10k x 3

 

Grayson has completed several half-marathons in 2024, and Landon did his half, a milestone after his ACL surgery earlier in the year. While Coop is uber active, often hitting 30k in steps in a day (between work and treadmill or other activities), 13.1 miles in a single go might be out of his comfort zone. Even a 10k is slightly more than his regular run ... but doable. When Grayson brought it up, both Landon and Coop were willing to give a 10k a go. There was a local race that Saturday. Gray got them signed up and picked up the packets on Friday.  Gray and Coop headed out Saturday morning,  a little before 9:00, picked up Landon along the way, and headed up to the University of Utah. The 10k started at 10:00.

Of the Blackham boys, Coop finished first at just under 45minutes. 15th overall, 3rd in the Male/20-29 division.  Landon was next at 49 minutes, with Grayson at 54 minutes.  They didn't stay for the awards.

I asked Coop how it felt (as the distance and outside weren't his usual, plus the challenge of the crowd) and he replied "the crowd cleared up within the first mile, so that part wasn't bad. Running outside is definitely different. Bobbing up and down while moving vs doing it in place felt really weird, but I got used to it."  Gray, having done a majority of half-marathons starting up a canyon, mentioned that there were some uphill portions of this race that were places he had to push through. 

There was a photographer on hand at the race, so here are a few more photos!

Callahan had stopped by a couple nights before the race, and we jokingly commented that Grayson hadn't included Cal and Keaton in the original group text. So Gray DID invited them, but they weren't up to a last minute 10k (Keaton said maybe a 5k ...). We've had a few family 5k races in the past (2018, 2017, L&C2017, 2016GKC&Maga, 2015).

While the boys were gone, I walked two miles on the treadmill in 40 minutes. 

Gotta do what you can!

Halloween 2024

 

It was a cold Thursday Halloween night in 2024. Grayson brought up a memory of several years ago, when it was still quite warm and he set up the projector with "The Great Pumpkin" playing as he handed out candy. That was before he got "scrooge-y" (so he says, although that's a Christmas, not a Halloween reference). 

I'd bought some candy and had it prepped and ready ... and Coop and I snuck some of our favorites in the days preceding the holiday. We didn't get our first visitor until fairly late, after 7:00, but then we got quite a few groups. I was on door duty this year. 

My Zumba class had a couple of seasonal songs; Skeleton Sam, and of course, Thriller.  I remember the Terra Linda 6th graders performing it, so I have video of both Cooper and Colton doing the dance back in the day. Similar steps in each, based on the original music video.  99% of the time I'm just in my traditional gray/black at Zumba, but I sported an orange Halloween t-shirt this year.  I snagged the picture of a cute little red riding hood and a scary wolf from K8's Instagram.  Landon and others at LKL dressed up at work (more Landon pictures below).  Gray had his usual "Pal"oween with his work buddies (the Friday before). He's Deadpool. I didn't get a Halloween post up for a few years, but in 2022 ... he was the danger (from Breaking Bad). 

I wasn't super familiar with Landon's character costume, but he sure looked cute!

Loved the freckles!

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable ... Disney series.

Landon said they made some of the traditional sugar cookies shaped like pumpkins and decorated with candy corn. We didn't get around to making them at the West Jordan Blackham abode.  Fingers crossed there will turkey cookies come Thanksgiving though! 

Gray and the Subway

Grayson has had a lot of activities this summer ... hiking, running, biking. Almost all with buddies from work. One buddy had a buddy who had pulled a permit for The Subway in Zions for a group of twelve. So Gray joined. It didn't fit into the schedule that well, Monday, October 7, but you have to take what you can get. Per the info about it ...

The Subway is a classic semi-technical slot canyon hike in Zion National Park. To complete the hike you wade/swim/scramble/climb down the Left Fork of North Creek. The stream is the trail for most of the route. Some of the holes are deep enough that you do have to swim, and the water is cold.

• Trail Head: 37.339954, -113.075776
• Trail Type: Canyoneering
• Length: 9.5 miles, 7 to 9 hours
• Difficulty: Technical

The hike is somewhat like the famous Narrows, only more intense. You climb down waterfalls and scramble over boulders. Serious rappelling is not necessary but ropes come in handy to help get people over cliffs and to lower packs.

