Where's the chairlift?

First race in Idaho. It could have gone better. (it also could have gone worse)
A concussion, (with broken helmet), a meaty paw, two cut and bruised knees, a cut and bruised back, thigh, butt, ribs, kidney, shin, and shoulder are the makings of a fine weekend.
Phil got third in expert XC-and he's a downhiller. But not without a crash; staying true to the theme of the weekend.
Sleeping outside on the ground-reminiscent of years past at Mount Snow.
Getting all wrecked-reminiscent of the last time I tried to ride.
And the dual freeride...
A race made of wooden chutes and ladders-not a single turn. Riiiiiight.

Cue the cliche nature images...

I think I'll go for a walk

Actually, it started out on the bike (doesn't it always...). Then I saw a cool bluff/hill/mini mountain and decided I should probably go up there. You know 'to see what I could see'. Getting up was a lot easier than coming down.
Here's something I realized climbing up:
There's nothing keeping those rocks up there other than a little friction; as compared to back east, where the rocks are firmly planted in clay-rich dirt. Not here. These rocks are gonna come down, it's only a matter of time, and the size of some of them is enough to keep me on my toes.
Book smarts applied to real life:
Slope is dependent on something called 'angle of repose". It basically means that the size of the grain dictates the slope; a chunkier pile will be steeper and a more granular pile will be flatter. But the gray area is this: Some parts are solid and you're great, and then other parts, you take a step that sends you on a bit of a slide. The moral of the story is four parts: the whole nature thing is cool (1), pay attention in Geology (2), but don't forget about the 'real-life' factor (3) and I am a nerd (4).

Get your shoot on...

At the OK Corral? Whatever's clever. Here, Ben is about to find out his batteries are dead. Things went downhill after that.