The week in my hometown

Day 33 Sunday 17 July Reno to Lamoille, NV

We get a late start as we let the kids sleep in. Note to those without kids, when the time comes invest in blackout curtains, if your kid is light sensitive like mine they are a life saver. We listen to the Women’s World Cup final on ESPN radio through my iPhone on the drive to Elko, all hail modern technology. It would make a better story if the game had had a better result. Honestly, I’d feel happy for Japan if I didn’t feel like the U.S. lost the game more than Japan won it, as it is I’m just bitter. We get into Elko and meet up with my mom and drive out to the cabin in Lamoille. It’s nice to get out there and the dogs love it as we’re able to just let them roam all over the property without being leashed. One of the best things about my parent’s cabin being out in the middle of nowhere is that the stars at night are unbelievable. You can see the milky way and every star is bright and distinct. Sitting out and staring at them while talking is a great way to end an evening.

Day 34 Monday 18 July in Lamoille, NV

We head into Elko to meet with a high school buddy and his family for a playdate at the park and then meet with a business school friend and her fiancée for Lunch. Meeting with my high school buddy is great as he has a wonderful family and I really enjoy catching up again, the only awkward part is realizing that the last time I talked to him I was probably drunk and roaming the house in my underwear. My buddy from B school and fellow member of the 507 crew Emmy and her fiancee’ Wendy are driving from San Francisco to Louisville, KY and thus are able to stop through Elko on their own version of the epic drive. It’s really fun to see them and get a quick brief on what they’ve been doing since B-school ended. For those wondering it looks like they have arrived in Louisville safely and I look forward to, hopefully I’m invited after this, attending the wedding. I try to get them to drink the Ruby Mountain brands, a local beer that I enjoy. Emmy accuses me of being a secret hippy for drinking a local product, I reply I think the beer tastes good and would prefer to help keep the company in business. Still, the hippy thing stung, you’re on notice Gladney!

Day 35 Tuesday 19 July Lamoille, NV to Diamond Valley, NV to Lamoille, NV

Today we make a day trip to my sister’s house at the farm in Diamond Valley. The drive takes about two hours and most of them are spent on a tiny two-lane highway that winds through some stark, yet pretty country. On the way down I see a giant deer running towards the highway, further proof that the Hunter’s curse is in full effect, as I only see big deer like this when I’m not hunting. I start to slow down and keep an eye on the deer, which turns out to be a good thing as the damn thing runs across the highway about twenty feet in front of us. At the speed I was at that’s an uncomfortably close distance, but I stop the van in time and get treated to the sight of the deer turning, smiling at me and performing the kiss my ass motion. For those who would say deer can’t do that, I say you weren’t there. Diamond Valley is a pretty area and the house that Kati and my brother-in-law have built is really nice and well done. I really should have pictures in order to brag about it, but I’m not a real big camera guy. It’s a fun day, Logan and my nephew are very close in age and tend to play really well together, but they’re also going to give each other their first bloody noses, mark my words. After dinner we drive back to Lamoille and take Kati and Dean back with us. Megan, my sister, and I head over to a late night showing of the new Harry Potter movie and have a great time. The movie is very well done and was a satisfying capstone to the end of the Harry Potter franchise.

Day 36 Wednesday 20 July Lamoille, NV

The big thing we do today is drive up Lamoille canyon and try to take the family on a hike. Megan, Kati, and I and the three kids along with the two dogs go to a place called Thomas Canyon and do a quick hike up the trail there to see a really pretty waterfall. The hike is short because Logan melts down the second he starts on the trail. I’m wearing the baby backpack and have two dogs around my waist so picking him up isn’t an option for me and he’s so big now it isn’t really one for Megan either, so we have to turn around and basically cattle prod him down the trail. We hang out at the creek in the campground area for a bit and then drive back down to the cabin. My sister has to head back to her home on the ranch and so we say goodbye and wish her well. My mom heads down to the ranch for the night as well so it’s just Megan, me, and the kids at the house in Lamoille for the night.

