Jackson Hole Summer Travel & River Trip Blog

As a West Coast kid who grew up pearl jam grunge in Seattle with jeans and flannel shirts lining the drawers, I chuckled as I read the New York Times article entitled “Dress for Success, Again,” which profiled these young 20-somethings who are ramping up the office dress code: “Today the well-off 55-year-old is likely to be the worst-dressed man in the room, wearing a saggy T-shirt and jeans. The cash-poor 25-year-old is in a natty sport coat and skinny tie bought at Topman for a song. Young men are embracing the “Mad Men” elements of style in a way that the older men never did, still don’t and just won’t.”

The article went on and on describing the younger generation that wants to revitalize fashion and bring back the suit and tie. Poor saps, I thought.  Thank goodness Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where everybody walks around in fleece and gore-tex, doesn’t hold true to the hoity-toity urban style.  Thank goodness we work in a place where the ski-bums can sit right next to the millionaires at the Brew Pub and you would never know who is who.  Anybody in a suit in this town immediately elicits the response, “Well, what’s with him?” 

Multiply that by a power of 100 at our Dave Hansen Whitewater office where we’re thrilled when guides show up with clothes that don’t smell like wet dog.  Standard uniform includes chacos, DH hat, board shorts, and a shirt that you bet your lifevest was sniffed that morning before deemed wearable.  About the most GQ we get around here is when our fashionable van driver matches his visor with his t-shirt, which guaranteed, gets an ooooh and ahhhh from the office staff. 

This suits my husband and I just fine.  I mean heck, Bud has such an aversion to formality that when he was in furniture sales, he would visit with major buyers wearing his suit and green Tevas on his feet.  No Gucci kicks for this kid. I remember one day when I was a teacher, I was so tired of wearing professional clothes, that when I played volleyball with the staff before school one morning, I pretended I forgot my dress clothes at home.  “Shucks, I’ll have to wear my sweats and tenneys to class today. Hehe”

The Crew Socks Don't Look That Bad, Do They?

So I read all this New York Times hoopla with smug indifference.  I was haughty, in fact, sighing in superiority as I gazed over at my husband and caught my breath. Not because he’s a 35 year-old hunk who benched 225 yesterday—but because he had on his Target river shorts and white crew socks…. Which suddenly reminded me: Wait, didn’t all those young 20-somethings smirk at his get-ups? Didn’t the office crew chortle when Bud would walk in with yet another mis-matched shirt and short combo? In fact, their regard for Bud’s style of riverguide clothes was so bad that they all pitched in for an end of the season present: new, stylish board shorts. Even a remote outdoor playground has its dress code standards.  The younger generation has spoken.

My my, it has been quite some time since we’ve taken up the pen- er, keyboard- and entered the wide world of blogging- but have no fear! We’re back in business baby!

Here, for your reading pleasure, our July in review- eight thoughts for the seventh month:

7. We’ve got a new crop of “office girls” marinating here- let’s get a round of applause for Arne “Cutie Pie” Carter, famous for his message-less emails, Jason “I’m tanner than you are” Laughlin crushing it on phone lines one through four, and Tyler “Don’t let my giant beard scare you” Babcock- who’s beard really is giant. These three, ladies and gentlemen, are going places.

6. “Wilson” and “South Park” have become quite the dynamic duo- the “Veggie Delight” as we in the office affectionately refer to them have really been living it up on the river and putting the fun in class one.

5. Bryson White has won the prestigious “Prince of the River” Award. We look forward to him continuing his princely duties of rowing river trips and looking handsome. Look for his starring role in Hyla and Jaycee’s new spin on a classic, Snow White and the Seven River Guides.

4. In other news, our shirtless wonders have been crushing the life jacket tan lines. Move over Shirtless Sundays- we’re now looking at something more like Shirtless Mondays through Friday. What a treat.

3. In the wide world of office dog news- Presley the Poodle has only run into the wall three times this month- huge improvement over June, Pres!

