Really Big Sky!

After making pizza at home, we went back and forth on how to finish the evening. The Patriots had just dismantled the Broncos after 10 minutes of play and since we run a benevolent dictatorship, we put it to a vote: one vote for a movie, a couple votes for another episode of Northern Expsoure (we have been watching the first 2 seasons) or maybe a hot tub. We decided on the tub after we randomly started puttting our suits on. All the lights were off in the backyard and the stars looked as if you could reach out to grab one. The conversation began with a debate on who could find the coolest constellation and if we were looking at a satellite or a plane as we watched bright blinking lights in the sky. It turnded quiet (rare for this trip..) as we leaned back and just starred at the millions of stars....SILENCE. Jack broke the silence with the question of "how did we get here??" This simple question led to a lively debate between the three brothers. Points about how we were created and what were the first life forms blasted back and forth. Julie and I watched with a smile as the boys interrupted each other before each sentence was finished. Hank whispered to me as we walked in "that was the strangest conversation I've ever been part of." LOVE IT
Jay

Lewis & Clark State Park

Today our family went to the Lewis and Clark State Park to explore the
caverns. After a 45 minute drive we saw a sign that read "Caverns are
closed." "Look at the sign," my mom said. All of us took a deep sigh. "Are
we still going?" I asked. "We'll check it out," my dad answered. So,we
drove another 15 minutes and arrived at the State Park. We decided to check
out the park anyway, so started a hike up a trail. We thought we would head
to the mines instead, so hiked up and over the mountain until we came to a
tunnel - our destination.  My dad and I read a sign for mine and then
walked down a little path to the tunnel.  As we peeked inside we saw a
gate, the mine was LOCKED!!!!!! "Shoot," I said. We yelled out to everyone
and said "Guys, there's a fence." Jack & Grant responded, " NO WAY!"  At
this point we were an hour from our car.  As we started to hike back, we
got off trail, but we still knew the direction we had to go. So we hiked
through the brush, off trail, down to the bottom.  Jack, Grant, my dad and
I went one way to the bathroom as my mom went to get the car. As we got to
the bottom, we turned to see the trail sign that read "You Are Entering The
Home Of The Prairie Rattlesnakes" I asked my dad, "Did we just hike in
that?" "Yep," he said.  "Oh, wow," we all said.  Guess we should read up on
where we are hiking before we go next time.
-Hank

Breakfast in Bozeman!

When you walk into The Stockyard Cafe the sign reads: service, quality, speed...choose one! Unreal banana bread french toast and service with a frown...loved it!!
Jay

Our Three Sons.....

This week we didn't drive by bison or track wolves, didn't even take more than 2 runs at Bridger Bowl. It was a week of settling in or more "storming in" as we attempt to teach the boys, set up my office and simply get groceries. We have three very different "students"  and creating a balancing act has kept us on our toes. Julie has been heroic taking the lead role teaching as I get to tip-toe down stairs early morning and fire up my computer. (Working remotely is much easier than teaching remotely!) We have a new found respect for our teaching crew back home! Our goal is to strike a blend of experiential learning and make sure that they get enough math reps to prep them for next year. It has been awesome to watch them work together and respond to us without too much push back...lots of laughs. We are heading to the Lewis & Clark caverns today for another adventure as we wait for a DUMPING of snow heading our way tomorrow! Go Pats!
Jay

Winter in Yellowstone

What a great overnight stay in Yellowstone!  We left early and stopped for a soak in the Chico Hot Springs which was a treat! The pool was huge, without many guests, and 98/104 degrees. It is one of three hot springs that have been "developed" in the area...still, no need for chemicals in the water.  After lunch we made our way to the North Entrance to the park (through Gardiner) and set off for a two hour drive through Lamar Valley toward Cooke City.  We were overwhelmed with wildlife, including a golden eagle, a beautiful grey wolf, and plenty of bison, elk, coyotes. The kids freaked when we had to stop the car so a herd of 2000 lb. bison could cross the road. The park is absolutely stunning right now with the snow covered mountains and beautiful sunlight...and the only traffic was Ken Burns and his entourage studying the wolf packs. We stayed at the rustic and cozy Silver Gate Cabins and had a blast snowshoeing and playing games in front of the fire.  Best of all, Doug (the owner) offered to take us out this morning to track the wolves.  He, along with several others from The Wolf Project, gave us a tutorial on the different packs in the park and their role within the pack/park.  We were able to look through their scopes and locate the wolves.  It was pretty exciting, although the wolf we saw was quite sleepy.  Apparently, (and according to the pictures we saw) the wolves had a huge kill the day before and were still pretty satisfied from that.  After our wolf expedition we headed back through the park and made our final stop at The Boiling River, which is the natural hot spring in the river at the north entrance.  We joined only two others who were soaking in the 108-140 degree spring adjoining the 34 degree river.  It was truly unbelievable.  The weather was 20 degrees and we hiked 1/2 mile along a trail to drop into the river.  There were a lot of signs that warned us about the naturally scalding temperatures, but one of the men that was soaking in the river happened to be a park guide and hooked us up with how to avoid those areas, as well as an amazing geology lesson...major bonus! The river is situated at the base of a mountain range, so the views were incredible. 
-Julie

Bridger Bowl vs. Moonlight Basin

Bridger Bowl and Moonlight Basin are similar mountains, but extremely diverse at the same time. They're similar because they are both white-capped mountains with PLENTY of snow and they both have chair lifts that rise above the ground at about 75ft.(without a bar to prevent you from falling off). Moonlight is the backside of Big Sky, which is a mountain owned by the same people who own Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine. Moonlight is facing north which means it obtains more snow compared to Big Sky which is weird because there 200ft. apart. Facing north also means its freezing! Bridger Bowl is a very green mountain that has a lot of trees beneath the chair lifts. There are no condos on the mountain, which make it feel even more remote. When I first got there, it didn't look that steep...then I got about half way up and it was steeper than anything I had ever seen. They are both great mountains for back country skiers and a sweet place to vacation.

-Jack

                                                                                                                                        

Back To School

Yesterday I had the pleasure of officially teaching my first course in American politics. I planned for hours on how I would attack my lecture on the difference between a primary election and a state caucus. My visual aids were set and all of my students had three ring binders and mechanical pencils... I began by asking a question to see how my class had been prepped for this topic. Before I finished the sentence my student to the right (Grant) asked if he could "go see the nurse?"  Ah...the beauty of teaching your own boys!!  After a few direct threats, we were off to a lively discussion. Hank summed up the entire hour by simply stating that our election system was "just like an epsiode of Survivor" and Jack was annoyed that you could actually win delegates without getting the most votes. Success!
Jay