Most canyoneers do this canyon from top down - it is very difficult to do it bottom up. A shuttle is required. You must have a permit to hike this canyon; permits can be obtained at any Visitor Center. Get detailed trail information before doing this hike. Only attempt this canyon if you are hiking with an experienced canyoneer.

During the first part of the hike you stay on top of ridges and cross shallow washes, until you reach the of Left Fork Canyon and Russell Creek. That's where you scramble down the steep hillside into the slot. Once in the slot you just hike downstream, finding ways over or around obstacles. The semi-technical part of the route ends at the bottom of the Subway (at a spectacular small waterfall where canyon walls arch overhead and almost close to create a tunnel-effect - a subway). From there you continue hiking downstream past a large boulder covered with dinosaur tracks. Exit the canyon where you see a sign marking the trail up the ridge to the Left Fork Trailhead. It is a steep, hot climb out of the canyon.

In addition to some climbing gear, everyone needed a wetsuit for the water portions. Between Gray's camera, and a couple others, there were a lot of pictures to capture the experience.

Landon ~ Big Fish

Landon works for L.K.L. Associates in the roofing department. One of the shingle manufacturers had a trip planned for for several guys from L.K.L as well as some of their customers. They were off to Louisiana for some fishing! A four day trip, he headed out Monday, October 21 and returned Thursday October 24, two days traveling, two days on the water. Landon checked in with a write-up and some pictures ...

Day one ended up being a long day. We landed in New Orleans and had to wait roughly an hour for a car rental. After that, we were all quite hungry. We went to Texas Roadhouse simply because it was on the way to our destination and had a big group. We finished eating, but I happened to be with the subgroup that stayed out late to visit Bourbon Street. That ended up going much later than I had hoped. We didn’t get to our lodge until 3 am and we needed to be up by 5:30 am for breakfast before heading out on the water.

So after a mere two hour nap, we got up to get ready. The three who had been drinking didn’t get up in time to join us on the water today. I was paired up with one of the customers we invited and started catching speckled trout right away. Before I started catching the trout, I first caught a catfish, which needed to be released. The next fish I hooked after that I believe was the fish of the day for the whole group. It was a red fish bull, “bull” meaning it was too big to keep. It was 40” which is a gnarly fish to reel in. My partner was reeling in the trout super easy, but I had to fight this bull for a solid five minutes. My arms were so tired once I finally brought it in. I was a little nervous I wouldn’t be cut out to keep fishing the whole day, but that was by far the biggest fish I hooked.The spot we were getting the trout was amazing. We hit our limit of 30 within an hour. The rest of the day we looked for more red fish, but they were harder to find and trickier to reel in. Still an awesome time.

Finishing off our time on the water, we returned to the lodge, showered up, and took care of a bit of work. Then for dinner they prepped some of the trout we caught and it was glorious. I wanted more, but was completely stuffed. The rest of the evening was pretty chill. A bit of drinking and playing games, but I was so ready to hit the hay.

Day three was basically the same deal as day two. I was with two of the guys that missed the first day of fishing, so compared to them, I was feeling like a pro. We launched from a different area where there was a lot more open water. The first two spots we went to treated me so well. I’d cast my line and within seconds I’d have a bite. There were lots of small fish that we couldn’t keep, but I didn’t care. Just hooking a fish and reeling it in was a blast for me. Especially when I had a decent streak of five or six casts that I got to reel in. I didn’t hook anything crazy like the 40” red fish from day one, but I did reel in a decent 29” black fish that put up a fight. We made a competition of course for the biggest fish, but also for the fish with most spots. I thought that was lame compared to the biggest fish, until I reeled in one with 17 spots. Our guide hyped it up a lot and got me excited about it. To finish out the fishing for the day, we went to a very open area where we hooked up bigger fish. Oscar, one of the customers we invited on the trip reeled in the biggest fish on our boat. About a 31” red fish. To end the day back at the lodge, some of us tried to catch up on work and others just relaxed. A great day.