2. Hansen Bowling was a huge success, with teams crushing it on the lanes of the ultimate Elks Club. Pizza was a hit, as was the MC Hammer dance off…and the Celtic dance off…and the twist off…and the hula-hoop off….all of which I was somehow involved in. Arne, you are a formidable foe.

1. So far this month, Jason’s beard has been deemed “fierce”, “well groomed”, and of course, “soft yet manly”. He loves working with the office girls.

Whitewater Independence: Four Veterans on The Fourth of July

How do you say thank you to men who have put themselves on the line so that you can go about your daily life? That may have not been the actual task at hand during a whitewater trip almost a month ago, but it was something that the Dave Hansen Whitewater guides on said trip wanted to do.

On June 18^th Bud Chatham, owner of Dave Hansen Whitewater & Scenic, took a group of four veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars down the mighty Snake River. He brought along a handful of trusty Dave Hansen employees, and I was luckily allowed to come along for the ride.

And what a ride it was. Not only did I get more water up my nose then I thought possible, but the trip became a bit of an emotional ride for me as well.

To be honest, I didn’t think the vets would want to talk about their time fighting. However, they were very open about their experiences, and obligingly answered our questions. As we got to know each other, I realized that individuals who have been through more than I’ll ever understand surrounded me. Most of the men had joined the army as soon as they turned eighteen. While they spent their summer after high school going through basic training and shipping off to a foreign place to fight for our country, I was worried about the bad tan lines I was getting from my summer job. Between them there was an artificial lung, and injured back, a titanium jaw, and most were partially def because of their time spent fighting- the night before I had been complaining about a bruised knee. To say the least, it put my life into perspective.

But our river trip wasn’t about the past. It was about being glad for the present moment, for what we all had, which at that moment included the majesty of the natural world and good company. As we rowed down the river, Bud’s commands were met with unmatched precision- true to Army form. We had an amazing time looking for osprey, spinning the boat, and listening to T-Bone crush it on the harmonica- and I think Bud had an especially amazing time watching his commands preformed with perfection.

Our trip ended far too quickly. I wanted more time to talk to these heroes, to hear their stories, to tell them how grateful I was for the sacrifices they have made. But our boat was nearing the take out, and our time was up. As I racked my brain for some way to express my appreciation, one of our guides, Kyle, spoke up. He said, “Thank you for making this all possible”.

It was a simple statement, but one that was filled with meaning and truth.

On the Fourth of July I am again reminded of this trip almost a month ago, and of the inspiring strength, kindness, and joie de vivre that those veterans exhibited.

So, as simple and small as one person’s thanks may be, I just want to steal a bit of this blog space to say thank you to all veterans on this day of independence.

Thank you for making this all possible.

There are many reasons why I love Jackson Wyoming.The first is that though it sees a ton of people coming through the area each year, it never feels like a tourist town.  (Okay, so maybe it feels a little like a tourist town when you’re standing around town square.  But who stands around town square when there are rapids to run?)  The second is that even on dreary rainy days, I still feel like I dropped in on an oil painting.  I may or may not have told the guide I was training with yesterday that I felt like I was in the movie The Notebook.  (I know… I’m a sap.  But how he cued the pelicans to fly overhead just as our group was going by is beyond me.)   The third reason that I love Jackson is that you find family here.

One of my evenings this past week was spent in town square with a random assortment of people playing musical instruments (my instrument was a pair of tap shoes).   A father and his daughter were lingering nearby listening to us when suddenly I recognized them.  They went down on our scenic trip the day before.  They quickly recognized some of us as Dave Hansen-ites.  As it turns out the daughter, Laci, was a fiddle player.  And to top it off they had her fiddle in their car.  So little Laci, who just celebrated her sixth birthday, whipped out Bile Them Cabbage Down with her dad accompanying on guitar.  (Dad just learned guitar this year.)  Laci continued to play for us for another half hour.

