Mid-Mountain Madness

So Andy picked up a trail map of some bike trails around Park City, and I think he's worn a hole through it from looking at it every night. :) (Needless to say, he's pretty excited about getting out on his bike each day.) We've been on two pretty big bike rides this week. With 325 miles of bike trails in Park City alone, we've got a lot of options for riding. Yesterday was a crazy ride! We started at Deer Valley Resort and rode the Mid-Mountain trail (you're basically midway up the mountain--about the 8000 ft. elevation level) to the Park City Mountain Resort. It was a 13-mile ride on a single track dirt trail, meaning you were pretty close to the trees and bushes on either side of you. It was hard to look around at the scenery because you really had to watch where you were going. Some parts of the trails crossed over ski runs, so that was nice to get a sneak peek at those for the upcoming winter. We didn't see any wildlife on this particular ride, but on Monday's ride we saw a dead snake and a mama moose with her calf. Enjoy!

This was a view from Monday's bike ride.


This was a view from Tuesday's ride.


We are standing in front of an old mining building.

Wined and Dined

Andy and I went to the Feist concert last Thursday at the Deer Valley Resort. It was like no other experience we've had at a concert. We went with Andy's aunt and uncle, who are members of The Sky Lodge in Park City. The Sky Lodge had their own VIP section, and we got to be a part of it! They transported us to the concert, where we were escorted to our seats. We had (free) yummy, delicious appetizers and all the wine you could have possibly wanted. They also served some yummy desserts, but I can't remember the name. They wouldn't even let us throw away our own garbage and they were constantly coming around to fill up our wine glasses. After the concert, we got to go to an after party where they served us more food and wine. We are not used to that kind of treatment but we loved it!


The concert was outdoors at the Deer Valley amphitheater. It was a beautiful night.

Just a preview

Once we got into SLC, one of our first trips was up to the Park City Mountain Resort. Not only did we meet with our banquet coordinator, but we finally got to see the meadow where the wedding will take place. That means we also got to take a ride on the alpine slide!

This photo was taken while riding the chair lift up to the meadow. It's looking down on the resort. Those white tracks are for the alpine slide.


This is the meadow where the wedding will take place. What a view from the top!

The Brighton Cabin

Andy's uncle designed an 18-hole frisbee golf course around the cabin and Brighton ski area. I've played the course many times and I still can't remember which hole is which. By "holes" we're talking telephone poles, fire hydrants, road signs, large trees and large rocks. These couple of photos are from our first trip to the cabin this summer.



Sometimes, frisbees end up in some not so friendly places.

Take me out to the ballgame...

Two days after we pulled into Salt Lake City, we went to a SLC Bees baseball game with some friends. I guess it would be their minor league baseball team. We had pretty good seats--right next to the bull pen and 6 seats up from right field. Andy even caught a ball one of the players threw into the stands, but he gave it to a little girl behind us. What a guy!

Day Six--Grand Teton and Beyond...

We woke up to something really crazy-- snow! I thought I heard something in the middle of the night, and it sure didn't sound like rain. Crazy! There wasn't too much accumulation due to the altitude and dryness but, still, it snowed!! The snow and clouds continued with us as we explored Grand Teton National Park. It's a good thing we saw the mountains yesterday because we didn't anything today--wildlife included. That didn't stop us from enjoying our time, though. We went on a 4-mile hike (in the snow). Then, we continued our drive through the Grand Teton National Park (it's not a big park so it didn't take us too long) and ended up in Jackson Hold, Wyoming. What a fun place! Unfortunately, the temperature was 30 degrees below normal (it was about 45 degrees), so we ditched our tent for the night and stayed at a cabin at a local KOA campground.

This is what we woke up to in the Grand Tetons


Taking a hike in the snow


A giant arch made out of antlers


Our last home

Day Five--Wyoming Cont'd.

We woke up to rain and wind this morning. Thank goodness for rain gear. After a visit to some hot springs, the rain stopped and we continued our drive through Yellowstone National Park. There were a few times we had to stop to let some bison cross the road. It wasn't unusual to see bison walking down the middle of the road. Our last stop in Yellowstone was Old Faithful. After viewing this spectacular sight, we continued our drive out of Yellowstone National Park to Grand Teton National Park. The mountains were incredible. It turned out to be a beautiful day so the mountains were in full view. A fox ran right through our campsite!

Even dogs get exhausted on road trips.


Mammoth Hot Springs


Caution--wildlife crossing!


Now that's a big fella!


Old Faithful


So tired!


Leaving Yellowstone National Park


Relaxing with a nice, cold beverage

Day Four--Wyoming

We drove for about 6 hours today, getting into the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park around 4:00 p.m. That night, we stayed at the Mammoth campground. As we approached our campsite, we witnessed an elk wandering through the neighboring campsite. It stayed around the area for quite some time and even trapped a mother and daughter by the bathrooms. We fell asleep to wolves howling in the distance. It's a good thing Cooper didn't hear them!

