Celebration in the Snow

Yes, the party weekend is over and I must admit that it was a birthday like none other. The BIG difference - I don't ever recall waking up on my birthday morning to a beautiful snowfall - luckily our plans for the day were to snowshoe - so snow was perfectly acceptable!

We are fortunate to have fabulous friends who  have embraced this area and know all of the wonderful places to go and do exciting "adventures." We headed just south of our house to Upper Game Creek for our hike. Of course with Kay & Paul, dogs are always a part of the adventure (they were Bella's foster parents). Here are some pictures:

Start of the adventure...all smiles before I knew it was going to be all uphill!

Not sure if you can even tell how steep this climb was - but check out Bella's face for a hint! She actually had already been to the top once and then came back to "check" on me - she has boundless energy. I, on the other hand, do not!

Top of the world celebrating my BDay! Thanks Barry for taking off work, and making this a VERY special and fun day! It's all downhill from here (the trek that is - see Paul in the background)!

On the way back down, a big snowstorm - whipping winds and all, moved in.
A bit chilly, but absolutely beautiful!
Welcome Spring!!!

March 28 and the snow is still falling!



This was the wild animal that Barry caught...bare-handed! Paul skinned it, and then Kay & I fried it up over an open fire for lunch at the top of our hike. We are bringing the pelt home to make a hat or something. Don't we look proud in this picture! You should be amazed that I am even this close to a once living creature of this sort - now I have to sterilize my ski pole!

Poor girl Sennie - she is 12 years old and she doesn't get a break - she goes on all the adventures! Imagine trekking through all that snow with all that fur - it literally "snowballs" on her underside! And when the snow started falling, she got covered! The good news is she is always nice and warm!

After our big adventure we headed into town to see the movie "Adjustment Bureau." Definitely one to miss, lest you want to feel like time is passing VERY slowly (which I guess can be good when it is your birthday - why age any faster)! Unless you were a fan of the movie "The Box," you won't like this one either; we renamed it "The Door!"

We finished off the Big weekend with dinner at the Snake River Grill....amazing atmosphere and delicious food. Can't wait to share dinner there with friends! Of course a birthday wouldn't be a birthday without dessert, so we stopped at Moo's Ice Cream (local and homemade and beyond delicious) for a treat. Now I can say...too much birthday!

WEEKEND REWIND

The great news about birthdays, is that I always have a way of making them last a long time! We actually started the celebration on Friday night with a wonderful dinner with friends at the Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse - one of our favorite restaurants! And the owner/chef happens to be the brother of one of Barry's co-workers - small town!

After a wonderful meal we stopped by the local brewery to get a "Growler" of our favorite local brew - Pako’s EYE-P-A. Growlers are very popular around town, but we had not purchased one yet. You purchase the growler (jug) and then you take it to the brewery (or one of our local liquor stores, that always has 6 different local beers tapped) and they fill them with fresh-tapped beer for $9. A great deal and nice cold fresh beer - my favorite gift - ha! Why can't they do Growlers of wine? It was home to watch the NCAA Tournament games (just what I wanted to do on my birthday weekend) that we had taped.

Saturday morning it was more skiing and more snow! The mountain has gotten over five feet of new snow over the last week. You would never know that it was nearing the end of the ski season. Lots of snow on the mountain and the Gator game starting, we headed home early. NOT the expected outcome in the game...out a bit of a damper on the celebration mood! So...we headed back to the Village for an outdoor concert. Reggae band from New Zealand, and lots of partying in the crowd to go with it! Followed the concert with a nice dinner at another favorite restaurant - The Bistro.

Perfect evening for an outdoor concert!

On our list of "Gear that we need to acquire for life in JH" - Beer Holster!

Sunday woke up to "too much new snow to even try to ski!" Took a 6-mile hike on the levee with Bella instead after a fabulous brunch at The Bunnery (a place we will definitely take all of you to when you visit). Birthday-eve celebration included LOTS of wine, a wonderful home-cooked dinner of pasta and clams, and relaxing and beating Barry at Cribbage (I am really getting good at that game)!

Thanks to all for the Birthday wishes - texts, emails, phone calls, cards, gifts - it was a very Happy Birthday once again! The birthday is over, but the "vacation" continues!!!!

Jackson Hole Interesting Fact:
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has the longest continuous vertical rise of any ski area in the U.S. – 4,139 feet from the valley floor to the top of Rendezvous Mountain!