Yesterday they swung by the office to say goodbye and we invited them to join some of us for one last musical hoorah up at the Hootenanny.  For those of you unfamiliar with Jackson Hole’s Hootenanny, it is an open mic night that has been going on for twenty years every night at Dornan’s in Moose, Wyoming.  Apparently, the event has even been dropped in on by Dylan and the likes.  Sure enough Laci and her family showed up at the Hoot and favored us with some more fantastic fiddling.  Looking around the crowd-spotting friends old and new-I couldn’t help but feel for the first time since leaving Pennsylvania that this was home.

-Em

Leo Bridges

First game of the season! Leo Bridges, 1st overall in the ‘43 draft, threw smoke to lead Dave Hansen Whitewater to a 15-1 victory over 4th-Base. Jonathan King chipped in with a home run and a smile and wave to the fans. Good work team! Dave Hansen plays again Friday, June 19th at 7:30 pm. at Mateosky Field versus … of in the shower.  - Will

Working at Dave Hansen Whitewater I’m constantly surprised by my river buds.  Not only can they navigate a boat like nobody’s business, but they’ve got all sorts of hidden tricks up their sleeve.  Arne can speak Mandarin.  Jon is fluent in Spanish.  Jason can cook the best meat you’ll ever eat.  Deuce is a tri-athalon competitor who also speaks Portuguese.  (As I’m writing this I didn’t realize we had such a language savy crew.)  Anyway, add to this the guitar and harmonica playing and there is never a dull moment around these parts.

Last night was exceptionally fun.  I went to a random night of poetry here in Jackson, Wyoming and two of our guides… T-Bone and YT (also known as Bryson to our guests) recited some poems from memory about rivers.  Personal favorite was a quote from A River Runs Through It.

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.

I am haunted by waters.”

I got to thinking about my own experience on the river.  Call it an additiction, a need, a way to feel connected to something more than myself, but I am haunted by waters.  There is nothing like a current, or a big wave, or seeing the pelicans skim the water on a scenic trip that calms my mind of all its anxious little thoughts.

So here’s to another summer of being haunted by waters.  I’m excited to meet all of you people out there who feel the same way.   Raft On

-Em

Sassy Wetsuit, Wonder Woman

However, our two o’clock crew had a different approach.  They came out of our dressing rooms like a bunch of dancers taking the stage at a Beyonce concert shakin’ their tushes and posing in their saucy booties.

And let me tell you something- I have never seen wetsuits look so good. 

They worked those tight spandex-ed unforgiving pieces of rubber like Tyra (Banks) had just placed them in Jackson for an ANTM* photo shoot. (*For those of you who aren’t as obsessed with the CW as I am, I’m speaking of America’s Next Top Model- a show that tugs at my heartstrings and makes me want to practice my runway walk.)

After crushing it in an impromptu photo shoot in front of the Dave Hansen Bus, the crew loaded up and took off on an excellent whitewater adventure.

2pm trip- I like yo style.

Burnt Grilled Cheese

Needless to say, things are cruising at a pretty slow (though steady) pace in the office since the airport closed down (nice timing, Jackson).  However, the calls are still streaming in with people getting their summer trips together. 

We’ve been taking quite a few Jackson locals down the river before our crazy summer starts…let me say that they were looking oh so fine in their wetsuits as they took off.  Hope they got some serious wave hits today! 

In other news, Emily has just returned to the office for the summer.  Our blonde office worker count is now up to 2.  The brunettes are still defeating us.  I’m thinking of adding peroxide to Mary’s shampoo.  Fun fact of the day: Emily can speak fifteen (yes, fifteen) dialects.  And she does a mean German accent.  Which I think is the most awesome talent ever.  I might just start calling her Helga. 

Ok, I think you’ve heard me ramble enough. 

Rock on and Raft on friends. 

Over and out-

LP