Molesting animals?!?!


Our resident elk at the Mammoth campground


The elk would not let this mother and daughter leave. They ended up hiding out in the men's restroom for a few minutes before her husband came and distracted the elk.


We took a little hike before cooking our delicious dinner over the campfire.

Day Three--Montana

The drive from Lewiston to Montana was absolutely beautiful. The entire drive up to Lolo Pass is along a river. We were told to be careful when driving next to the river because its beauty can hypnotize you, which is how many of the accidents are caused. We crossed historic Lolo Pass and descended into Montana. This was a long day of traveling. We didn't reach a campsite until 7:00 p.m. that night. We stayed at the Angler's Roost and even got to hear/see a bonfire-chainsawing-shootin' party across the river.

Cooper got to play in more snow at Lolo Pass.


Our campsite at Angler's Roost was very quiet, which made it even more relaxing after a long day of driving.

Day Two--Idaho

Day 2 started off with a little wine tasting in Yakima, WA, and then we were headed for Idaho. That night, we stayed right next to the Snake River in Hellsgate State Park.

Our campsite in Lewiston, Idaho


Just a random photo while on the road. We traveled along Highway 12, the trail of Lewis and Clark's expedition.


Stopping for lunch in Kamiah, Idaho, after visiting their local Harvest Foods.

Day One--Washington

On June 6th, 2008, we flew to Seattle, dog and all.  Our truck was waiting for us at the airport and, after refueling the tank, getting our directions straight, and remembering how to read a map, we were off!  Rainier National Park was first on our list.  The following photos are from our first day of road tripin':

We just got off the airplane and were waiting for the shuttle to take us to get our truck. The "pills" had worn off and Cooper was ready to go.


This is what we encountered at Chinook Pass in Rainier National Park. Cooper loved it!!


Just playing around at the KOA in Yakima, WA

Park City is our home now!!!

Okay, so we haven't quite moved in to our place yet, but July 1st is just around the corner!  Right now, we are staying with Andy's aunt and uncle, who live in Park City.  We have a few things to do around town tomorrow.  Our apartment is in an area where we have to get a P.O. box because mail is not delivered to houses in Old Town (an area of Park City around Main Street).  So...the post office is on our "to do" list.  We also need to find a storage unit because the apartment comes furnished.  The landlord doesn't mind if we put her things in storage and use our own but, now, we just need to find a storage unit around town.  Our belongings arrived in Salt Lake City about a week ago and the moving company will deliver them on Tuesday.  It's been so long since we've seen our stuff (2 months) that we really don't remember what all we packed!

I hope to post photos really soon because we have a lot to share. 

    

Our Journey...So Far

Our trip from Alaska to Utah went flawlessly. Cooper did great on the airplane (from Anchorage to Seattle). Our truck was waiting for us in Seattle so we picked that up and then we were off! On our first day, we drove through Rainier Park, hoping to set up camp along the way but, unfortunately, the weather wasn't too cooperative. It was rainy and we didn't even get a glimpse of the mountain. At the pass, we even encountered about 8 feet of snow left from the winter (and it was still snowing)! We ended up camping at a KOA in Yakima, WA. On the second day, we stopped at a few wineries in Yakima. Delicious! We drove about 5-6 hours each day and, on this second night, we camped along the Snake River in Lewiston, Idaho. Idaho is absolutely beautiful! Day three took us across Idaho and into Montana. It wasn't the easiest place to find a campground but, eventually, at 7:00 p.m., we came across Angler's Roost. On the fourth day, we continued our journey across Montana and, somewhere along the way, we took a turn to the south and made our way to Yellowstone National Park. On that first night in Yellowstone, we camped at the Mammoth campground. Upon entering our campsite, we saw an elk making its way through our neighboring campsite. Crazy! We saw (and heard) a lot of wildlife in Yellowstone. On our first night, we fell asleep to howling wolves. We got up the next morning and continued driving through Yellowstone. The weather started off windy and rainy but, eventually, the clouds left us and the sun came out. We saw A LOT of bison along the way. We even saw 3 moose but they were small compared to what we've seen in Alaska. Andy saw a black bear. There were mountain goats and something that looked like pronghorns (but we're not sure if they were pronghorns). In the latter part of the afternoon, we made our way to Old Faithful. Awesome! That night, we camped at a campground in Grand Teton National Park (which is directly south of Yellowstone). A fox ran throug our campground and we woke up to a half inch of snow! It's a good thing the mountains were out the day before because we didn't see a thing the next day. We enjoyed our drive anyways, and ended up staying in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that night. We would love to go back there some day. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating with us on this particular day/night, so we ditched the tent for a night and stayed at a cabin at the local KOA. We woke up in the morning and made the push to Salt Lake City (about 250 miles).

