Lucky me, I took another bus to the ski slopes in Whitefish, and with four weeks left to the season I sure hope I get to go again!  I’m hoping this is a better portrayal of the activity going on there than my last tranquil-looking pictures!  And this time I got a lift ticket, complimentary for bus drivers, and rode to the summit, where coffee tasted better than I’ve ever had it.  Guessing the temp was a single digit, the ride up was more than cold in a few places where the wind hit the lift full force.  Which made the coffee absolutely necessary  🙂 I rode up with a group of very nice Canadian gals.

Ski slopes are good places to people watch.  Being a Phoenix girl I never learned to downhill ski, and I really admire the grace, skill, and coordination of some of those skiers.  Watching the kids in different stages of training and all the patient parents is a pleasure!

I had not seen snow making in action, interesting and noisy!

This time the weather, sun wise, was fully cooperative and I made the most of my day.  If anyone told me even a year ago I’d be spending the day at Big Mountain waiting for kids I took up in a school bus I never would have believed them!!!

Wear fleece and bring gloves 🙂  We’ve had such a mild February that my friend, Dayna, and I have played tennis a couple of times.  Just ’cause the temps have dropped a bit doesn’t mean we’re not still game.  The courts are dry, what more could we want?  The city had left a couple of nets up through all the snow and ice but put them all back up this month – must be some tennis fanatics working for the city parks department!   The digital read out of the temperature at the real estate office in town didn’t pick up on my camera but it said 38 degrees.  It was calm, the view was exquisite, and I wanted the exercise so I met Dayna before my afternoon bus run and had a ball – no pun intended!  So glad she loves it as much as I do!!!

Snoopy may be upset but I can’t complain about the gentle snow we’re having – the first in weeks and not too threatening. And me and my kids eat our French toast inside 😀

As she poked the fire in the stove, Calandra went over the calendar in her head, mentally listing all the things to be done before the holiday. It was just before dawn as she stepped out the back door of their apartment with the wood basket. It had snowed during the night. An ethereal glow lit the fields east to Pony Ridge, white as far as she could see. The distinct hush of freshly fallen snow filled the valley. She held her breath for a moment, becoming part of its presence. The Sparrow’s Choice

Luxuriance

Restocked firewood this week – yay! A dear friend came and sawed some big chunks into a more manageable size for me and then the splitting began! I moved what I had left from the driveway to the house and shazam!!! Heat for the rest of the winter!!! No snow in our future but I’ll be ready when it comes!

Splitting operation, supply before and after

A gloomy, foggy day hovered overhead as I took a bus-full of kids and adults up to Glacier Park. Taking the shortest way, up the east shore of Flathead Lake, we were treated to great scenery the whole way, despite the fog. It was in the teens when we arrived in West Glacier, very cold and damp. The kids were being treated to snowshoeing and info on weather reading, moisture measuring, local flora and fauna, etc., courtesy of the Park Service. I think the parents that went were very brave 🙂

There were no facilities for the waiting bus driver, but I was able to tromp where I wanted – the snow was hard packed and snowshoes weren’t necessary, though I put yaks on my boots for the ice-packed pavement. I ate lunch in a cold bus and by then one hard-core shopkeeper opened for business and was willing to share her warmth with me! The fog moved in and out while I waited, making scenery change by the minute. The sun came out for about fifteen minutes right before we left and I took a bunch more pictures – I couldn’t help myself.

This is my favorite shot; I may print it as a reminder of a fun day when a big kid had a blast!

“Freezing fog had moved in cold silence over the fields during the night, encrusting the buildings and leaving spiky crystal evidence of its damp presence.
‘Prickles, Mama, like cactus!’ Everett was fascinated with the hoarfrost up and down the fence line around the blanketed garden. It was icy magic, but after dawn the fog lingered just at the tree line, leaving the morning gray and gloomy.” The Sparrow’s Choice

We had more of the freezing fog and its prickly presence this last week, more of the same that inspired the prickles in my story. It’s a tradeoff for the cold and damp, so I try to enjoy the artistic leavings of an unwanted visitor.

