We are back! Jackson, WY proved to not only be a place we loved, but a place we couldn't wait to go back too. Our initial "plans" included a tri-resort trip up to Canada but as we have been humbled to find out, the best laid plans often go awry. Due to the extreme temperatures and lack of sufficient snow in Canada, we decided to detour to a place we knew had been getting more than it's fair share of snow fall. So here we are, night one, at Fireside Resort. Plugged in, heated up, happy, and ready for a good day of skiing tomorrow.
We spent our first full day skiing. The weather could not have been better. Because it was New Years Eve day it was quite busy. But, it was still incredibly fun. I spent a better part of the morning tussling with my ski boots but finally found my groove in the afternoon. Despite our vow to NOT buy beer at the ski resorts, we broke down and enjoyed a few at the top of the mountain on a sunny restaurant patio.
New Years Eve brought exhaustion from the day and and early evening. Despite our attempts to stay up and enjoy the local Jackson culture we couldn't sustain. We were asleep before the ball dropped. We decided not to ski the next day to avoid the multitudes of people we saw on the mountain the day prior. We also had to move from our comfy, heated, home out of our campsite. We gravitated towards the Forest Service land we had explored this summer. Despite Stuarts constant caution, I decided to drive down an unplowed forest service road. Well, you guessed it, we got stuck. BUT only momentarily! Using the multitudes of tricks I knew from my childhood winters I was able to get us unstuck (with Stuart's help of course!).
We camped that night at the trailhead of the forest service road. I don't think either of us has experienced a colder evening. By our calculations the temperatures dropped to below 0 and with our faulty propane heater we mine as well should have been sleeping outside. Cliff hanger, we survived. But, not without a detailed list of things we needed to do to avoid being that cold again.
The next day brought car heat, sunshine, and a trip to ACE hardware. We decided it was time to move on from Jackson. We wanted to save our last ski day there for better snow and diminished crowds. Our choices, head north to Bozeman or back to Salt Lake. Without even having to flip a coin, we decided to go to Salt Lake. We knew we could regroup there, fix up Ruby, and wait comfortably for snow.
We drove slow and spent one night at the top of Logan Pass, looking out over Bear Lake. With warmer temperatures, a fixed propane heater, and a Super Moon, we enjoyed the evening and after a relaxed morning we drove the last few hours to Salt Lake.
p.s. Be patient with us, we are trying to get better at taking pictures!