Thursday they finished up and made the flight home in the evening.

Back to work!

Landon - Blister Boy!

 

The Antelope Island Marathon had four distances. Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K. Landon opted for the 13.1 distance (half-marathon). He's been playing pickleball, and doing some running and hiking, but this was his first official race, and longest distance, since his ACL surgery last March. He didn't really even tell us about it until the day of ... Friday, October 11, 2024.

Per the race website: Antelope Island is home to 600 bison and the largest island on the Great Salt Lake. This course is a true marathon in that it is not all downhill like many. There are several rollers for the runners. The views of the race have the Great Salt Lake to the East and Antelope Island mountain on the West.

He said that his knee held up really well during the race, but that his shoes were rubbing pretty early one. Hot spot ... and big blister(s). He had to sit out pickleball that weekend. 

 

 

Cal&K8 ~ San Diego

 

Cal and Kate arranged for dog-sitting (Kate's mom taking care of Vera) and they jetted off for San Diego (October 5-7). As Grayson has made several trips there (earlier this year with friends, last year a trip with Landon in January, and then with Coop and Keaton in August) he had some recommendations of things to see, places to eat. One was Del Friscos, and he said he'd even pay for their meal.

They went to Del Friscos.

Kate said the butter cake was 10/10.

Some additional food photos ... and yes, the traditional finger photo with ice cream.

It's a Blackham thing.

A Tale of Two Toasters ...

 

A toaster ... I'd imagine most kitchens have one. I remember we had an old white one when we first moved into this house. When we switched out the appliances to stainless steel, I replaced the toaster to match (you can catch a glimpse of the replacement in the Pantry post).  It finally went out on us, so I ordered a new toaster off Amazon. 

I received some teasing about this bare bones tiny toaster ... "How much did this cost? $10?" It was actually $15.99, but yes, it was one of the more inexpensive (but still decently reviewed) ones there. But ... it's a TOASTER, what bells and whistles do you need?

There is actually one feature the family uses a lot. The "lift" ... bringing up the bread a bit higher, easing getting it out (we do have the little wooden tongs for when we still need additional help). The ends of the sourdough, or banana bread ... they are pretty small and that little boost is needed. This also had no "beep" when the toast is done (pros and cons to this, the old one was a little annoying with its beep). 

After some teasing, I told the others (Coop, Colton, Gray) that I was more than happy to let them pick out a different toaster. Cooper took me up on that. He saw a toaster on TikTok and it's all modern and digital with lots of options (although you do still have to push down the lever manually ... unless there's an app for that?) It does have the little lift ... so I'm happy with it.

Seedeem Toaster 

LCD Display & Touch Control: The wide slots toaster has a colorful LCD, so you can see the bread type, shade setting and the remaining time easily. You need to touch 6 buttons to select the mode you want. Memory function will keep the bread type and shade settings from the last toasting.

50% Faster Speed: Superior to the conventional toaster, the 1350W toaster has made a revolutionary breakthrough in toasting speed. It is 50% faster than leading toasters, which can get even toast and save you half the time of baking bread in the morning.

Special Mid-range: 7 Bread Shade Setting provides bread from light yellow to deep dark. The specially developed medium setting--4 gear, can bake delicious bread that is not too dry but full of burnt flavor.

Multiple Functions: Not only Cancel, Defrost, Reheat functions, we also specially added Bread Type and More Time functions. There are 6 types of bread to choose from, including bagel, white, waffle, eng.muffin, gluten free, grain. If you are not satisfied with the browning color, you can touch More Time to add time for 45 seconds.

Easy Operation & Cleaning: 1.5 inch wide slots can accommodate different thicknesses of bread. Flexible lift lever for smooth dropping and auto ejecting of bread. Removable crumb tray helps you collect and dump falling crumbs to avoid staining your desktop.

Who knew? A seven-bread-shade setting! And it's 50% faster (I actually DID notice that it seems super fast, and it's nice to have a countdown so you know exactly how much time is left). That "lift lever" though, that's the feature I'll look for on any future toaster purchases.

