SnowBowl

I'm a skier and have been wanting to ski the western powder I have been hearing so much about since the first snowfall in October. However, because of classes and a heavy work and social schedule I haven't had the opportunity yet to experience it. That was until today.
After packing up my car (the semester's over!!!), turning in my room key, I headed up to the rattlesnake to meet up w/ Christopher. We trekked the 12 miles up some crazy roads I can't believe anyone w/out a 4-wheel drive would take (Montana doesn't really believe in guardrails I've come to find). The slopes here are daunting. The elevation at the base is 5,000 ft. The elevation once you get off the 2nd lift is 7,600 ft. I was literally skiing in the clouds. The air was to thick up there I kept taking off my goggles because I thought they were fogging up on me. Nope! The trails were horribly marked and on our first run down we ended up on the "baby moguls" black diamond trail. Some of the greens here (for those of you that aren't skiers, green circles are the easiest, blue squares are the middle, and black diamonds are as bad as they come) would make some of the diamonds back home cry. Most of them however I would of rated at least a blue in the east. Powder was a whole different experience & actually didn't hurt to fall in.
I wish I could of had a camera w/ me though to show everyone the INCREDIBLY view of the valley from that high up (but mind you I could only see them once I dropped below the clouds, I can't imagine what it would of looked like from the top on a clear day!)!

Pow Wow

Tonight I went to an American Indian pow wow. There were over 15 nations represented by the dances, poetry, & music (drum and flute). Below is a video that will only appear black. That is because I left the lens cap on (yes, on purpose!) So push play. close your eyes, and just listen to the drums, which are thought to be the heartbeat of Mother Earth coming to the dancers.

The dress of the dancer is very symbolic and means different things to dancers of different cultures. The dress usually takes years to make. It usually stands for family, tribe, or something that came to the dancer in a dream. The dresses are never referred to as costumes. The one pictured below is made of eagle feathers, which were reserved only for warriors.

Happy Birthday

This past weekend, while Kirk was at a mandatory rookie musher's meeting in Anchorage, I held down the fort up at Seeley Lake. One of the dogs, Feather, an Alaskan Husky (different from a Siberian Husky) was pregnant and due any day. At about 6 in the am on Saturday morning it was time for the puppies to come into the world. Six little balls of fur emerged, 4 boys, 2 girls. The pic above is w/ one of the little guys just hours after birth. Mother and the puppies are doing fine.

Fashion Shoot

Back in September I did a little fashion shoot for Christopher for one of his class assignments. After curling my hair, and yes, donning a little makeup, it was time for lights, camera, action. I just thought I'd share some of the pictures from the shoot. The last picture is the one he turned in

To Kristen: Views from Montana

Hey all! It's getting so close to Thanksgiving break & I'm very excited! After talking w/ my seester the other night I decided to make a post just to give her a little something to keep her sane at work. So why not have some views of Montana to enjoy back in Ohio. Both of the pics above are some of the MANY BEAUTIFUL views I get to experience on my way to work w/ the IditaDogs.I have only 1 more class to take tomorrow then I am done for Thanksgiving break. This year will be a special year for me because I will be cooking my own and very first Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to the help of Mrs. Williams as well as my own mother I have a full menu ready to cook on Thursday. After this break I've got 2 week of classes, a week of finals, then it's only a quick flight back to the east coast. Time has been flying by this semester!Above: Driving home from working w/ the IditaDogs on Sunday I got to see my first glimpse of a bald eagle in Montana. My animal experiences have been coming in twos thus far: first I saw elk and buffalo on the same day, next came bighorn sheep & later that night the wild bugle of an elk, and earlier in the morning of the eagle sighting, while at work I finally got to meet the snowshoe hare that lives in the dog kennels under a fallen tree.
Above: It started snowing last night and I awoke to a winter wonderland here in Missoula. Pantzer Hall is where I live & is pictured above. It's by far the nicest dorm on campus & what I am calling home for the year. Since there was easily 8 inches of snow this morning when the sun rose, students were out in full force throwing snowballs & making snowmen. The one pictured here is probably about 7 or 8 ft tall.

New Job

I recently started a 2nd job to not only help financially but to sort of help get me out and doing a little more. I was pointed in the direction of a guy named Kirk who had a listing at the University Center (UC) message board. So after a very informal interview I was told to come back & start working the very next weekend. There are 4 people that have started working for Kirk, Christopher being one of them!, & we will be "picked off" Survivor style. I've been told that Chris & I are shoe-ins considering our passion for the animals & our experience working w/ them. I'm sure I will post more photos as winter passes.
I guess I should go a little more into what I am doing. Kirk is a professional sled dog musher. In fact he is training his dogs for the 2008 Iditarod. Check out his musher profile @: http://www.iditarod.com/race/musherprofiles/musherbio_282.html . In the beginning I am only helping as a kennel assistant, the usually cleaning, feeding, medicating, playing w/ puppies, ect. However, soon I will start learning how to mush and driving my own team to help train some of the younger dogs to prepare. For now though, I am very content just to be playing w/ dogs again. And besides, how many people can say they know someone who's run in the Iditarod, let alone say that the helped the man & the dogs get there?!

One of the MANY beautiful views on my drive to work.








In the summer Kirk uses a Quad to train the dogs w/. They are so powerful that he has to tie the quad up to a tree or they will easily run away w/ it.

El Dia Day Los Muertos

Zoo Town really goes all out for just about everything I'm finding. The Mexican tradition of celebrating El Dia Day Los Muestos or Day of the Dead is no exception. This was my maiden voyage into the world of the dead. The night kicked off w/ a parade of the damned & ended in Caras Park (a very kool park in downtown Zoo Town). Flame throwers, dancers, drummers, & the walking dead all concluded the night in Caras Park. If you ever get the chance to participate in one of these events yourself, I highly recommend it. What and experience!!