Spud Day... Only in Idaho

Last weekend I bought some new play-along books with Christmas music - it IS coming up ya know! So in between Handel's Messiah, The Nutcracker and You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch, I was off to Spud Day, one of those things you can only do in Idaho. It was everything spuds and some things you wouldn't dream of are included in the festivities. On Thursday night I stopped in to see the musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", casted with local raw talent. With my imagination, it wasn't hard to envision the canyon avalanche, barn and messy rooms (OK, so maybe they're memories I already had), but it was still a good performance. Then on Saturday, Spud Day was filled with, well, everything pictured here:
Proof for those who can't imagine an entire day devoted to potatoes!
I arrived at the tail end of the parade, and, well... what exactly is this float?!?
Floats you won't see in NY, and especially not with the high school football team on top! I wonder what kind of cheers they use against the Shelley Russets ("Mash 'em, Smash 'em, Bury 'em in the ground...")? And is that the coach texting on top?
The population of Shelley is 4,257, and I'm pretty sure they were ALL here waiting in line for their...

...free baked potato (or two) and milk!

You could pay money to hit some poor kid with paint balls...

...or race to fit all these potatoes in your burlap sacks...

...or dig a hole...

...fill a cement truck with instant mashed potatoes...

...yummy...
...and join in the Spud Tug! (Pictured is a team of LDS missionaries about to make the plunge).

I noticed that they always put the little kids or girls in front...

...but I think this boy enjoyed it as he tries to keep his britches up and walk with spuds in his shoes.

The boy on the right did a belly flop just for fun.

A nice action shot as the team goes in.

Does this guy really need to call for back-up??

Here's the poor sucker he called...

...after the plunge.

My newest idea for a fundraiser at camp - wagon rides for a $1!
After meandering through all the fair booths, I headed over to the other park to watch some remote control airplanes (another one of my life's dreams).
The wingspan on this plane is probably 8 - 10 feet!
Here it is flying...
...upside down - or am I doing a handstand? (Don't spend too much time trying to figure that one out!)
The next video shows the plane on the left......dropping "bombs". I think there's a reason my parents haven't gotten me one these for Christmas, especially one that dropped things from heights!
Back at the fair grounds, Eric, a co-worker you've seen before, coaches this local jump rope team. Don't worry, I didn't know such a team existed either. I also haven't figured out how to contort my fingers as a right-handed picture taker to reproduce the digits in the foreground. But with the curve on that thumb... it'd be hard to deny!
I can not compete with a jump roping handstand!
Now THAT looks dangerous! And yes, that's Eric flipping the kid.
Not sure what they're doing here, but it's hard enough for me to jump rope on two legs, much less 4 paws!A quick video with more flips and trips for all you daredeviling kids. (I recommend practicing on the grass before you move to the concrete!) After a full day in the sun, I headed back to the other park for the grand finale, a Demolition Derby. You might remember that I missed out last weekend, but at $4 admission (that's $1/hr), I'd say I made out on this one. Oh, and that doesn't factor in the 10" crescent wrench I won for living the farthest away!

They don't look very beat up yet, but ol' Tigger better get a helmet and neck brace on!

This car was like a tank, but why 2 steering wheels?

The judge turns away as dirt flies as these two cars head it off.

Driving a pink car makes for an easy target, but it looks like the other guy is missing some coolant. (I have to assume that they're all using water, but I don't think I'd enjoy being steam cleaned.)

No coolant? No problem... for a few minutes anyways.

This guy backed into a few too many people but he's still running!
More steam flying.

The start to another Idaho junk yard!

I did take a few videos, but I must say that the Demolition Derby didn't quite meet my expectations. At the start, all the cars were rearing to go, they had 4 good tires and there were no dead cars to maneuver around. So, some of the cars got some good speed and smashed multiple cars at once. While this sounds exciting, watching the drivers get thrown around like crash dummies made MY neck hurt! Of course, once it was down to just a few banged up cars with flat tires, the hits were much less bone-jarring and almost looked fun. But I'm sure I got my monies-worth and now I know! But now, it's back to playing work and Christmas music - or is that going to work and playing Christmas music?