Colton moved into his college apartment in Oregon, and his roommates had the kitchen furnished pretty well ... but no toaster. Colton likes his cinnamon toast, and he asked me to order him one (as I now have all this experience with shopping for toasters). I had this one delivered to him ... I made sure it had the "Toast Boost" lift, and I even threw in a shaker of cinnamon sugar (not sure that the bachelor boy's apartment would have sugar, or cinnamon, or a shaker). Alas, he's too far away for my fresh sourdough!

Colton Goes to College ...

When Colton made his decision to play for Clackamas Community College, the main question was, "where will he live?"  Unlike my experience at Snow and BYU, where campus living/dorms are part of the experience ... CCC is more like SLCC, where it's a majority of students living at home, in the area. There were no dorms, no set housing.  There was another player coming from out of state, and another from Oregon, but not close enough to commute, so the three basketball boys planned on finding a place together. Sight unseen, with parents co-signing the lease, the guys had a three bedroom/1 bath apartment close to campus.

Conner (the Oregonian) had done most of the work getting everything set, and was able to round up quite a bit of communal stuff (couch, table/stools, kitchen and bathroom essentials), so that Colton and Kobe, coming from out of state, just brought their clothes and sundries. Once there, both families scrambled to get a bed, desk and whatever else was needed to set up the boy's bedrooms. 

I asked for pictures that would help me get a feel of Colton in his new place.

He obliged. 

Here's a little video tour ...

https://youtu.be/vM2hpGp3ERA

The apartment does NOT have air conditioning, as Oregon is pretty temperate. Most of the time. They were having a heat wave while Gray and Keaton were there helping Colton get settled (luckily the Vrbo had AC) and his first week+ there was HOT, even higher temps than Utah (where we have AC ... although out of possible commiseration with Colton the AC here at home decided to go out during this time too! We got it fixed pretty quick - Grayson has connections!)

There's not a washer/dryer in the apartment, but there's a laundry room at the complex. Two parking spaces and there seemed to be plenty of visitor parking too. I'm not sure how well I prepared Colton for living on his own. He CAN do his own laundry, although he doesn't have a lot of practice. Washing dishes ... cooking, shopping for groceries? It will be a learning and growing experience for sure!

 

Off to Oregon

After entertaining a few offers from colleges in the NWAC, Colton committed to Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. So at the end of August ... it was off to Oregon! Gray was in charge of getting him there, and brought Keaton along (Keaton is great at putting things together and was an extra driver for the travel there). So Colton squished in as much as he could. He could take whatever the Charger would carry (leaving room for two passengers and their luggage). 

The iconic Multnomah falls ...

...lots of eating out along the way and after they arrived. 

They stayed for a few days to shop and get Colton set up ...

... as Colton hadn't had much room to bring things with him, and the apartment was unfurnished, they had quite a bit of shopping to do! Fred Meyer and Ikea. No sales tax, but no shopping bags either. And STILL not much room in the Charger to transport purchases. Poor Keaton got squished more than once! Luckily one of Colton's new roommates had provided a lot of the community/kitchen items. You can see Colton's apartment HERE. 

... a few more pictures

Then Sunday, September 1st ... Colton drove Dad and Keaton to the Portland airport. He dropped them off ... then drove away. On his own in Oregon. 

Ready for College Colton Clips

I post a lot of #mycoltonclips on my Blackhamball instagram. Those are basketball highlights. The "clips" being featured in THIS post, are the kind that cut cute curls from a Blackham boy head. Aunt Olivia has been the family hairstylist for years now. As Colton was packing up everything in preparation for his move to Oregon, he visited Livi for one last haircut (and HUG). 

She was so cute - she created this step-by-step tutorial that he could have on him to show the next stylist exactly how to keep the cut Colton' likes.  She also got him a GreatClips giftcard to help the poor college student with costs.

Built in blog post ... and I figured it might be good to have it here for reference!

 

Diaper House Built for Bluey

 

Last year, Symphony Homes helped with the supervisory roles of the Diaper House (Diaper Daze). This year, they signed up to build a house. The building blocks? Boxes of diapers. Gray asked for theme suggestions, and got a number of "Bluey's Heeler House" votes. As our boys are grown, we were only vaguely familiar with Bluey. Grayson and I watched a few episodes ... research. 

