I’m in Utah’s Heber Valley at a training camp for a couple weeks. I was a little said to leave VT in peak foliage season. The fall looks and smells awesome in the east, and I am missing that right now, but the western fall has it’s own special charm. All the oaks and aspens are changing color here, and when it rains, the smell of sage permeates the air.
On Wednesday, we lucked out with nice weather and climbed most of the way up Mt. Timpanogos, Utah’s 2nd highest peak. Mt. Timpanogos towers over Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic venue where we are training, and I’d been dreaming about climbing that mountain for years.
When the thunderstorms aren’t too bad, we’ve been spending a lot of time at the range. Between the gusty winds and cold rain, the shooting has been extremely challenging. The coaches call it “toughness training.”

Zach and Sara captured a pet on our front door step and now she lives in an empty orange juice container in our kitchen. She is black, has 8 legs, eats flies, and has a red hourglass on her belly.