Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Snowmobiling

Today we woke up at 6:45, and after getting ready, had breakfast at the hotel restaurant -- bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast with maple syrup, and cocoa.  After loading the car, we headed across the street to Traveler's Snowmobile Tours & Rentals.  After signing papers, getting familiar with the snowmobiles, getting helmets, and waiting for the other people in our group to arrive, we headed toward Yellowstone National Park at 9:15.  It was snowing and cloudy, so you couldn't see much.  The temperature was 12 degrees entering the park...it ranged from about 10 to 15 degrees all day.  After a good part of the morning, it was nearly all sunshine...beautiful!

We had plenty of stops, including the Fountain Paint Pots, which we visited on the Alaska trip!  It was so cool to see them in the winter -- no big crowds!  We enjoyed looking out at some big open meadows, geyser basins, hot springs, and more.  There was snow all around, making it a totally different feeling...quiet and perfect.  We walked on some snow-covered boardwalks and even touched the outflow of a hot spring...hot water!

We reached our turnaround point, Old Faithful, at 1:30.  The famous inn and most of the surrounding places are all closed up, but there are a few eating places and an operating hotel throughout the winter.  There were lots of snowmobile and snow coach tours, so there were lots of people around!  Nothing like summer, though!  We all watched Old Faithful erupt at about 2:10...majestic as ever.  It went higher than we'd ever seen it...and this was my fifth time seeing it!  After Old Faithful's eruption, we had lunch at a place called the Geyser Grill.  Their special was a bowl of chicken-rice soup and half of a ham-and-cheese sandwich.  I got cocoa for a drink.  Yum!  After lunch, we took some pictures before starting back for West Yellowstone at 3:30.

On the way back, we didn't stop much at all.  We drove fairly fast (40-45 m.p.h.) past huge meadows, deep forest, and gorgeous rivers.  We arrived at our starting point at about 5:00.  After turning our helmets in and getting organized, we were heading for Jackson, Wyoming, at 5:30.

We saw wildlife today -- lots of bison, a coyote, a fox, and a bald eagle way off in a tree.  We even saw some wolf prints!  We were heading back to West Yellowstone when suddenly, out of the forest, came a dozen or so huge, mature male bison running...straight toward us.  We stopped and pulled over to the side of the road and they ran on by, looking at us as they went.  Our guide (a young man, very knowledgeable about snowmobiling and the park) thought there was a bear or wolves in the woods that scared them.  It was quite an experience to have them coming straight toward you!

My dad started driving in the morning, but after 15 or 20 minutes, he let me drive.  My mom rode with me mostly after that, and I let her drive for 10 or 15 minutes.  Besides that, I drove to Old Faithful and all the way back to West Yellowstone.  We guess that I drove about 45 or 50 miles.  I loved it, especially since the seat, handlebars, and throttle were heated.

To go into beautiful Yellowstone National Park in the winter (with no RVs or crowds or anything unpleasant!) was absolutely incredible.  With the snow all around, it was like an enchanted area!  I have now been to Yellowstone three times, and this was by far my favorite.  I look forward to visiting in the winter again sometime!

After the snowmobiling fun, we drove to Jackson, crossing the Teton Pass.  We went up pretty high but conditions were very good...no snow and clear roads.  After arriving at our hotel, we had supper at The Garage.  Their monstrous bison burger is filling!  I am now ready to take a shower and go to bed...more skiing coming tomorrow!


One of the many bison we saw on our snowmobiling through Yellowstone.


Here I am on "my" snowmobile! :)


A hot spring...steam rising and snow all around!


We saw a coyote...


...and a fox!


Here we all pose with Firehole Falls behind us.


Old Faithful showing her stuff.


Matthew and I stand with Old Faithful behind us.

~Anna~ 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Another Awesome Day at Big Sky

Up at 7:10 this morning!  It was nice to have a long night's rest after a great day of skiing.  Breakfast in the room again -- I had a bagel with cream cheese, oatmeal, and cocoa.  We loaded up all our stuff and were headed out at 8:30.  We arrived at Big Sky at 9:30.  We were riding the chairlift at 10:00.

It snowed overnight and there was fluffy, beautiful powder to float through!  The temperatures ranged from about 0 to 20 degrees today; average was about 15.  For the morning, snow fell constantly and the sun was quite rare...there was also lots of wind.  But to ski through the quiet powder was so awesome, it didn't matter.  Also, when we were in the trees, we were out of the wind.