HomeaidUtah.org

KSL News Article

A little look at some some of the planning and prep ...

This project had Grayson occupied for much of June, July and August!

Friday, August 23 was the big day ... HomeAid had partnered with Ikea this year, and their parking lot was the location for this unique Parade of Homes. It was hot and sunny ... and WINDY. The diaper houses were supposed to be completed by 1:00, and available for the public to come and see until 5:00. The weather just wasn't cooperating though, and the event ended early, as many of the houses and displays were blowing away. Too bad this couldn't have been set up indoors at the Mountain America Expo Center, like the Parade Preview. The unique creations have a similar feel to the fun floats that always draw large crowds. 

Grayson was sunburned - but happy with the completed project, and glad it was complete.

https://youtu.be/z9USGrqanKM

 

Gray forwarded me the email he sent out to the Symphony team afterward, and I thought I'd include it here:

It’s a wrap, folks. The 2024 Diaper House Competition has come and gone. Memories and photos remain. As the cliché goes, photos just won’t do this justice. And you had to be there to experience the wind…..my hell the wind! No relief for hours on end. For those who were robbed of the trip to see our house and the others, I’m so sorry – it’s was a full-blown disappointment to have to pack things away so soon after we were done building. I’d venture to say “maybe next year” but I think it’s very much “too soon”.

Say what you will about how inconvenient, challenging, tiresome, and on and on, something like this might be. But when you get to work side by side with some of your Symphony teammates, you’re reminded of the good things we have here. Everyone, and I mean everyone, had something “better” to be doing both Friday, and the other days, when preparations were being made. So, a general appreciation to all for setting aside your day-to-day to come and make this happen.

• Conrado and Jorge – day in and day out these guys work tirelessly on our homes – and hardly a word is ever spoken to acknowledge what they do. Their pure grit and get-it-done attitude and demeanor were on full display Friday. Loading, unloading, stacking, unstacking, cutting once, cutting twice, driving screws, removing screws, lifting, moving, wind-whipped and drowning in diapers – these guys brought their A- game and I don’t know how we would have got it done without them.  

• Janet – I’m guessing anyone who has attended an event where Janet is involved already knows to expect attention to every detail. When you look at the pics of our completed Heeler House, look at the landscaping, the plants, the planters, the bird baths, the turf….all this pulled together in the final week. And God bless this woman, on Friday, the paint remnants on her beautiful face told the story of her devotion to roll out only the best for her team and the Heelers.

• Jadon, Zac, Cole – these are my three amigos or tres friends. Always able to count on them at a moment’s notice so long as I can accept their banter and commentary, whether appropriate or edgy. They know what I’m talking about. Whether it’s Jadon’s natural MacGyver to work us out of a problem, or Cole’s thinking out of the box, or Zac’s staying power until the job is done, I can always rely on them to see things through. Whether or not they’re cheerful about it by the end is a different story (wink wink).

• Dan – little did Dan know when he sought an internship with Symphony Homes that he had no idea what he was signing up for. No chance did he think he would be slinging diapers, painting mailboxes and measuring plastic panels…even if they were a bit short ;) But he’s been there time and again, taking instruction, getting things done and holding his own against the barrage of wise-A remarks this crew is sure to launch.

• Caroline – I have no words here. (that’s not entirely true – I always have words) But dang, from the moment the Heeler House became a thing, she was all-hands-on-deck. The insanely detailed panels, windows, and doors on the outside, not to mention the down to the wire timeframes that were put on her, she delivered again and again and again. T-shirts, publicity, setting up drop locations, and getting the Bluey cut-outs that were such a hit. And guess who’s inside that Bluey costume….complete with a hydration pack…and overheating by the minute….yep, also Caroline. You should have seen the mob gather when Bluey showed up to the house. Caroline…..I don’t know how else to put it…..YOU SLAY!!!

