Kyle on one of the VERY FEW SHORT climbs on the trail (maybe 200 yards along the 5 miles).

We went for a ride down Wolverine Cr. again this morning. I really like the morning for a crisp ride, however I don’t think that this particular trail is the best for an early ride (we started down it around 7am). The sun glared through the trees making it difficult to see the trail a lot of the time. Other than that it was a good ride.

Rusty and Kyle...

I rode it with Kyle, Rusty (in town for the weekend for his brother, Chaun’s mission farewell), Juan (Rusty’s brother-in-law) and Chaun. They were good company to have. I was able to get a few quick shots, I would like to get a wider lens and spend more time up there and get some action shots of riders coming around the hair-pin turns and off the jumps…there are some good ones. However there are many spots where the later precedes the prior by very few feet. Enjoy—I did!

Chaun...don't know if he will get to do much riding like this on his mission.

Wolverine Cr. Trail

Kyle on the first run, just 1/2 mile to go

Last night we went bike riding with Kyle again. This trip was much better. We knew where we were the whole time. Kyle found a map that helped us understand where we were lost last time...we still don't see how we eneded up where we did when we did. The only explination that Kyle can come up with is Devine Intervention.

At the end of my 21 minute ride. The snake River in the back. (Camera-phone picture)

We got up there a little earlier than originally planned, and we were waiting for Milton and his family to get there. So we did a run of Wolverine Cr. Trail as soon as Jess and I got there. Another guy, Adam, came with us on this run too. We started right at the Wolverine trailhead (as to avoid ANY climbing), which gives us a killer fast ride. The three of us got down the trail pretty good. It had just rained and so was a bit muddy, I wish I had some clear lenses to keep the mud out of my eyes, but the rain knocked the dust down nicely. At one point I was coming up to two muddy ruts (double-track), and opted to ride the center as to stay out of the water. Just as I was almost past my front tire slipped into the left rut and my rear went to the right! I was able to get my pedal unclipped just in time to avoid spilling over. It was a good run. We did have to ride up hill for about 2 miles to get back to the campsite.

When we got back, Milton had just gotten there and we loaded up for another run. So we got dropped off at the top again. It was beautifull weather but by the time we got to the top again it was starting to get a bit chilly. So I turned on some good tunes and headed down. I wanted to see how quick I could get down. It was a blast! I was flying around corners, over rocks and stumps...it was great. I miss that feeling of finding that flow with the trail. When I got to the spot I almost ate it on the first run, I opted to stay on the right side of the right rut. Well I hugged it a little too far right and went over pretty hard. The ground was nice and soft from the rain, but I was a bit muddy...oh well. Then just as I was coming out the bottom of the trail (It gets REALLY rocky and loose at the bottom), I lost control and slammed my leg hard into a wall of rock and heard a loud pop (over the music blasting in my ears). I rolled down the last 50 yards of the trail and realized I blew the rear tire. I hit that rock hard. But hey! I got the flat at the end and not the top.

From the trail head to the bottom--21 minutes--5 miles. It was a blast! I'd love to try it on a long travel full suspension bike and not my hard-tail...

We got a ride back to the campsite and hung out and cooked burgers. It was a great night. We still got home earlier than the last time too.

My Thoughts on my Symes Amputation Project

Waiting for his new foot. The little thing on the end attaches to the prosthetic and holds it on.

So here I am laying on a sofa and you all are sitting in a big leather chair writing in a notebook...likely drawing picutres and not really listening...Ha Ha! Anyway. So I do continue photographing TJ's experience with his amputation and prosthetic. But I worry that the images seem or will seem like just snapshots of somebody's kid. I always want my portraits of children (and candid images) to be more than just snapshots. It is easy for them to become snapshots...

Playing out front. He rides this backwards all the time. It seems easier for him to get on this way.

Also it is difficult for me to go with Jess & TJ to Shriner's hospital for the visits. I can shoot his life here at home...but then those begin to look like the snapshots. Then when I am at Shriner's with my camera I feel a little funny with the camera, kind of like when a new father is videotaping his wife in Labor. Not too many people at that hospital worry about photographing their experience there. Maybe some of the people think I am a little morbid? I know I shouldn't let that bug me, but sometimes I think it does a little.

Topher and TJ playing in "Their Bus." Topher is always telling me that it is his...not mine.

This project is also such a long one, and I don't know what I want for the final result will be....maybe there will not be a FINAL result. This seems to be a project that will simply continue. Maybe I am to photograh this only for my son to have for himself. Maybe the presentation will be his to create.

Bad Ride at Kelly's

OK, so...get this! Last Friday night, Kyle and I wanted to ride Wolverine Creek Trail up past Kelly's Canyon. So we go up with the families, our wives and kids would drop meet us at the bottom of the trail and we would have dinner and hang out and throw rocks at the river. While we are riding they will drive down (it takes a while by car--bumpy road), and wait a little bit. Well, Kyle and I also wanted to do the Buckskin-Morgan trail, then connect to Wolverine via part of Hawly's Gulch. Kyle printed off some pictures of the area on Google Earth. Really cool. So when we dumped out at Fenceline onto the road, rather than backtracking onto Hawly's, we (after checking out the Google earth pics), that we could cut strait East (we think it was strait East) along some other roads and trails to the road to Wolverine. Well, I have no idea where we ended up...but it was thick and not very used. Somehow we ended up very lost, when Jess called to find out where we were...then my phone died...then we got back to a place we had been an hour earlier...made our way back to Fenceline...then made our way back up the road to get to Kyle's truck or Hawly's...well we ended up at Hawly's...but at a TOTALLY DIFFERENT place along it than we thought we would hit....WEIRD! So we rode down to Table Rock Camp Ground, got onto the road and got down to our wives at the bottom--at 9:20pm. It was quite dark by then and we were very tired...rode 20 miles and for more than 2 hrs. It was a long night. And the kicker is that we didn't even get to ride Wolverine...what we really wanted to ride!

Here's a completly unrelated photo...well, it is kind of nearby where we were riding. The week before this fatefull ride I shot this while out with Theo...I kind of like it. But lately I have been quite discouraged with my photography. So I haven't shot much. I have been quite busy with work and side jobs this summer too, so there has been little time to go out...I'm about ready to put my camera on the shelf for a while...

TJ's first prosthetic

Monday we were at Shriner's Hospital with TJ so he could get his prosthetic foot. We were very excited. He thought it was pretty cool too. But he is a bit frustrated with it. He seems to get really upset when he has it on. He can stand up with it, and take a few steps with help. He needs to get used to having it on long enough that he will get up more and move around on it by himself. But he seems to get upset quickly. He will catch on soon enough.

I came home on the Salt Lake shuttle Monday night so I could work, and Jess & TJ stayed for therapy until Wednesday. It is always tough with her gone. It is really hard on the kids...yea dad is great, but I'm not Mommy. It was good to have both of them back home.

Redfish Lake

Just two weeks after getting back from our trip to Michigan, Jess and the kids went to Redfish with her family. They go every year...in fact I think that there has only been two summers that her dad, Chris, has not gone up there...in his life. Jess missed it the first summer we were married, that was not much fun. Anyway, I had to stay home and work. I took off enough time for the trip back east. It was a lot of fun for them. They loved the beach and water. Topher even knee-boarded! I was impressed, I wish I could have been there to see it. I guess he was really enjoying the ride, waving to other boats, and checking out the scenery. I'm proud of my boy!