Montana Winters

If it's January, it must be Montana.  As much as we love the summers in Big Sky - the winter has its own charm.  The social activity is almost frenetic.  The community of people who live there year round defy the weather with a constant stream of concerts, dinners, pot lucks and, of course, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, dog sledding - and on and on it goes.

We arrived in Big Sky on January 5 and met Connie and Dennis from Chattanooga and Kat and Jim from Oakland at the airport.  All of us headed up the mountain ready to hit the slopes.  Kat and Connie have made this trip almost every year since we have been in Big Sky and we have our favorite runs and lunch spots.  This year, we even shared our favorite ski instructor, Rich, for an afternoon of tuning up our technique.

Nancy and Jim, our neighbors, sponsored a concert evening in the village.  Duo Solo is the husband wife team of Michael Kirkendoll and Mary Fukushima.  Based currently in Stillwater, OK, they met while studying at Manhattan School of Music.  Nancy and Jim met Michael and Mary when Michael competed for the American Pianists Association Classical Fellowship Awards held annually in Indianapolis.  Mary is a flutist who produces sounds on a flute that I never knew existed!  She teaches at Pittsburg State University, just across the Oklahoma border in KS.  Together, these remarkably talented musicians are committed to performing the music of living composers, and they treated the audience to a delightful evening of contemporary music, both in solo and duo mode.

On the night after the concert, a group of friends gathered with Michael and Mary at the 320 Guest Ranch for dinner.  The 320 is famous for its pig roasts in the summer, and steaks in the winter.  Oh... and now famous for one of its signature drinks - the Buttery Cowboy.  Think hot chocolate, butterscotch schnapps and Bailey's - mmmmmmm.  Connie, Kat and I went straight for the liquor store to get the ingredients so that we could enjoy our own Buttery Cowboys at home. 

Every winter, I look forward to the Master the Mountain program at Big Sky.  This 6-week program is offered in January and pushes participants to ski parts of the mountain off the beaten track.  My skiing has improved so much through this program.  Roger Schwer, who has been at Big Sky as an instructor at least 40 years, organizes this program every year.  His wife, Margie, also an excellent instructor, has taken me to places to which I would have never ventured without her calm encouragement.  These two are an inspiration have done more than anyone I know to instill in me this life long love affair with skiing.  When I head down the slopes with beautiful skiers in my class, some of them 20 years my senior, who have an incredible zest for living, I am inspired beyond any fear I might have of the newest steep run.

In late January, Wayne and Mary Jane, both from Nashville, dropped in for a week-long visit.  Wayne is a medical school classmate of Butch's, and Mary Jane grew up in our hometown of Sparta.  We took a day and drove over to Gardiner and through the Roosevelt Arch to the northern entrance to Yellowstone.  This is the only road which is open into the park in the winter.  We drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs and spent some time hiking around the moon-like frozen fumaroles.  It's easy to imagine that you are on another planet amid these strange geologic features.  I really think these amazing hot springs are even more beautiful in the winter - strangely fascinating.

We drove on over to the northeastern end of the park and stopped in Cooke City (population 100) for a break.  This very snowy little outpost is the gateway to the Beartooth Highway in the summer, called one of the most beautiful drives in America by the late Charles Kurault.  However, this road is closed in the winter, and Cooke City is the end of the road.  So, we decided to grab a quick snack and warm cup of coffee.  The proprietor recommended their signature drink, ginger tea and it was a terrific recommendation.  We spent the rest of the week trying to reproduce this delicious hot drink - must be my year for discovering drinks.  This one is basically hot lemonade made with fresh lemons and steeped with grated fresh ginger.  If you try this at home, be sure that you use plenty of ginger - then, build a fire in the fireplace and enjoy the ginger tea slowly.  Mmmmm... makes me wish it was winter again (really??).

On our way out of the park, a curious coyote followed us for what seemed like miles.  I really think he was just looking for a free lunch.  We also spotted elk, bison and big horn sheep.  These animals survive very well inside Yellowstone and manage to find food growing around the natural hot springs and geysers, which keep the ground warm enough for vegetation even through the harshest winter. 

The bison find food by ramming their rather large head into the snow and shaking it back and forth to clear away the snow and uncover the vegetation that might be there.  When they raise their head, they look like they have been hit head-on with a massive snowball.  From November until late April, this is their life - and most of them survive!  This miracle of life and survival hits me every time I visit this wonderful place.

That's my Montana winter story this year...  next, back to TN and a warmup in Florida.  Stay tuned - I will get caught up on this blog!!