• Nathan – it ain’t easy making a transition from marketing to construction – but that’s what Nathan has had to do. This guy has been throwing boxes with us from the get-go. Friday was no different. Making sure to help Caroline with anything she needed and doing whatever was tossed his way as we completed each detail, large or small.
  

• Andrea – this shout out might be a tad short but the impact was impressive.
  As the wind gusts were whipping the IKEA parking lot, and pieces-parts of other houses were flying by us, she looked over at our Heeler House, which stood completely unaffected by the gales, and said “This is the Symphony Difference”. Somewhere I could hear a mic drop in the distance. Well said, Andrea, well said.

• Rosalio – while you won’t see his face in the pics, Rosalio’s contribution was…how should I put this… above and beyond all expectations. He indisputably bailed me out of a tough spot – building the roof, the bay window, the porch awning and prepping it for transport and wrapping it all up THE DAY BEFORE the big event. I’m just speechless (again, I’m really not speechless, quite to the contrary unfortunately). Rosalio is another fellow teammate, working in the background, no fanfare, no recognition, constantly getting stuff done and the diaper house was no exception.

• Greg and Ben – as you might imagine a project like this requires….how should I put this….REACH. These two giants literally extended their arms, legs and hands as those of us, vertically challenged, could not rise to the occasion. (that sentence was pretty good, even if I do say so myself). This often put them at the top of ladders, fully outstretched as the gusts from the south pummeled them. OSHA was NOT on site that day, lucky for us. Involved in all parts of the build, when it came time to trim this house out they were found measuring, cutting, and nailing up the details that would give the home is final pop. Craftsmen indeed.

• Rick Hawley – what can I say here. If you’re ever in need of someone to provide a nearly unending streaming of chatter, trash-talk, jokery, stories, encouragement, filtered and unfiltered candor, laughs bordering on tears, well Rick is your man. Not a minute went by without his narration piercing the wind gusts. Aside from all that, once this dude sees the goal, good luck trying to stop or slow him down and he’ll have you laughing the whole way. He’s another one that this event simply would not have happened without. Brian – and last but cer tainly not least, our fearless leader, the big kahuna, the grand poobah….showing up to make sure to bring some semblance of balance and propriety to this rowdy crew and keep Symphony in the best possible light. I’m fairly certain he even put some turf in place, not above getting his hands dirty. You can’t hold this guy back. More to the point – his show of support to the team is an absolute with him. Seemingly small efforts and the big ones, he’s always making sure to acknowledge and give credit where credit is due. And so it was on Friday.

So many people to thank and acknowledge. My apologies to those I’ve missed. In the lead up to the big day Corbin, Jason, Lily, Cassi, Mike, Jared had their hands in this in so many of the tasks that were necessary in putting this together. Your help and contribution has not gone unnoticed. As I mentioned last week, it was basically impossible to involve a larger group of people – the constraints of space and work dictated how many individuals could be productive. I know many of you would have liked to participate at some level – that’s not lost on me. Who knows what the future will hold ;)

As you may already know, we didn’t take home any official prize. Truth be told, there were some very cool and creative entries. It’s always important to remember what the goal was – providing support to and awareness of HomeAid, The Utah Diaper Bank and the homeless parents and children in Utah. Over 60,000 diapers, not including diapers at our drop locations either have been or will be delivered to the diaper bank by Symphony Homes alone. That’s no small number.

And it would be a huge miss on my part not to thank and acknowledge Bruce and Rob’s ongoing support of these efforts of outreach to the community. It speaks to their character and desire that the company they’ve created take a responsible and supportive role in the spaces we occupy. Thank you to you both.

I couldn’t be more proud to be part of and work along side this group of people. In the end, YOU are the Symphony Difference.

Diaper House ... DONE! 

Camson Cabin and RZR Riding

 

Cal and Keaton work for Camson Electric, and at the end of August, the company had a team-building getaway. Hanging out at a cabin, with ping-pong challenges, and then hitting the muddy roads on the razors. I didn't get a lot of feedback from the brothers, other than it was MUDDY, and the tires threw the damp dirt up all over the machines, and the people in them.

Thanks to Keaton - we have some pictures!