Day 37 Thursday 21 July Lamoille, NV

Today’s a pool day and we take Logan down to the Elko pool, which hasn’t changed much since I was a kid. There are some notable changes though, the high and low dives have been replaced(thanks legions of underemployed lawyers) by a group of small tunnels like you’d find at a waterpark which I guess is cool, but the knowledge that my kids will grow up without the experience of trying to perform a flip off the high dive and then spend half an hour trying not to cry from the pain when they land awkwardly in the water makes me a little sad. The old basket and key system has been replaced by lockers, which takes away a whole row of benches and makes finding a clean place to sit a bit of an adventure. I take Logan out to the pool and he is all excited about swimming until a young lifeguard comes over and explains that he can’t wear his lifejacket. For those of you without small children, think of the lifejacket as like Linus’ blanket. He doesn’t function well in the water without it and today he loses his mind as I think he thought I took his lifejacket off just to be mean. I’m still trying to figure out how the pool has a no lifejacket policy, but I’ve decided that trying to make sense of government regulations/policies is a fruitless exercise. I know perfectly well that promotions and other methods of advancement are often predicated on designing new policies or procedures with little regard for what was in place before or even for the greater impact on the whole when the impact on one small and easily measurable thing is what’s important. Dealing with a pissed off 3 year old is not exactly my idea of a great afternoon, but we stay for a little while to try to let the kids burn off some energy. That night Megan and I go to dinner at a place called the Pine Lodge, it’s a steak and seafood place that’s a Lamoille institution with good food and prices to match. The décor of the place is also interesting, it’s full of taxidermy displays and just plain mounted heads. The most impressive one is the gigantic Elk head that is facing Megan and me throughout dinner, silently reproaching me as I eat my steak. Day 38 Friday 22 July Lamoille, NV

We decide today’s a great day to take Logan and my nephew to the creek on my mom’s property and let them play in it. It’s fun to let the boys run around and play in the water and the dogs enjoy it, too. Logan is fascinated by the tunnel that runs underneath the road and wants to go into it. I help him into the tunnel and then haul him out immediately when I see all the spiders on the top of the tunnel and remember from previous experience that many are likely to be Black Widows. Megan and I hit the hay early tonight as the adventure begins tomorrow.

Day 39 Saturday 23 July Lamoille, NV

Megan and I get up at 4 o’clock in the morning(For my business school buddies this is the time I believe you call crawl home drunk o’clock) and load ourselves and the dogs into the van. We head to Lamoille Canyon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamoille_Canyon A local treasure that is the main thing I love and miss about my hometown, I’m rarely back in Elko in the summertime and so the chance to hike up the Ruby Crest Trail to Lamoille Lake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamoille_Lake_(Nevada) is one I am not about to miss out on. For those not from Elko, I am entrusting you with the great secret that something this beautiful exists in the middle of nowhere. If anyone lets the Californians find out about this and they invade the way they’ve invaded Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon I will hunt you down and destroy you.

At any rate Megan and I hit the trail at just a little bit after five in the morning and once we get far enough up it that we think the dogs won’t head back down to the parking lot let the dogs off the leash to go run to their hearts content. We get up to where we can get a good view and it’s just fantastic. The light is just starting to hit the canyon and the mix of shadows and early morning sun on canyon walls makes for an impressive sight and I am glad we got up this early, not only to spare my mom the burden of dealing with all three kids for too long, but also because we have the trail and sights like these to ourselves. As we head up the trail I realize just how much the late spring has impacted everything. I have never seen snow this far down the trail in Late July, we get to a pretty significant snowfield and have to traverse the snow. Thankfully, we’re on the path well-chosen and people have basically stomped out a path in the snow to follow. The dogs love this and go tearing off straight down the mountain in the snow. I keep calling them back as I get steadily more nervous that they’ll go down an area steep enough to climb back up. Eventually we top out on the mini-plateau that the Dollar Lakes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_Lakes rest on and start looking for the trail, my extremely hazy memory is somewhat helpful as is the fact that the area where Lamoille Lake rests is clearly visible. The Dogs run into the water with ecstasy approaching that of their mealtimes(they’re dogs and as such their pleasures are simple it’s like they’re furry bachelors). We spot some cougar tracks in the snow which makes Megan nervous(understandably so the prints are huge), but I figure we’re a large enough party and making enough noise that a Mountain Lion is going to make sure to leave us the hell alone. We finally make it to Lamoille Lake at around 6:45 in the morning. My plans to go swimming I figured were ruined the moment I saw how far down the snow was and a look at the snow-choked and very glacial lake tells me my suspicion was correct. Leaving the polar-bearing to Kurt Anderson we turn back down the mountain and enjoy a fun hike back to the car. On the way back down, we scare up a family of deer and one of the bucks makes it a point to stop on the rocks with a perfect shooting silhouette and flip me off(Again were you there?).

We decide to stop for breakfast and enjoy a very nice meal at a bar in Lamoille called O’Carrol’s that has pulled off the interesting trick of being both a yuppie and redneck hangout which makes it perfect for me as I often feel like I ride that line more often than not. The breakfast is also notable as it’s the first time Megan and I have had breakfast alone together since Logan was born. On the whole it was a wonderful morning and a great way to spend the first part of our last full day in Nevada.

Sorry for the long delay but moving into a new house is exhausting. I'll have the drive home hopefully published by tomorrow and then stay tuned for the flight West to Seattle for a friend's wedding and minor high school reunion.