Let it SNOW!!

As many of you are starting to experience spring-like temperatures, it is definitely still winter here in Jackson Hole. We got 2" of new snow last night to add to our total of 43" of new snow over the past week! The forecast is for another foot of snow this weekend. The mountain has been blanketed with 392" of snow so far this season and there is not an end in sight, much to the delight of the local skiers. See if you can find Barry & I in some of the awesome ski photos shot at the mountain this week:


Cowboy Powder! Barry??



Let it snow! Michele??

Barry or Michele - would Barry really wear a white backpack?

Barry?? He was called the mogul meister a few weeks ago.

Morning hike up the mountain to get some fresh tracks, definitely NOT either of us!

So, did you recognize us in any of the photos? Hmmmmmm, that's funny - we aren't in any of the latest skiing photos. Oh well, at least some people are taking advantage and enjoying all of the fresh powder! If you love skiing fresh powder all I can say is - get your ski buns out here! In the meantime Barry & I will dream about what it will be like to one day conquer a mountain full of cowboy powder and lay down some fresh tracks. Certainly it will be a blog, just not sure when.

It's almost the weekend....enjoy!

Jackson Hole Interesting Fact:
97% of the 3,826,407 acres in Teton County (where we live and Jackson Hole is located)  are federally owned or state managed, including the Grand Teton National Park, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and the National Elk Refuge. Only 3% of the land in the Jackson Hole area is privately owned. (Thus, real estate is EXTREMELY outrageous in price)

Jackson Hole Winterfest - Part 2

So much fun in one weekend that it deserves two blogs! Following a fun day at the Cutter Races we headed into town for the Outrageous Air Show, a jaw-dropping display of aerial acrobatics starring expert freestyle skiers. The show was staged under spotlights at Snow King Ski Resort (in town), and accented by fireworks. It drew a huge crowd of families and was a spectacular show.

On Sunday morning we had gotten two feet of fresh powder on the mountain and the snow was still accumulating at the rate of two inches an hour. The locals were all talking about the "Epic" conditions - in other words NOT good for Barry & Michele's skiing expertise! Our church was hosting a mountain-top church service at the top of the Gondola - so we headed to the Mountain Resort for church; hopefully to be followed by a day of skiing. There is no better way to worship God than at 8,500 feet overlooking the snow covered mountains with it pouring snow! Funny thing was that our associate pastor (a young, self-described, transformed ski bum) cut the service short as he couldn't resist the mounting "powder" and wanted everyone to enjoy some "fresh tracks" - AMEN!


"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in." ~George Washington Carver

Well, all the praying in the world and even attending church right there on the mountain did not help our descent down the mountain Sunday morning. All that fresh "cowboy powder" knocked us right back to admitting what we truly are - groomer skiers! We tried a second run and then realized that "epic conditions" are not for us; we waved the yellow flag of surrender and packed it up and headed back home. At least we got in church!

TOO MUCH POWDER FOR US!



"Snowbows" appear out here when the
sun peeps out during a snowstorm!

We couldn't let a "little" snow completely ruin our day, so we took Bella on a 5+ mile hike on Cache Creek. The snow doesn't stop her, although at times we thought we might lose her - she loves to venture deep into the snow!

Bella hiking through the snow!

Some of the planned events that we missed this year, but look forward to attending next year:

• Snow Sculpture Competition (winners qualify for U.S. Nationals)
• Margarita Cup Race (don't know what it is - but Margarita's sound good)
• Moose Hockey Games 
• JH Ski Club - Moose Chase Nordic Race (maybe I can skate ski by then)
• Jackson Hole Ski Club - Club Series Slalom Race (this would be Barry's event)
• Texas Hold'em Tournament @ The Wort Hotel (A good way to fund living in JH)
• Dodgeball on Ice Tournament (Sounds a bit dangerous; but fun if enough beer first)
• K-9 Keg Pull (We need to get Bella ready)

K-9 Keg Pull

We were ready for some R&R by the time President's Day rolled around! Barry had the day off (Thanks George Washington!) so we enjoyed a restful morning, brunch with our neighbors and then a 6.6 mile cross country ski on beautiful Game Creek to work off our French Toast Souffle (Shelley Primovic's recipe that is just amazing)! Now it is back to reality - work for Barry, and for me: still a nice long vacation!!!!

Hope you find yourself having a great week and starting to feel like you really need to visit JH! Miss you~

Jackson Hole Winterfest 2011

It's a winter wonderland outside, which is appropriate since this past weekend was Jackson Hole's Inaugural Winterfest.  As the snow swirls and spirals to the ground, it's almost like living inside a snow globe! After almost 8 days of bluebird skies and warm temperatures, the stuff that people came here for returned - "dumps" of snow; just in time for all of the weekend's festivities! We attempted to attend as many of the festival features as possible, but definitely are looking forward to next year's WinterFest, as we did not get to nearly enough of the 25+ events that were a part of the Inaugural festivities.