At least there were no issues as with some of Grayson's earlier rides (Off-Road Reality). 

Symphony #KOTH 2024

Last year, in 2023 there was a "Hiking Challenge" at Symphony Homes. Gray got going, and took pictures and did write-ups. Built in blog posts! I had to divide it into three posts, there was so much content. See the first one (with links to the second and third) HERE. This year, there's another challenge, a little more all-around activity. This will be a post in progress ...

The official flyer with the "rules" ... 

One might have think Grayson's work at Symphony was all management and construction stuff, but he does a LOT of team building, outreach, activity organization and party planning too (organizing this competition, the upcoming diaper house, see last year's involvement HERE, a ping pong tournament, Fisher House).    Of course in addition to setting up the #KOTH2024, Gray then "needs" to set the standard, staying active and competitive. His work write ups with recaps, hashtags and plenty of pictures give a little look at what he's up to ...

0511

I give you the Men in Black – Farmington Half Marathon – May 11- 13.1 miles. Bonus photobomb by the one and only Bill Dodd and his banana peel.  #koth202 #doublepoints #thismedaliswood

0517

On Deuel Creek South, where the day was pristine,

Jon, Zac, Jadon, Wyatt, and Grayson convene.

Legs on fleek, in their hike, they excel,

In Lulu, Fabletics, and brands they wear well.

Salomon gripping each rocky ascent,

On Clouds embracing every step's intent.

Crossing the creek, the rapids roared high,

Determined to conquer, eyes on the prize.

With laughter and cheers, they blaze the trail's way,

Gonna win #koth2024, they say.

Nature their stage, as they rise to the peak,

A band of brothers strong, adventurous and sleek.

You. Are. Welcome.

#koth2024 #doublepoints #bestdressedhikers #chafingisreal

05/23

Farmington Creek Hike

In the interest of including as many Symphony teammates as possible and rack up those double points, today, I decided to get JJ out on the trail. He had been feeling very cooped up and cabin fever had set in. Plus, he recently got a new shirt and beanie that he wanted to show off. He was stylin’ indeed. #koth2024  #doublepoints;)  #jjforpresident2024

Trail report from Farmington Creek

• Trail condition: Perfect
• Water levels: High but stream crossings are easy
• Waterfall rating: SPECTACULAR ★★★★★

0530

 Flag Rock and Patsy's Mine Hike

0601

Rockies Half

Let’s go run a half marathon, they said. It will be fun, they said.

#noreallyzacwhyarewedoingthis

#koth2024     #symsquad      #notdoublepoints:(

0606

So as if hiking wasn’t enough, Zac thought, hey, why don’t we just sling a 30 pound backpack over our shoulders, climb a mountain and see what happens…..thanks, Zac! #toruckornottoruck  #rubberlegs

#koth2024 #symsquad #notdoublepoints:(

0608 

Hiking, Biking & Making Friends

It says it right in the subject line – Hiking, Biking and Making Friends. Supposedly, hiking and biking would be separate activities. Not so much on Saturday as we got to do both at the same time. There’s no way to convey the reality of our adventure. And snapping pictures of some of the key moments just wasn’t feasible.

Word to the wise - If, per chance, you consider riding or walking or running on the Legacy Trail northward to Jordan River Trail – you should probs figure out a bypass from about 700 North to North Temple. As we pushed through this area I’m not sure we were Making Friends with the locals along the trail. We were just relieved to live to tell the tale.

Lots of stop and go – lots of off-the-bike, back-on-the-bike - lots of wondering about the life choices that brought us to this moment. #teamsaddlesores  #howlongislotoja  #closecall

0614

 

It’s a tale of two AI’s – ChatGPT and Gemini

Both were given the same prompt: Please write a short limerick about the Sym Squad's Friday morning hike to Ensign Peak, where we rucked, overlook Salt Lake City, had proper symphony homes branding, missed Jon Olson and Brandon Wright, and had a great time.

Gemini:

The Sym Squad on Ensign, quite bold,

Rucked up with their city unrolled.

With shirts proudly bright,

A Symphony sight,

Though Jon and Brandon, the view couldn't hold.

