A long awaited update: in pictures and video!

Big. Furry. Animals.

The first thing that one might need to know about furry animals in cold country is that they are bigger, much bigger, than those which we are so fond of in the sunny Southeast. The other thing is that, in general, they tend to be more predictable and less evasive. On the way into Big Sky for the first time, Jeff said "yeah look up that hill there as we pass - there are usually a few ram horns that hang out", and sure enough they were up on the hill just a hundred yards away. A few days later we were driving through the meadow and Jeff mentioned that a particular moose liked to hang out near the stream, and as we came up on the stream we could see it eating between the snow banks.

But, like all things, exceptions abound. On my way driving the Lodge Dodge back from Bozeman the other night I saw a flopping object in the lane next to me. Just as my mind identified it, I looked up to see brake lights and halting vehicles. The car in the lane next to me just ahead had hit a deer. I got out and helped drag what was the biggest deer I've ever seen off the road. By my estimation the doe was about 250 pounds, and dead by the time we got her off the highway. I was so terribly tempted to try and take it back to Big Sky to keep the meat from going to waste, but with no facilities to clean it and no where to store the meat (not to mention total ignorance as to Montana game/roadkill laws), I sadly had to leave it. Jeff later informed me that a burly man by the name of Mustang is the expert deer butcher in Big Sky and happens to go to our church. So next time this happens there will be venison on the table.

Below is a short clip of the deer by the light of the headlamps. The hind quarter alone should give a good indication of the size of the animal.

A look back on 2009

Although I know the growing trend in our dear country is to look forward to the sure-to-be more prosperous future, I would like to take a glance back to 2009 to highlight an event that deserves at least a mention.

New Year's Eve: Being fully booked, the Lodge was teeming with people. Some of those people were the Flores family, wealthy Mexicans on vacation to Montana. An energetic and fun-loving family, they hit Big Sky with intensity and passion. On New Year's Eve they returned before midnight after an evening of frivolity to join the party at the Lodge. As we rang in the New Year out on the back deck watching the fireworks on Lone Mountain, Mrs. Flores loudly gave everyone outside a New Year's hug (as per Mexican tradition, purportedly) and Mr. Flores expressed his genuine heartfelt love for all of us. He then questioned me as to where we kept the cannon, and when I informed him that we were sadly lacking in the cannon department, he suggested that we rig up the coin machine from the basement so that we could shoot quarters at the igloo.

When the Flores family parted, they had too much luggage for their rental vehicle by about double, so since I was taking Jeff's truck down to Bozeman for shopping anyway, I volunteered to drop off their excess bags at the airport hotel. In return for my services I received 30 American Dollars (most of which went to gas), 20 Mexican Pesos, three $5 calling cards, two hugs and a handshake. Twelve days of Christmas, meet Mexican New Year.

Below is a video of Mr. Flores shortly after 12am MST:

New Stuff!

Pictures, from top: Big Sky from the Back Bowls; Dave, local worker and my ski partner for New Year's Day; A powdery forest; Star Wars meets Big Sky - did I not say this place was Hoth? ; Chillin on the Back Bowls in 2010.

Day 2.5

Well today went by much smoother. With each passing hour I become more accustomed to the ways of the hotel business. It snowed pretty much all day today, which provided a delightful rolling visual through the tall Great Room windows.

This evening after work I attended a Bible study on the first floor with the local pastor and a group of international employees also in Big Sky for the Winter. Most of them were from Argentina tonight, so it was fun working through the remaining fragments of language barrier.

Pictures, from top: Merlin, Arthur, and Raheem; a fire beneath Andiamo Italian restaurant; a snowed-in playground.

More Fun Facts:

Jeff and Dave are holding a New Year's party at the Lodge with an East Coast toast at 10 and a Mountain toast at midnight.

Five law officers entered the Lodge tonight looking for movie thieves, and very nearly arrested two innocent boys in the Great Room just because they were wearing hoodies. We had to alibi them out of a trip to the Sheriff's office. Sound familiar?

When mascara is wiped off onto a hand towel, it dies and is reborn as a rag :-)

Even industrial hotel toilets can get clogged, and the task of unclogging may fall to anyone.

And here are a few videos:

Stepping into Fire

Wow what a whirlwind!. The relevant facts are these:

a) Montana is cold, but dry - making it surprisingly less cold than one might think.

b) Snow abounds.

c) I've been working every waking hour since I stepped off the plane.

d) With a full house, things are wild and wooly here.

e) There is a fully functioning igloo behind the lodge.

Besides that, I'm having to work overtime to keep my lips in their unchapped state, Jeff's had to take a huge load of pool towels home to wash, and I've given dozens of restaurants recommendations and directions to a town that I have not seen yet :-)

Videos up soon!!