A week in Casper, WY

I got the pleasure (ha ha!) of spending the last week in Wyoming's largest town, Casper (60,000) for work. I was there learning an interviewing technique called "Motivational Interviewing." It is a technique of interviewing that social workers, therapists and law enforcement are all now starting to use to help better elicit material from clients.

Having spent a week in Cheyenne for work in the fall, I never thought I would say this, but I would rather spend a week in Cheyenne than in Casper. Regardless, both have some nice attributes, however, suffice to say, it was awesome to get back home to the friendly, mountainous confines of Jackson on Friday night!

This is a shot of Casper Mountain. There is a ski area, snowmobiling, and x country skiing opportunities just 10 minutes out of town.

I was excited because they didn't have much snow and the weather was nice enough to run outside for the first time this year.

One of the nights I was there I met up with one of my favorite kids I have ever worked with, Craig Wilson who is from Casper but went to school in Jackson for a few years. Craig is a high functioning Autistic guy who never fails to have everyone in a room laughing. I worked directly with him for 3 years and was so stoked to hear from his mom that he is doing really well with his adult life there in Casper.

The last night I was in town I managed to catch the start of the Wyoming State Basketball Championships. It was at the Casper Events Center just up the road from the hotel I was based out of for the week. The Jackson Broncs boys and girls team both won their opening games on Thursday night!

Jackson lady Broncs en route to a win over Torrington.

Jackson Broncs hit the court before beating Wheatland.

Thank A Mom

Check it out guys, when you pledge to say, "Thank you, Mom," P&G will donate $1 to Team USA for Team USA athlete training! Go say Thank You right now!

You are the best, Mom! Love you!
thankyoumom.com

Spring?

If it isn't officially spring yet, Mother Nature has sure done a good job fooling us. It has been SO nice out this last week (that is if you have resigned to the fact that winter is over)...temps have been in the 40's and the snow is slop and don't tell anyone, but I think I am kind of liking it.

Self-portrait on the chair. I have to admit, I love skiing by my lonesome sometimes.

Took the tele-skis out of hiding this weekend and almost forgot how much fun I have on them and how much I actually enjoy a little leg-burn!

This lone flyer has the right idea, I think I want to try that one day. Throughout the year, but especially in the spring and summer, Jackson Hole is littered with paragliders who ride the gondola or tram up the mountain with their chute packed in a giant backpack and then they lay it out on the mountain, start running or skiing down the hill until it fills with wind and then they are off!

Aahhh...I love it here.

Anyone want to visit?

So this weekend the Village seemed extra crowded and Trev and I couldn't quite figure out why. We figured maybe everyone just decided to come skiing because it was beautiful and sunny and warm out, it seemed like spring had arrived and people were loving it. Then I saw this...

Aha, that could be the reason.

Buy two tickets to Jackson Hole and get two free for March travel!
Damn, that is a good deal. Anyone want to come visit????

Even more tempting is the end of the season line-up, the last weekend of March, the 27th-28th, is the time to come.

Not only is that Trev's favorite weekend of the year the Snowmobile Hill Climb up Snow King (admittedly, very fun to watch)...

There is the Pole Pedal Paddle event which is a fun group relay event (or you can do it on your own) consisting of a downhill ski leg, a nordic ski leg, a biking leg and a boating leg.

But...it is also the Mountain Festival at the Village which means an awesome free concert (Michael Franti and Ozomatli headlined the last two years) and this year, it's Grace Potter and the Nocturnals!

So who's up for it? See you at the end of the month?

The Anatomy of a "Stuck"

Saturday was the last day of winter type weather before the warm winds came rolling into town. My buddy Nick and I went for a ride up in the Snake River Range towards the headwaters of Mosquito Creek.

Although this picture certainly doesn't do the "Stuck" justice, one of the many pieces to the big puzzle that is snowmobiling is dealing with your sled when it gets stuck. In this particular instance I got stuck because I wasn't looking far enough ahead (very similar to ski racing) with my line up a steep hill, and was forced to try and negotiate what I think to be the hardest skill in snowmobiling, "SideHilling." This requires a healthy mix of balance, throttle, and patience. I was lacking in all three and I had to pay for it. What you can't tell is that the back end of the sled was about 4 feet deep in snow and perched on a pretty steep slope. When the heat from the sled's tunnel comes in contact with the snow around where it is stuck, it melts and then very quickly freezes soon thereafter. So, you get what amounts to a 450 pound machine that is frozen in the snow and in this particular case, it had to be rolled uphill and back around the opposite way so to keep it from tumbling into the oblivion known as a totaled sled down the draw some 2,00oft below. Very gingerly Nick and I spent a good half hour bringing my sled around to safety.

This is why I am so enamored with snowmobiling. It is a serious adventure every time you go out and you never know what you are going to see and experience. I need to do a better job of first inspecting my line, then I need to look farther ahead with that line and make it happen, or, pay the price of the ever frustrating........."Stuck".

Nick, on his way out back to the trucks.

Good to be home

As much as a vacation is the best thing ever, sometimes being at home after an extended time away makes you appreciate it that much more. We went skiing in the morning on Sunday and then drove down to Granite Hot Springs and went for a soak. Managed to look like prunes afterward, staying in for an hour.

Might be the last sled accessed soak down there this season unless we get more snow.

No longer skiing in the Dark

Two months ago this same scene at the same hour in the morning would have yielded nothing but the glow of headlamps. I took this shot a couple of mornings ago on top of Teton Pass before work skiing on a nice 9" fresh run. The overall feeling of spring is in the air, the darkness is starting to relent. Yahoo.