ChatGPT:

The Sym Squad hiked up Ensign Peak,

With rucks on their backs, so to speak,

Salt Lake spread below,

Symphony's branding did show,

But missed Jon and Brandon all week.

0621

Parade of Homes

0622

101 miles clocked. Much respect for those who have clocked so many more miles than this….I’m saluting you BWright. Between numerous peanut butter sandwiches, Pedialyte, and Zac and Collin dragging me kicking and screaming to the finish line…we made it. Another step in the right direction. Trigger warning for the image below: the reptilian, fossil-like imprint is nothing other than the dried sweat outline down my spinal cord left in my jersey. Personally, I think it’s pretty cool – but opinions will vary. TMI, you say? Probably.

0627

Some take-aways from Davis Creek Trail in Farmington:

• Don’t bother hiking this trail unless you subscribe to self-punishment
• No need to hike this trail
• Skip this trail
• Choose a different trail – like ANY other trail
• Do you like nice, flowy trails….then don’t go anywhere near this trail
• Do you like your knees? Then it’s a pass on this trail
• Pretty sure if you trace the meaning of “Davis” back far enough, it means “dumb trail” but I’m no professor
• Who’s idea was this anyway? Way to choose ‘em, Zac!
• True to form, Farmington does not want doggie poopoo on them trail  #keepourtrailspoopless
  
• What did we do to make you mad, Jon? We miss you #whereforeartthoujon

There you have it. Do with it what you will.

0711

Stopping for a little hikey hikey on the way to Seattle ...

0713

Seattle to Portland – here are the takeaways, just 6 of them:

1. A 200 mile bike ride is ill-advised for a 54 year old man, emphasis on OLD man. This one DID NOT consult his physician before embarking on a regimen leading him to this….
2. Brandon is a cycling beast. And while he didn’t do this particular ride – he did do it last year – and I have no earthly idea how he does it when his training rides are from Kaysville to Symphony HQ – How, Brandon, HOW?
3. Have you ever set a goal and been all starry-eyed about accomplishing said goal, only to find out, much too late of course, how misguided your intentions were? Yeah… that resonates with me.
4. It’s a sublime experience when the mind says to the body “Hey, let’s go just a little further” and the body says to the mind “Why don’t you go ********”. I think you get the picture.
5. Shout out to Jadon. He spent the entirety of 16 hours in a Sprinter van as our support vehicle. He drove us TO SEATTLE and back home FROM PORTLAND. He deserves his own medal for this one.
6. At roughly mile 188, I was waiting at the aid station for Zac to roll in for his last refuel before the push to the finish line. I saw him come into the frame, off to my left. He was pedaling strong. I watched for him to turn in to get that last bit of hydration and food. But he didn’t stop. We met eyes for a brief 5 seconds. He tipped his hand to his bike helmet in one last salute, somehow saying – “I can’t stop now, dude. It’s now or never. I’ll see you at the finish line or the funeral home. At this point it doesn’t matter.” And off he went.

The rest is history.

#koth2024  #teamsaddlesores  #whosideawasthis

0714

<Hey ChatGPT: Please write a rap lyric about Zac, Jadon, Collin and Grayson's hike to Multnomah Falls with 11 switchbacks and ice cream cones on July 14>   (Tip: you need to read this one with a beat box playing in the back of your mind)

Yo, check it

Zac, Jadon, Collin, Grayson, crew's insane

Hit the trail to Multnomah, feelin' no pain

Eleven switchbacks, climbin' higher and higher

Sweat drippin', heart pumpin', reachin' our desire

Falls crashin', nature's beauty, can't deny

Picnic spot, chillin', under that sky

July 14th, ice cream cones, sweet reward

Memories made, forever stored, word!

We out.

#koth2024 #symsquad #micdrop

0721

Let’s do a Spartan Race, they said. It will be fun, they said.  It seemed like such good idea at the time. One cracked rib and one strained disc later and at least we got a medal. #pleasedontmakemelaugh

I actually have to say that the Spartan Race was GRAYSON'S idea, not Zach's ...

Landon did it last year ...