Jackson, Wyoming

Jackson is just as beautiful as everyone says.  The fair is situated just outside of downtown surrounded by the beautiful Teton mountains.  Our RV is nestled in among the horses who seem to be in an endless state of motion as they prepare for competitions and showings.  Surprisingly though, they are the quietest of all the livestock on the grounds.  A single disembodied moo holds the title for loudest farm animal.  We have yet to find the cow attached to it.  Jackson boasts of several key tourist spots besides its annual fair and inbetween shows we sneak out of our green room (aka Our Bus) and explore the city on bike-back.  The giant arch of elk horns is a must see...This strange and highly hazardous piece of wood sculpture is perfect for picture posing...The big challenge came in the form of "The Alpine slide."  Rivaling the death-defying and winding turns of the slide down from the Great Wall in China:This slide has left its mark on the Jackson population.  Literally.  Everywhere you go you can see the burn marks of overly ambitious slide riders who have taken a tumble during flight.  My dad was one of these victums.  Apparently trying to operate a camera while riding down a slide on a tiny plastic sled with a limited ability to stop is a bad idea.  He lost a couple of IQ points on this one.  Luckily a little video survived of Andy's descent down the dangerous drop of doom. (These alliterations are thanks to an unhealthy dose of ancient british literature.)  On the musical side of things it was absolutely amazing to have both our choreographer and our producer with us for our shows.  Besides the fact that we would mess up anytime we thought they might be analyzing our choreography or musical execution (aka every second of every song), I think over all, our show benefitted.  We had the chance to meet some amazing people:  Jim our soundman who crawled under our stage to fix the speakers :) Marcus the funny man who does tricks (his full title).  He gave us some great tips for contact juggling!  Yonder Mountain String Band's sound techs - quick-change teardown masters.  The Sticky Fingers stand owners - the best lemonade ever! And some wonderful fair board members.  We also got to hook up with some old friends.  Liberty, Vic, and Joan Wagner, who took us in, fed us, gave us access to their amazing library, and introduced us to some wonderful music at the Bar J.  It's definitely a must-see!  We saw our first demolition derby as well.  Andy and Christian thought it was the coolest thing since the toaster, and mom was so worried about everyone involved that she couldn't watch.  She is convinced that their mothers must be worried sick!