I kicked off WinterFest by attending the Alonzo King's Lines Ballet (San Francisco) open rehearsal. What phenomenal athletes and artistic performers - perfectly balanced - beautiful! What was amazing was to watch their rehearsal and then see how our altitude affects even those in the best shape - they were winded, to say the least! We did not take the opportunity to go to the performances on Friday and Saturday, due to all of the other Winterfest events.

 

Thursday evening we attended the WinterFest Art Gallery Walk - meandering through the art Galleries dowtown, many of which offered food & wine. We ended the night at a fun local's event - All You Can Eat Pizza at Betty Rock Cafe. Great atmosphere, awesome pizza & BYOB (only in JH)!!

The weekend brought the much anticipated 40th Annual Shriner's All American Cutter Races, which are held right here in Melody Ranch! Cutter races are a western version of horse-drawn chariot races. Cowboys thunder past the cheering crowd in cutters, pulled by a team of thoroughbreds. Teams are run two abreast for a 1/4 mile down the snowy track to the finish line. The Jackson Hole Shriner's Club auctions off Calcutta wagers in between, adding to the excitement of each race. Even more exciting is the "off-track" betting that takes place on the sidelines between each race. Everyone attends the races carrying wads of one-dollar bills and you wager with all of those around you on each race - choose red or green to win - even the kids are betting!

The Cutter Races @ Melody Ranch

There was also a Pony Class of Cutter Races

Half-time entertainment!

This event proved to be Wyoming in a nutshell - you really need to experience it to understand it! People travel from all over the region and descend upon JH for the weekend's two days of racing. They pull flatbeds, trailers, campers, and many other varieties of equipment including propane fueled deep fryers, heaters, blenders and more to "do their tailgating up right." Everyone brings along their kids, dogs and old folks (just set them under a tent near a propane heater with a beer) for the day. Now that we know what is entailed in this event we will be much better prepared next year - hope you will join us!

Tailgating in style at the Cutter Races~




Keeping the wine chilled is easy at the Cutter Races!

 

A VERY happy Snowman!

Our "spread" this year - Buffalo Salami and Smoked Gouda,
a backpack of beer & an insulated coffee mug of wine!
We PROMISE to do better next year, now that we know!

Me & Kay enjoying the Cutter's (on the phone to Ashley!)



HERE YE! HERE YE! WE MADE THE FRONT PAGE!!!!!



Cutter Races were front-page news here and Barry & I just made the pic!
We are on the far left - I have on my blue hat and Barry has on grey hat!
That is our friend Paul with the little girl on his shoulders.

 

Almost famous!

More fun to come in the next blog!

How Sweet it is!

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend of SWEET weather, LOVABLE friends and lots of HEART-healthy activities to celebrate or Valentine's weekend. We were thrilled to welcome Greg and Anita Owings as our first "official visitors" to our new home for Valentine's weekend! They enjoy winter sports, the outdoors, good wine and friendship as much as we do, so it was a really fun, non-stop weekend. They arrived on Friday afternoon, just in time to enjoy some lunch and shopping on the Town Square. We did the "locals' thing" and hung out at the Snake River Brewery that evening. We were proud to show off our hand-painted tiles that are now hanging in the restaurant (only mine & Derek's are up so far - Barry & Ashley's to come later):

 


We awoke Saturday to a "bluebird" day and warm temperatures - so we headed out to the JH Mountain Resort for a day of skiing. Greg had Barry going down moguls and more - now we call him the "mogul meister" HA!

Greg & Anita at the top of Sublette

A beautiful day, lots of downhill, no lunch break - we came home and started the real heart-healthy activity of drinking red wine and eating buffalo salami! We had a "walking happy hour" through the neighborhood with Bella and were treated to a beautiful "Alpenglow" as the sun set on our return home.

Wyoming Alpenglow Sunsets are absolutely beautiful!

After lots of  fabulous "grape juice," good food and laughs on Saturday night we (somehow) were ready to hit the Cross Country/Skate Ski trails at Cache Creek on Sunday morning. This is a beautiful trail that allows dogs to "ski" with you off-leash, so Bella was thrilled to join us. Another Bluebird day to enjoy the views! This was Barry's first time on Cross Country skis and he, of course, did awesome. I tried out my newly acquired skate ski skills and quickly realized that this trail was all uphill (elevation gain 850') and my "skills" were not ready for this type of terrain - ugh. I have never worked so hard in my life as I did to ski uphill two miles. And the weather was so warm that I was removing layers of clothing much more quickly than I was ascending up the hill. No worries, I did not bare all, although I was tempted to strip off my skate skis and poles and chuck them in the bubbling creek many times. The good news is that the return was downhill - yahoo! I started in another Skate Ski clinic this week, and we were told by the instructor to not attempt elevation gains like Cache Creek until we are "solid" skiers - usually after a season of flat terrain practice. So at least I felt a bit better about my experience, although it did not help how sore I was from the day.

