Mother Nature ALWAYS Wins....

The Snake River slide of 2011!! Beginning Saturday last week 5.14.2011, the mountain of mud, rock, trees, and bushes started to come down. It started simple enough only covering half of the road and has progressed to what is seen here. The mountain of debris just kept coming and coming. The slide is the result of a very wet Spring. I have been commuting through the Snake River Canyon for over 15 years and have never seen the amounts of water that has been coming off of the mountain....water was actually "sweating" from the rock wall located to the left of the slide. The slide has caused the closure of US 26 / 89...forcing traffic to travel North to Swan Valley, ID - through Pine Creek Pass to Victor, ID and up & over Teton Pass (10% grade) to commute to Jackson. It adds only 40 miles to my commute each day, but because of the two passes and traffic, it can add 75 minutes to my commute time. I regressed on one morning commute and had the thought, "I wonder how fast I can make this drive...." not wise, but I've never been one to back down from my on mind's challenges. After making a great start and only being on two wheels a couple of times the wet road and the morning's 28 degree temperature provided a huge variable. Fortunate for me, the hour was early enough that there was no traffic and somehow traction was regained. The remainder of the trip was driven at a more reasonable speed.

In reality the slide is not a big deal...nobody was hurt, no homes were lost and it WILL be fixed. It is just a unfortunate inconvenience. WYDOT is doing a great job in assessing and communicating with everyone. Everyone wants a timeline to as to when the road will reopen, which I feel is unfair. I don't think all the professionals...geologists or excavators can give a definite day....Mother Nature will have her say.

Haderlie Ranch's brand immortalized....

The landscaping of my yard is almost complete. I am putting the finishing touches on my "Rock Garden" This is at the entry way to my home and features our family's brand. Heritage has always been important to me and seeing this brand fills my head with so many thoughts of past experiences. This brand is put on all of our livestock...horses and cattle alike. The horses are branded with a method using a gel type substance that gradually eats the hair and skin to leave a permanent mark. The cattle (calves) are branded with an electric hot iron that glows red and burns the skin...making the scar actually raise above the skin level once healed. The smell is unmistakable. (Burnt hair & flesh)

Maybe some of you have seen the brands put on the arms of fraternity brothers...the burn will heal and puff up the area that was effected.

The hours spent branding cattle have always been some of the best times of my life. Without fail, we always had more family and friends than we had jobs to do.