STOP to smell the roses!