Tables, Bouncing Seats, Parks and Picnics

What do tables, bouncing seats, parks and picnics have to do with each other? Just another weekend in Idaho (but only slightly less adventerous then that last one)! It all starts off with a hike up Table Mountain on the back side of the Teton Range!

You can see Table Mountain in front of Grand Teton, appropriately named because, well, it looks like a table!

After a steep climb up "The Face", I was greeted with another mountain meadow of wildflowers along the trail.

Cresting the meadow ridge, you can see Table on the right with Grand Teton behind it... along with some nice drop-offs into the canyon.

A quick look across the valley...

...without the trees in the way.
Getting closer to the table! Looks easy from here...

...except you couldn't see this...
...and well, looks are just deceiving. The last climb up the trail is MUCH steeper then it appears. If you zoom in and find two people it might help with your perspective.

Just as I crested the top of the Table, my heart skipped a beat as Grand came into view.
There they are! It felt like you could reach out and touch them they were so close.

Looking back on the trail, town and even the moon.
The ridge line to the North.

Getting in the way of a great picture... ...and of course a headstand too.

In an attempt to get an even better view, I climbed down the backside of the "Table", across the snow and rock fields up to the edge of the Range...

...where you could see all the way from the creek at the bottom to the peak at the top!
This requires technical skills and gear I don't have, but maybe someday.

Another panoramic of the ridge to the North.
Looking back at Table Mountain with the rock and snow fields in between.

The back side of Table Mountain where I climbed down (good thing you could walk around to the other side to get back up!)
Table Mountain on a perfect sunny day!

Some of the surrounding peaks and valleys.
Here's a view looking back at Table Mountain, along with the Teton Range as I headed down the longer but more gradual path.

Trying to frame the peaks. The hike up took the ridge on the right.
Anyone need some flowers?

A cool view near the bottom.
I'm hoping to remember all the colors in the mountains when everything dies in a few weeks.

Saturday included an afternoon picnic at Church (who knew croquet had so many rules?) followed by...

...a free concert in the park by the Idaho Falls Symphony!

Growing up as a brass player, I have always loved Sousa marches. In fact, the first two (and maybe the only two) CD's I ever bought were Sousa marches. The Liberty Bell, Washington Post, Semper Fidelis, The Thunderer, Jack Tar (I love the whistle at the beginning), Stars and Stripes Forever... you name it, I love them all (and hopefully my neighbors don't mind either). So what does a boy do on those rainy summer vacation days when playing outside isn't an option? Well, pop in one of those Sousa CD's, ensure the volume is equivalent to an entire orchestra (or two) and hop up on the homemade footstool (that doubled for bouts of "King of the Mountain"), and conduct with as much energy as you would play ball... calling out a piccolo solo here, a low brass line there, cymbals just about everywhere, crouching down for pianissimo and jumping up and down at fortissimo (that poor footstool)... no one missed a beat for the entire CD!

Why have I shared this childhood memory? The symphony has an auction each year and I seem to have missed out on one of my life's dreams... to conduct a Sousa march! I'm not sure how much this gentlemen paid to let his wife conduct the Symphony in Stars and Stripes Forever, but I was contemplating offering her cash on the spot! While I'm sure she was thrilled - I have to think that I'd a been just a little more energetic at such an opportunity! Here's a quick video so you can enjoy the enthusiasm of a Sousa march!
Well, you can't hang out at the park all night... so I made a quick exit from the concert and headed down to Blackfoot to catch the last night of the Eastern Idaho State Fair and the Demolition Derby. (Who doesn't like to watch a good car wreck... when it's not you or your car and nobody gets hurt.) Unfortunately, the Derby tickets were all sold out, so only my hopes of seeing it were wrecked. But, it is a fair so there were plenty of other things to see...

...like this little kid riding the mechanical bull with NO HANDS!!! I think he's gonna be a pro because everyone else was holding on and they struggled much more.
"Look Mom! No Hands!" Oh, and I like how he decides he's had enough and just bails. No getting bucked off for him!

Well, it was a busy weekend - but fun. I'm just hoping we have lots of sunny weekends left before the snow falls! So, until next weekend... (yup, I guess I have to work all 5 days this week!)