A million snowflakes keep me company on this gray, winter day. Some days they may plummet, or blow skyward in a confused dance, sticking to the underside of the roof, but today they drift in a leisurely, companionable silence, icy petals tossed down by benevolent angels. They lie down quietly to show me their lacy crystals, catching the soft light to shine like white jewels.

My favorite author, Rick Bass, says snow is like wealth, piling up like endless riches! That makes me a very wealthy woman! I took the dogs down the back today. I wore my snowshoes and still it was treacherous, er, rather, overwhelming in its richness, a deep, powdery prosperity! I worked up a sweat – hard work trudging through all that abundance.

I hear the snow angels are going to be a little more aggressive the next few days, not gentle tossing of flakes but heaving mounds of frozen bounty earthward. I will try to take it in the spirit they’re intended and consider myself fortunate 😉

Home for the holidays, I believe I’ve missed each and every face…celebrate me home. Kenny Loggins

The snow-covered San Francisco Peaks made it real – I was flying home, my other home, for Christmas, past Salt Lake City, past the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, skirting east of the Four Peaks and into Mesa, Arizona. Yes, I was just there in August but Christmas is special and one can’t pass up any opportunities! Though not as warm as I was expecting (had to borrow some layers from Mom) the sun was brilliant and Phoenix was dressed for the holiday. This trip was all about family, fun, and making memories to last. Zane is just a little guy, watching and learning, but hopefully Eva will remember this Christmas – the fun, love, and sharing of her parents, great grandmas, grandmas, aunts and cousins. A fun time was had by all –


And there was such good food!

Mom and I went on a little excursion to Jerome – we bellied up to the bar at the Haunted Hamburger and indulged, then enjoyed the never-changing town, well, except for the old hospital, now a fancy hotel, but the ghosty buildings and skeletal facades are still there. It was doggone chilly, even by my standards.

Though nice now and then to see the saguaros and mesquite, my holiday was over and I was missing my kids. I flew home – to this – yikes – 15 degrees when I landed! I enjoyed the scenery on the way home and was shocked to see a foot of snow at home – I had to walk in from the neighbor’s, who’d already been plowed out. So cold but so pretty – a fine end to a Phoenix holiday to keep the spirit glowing.

“All along the Rockies you can feel it in the air…” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Yesterday I took boys’ basketball teams to Hamilton, an historic and scenic little town south of Missoula. Lucky for me the main streets were within walking distance of the school. I parked downtown when we first got there so they could have lunch, then I walked back while the kids played.

The setting of Main Street would get even the scroogiest in the spirit. It’s hard to tell in the pics but there were lights and pine boughs and giant snow flakes all up and down the main streets. The weather cooperated nicely for strolling and for bus driving, and the surrounding mountains were dressed appropriately in winter attire.

As a special treat, I had a nice conversation and gave multiple pats and tickles to a black cocker, looking much like my Cooper but I could see Cassidy’s face in all that black cuteness!

Merry Christmas to all from Montana!

I was lucky to be in the right spot in the driver rotation Saturday and drove a kids’ ski club up to Big Mountain in Whitefish. It rained or snowed from start to finish of the trip, not my favorite thing, especially when it’s dark, but had a very fun day and I didn’t even ski! The snow was either too packed or too slushy for snowshoeing but I didn’t run out of things to do!

One of the other drivers lent me his DVD player so sat in the lodge at the base of one of the runs and watched Disney’s Haunted Mansion (not recommended) and next pic was the view from my table.

I walked up to the “village” and had soup in this building, which was there when I worked on the mountain 20 years ago, but almost everything else up there, the condos and the base lodge, are new. This was my view of a different run during lunch.

I walked and shuttled back down to the base lodge and read for a while, took a short nap in the bus, stood by a classic lodge fire. I got paid 🙂