Anniversary In Big Sky

We have officially been primary residents of Big Sky for two years as of today, and I have to say the experience has definitely had its highs and lows.

The highs include mountain summits on Blue Bird Days, while the lows were experienced over the last few days, when temperatures fell well below zero, keeping us ensconced in our home rather than risking frostbite on hikes, much less speeding down a ski slope, amping up the natural wind-chill factor.

With temperatures finally warming up to the teens today, we braved driving into Bozeman to do a bit of shopping.  That may not be much of an anniversary celebration, but it needed to be done.  Just to memorialize the current unprecedented egg price spike, I'll mention that we paid $15.78 for a 36-pack of large eggs at WalMart.

In any case, it was  a very pretty drive along the ice-water rapids of the Gallatin River past snow-flocked trees and mountains.  Filmed with a dash cam, that might make a vacation highlight reel were it not for the stress of keeping our Outback on the icy two-lane highway.  As we returned home, brake lights ahead and an on-coming semi-truck flashing its lights alerted us to some bighorn sheep that had wandered onto the road just before we reached Big Sky, keeping us all safe and sound.

In January, Julie and I celebrated another anniversary, our wedding, by skiing lots of runs and then heading to Tips Up to split a triple-decker Rodeo Burger with bacon and a side of French fries.  That is our latest go-to meal at the Town Center eatery on their perpetually-changing menu.  A local draft ale for me and glass of white wine for Julie completed the celebratory feast.

With our weekday ski passes, we've been hitting the slopes frequently.  We hike a couple of miles on local trails on off-days from skiing, except for the last four days when thermometers remained below zero.

Last week, however, we went out to eat one other time.  Riverhouse Grill in the Canyon is our favorite restaurant in summer.  While snowy roads and frigid temperatures made getting there a little harder, the fried chicken dinner including all the side dishes tasted better than ever.  Plus, the cold kept this Texas-style roadhouse from being overcrowded.

Yes, life has been very good for us here, as the accompanying photos attest, despite a few freezing days.  Funny thing is that last week on a chairlift, we heard a woman from Wisconsin who makes annual ski trips to the Rockies say that it was much warmer now than it had been when she came regularly in the 1990s.

Had she arrived a few days later, she would have been disabused of any notion about permanent global warming changing Big Sky's climate based on that anecdotal evidence.

The cold snap has now passed, so we plan to be back on the ski slopes tomorrow.

Pennsylvania Beer Sign at Tips Up

Crail Ranch Trail

Cold Smoke at Riverhouse Grill

Hiking Across the Street from Our Condo