We had lunch at a cafe across the hall (in the same building) from where we had lunch yesterday.  The tomato basil soup with a cornbread muffin was delicious!  We shared a big cinnamon roll, too.

After lunch, the sun popped out, bathing everything in a bright, happy glow.  There were places where it was still cloudy and/or snowing, but mostly we had sun for the whole afternoon, which was very nice.  We went up the tram to the top of Lone Peak, like we did on Sunday.  We took the same run down, called Liberty Bowl.  There was much more powder this time around!  We had sunshine some of the way down that, making for spectacular panoramic views.

All good things must come to an end, and we headed out at 4:50 after loading everything up.  As we left, the clouds at the top of Lone Peak parted and sun glowed on the entire mountain.  It was SO pretty!  We also enjoyed sunshine the whole drive back.  We headed for West Yellowstone, enjoying towering rocky cliffs, dense forests, the Gallatin River (frozen in some places), and snow everywhere.  It was a wonderful drive.

We arrived at 6 PM at our hotel in West Yellowstone, and after getting settled, we walked to supper in 10 degrees and cold wind.  We had supper at the Three Bears Restaurant.  I had the herb-roasted chicken with sides of creamy macaroni and cheese and vegetable fritters.  We all shared an Apple Brown Betty, too...apples, cinnamon, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream.  We figured we'd earned it with the challenging skiing we'd done.  My body is tired and will be happy to go to bed...but it's a good tired feeling.  It gives me great pleasure to know that I have accomplished very difficult runs.  We had a great time at Big Sky and I hope we can go back.

The trip isn't over yet, though...stay tuned for more exciting adventures tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday!


At the top of the Challenger double chairlift, ready to take a run.


Looking out from Liberty Bowl...pretty sunshine!


At the bottom of Hanging Valley (a double-black)...lots of powder!


Skiing some moguls on Moonlight

~Anna~

Monday, February 25, 2013

Moonlight Basin

 Today we woke up at 7 AM, got ready, had breakfast in the room (biscuits with jam, cocoa, apple juice, cookies from last night), and headed out at 8:20.  We arrived at Moonlight Basin at 9:25.  Moonlight Basin is a resort that touches Big Sky and even shares some runs with it.  It was off-and-on sunshine, high overcast, and around 10-20 degrees today.  In the morning, there was strong wind, but good gear kept us warm.

There were two main chairlifts we rode -- a high-speed, detachable six-pack called the Six Shooter, and a fixed-grip quad called the Lone Tree.  From these, we were able to access lots of terrific trails -- blues and blacks.  We were able to ski for a long time because the runs are so nice and long!

Lunch at noon was at the Jack Creek Grille, in the Moonlight Lodge.  Crab cakes for an appetizer, then I had the Flatbread, a pita with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil...yummy.  Cocoa topped it off.  By 1:00, we were back out.

"The Headwaters" are a series of trails (rated black or mostly double-black...for experts only) high up above the rest of Moonlight Basin.  Shortly after lunch, my dad, Matthew, and I pushed ourselves up a hill, got on a double, and rode to the top.  It started snowing and it was pretty windy at the top!  We were, however, able to see mountains all around; picturesque!  After snapping some pictures, we started down.  To get to the runs, you had to go on a very narrow, packed-snow path with rocks.  We tried to dodge most of them.  We took a double-black down, and we all got down safely.  It was powder and quite steep and SO MUCH FUN!

After that, we did some moguls (fun to bounce through), tree skiing, and powder since it was snowing pretty hard in the afternoon.  The powder was soft, fluffy, and quiet, perfect to float through.  To finish off, Matthew and I got hatpins before heading back to our hotel, arriving at 6:15.  We're having leftovers in the room for supper.  It'll be nice to relax after a wonderful day of skiing.

 Today was, for me, a day of becoming a more confident and experienced skier.  I really enjoyed the challenges and I handled the moguls, powder, and glades with much more confidence than before.  I went faster, had springier knees, and just cut loose.  My new skis are perfect; they really help me.  Overall, I'm really enjoying honing my 13-year-old skiing skills.  I've never had as much fun!


The view we saw eating lunch...pretty!


One of the views from the top of The Headwaters.


The Headwaters double chairlift; we came down just to the right of it.

~Anna~

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Big Sky!

