Jazz v. Lakers

The Mormon's were rockin' last night at the Jazz v. Lakers game.  I didn't expect there to be so much noise in Salt Lake City, but the crowd was wild...including a guy stripping to "Sexy and I know It" and getting tossed out. The game started out a little slow but picked up steam as the Jazz took the lead and the Lakers' coach freaked out and got ejected.  It was great to see the Lakers go down - sorry Kobe (and Jack)!!!
Grant

Alta Rocks

We pulled into Park City two days ago and are in transition mode. The Sundance Film Festival just packed up and left town, so we haven't had a chance to explore yet, planning to check it out this week. We were introduced to Alta today and it was amazing. It is tucked in Little Cottonwood Canyon about 45 minutes from where we are staying. Our ears popped every few minutes as we climbed toward the mountain. There was no snow in Salt Lake and then we turned the corner and it was winter again!  On each side of us the mountain peaks were jagged and dwarfed anything we have seen yet. When we got there the mountain seemed smaller than what we experienced. There was a great laid back vibe in the lodge, nothing fancy just a mountain committed to skiing. We heard a buzz of a helicopter over us as a group was headed out heli-skiing. The sun was bright all day and the mountain just had snow dump the day before.  Our first run was through trees and knee-deep powder surrounded us. Later in the day, my dad, Hank & I hiked up an area that had been roped off earlier. When I got to the top I realized why others had hiked up before us...untracked deep snow with what seemed like an endless run. When I made a turn snow flew over my head and it was super soft! This mountain is huge! Looking forward to getting back to Alta, heading into Salt Lake City tomorrow for the Lakers vs Jazz.

 Jack

Happy Birthday G!! 13 years

Montana Memories...

210 S 8th St., Bridger Bowl, Irving School, The Co-Op, Dad's cooking, The Ridge, Northern Exposure, Chico Hot Springs, Boiling River, Silver Gate cabins, Yellowstone, Neff, Cold Smoke Scotch Ale, Canyon's burger Wednesday, the circuit, eucalyptus steam room, hoops, The M, movie nights, The Ski Chalet, REI meltdown, Powder Hound Ale, hot tubs, Stockyard breakfast, Sporcle, Boggle, To Kill A Mockingbird, Cactus Records, grilling bison, Lewis and Clark (aka Rob and Tom's) caverns, playoff football, smoothies, wool buffs, McKenzie Pizza, Ted's Montana Grill, date night, Nova, Wild Joe's coffee, weather.com, MSU, the celebrity game, Amazon, Montana Ale Works, Over the Tapas, La Parrilla.

Perfect Moments

Back home at Saddleback, there is a great picture in the lodge that speaks to perfect moments. I've thought of that quote often while we close the books on our first month in Montana. I don't believe there are perfect days but WOW there are definitely perfect moments. They come in a variety of flavors. It might be a quiet moment in the morning or silence under the stars with the boys. Perfection is definitely in the woods at Bridger Bowl after a foot of fresh powder and during dinner with Julie as we steal an hour for just us. Sometimes it hits when I'm alone thinking about actually pulling off a trip of a lifetime or slowing down the truck so a Big Horned Sheep can pass the road in front of us. Perfect moments can be overwhelming or calming depending on the intensity. I'm thankful to share these moments with my family and am definitely greedy for more. Life is Good and Bozeman, Montana is just awesome!

Jay

Rev' It Up in West Yellowstone

Three million people visit Yellowstone NP every year, but only 3% visit it in the winter. Not only were we lucky enough to be here in the winter, but we got to check it out on a 80 mile snowmobile tour. Our day started off sizing up for our snowmobile suits and helmets. After getting our sleds assigned to us, we hit the frozen tundra of West Yellowstone and drove by a coyote at the gate to the park. Another snowmobile crew behind us passed by and scared the coyote into the woods, bummer. After driving a few more miles in fresh powder, we stopped to check out a bald eagle perched in a tree over a rushing river. We flew by herds of bison and elk as we headed toward Old Faithful. We felt like we had the park to ourselves. We listened to a ranger talk for a few minutes about the science of the geyser, then suddenly everyone moved their eyes to the boiling over steam and waited....finally we saw some bubbles popping up. A huge spout of water and steam shot up 150-175 feet for 3 minutes!  After it settled down we started back to the sleds and drove to various boardwalks that contained bubbling mud pots, crystal clear thermal pools (over 200 degrees!) and other cool geysers. We took off after a half hour and visited a few winter waterfalls. We pulled over to get a better view and our guide Chris took us to a bridge to take a good look for a few minutes. He did an awesome job explaining all of the details of how the animals get through the harsh winter and why the stinky hot springs are so important to the life cycle of the park. Sometimes the bison get very close to the hot pools to warm up during  - 40 degree days.  We hopped back on the sleds and took off heading back to West Yellowstone, I was with Dad and Jack and Grant rode with mom. It was an awesome day and the first time I had ever been on a snow mobile.

Hank & Dad

Back To School Part II

Today we headed back to the Irving Elementary School and visited our kindergarten buddies, except this time they taught us about their state...Montana. They colored pictures of Montana facts that they thought would be interesting to us. They told us about the animals in Montana, things that they did in the winter, explained about the places they thought signified Montana, and the food that grow in the state. After each child came up and showed us their pictures, they gave us a gift that was actually quite delicious - Huckleberry Gummies. Of course, after the teacher gave us the treat each student asked if they could have one. And of course, when we were done handing them out we ended up with 2 each. It was then our turn to ask them questions which included things like what sports they play, what they do for fun, and what summer is like in Bozeman. After a couple kids told us what they did one boy politely and formally said, "I suggest that you check out the Animals in Montana." We all smiled because he was this little 2 foot tall child with a  delivery of a 50 year old man.  It was fun to listen to kids that age.  Another great day with the five year olds!
Grant