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Quick drive to the valley
Sep. 7th, 2012 03:21 pmI hate it when bookstores go under! We're realizing that our kids are actually growing, which means that in the near future, we can look forward to longer and more interesting hikes. So we realized we needed a good hiking map, one with trails marked on it and preferably both the wide area view and the close-up view of each hike. You can order anything on line, yadda yadda, but the point of a real bookstore is being able to actually see what you're buying. Plus reveling in all the book goodness, AND instant gratification of buying it on site. So I checked the web site to make sure it was still there and loaded PMB in the car and headed off for Dark Horse books over in Driggs, which I know for a fact has a local emphasis because they were selling my grandfather-in-law's book that came out a year ago. So we got there. And...nothing. It's gone. *cries* That was the closest independent bookstore to us (not including the university one, which specializes in textbooks but does carry some fiction and non-academic nonfiction), and it was already an hour away. WAAA. RIP, Dark Horse.
We did find a sporting goods store that had some good maps and trail books, so all was not lost (except for the chance to browse a bookstore). But (shhh! Don't tell my other kids) PMB and I felt the need to console ourselves here:
If you look at the small print, you'll see they have a soda fountain. So we enjoyed a huckleberry shake while the girl there confirmed that yes, this has been a horrible year for huckleberries due to the dryness and heat, and that alas, they stopped serving lime freeze a few days ago due to lack of limes. My husband's family RAVED about lime freezes this summer, and the girl there has been infected by the same fixation, because she has this absolutely MANIC look in her face on the topic of lime freezes. Next year, I will have to break my huckleberry tradition and go for lime freeze. At least once.
Then we drove up to Alta for a quick look at the Tetons (and a quick visit to the gravestone of the great-grandfather who died in the avalanche instead of staying home, like his wife thought he should. Always listen to your wife!). It's still hazy, but not as bad as the day my sister visited. Poor girl, she was standing in the Tetons, TOUCHING them, and still couldn't see them. I hope the fires go out soon and things are clear again.
And then we stopped in to see my husband's grandmother and various relatives who were there, and drove home through a lot of this:
I can totally see why the French impressionists went crazy over haystacks. In the September sunlight, they just GLOW.
I'm also really glad it's Friday, even though I have to help my 12YO get up well before the crack of dawn for a 20-mile little walk he's taking tomorrow. I'm tired just thinking about it!
Have a great weekend!
We did find a sporting goods store that had some good maps and trail books, so all was not lost (except for the chance to browse a bookstore). But (shhh! Don't tell my other kids) PMB and I felt the need to console ourselves here:
If you look at the small print, you'll see they have a soda fountain. So we enjoyed a huckleberry shake while the girl there confirmed that yes, this has been a horrible year for huckleberries due to the dryness and heat, and that alas, they stopped serving lime freeze a few days ago due to lack of limes. My husband's family RAVED about lime freezes this summer, and the girl there has been infected by the same fixation, because she has this absolutely MANIC look in her face on the topic of lime freezes. Next year, I will have to break my huckleberry tradition and go for lime freeze. At least once.
Then we drove up to Alta for a quick look at the Tetons (and a quick visit to the gravestone of the great-grandfather who died in the avalanche instead of staying home, like his wife thought he should. Always listen to your wife!). It's still hazy, but not as bad as the day my sister visited. Poor girl, she was standing in the Tetons, TOUCHING them, and still couldn't see them. I hope the fires go out soon and things are clear again.
And then we stopped in to see my husband's grandmother and various relatives who were there, and drove home through a lot of this:
I can totally see why the French impressionists went crazy over haystacks. In the September sunlight, they just GLOW.
I'm also really glad it's Friday, even though I have to help my 12YO get up well before the crack of dawn for a 20-mile little walk he's taking tomorrow. I'm tired just thinking about it!
Have a great weekend!