Today we woke up at 6:45, got ready, had breakfast in the room (biscuits, cereal, muffins, apple juice, cocoa), and headed out at 7:50.  It was a beautiful drive up the valley -- 10 degrees, snow-covered mountains all around, and sunshine.  It made it wonderful.  Matthew and I were given new skis for Christmas, and Matthew ordered his from a shop in Big Sky.  We picked them up on the way up to the slopes.

By 10 AM, we were riding a HIGH-SPEED chairlift (yeah...feels so much better compared to Hidden Valley's slow old things!!) to start the fun day.  The runs are nice and long, with gorgeous snow.  Matthew and I enjoyed skiing for the first time on our new skis.  Mine, which are longer and fatter, are the perfect fit for me.  They turn, glide, ski backwards, and handle groomed or powder runs beautifully.  It's a joy to ski on them.

At 11:45, we headed to The Yurt for lunch.  No electricity or running water (you have to settle for the good ol' outhouse for your bathroom needs), but a stove keeps the small room cozy.  The chili and cocoa warmed us back up and gave us the energy we needed to enjoy an afternoon of beauty.  It never really got above about 15 degrees; it was probably as cold as 0 in some places.  Good gear kept us comfortable, and the sunshine all day (a real treat) helped.

At 1:30, we went to a mountain chapel church service.  Those are so much fun!  You just stand in your skis, in God's beautiful creation, and sing songs, pray, and listen to a short devotional.  It's not very long but it's a nice way to worship on the mountain.

Finally, we headed over to the tram, which took us to the very top of Big Sky -- 11,166-foot Lone Peak.  The only way down is on a black or double black run, meaning that if you take the tram to the top, you better be an experienced skier to get down.  We took a nice, wide-open bowl (rated as a black) all the way down.  None of us fell.  It was the best run ever and my skis did perfectly...it was so FUN!

We did a little shopping around the Big Sky village -- t-shirts, new mittens for me, and hatpins.  Afterwards, we went to supper at Ousel & Spur, an Italian-type restaurant.  We shared pasta, pizza, salads, and bread.  The prices are high and the portions smaller than expected but the food was good.  We were back to the hotel at 8 PM.


Here I am on my terrific new skis with beautiful mountains behind me!


Me, my mom, my dad, and Matthew at the mountain chapel.


Lone Peak is the tall white mountain sticking up.  We rode the tram to the top of it and skied down.

~Anna~

Saturday, February 23, 2013

STL to Montana!

Hey everyone!  I'm so glad to be back and able to share my next big adventure.  My brother, Matthew, was given a ski trip for his birthday and he chose to go to Big Sky in Montana and Jackson Hole in Wyoming.  So that's where we'll be hanging out for the next week...it's going to be super fun!

Yesterday (Friday, February 22, 2013), we left Wildwood at about 3:20 PM, drove to St. Joseph to have supper and get gas at 7:30 (great sandwich at McAlister's Deli), then back on the road at 8:10.  We then drove nonstop until 11:10 PM, arriving in Sioux City, where we spent the night.  Asleep at midnight! :(

This morning, we were up at 6:45, had breakfast (sausage, cereal, muffins, cocoa, juice), loaded up, and were on the road at 7:30 AM.  It was between 2 and 5 degrees until about 10:30 or 11:00 AM...COLD but soooo pretty with sunshine and sparkly snow.  At 11:30 (Mountain Time), we stopped in Wall, South Dakota.  We had lunch at the Wall Drugstore, which Matthew and I visited back in July 2012 on our Alaska journey.  It was fun to check it out again in the winter!  They had a crazy deal for lunch -- $4.49 for a BBQ pork sandwich AND a nice-sized bowl of chili.  We all had that...yummy!

At 2:10 PM, I started driving at Spearfish, South Dakota.  Two-and-a-half hours later, I finished good driving practice (complete with light snow for the last 15-20 minutes!) in Sheridan, Wyoming.  I haven't even had my permit for a month and I've already driven in four states (Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, & Wyoming)!!  From Sheridan, we drove all the way to Bozeman, Montana, arriving at 8 PM.  We had some snow and slush on I-90 for quite a ways.  We had supper at Santa Fe Red...awesome, generous-sized portions of Mexican food.  By 9:30, we were at our hotel in Belgrade.  Can't wait for skiing tomorrow...check in to see how it goes!

~Anna~