Cross Country/Skate Skiing @ Cache Creek

After another fun-filled day of activity, it was time to replenish ourselves with some more good "grape juice," a nice Valentine's dinner out and some much needed R&R. No rest for the weary though, Sunday brought some sightseeing through the Valley, a bit of shopping, lunch at Dornan's overlooking the Grand Tetons and then Snowshoeing in Grand Teton National Park! We had never done this before - what a beautiful and easy (hooray) way to spend the afternoon. We snowshoed on shoes that were used in the 1940's for wartime training.

 

So much to do, so little time! We enjoyed a weekend packed with activities, but had to forgo many other events that were happening in and around the Valley. We will have to stick around for at least another year so that we can attend the "Sweathogs and Swinehearts Ball" at the Mangey Moose Saloon to raise money for the JH Ski Patrol. This weekend also boasted the 10th annual Coney Classic at the Nordic Center at the ski Mountain. Participants were allowed 0-3 dogs and could use skate, classic, tele, or alpine skis, or snowshoes. Dogs could pull the skier, or not (most don’t!). There were two courses: Coney’s Hot Pursuit - 3 K of cold-hearted smoke and Cedar’s Short Super Dash of Love - 1 K of fast and furry infatuation. So now we know what we have to train for next year!

The JH Coney Classic

Hope that you enjoyed a SWEET valentine's day too. I just returned from practicing skate skiing with Bella and am off to the Alonzo King's Lines Ballet (San Francisco) open rehearsal - they are in residence this week and have performances this weekend. We will see in the next blog if I am able to talk Barry into another ballet!

Unconditional Love
Many have asked how Bella is doing after her unexpected surgery (she wasn't spayed after all and went into heat...SURPRISE). She is recuperating beautifully and is now back to regular activity, much to her chagrin. She was quite concerned last week as to what had happened to her "good life" and also to Barry and I. She was not used to when we would put her on a leash for all of her walks and never throw a ball or a frisbee. Her exercise restrictions were just lifted this weekend and it has been non-stop thrills for her since then! We are thankful that we have a fabulous vet here and a terrific, healthy dog! When we were in the vet's office he had a picture with the following:
Dogs are Miracles with Paws
Dogs are a sure thing
Dogs invented unconditional love
God made dogs and then spelled his own name backwards to name them
Some little known dog secrets; dogs have no secrets
Dogs are made of love and fur
Dogs are like vanilla ice cream - reliably delicious
Apply dog logic to life: eat well, be loved, get petted, sleep alot and dream of a leash-free world

Bella enjoying life again as she knows it -  in the driver's seat of the Nelson Household!

 

Bella taking her buddy "Little Guy" for a ride!

Jackson Hole Interesting Fact: Over 15 feature films have been made on location in Jackson Hole including: "Shane", "Spencer's Mountain", "Any Which Way You Can", and "Rocky IV".

It's a Dog's Life

Jackson Hole boasts 10,000 or so resident canines and countless four-legged visitors - lucky dogs. We have not only found Jackson Hole to be a fabulous place to call home for ourselves, but dogs certainly have the life of leisure here as well. We added Bella to our family in October, and it has been nothing short of wonderful since then for all of us. She has been an amazing dog, and we have found that Jackson is truly heaven on earth for four-legged friends!

The Animal Adoption Center
Bella (and Barry & I) will be forever grateful to the local Animal Adoption Center. They provide a wonderful service to the Jackson Hole community benefiting homeless dogs and cats from across the region. Read all about their incredible program on their website http://www.animaladoptioncenter.org/ . Pictured below are Lindsay (Director) and Stephanie (Asst. Director) who both worked steadfastly with us to find the perfect forever friend that we adopted - Bella!

"Backyard" at the Adoption Center

Bella's Foster Family "Momma Kay, Papa Paul," Lad & Seneca
One of the interesting features of the Adoption Center's program is that all of the animals go home each night to a foster family  until they are adopted. Bella was lucky enough to have been fostered by our neighbors Kay and Paul. They have fostered over 90 dogs, primarily labs, while still being steadfast parents to their black lab Lad and their furry lady Seneca. Through their love and affection many dogs enjoy home life even before they find their forever home. As an added bonus to us - Bella brought us together as friends with Paul and Kay - they were our first friends here and have been amazing to our entire family!


