Spring Skiing In Big Sky

While it's not essential that I keep track of every trip we take --- and sometimes it feels like repeating myself when I return to old favorites --- I like to at least mention where we've been for future reference.

Julie and I went to Big Sky, Montana, during the Coronavirus Panic in March of 2020 and lived to tell the tale.

We met our youngest daughter Amy and her boyfriend Lukas at the Bozeman Airport a few days after we arrived.

Through the efficiency of airline scheduling, their flights routed through Seattle, the primary gateway to what has become the Coronavirus hub of the United States, but we didn't require them to put on a HazMat suits for their visit.

Instead, we all donned ski clothes with helmets and then buckled on our boards for three amazing days of skiing.

It had been windy in the days leading up to their arrival, but their first morning in Big Sky arrived bright and sunny, as did the next.  With great visibility and more than sufficient snow coverage, we had truly fantastic skiing.

Their final day was more overcast and so a bit harder to see the runs, but we pretty much knew our favorite routes by heart by that point.  We enjoyed another amazing day.



My sister Darlene and her husband Brooks skied with us and also hosted happy hour at their home on the slopes.

At our own condo, I debuted my new go-to meal for my vegan kids, a bag of fresh vegetables sauteed in olive oil and then flavored with Sesame Ginger sauce.  I baked freshly cut and seasoned Sesame Ginger Chicken in the oven for carnivores like myself, which we combined with the veggies in our own bowls.  My plan was to have it over brown rice, but Darlene's happy hour was so filling that nobody wanted the brown rice, which would have preserved this as a gluten-free meal as well.

The next evening, Julie made a big pot of delicious marinara sauce with beef for most of us and a small pot of marinara sauce without meat for Amy, along with so much corkscrew pasta that we gave a pound to Darlene and took some back to California with us.

After dinner, we played Catan, a board game Amy gave us a year ago Christmas.  The rules are gradually becoming clear, having been taught by Jay and Sasha this past Christmas.  We also threw some darts, though we never completed the game of Cricket, because...yes...we're just that bad.



Our final evening, we stopped at our favorite Belgrade restaurant, 3 Bar, for a huge "Spirit of San Antonio" family meal, which included enough veggies and bread to feed the vegan among us, plus some craft beer, since 3 Bar doubles as the Outlaw Brewery.

3 Bar has moved from their funky warehouse location into beautiful modern digs on a real street!

Flashback to Our First Family Ski Trip In Big Sky

At the quaint Bozeman Airport, we took advantage of 50 minutes free parking to wait with them until they were ready to go to the gate.

Amy said she regretted not having more time to do some other favorite pastimes, but in any case, a good time was had by all!