SCHWEITZER 3

The last pictures of our skiing at Schweitzer Mountain. 

Ice on a drain chain at our house.

Riley, Connie, and Brenda.

A beer at the end of the day.

A few pictures of the plaza.

Ike and Connie headed to the vehicles.

BOWLING AT SANDPOINT AND CHRISTMAS EVE

We went up to Schweitzer Mountain on Christmas Eve and the weather was just like it was the day before and maybe a little worse.  So we decided to head back down to Sandpoint and do a little bowling.  I had not had a bowling ball in my hands since the mid 1960's!  Now that proved to be a bit of a problem.  I had taken bowling as an elective when I was a freshman at Montana State, but had not bowled since.  It took me a few frames just to figure out the approach.  I finally figured it out and bowled fairly well I guess for that long of time.  Brenda and Ike have bowled for some time so they were right at home in a bowling alley.  Connie and I on the other hand had a few things to figure out.  Ike and Brenda's son Riley was pretty darn good at bowling and you could tell it was something he learned at an early age. 

Riley moved so fast the camera couldn't capture his movement.

Brenda showed very good form also.

And your truly, still has a lot of work to do.

Brenda and Riley watching the action.

Connie looking good.

Ike getting ready to roll a strike.

Brenda, Connie, and Riley's scores in one game.

Mine and Ike's scores.  We probably should join a bowling league here in the Bitterroot!!!

Ike, Brenda, and Riley with their Christmas "T" shirts!

SKIING SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN

We spent the Christmas holidays trying to ski Schweitzer Mountain near Sandpoint, ID.  The first day of skiing was pretty bad.  It was the skiing in the Northwest that I was always warned about.  Lots of moisture in the air and not much visibility.  Our goggles got covered with ice while riding the lifts and while skiing down.  It was just best to put them up on your helmet while skiing then squinting to keep the snow and rain out of your eyes.  Not what I am used to.  We made a few runs but it was just so bad we gave up.

You can see the ice on Brenda's jacket and Ike's below.

And this is the ice on Connie's goggles.  Hard to see with any clarity through the ice!

COLD AND SNOW HERE IN MONTANA

We have had a good start to our winter with quite a bit of snow.  A little colder than I like but not as cold as it was when we lived in North Pole, Alaska!  There it was cold!  Glad we only lived there for 7 years.  We are hoping for a lot more snow in the mountains as it really helps with our water for irrigating next summer.  Plus it is great to ski on.  Our walks when it is below zero have been a little shorter than usual.  The horses are getting a little more hay than they would normally as that is what keeps them warm.  And I think I eat more than I probably need too!

Walking through the trees on what we call the horse trail.

It looks really cold at the top of this mountain to the east of us.

FIRST MAJOR SNOW

We got a total of 11 & 1/2 inches of snow last night and this morning.  This is our first major snow storm of the year.  So we spent a lot of the day getting it all piled up and out of the way.  Glad we have a tractor to do all that.  Our local ski resort opened today also.  We will probably go skiing this weekend. 

Carl and Deb's cabin early this morning on our walk.

Dell in her position in front of the stove in the morning.

Snow falling.

My walking partners.

The cabin in better light.

Christmas door and decorations.

Zeph with frost on his nose.

UPDATE 10 DECEMBER 2016

Been a few days since I updated the blog.  Busy around here as it is the season to shop and get ready for winter.  We finally turned the horses out to run around in the 60 acre pasture.  They like it much better than the corrals but we have to have them in there during hunting season.  We have gotten our first real snow storm of the season and hope for quite a few more.  Everyone around here is quite busy getting ready for Christmas and the holidays.  Thanksgiving seems like it was just last week and Christmas is coming up fast.  Try to keep my camera with me as much as possible on our walks.  Below are pictures to try and get you caught up with what is going on around here.

Nap time for the critters who live in our house.

The horses leaving the corrals and headed down to the meadow.

Still quite a bit of food down in the meadow for the horses.

Our first real snow storm of the season.  Enjoy walking up to the east of our place with the new snow.

Been quite frosty as you can see on the Zeph's hair.

Feeding down in the meadow.

Dell enjoys looking out the window and watching what goes on in her front yard.  The wood stove is only a few feet to her right so she manages to stay warm.

This is her view.

I take Zeph and Dell for a short walk in the late afternoon.  They both seem to enjoy it and many times chase each other around.

Taking a little rest.

These two are really pals.  Fun to see two species that get along as well as these two do.

Connie working on a skinny Christmas Tree.  She spends a lot of time out in the shop getting ready for Christmas.