Paul and Kay with Bella, Lad, Katie Sue (neighbor's dog) and Seneca.
They will never be seen walking the neighborhood alone!

Bella's Beau...LAD Even though Lad is Bella's foster brother, she considers him her boyfriend! Lad is quite a dapper gentleman - we must say that Bella has good taste! Bella loves when Lad surprises her and comes bolting out his front door when we walk by - Bella always makes sure to saunter very slowly by his house to give him plenty of time to notice she is there! Bella & Lad love to play together, cross country ski and they will even share an elk antler without a growl!

 


Sophie's Place Dog Park
August 2010 brought the grand opening of PAWS Dog Park — Sophie’s Place - to downtown Jackson Hole. We unfortunately were not here for the Grand Opening Celebration, where pooches guzzled from special water fountains while their owners enjoyed lemonade and Snake River Brewing beers, renamed for the occasion into “Pooch Park Pilsner” and “Leg Lifter Lager.” The dog park is a fenced, grassy expanse where pups can frolic, stretch their legs and socialize with furry friends in a leash-free setting. Separate pens provide a place for time-outs, training, or for small or shy dogs. Bella enjoys frequent trips to the dog park, and I quite like it too, as I have met many interesting new friends there as well.

 

SHOPPING IS DOG FRIENDLY IN JH

Bella's favorite store is "Gifts From the Earth,"
they lavish her with treats every time she pulls
 me in there. I have bought more unnecessary
cards, just to let her stop by! Shopping has
become as fun as the dog park for Bella - yay!

As silly as it sounds, Bella goes on most of my errands with me. It's what people do in Jackson Hole! Dogs are welcomed in all stores that do not sell or serve food. And most stores even have treats for the dogs. They just banned dogs from the post office - much to the dismay of local residents and their dogs. Bella obliges willingly and waits in the car while I get the mail, as she has figured out that the dog park is just around the corner and usually follows a stop at the post office!

Bella can even help pick out a nice wine for dinner!



  

K-9 ATHLETES OF THE TETONS

We enrolled Bella in an Agility class on Wednesday nights, just for fun and to burn off some winter energy! I take her to the fairgrounds building along with 18 other dogs for an hour of fun and frolic! I must admit that had I known that it was going to be held in the indoor riding arena (Horses), Bella probably would not have gotten the opportunity to participate - it stinks, ugh! But for the love of Bella, I endure the stench of horse poop and let her have fun. They are teaching the dogs all the "obstacles/tricks" used in agility competitions, but in a non-competitive setting. Some of the "parents" in the class remind me of the competitive parents when our kids were young who are there to "win and be the best," even though it is just a "recreational league!" Bella loves the obstacles, but she also enjoys socializing with all the other dogs just as much. Her new buddy is is an adorable dog named Penny! Agility is a pretty popular hobby for many in the area - rest assured that we will remain in the recreational category, at least until they get a practice facility that is sans horse poop!

Bella and Penny patiently waiting their turn in line!

Jumps - you've got to start somewhere!

Bella's favorite - the teeter totter!

 Hiking, Skiing and Fetching - Life is Good!
Even though winter has blanketed the trails with snow, they are still perfect for traversing with a dog. This community has an awesome grooming program, and the trails are kept in tip top shape for hiking, cross country skiing and skate skiing. Dogs are permitted on many trails, off leash, through the winter months. Some areas require leashes to protect the wintering wildlife. So Bella and I have enjoyed lots of wonderful hikes, a few ski outings,  and lots of games of fetch on our Pathways system.


Bella hiking in Bondourant with her new
neighborhood buddy Skeeter.



 













A COLD NIGHT AND A GOOD BOOK
We have a wonderful local author, Ted Kerasote, who is known throughout the community and country for his National Best Selling books. Two of his books are about his dogs and their adventures together here in Jackson Hole. Ted's writing focuses on the interrelationships between people and nature. If winter continues to keep you inside, cuddle up by the fire with one of Ted's books. Bella was fortunate enough to have a brush with fame and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with Ted and his pup Pukka while we were away in Kansas City, and she was with her Momma Kay & Papa Paul!

 





















As we start off the weekend, find a way to have some fun with your furry friend, or better yet with your loved ones! Remember it is Valentine's Day on Monday...you don't want to end up in the dog house!

INTERESTING FACT ABOUT JACKSON HOLE:

On an average day at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort there are only 1,750 skiers skiing on the 2,500 acres of terrain at the ski area, offering one of the lowest skier densities (one skier per one-and-one-half acres!) of any ski resort in the country.