Tix

A friend of ours, who has Dallas Cowboy season tickets, gave two to me and Jackson for the November game between Dallas and the Kansas City Chiefs.

I am super stoked! I have only been to one NFL game in my life: September 13, 1985, a rare for the time Thursday Night Football Game (on ABC) between the Chiefs and the Los Angeles Raiders. Chiefs beat the hated Raiders. Since then, the Raiders have moved back to Oakland and are soon to move to Las Vegas. Life moves fast.

I had looked into buying tickets for the Chiefs-Cowboys game. Kansas City doesn't make it down to Arlington too often. But tickets are ridiculously expensive. I had decided to watch the game from the comfort of my couch. However, tickets fell from the sky.

My son has recently began to show interest in watching football. He's been to plenty of high school games and SMU games, but he really hadn't shown interest about what was going on on the field. This year he seems interested in the outcomes and understanding the game. He watches and asks questions.

I am conflicted about football. Concussions and CTE are a serious problem. NFL owners are greedy. Many college programs are corrupt. The players are often not the best role models. I know this. My son says he has no interest in playing organized football. But I want him to be able to converse with people in his life about a major topic of conversation in these parts of the United States of America. Watching football can bring people together and I don't want him excluded on the playground or later in life at watch parties.

So he's excited about going the game. He's a Cowboys fan as well he should be. Although I'm a Chiefs fan, I'm proud that he roots for his hometown team and isn't some bandwagon fan of a team that doesn't make geographic sense.

New Bike

I love to bike, but I haven't had a decent bike in years. About fifteen years ago I bought a cheap mountain bike at Walmart, a 26 inch Next Breakpoint Pro. I retrofitted the bike with quick release wheels and a new seat. It was a real tank of a bike, heavy and durable. After several crashes and long use, it began to show its age.

So I finally bought a new mountain bike, a GT Aggressor Pro. GT is a well respected bike manufacturer known for making fast and sturdy bikes. Now, I'm not a hard core trail rider. But I didn't want a cheap bike either. I ride a lot. So I spent around $500, which believe it or not is considered fairly cheap by serious riders.

I had done my homework and the reviews were excellent...even in reviews in serious Mountain Bike magazines. The typical review said it was a great bike for amateurs and professionals, a high level bike that won't break the bank. These are magazines that usually ignore bikes under $1000. But they all loved this bike.

I was immediately impressed by the difference between the GT and my old bike. The new bike is so much lighter. Climbing is a breeze in comparison to the old bike. The gears shift so much more smoothly. The shocks have much more travel.

It took me a few rides to get used to how responsive the bike is. If I think it, the bike does it. It's like I've been running with ankle weights for years and I've been released. If anyone tells you there aren't real differences between bikes and price, they have no clue what they're talking about.

I've been riding a lot since I got the Aggressor last week. Every time I'm done with a ride, I want to immediately go back outside and ride some more. This bike is that much fun to ride.

The Grand Tetons

After five days in Yellowstone we headed south through the Grand Tetons. We spent most of one day in the park. One day in the Grand Tetons is definitely not enough. But if you have to leave Yellowstone anyway, you might as well go through the Tetons.

The Grand Tetons are another freak of nature. They seemingly rise out of nowhere. The contrast from plain to mountains is startling and breathtaking. The morning we were there started out cool, misty and rainy. We did get hit by a sudden hail storm that lasted only a few minutes. We were in the parking lot of a visitors center at the time and the storm didn't slow us down much.

We spent the day hiking some easy trails and taking it fairly easy. After Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone we just wanted to relax and look at nature. I wish we could have spent more time in the park. It's quite a bit smaller than its massive neighbor to the north. The services are a bit more rustic. The Tetons seem more designed for real campers, hikers and fishermen. Although we saw sightseeing buses there weren't nearly as many as in Yellowstone. And the place was a whole lot less crowded.

I would love to go back there someday and give its due. Amazing scenery. I really wish I had brought my bike. Hopefully I'll get back up there and ride some trails.

Yellowstone

Yellowstone was beyond words. The scenery in some places is phenomenally beautiful. In others, the scenery is phenomenally weird...and beautiful. It was unlike any place I had seen on earth.

Favorite moments...

Old Faithful is fantastic. I watched it erupt five different times over the five days we were there. We also saw the Great Fountain Geyser and Volcano Geyser erupt. The Great Fountain is even more impressive than Old Faithful in some ways. We saw many eruptions of several geysers. It never got old.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is unbelievable. Artist's painting of it look hyperbolic. But it really is that spectacular. We hiked the rim and just couldn't believe our eyes.

The wildlife in Hayden Valley. Bison, Elk, bears and more!

Bison and bears blocking traffic. Worth every minute of stoppage.

Hiking to waterfalls. 

The wagon ride and cowboy dinner.

The mudpots and painter's pots and all the other strange bubbling and gases and emanations of the earth. The clear, crystalline blue/green pools and springs that will scald if you get too close. The Grand Prismatic Spring. Wow.

In the park we stayed at Grant Village. Our accommodations were pretty nice. I would definitely recommend staying near Yellowstone Lake, Grant or Old Faithful area, if you can get a room.

Some of the drives were quite harrowing, steep cliffs and switchbacks. Other drives were peaceful and smooth. There were places that were crowded. But we never had a problem parking since we made it a point to be up early. Places got really crowded after lunch. We planned the popular hotspots in the morning and did our more remote hiking in the afternoons. This worked out great for us.

I know I'm leaving some great stuff out. Yellowstone was one of the most magical places I've ever seen.

Tons of photos on my flickr site