Chasing Coyotes and Other Lessons Learned

Hi, I don't believe we've met... My name is Ashlee and I am a fan of bruising my legs, buying expensive shoes and journals, people who act like you've been best friends for years even though you just met 10 seconds ago and never giving up. I love long walks on the beach as well as blistering my hands while climbing a large rockface and killing my quads on a long, uphill run. Okay, so who really loves getting blisters and quad killers? Maybe I exaggerated an eeny teensy bitty bit. The point is, I can't sit still. I noticed that this morning when I was the first at our campsite to wake up. I stayed in bed for awhile, wondering when everyone would finally rouse from sleep, but I couldn't take it for long. Soon I was up and sitting in my car, staring at the Tetons and waiting for the day to officially begin.

The view from my tent

This guy started snorting at me, so I took off

Bison and the Tetons

Let's rewind, shall we?

When I woke up at the bed and breakfast last... oh gosh, what day was it? Saturday. It was Saturday.

Let's rewind again. Duhdooscreeeeeechwhir.

When I woke up at the bed and breakfast last Saturday, the man who runs the place greeted me with a huge smile. Eggs? Blueberry pancakes? Greek yogurt? Strawberries? Sausage? Coffee? He had it all.

Ahhhhh... Coffee. Let's get one thing straight: I am a girl. I am a girl who loves coffee. This girl right here loves coffee and it has been way too long since I have had a good cup of coffee-flavored milk. Oh, you know what I'm talking about. The good stuff. A third a cup of coffee with two-thirds nonfat milk. SoooooOOOOOOooOOoooooOooo delicious. Yum.

So I drank my coffee while the man told me about his life and how much I resemble Julia Stiles. That's only the 5th time I've heard that this week. The man was so open, telling me every detail of his life. Then his coworker came down and she told me every detail of her life. The people in Wyoming are amazing. They are so eager to be your favorite person in the world. I swear, I'll be standing in line to buy a sandwich and the person behind me wants to know where I came from, what I'm doing with my life, how I became a girl who loves coffee and running and biking and getting beat up. Not beat up in a weird way. Well, I guess it is kinda strange that I love having battle scars from my excursions.

That day I ran. It was the first time I've really run in quite awhile. I was not on my game. I miss being on my game. I miss my abs. Beer. All this beer I've been consuming is not helping my game. Dang you, Brock! I'm just going to blame Brock for this one since he's really the one who is always asking if I want a beer or a swig of whiskey. That's it. No more alcohol. I'm done.

The neighborhood I'm going to live in when I move to Jackson

Jackson is very... artsy?

 Last Saturday evening, we all went to the Outlaw. I didn't drink. Well, not really. Grillz texted and told me to take a sip of someone's beer for him. Brock and Tucker were the only ones still drinking. Here goes nothing; I walked over and grabbed Brock's beer and took an Ashlee sip, which means a tiny drop of beer. Brock look confused, but proud of me for drinking. "For Grillz," I said. Then I walked away.

Seriously, no more beer.

On Sunday, Tucker, Brock, Elle, Mackenzi, Rachel, Jackson and I drove to Jackson and got Chinese food for lunch. They all wanted to nap and you know I don't nap. We left Brock and Rachel in the park so they could get some shut-eye while the rest of us went climbing.

Jackson led the climb. It was a 5/10+. I was stoked. The Tetons were right across the street and I couldn't wait to get to the top. Tucker went first while I belayed. On belay. Belay on. Climbing. Climb on. He got about halfway up the rock when his arms got tired and he had to come back down. It was my turn. It took awhile for me to find the route I preferred, but soon I was scaling up the rock. I reached the top and took a deep breath of fresh air. Looking behind me, I could see the Tetons and the meadows and the lakes. It was one of the most breathtaking views I've ever seen.

Elle with her new friend Jeremy the Lizard

Jackson leading

Jackson was belaying me and he brought me down, but he did some weird James Bond stuff in between. We were both in the air dancing circles around each other and the rock. Finally we came down and Mackenzi and Elle were up.

Elle got the climbing shoes on then exclaimed, "I have to go chase a coyote!" Really? She has to chase a coyote right now before climbing the rock? What an inconvenient time for a coyote to show up. It was only an hour later that I was told what that meant. Oops.

Jackson and I were the only ones who made it to the top. I am so stoked on rock climbing. So stoked, in fact, that I went indoor climbing last night. Every Monday night, Enclosure in Jackson has a free rock climbing workshop. Indoor climbing is a lot different from outdoor climbing, but I found that I could easily climb the 5/7, 5/8 and 5/9. The 5/10 was a little more challenging, but I still made it to the top. I don't give up, even though sometimes I really want to.

After climbing with Jackson, Elle, Mackenzi and Tucker, I met up with the other group (Sophie, Nicole, Nani, Kaitlyn and Kacy) for a movie and the bed and breakfast. The next day, I convinced the girls to stop by the Teton Mystery with me. They were hesitant and I could tell they really had no interest, but I was anxious to check it out. 

Fence. Must climb it. Weeds. Must venture through them. Spider webs. Must break them.

It was an old, run down building and it was closed off, but we hopped the fence and discovered the mystery of the Tetons: an old structure built on a steep slope. Sounds lame, but it was pretty fun and we laughed a lot.

That's right, it's amazing!

So strong

The rest of the day was filled with tourist shopping and sightseeing. When the girls went back to Dubois, I grabbed dinner with the original group plus Tim and Leslie. We camped out at Shadow Mountain with a large campfire, a sky full of brilliant stars and a silhouette of the Tetons accompanying us to sleep. As I lay in my sleeping bag, Jackson told me the strawberry story. It was the perfect time to hear the strawberry story.

So, things I've learned about myself in my time off from cooking:

1. I love rock climbing and I want to start a rock climbing/ Pilates/ expedition business with Tyler.
2. Brock is pretty darn awesome at making everyone feel included.
3. Everyone in Wyoming is your best friend.
4. The Tetons are the prettiest sight in the world.
5. Alcohol is not my friend.
6. When someone says they have to chase a coyote, they really mean they have to pee.
7. Boys love blowing bubbles.
8. I'm kinda hardcore and I don't ever want to be hindered from exploring my limits.

best text ever!

Yes please

My beautiful new Toms. Stoked much?

My life summed up

Yay for new boots!

I want this bumper sticker

Me, Scott and Jo-Han!

repelling in Sinks