Right now, we are staying with some friends in Salt Lake City, actively looking for a place to live in Park City. For those who are not aware, Andy and I were both hired as teachers in the Park City School District. We are quite excited!! Andy will be teaching 4th grade and I will be taking a break from special education and teaching 2nd grade. The best part...we are teaching at the same school again!!

So...that should take us up to the present time. Unfortunately, I don't have photos to post at the moment. Andy's camera ran out of juice and I forgot to pack my cord that hooks my camera up to the computer. I will post some as soon as I can, though.

We hope all is well with everybody.

Good-bye, Alaska

Andy and I would like to say "good-bye" to all of our friends in Alaska. It has been an incredible last 7 years and we will cherish our memories from Alaska for many, many years to come. To all of my girlfriends who are reading this--whenever you get together with "the girls," know that I will always be there in spirit. :)

I will not be posting anything until we arrive in Utah so, until then, we wish everyone well and hope the giant mosquitoes don't get you!

Our love to all...

The BIG Day

Yesterday, May 30th, was a big day for us. The movers came and loaded up all of our belongings. Never having gone through a big move like this, it was, actually, quite interesting to watch the process. Andy and I had packed everything up. Since we had to be out of our house so quickly, all of our things had already been moved to our friend, Kellie's, house. It made it much easier for the movers because everything was in the garage. Still, anything that was not in a box, was wrapped in brown padded paper. Even backpacks full of clothes were wrapped. Talk about a lot of recycling when we get all unpacked in Utah! While I stayed with the movers, Andy took his truck down to the port so that could be shipped to Seattle. We leave Alaska on June 6th, fly into Seattle, pick up the truck (which will be waiting for us at the airport) and start our road trip to Utah. Even though it is only a 15-20 hour drive from Seattle to Salt Lake City, we plan on making it about a week-long trip. We'd like to stop by Yellowstone and any other place we see along the way. It's all just part of the adventure...

The heaping pile of brown paper-wrapped belongings


It's hard to believe that our entire life can fit into 3 large wooden crates (4 if you count the crate for the sofa)!


Of course, I had to include a photo of Cooper. This is, mostly, what he did while the movers were working. Andy and I are both quite surprised by how well Cooper is adjusting to all of the changes.

Good-bye, Kincaid

On May 17th, our great friends at Kincaid Elementary had a good-bye/wedding shower BBQ for Andy and me. It was one of the most beautiful days--sunny skies and just a light breeze. It was a perfect day to be outdoors in the company of some truly wonderful friends. The last day of school was hard; the staff at Kincaid has been our family for the last 6 years. We have so many wonderful memories to hold on to, and look forward to keeping in touch. Here are a few photos from the BBQ:






This is me with my teaching assistant of 6 years, Roger. What a great guy!


My very dear friend, Angie,(right) with her teaching assistant, Betty. Angie is a special education teacher at Kincaid.

It's Official

Well, the papers were signed last Thursday and it's official...we sold the house!!!! We are now living at a friend's house until we fly out, which will be some time around the first full week of June. So...if you would like to get a hold of us, our cell phones will be the way to do it. Andy: 907-632-8121; Jana: 907-632-8071. It's been a long, exhausting process and we are glad it is over. We still have A LOT going on, though, with job hunting and wedding planning.

We hope everyone is doing well!

An Update...Finally

I don't have any new pictures to post but we wanted to get you updated on what's been going on lately.  It's been a very busy last few weeks!  

Our house went on the market in early April.  Six days later, we received an offer!  We countered, he signed, and the journey began.   The home inspection and appraisal have been done.  Our realtor got an "okay" back from the appraiser, meaning we didn't have anything to worry about, and, so, the packing begins.  We should be closing some time during the upcoming week.  It has all happened so very fast.  Andy and I are kind of in a whirlwind right now.  With the closing happening really soon, we had to find a place to live for our last month in Alaska.  We'll be staying with our good friend, Kellie.  It will interesting to see how Cooper does around her cats.  Our belongings will be shipped down to Salt Lake City on May 30th.  The truck will be shipped soon after that.  We'll fly into Seattle around the second week in June, pick up the truck, and make the drive to Utah.  Cooper will have to fly on the airplane, too.  The doc better have some good drugs for that trip!    So that, in a nutshell, is what has been going on lately.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we got 16 inches of snow last Friday.  After a week of sunny skies and temperatures in the 50's, I think we were all in a state of depression.  It seems to be melting pretty quickly, though.  

We hope everyone is doing well.  To all of our family and friends down in the Lower 48, we are really excited to be closer to everyone.  To all of our "family" and friends in Alaska, it will be hard to say good-bye but we look forward to our visits back to Alaska and your visits down to the Lower 48.    

Taking a break (and, luckily, not a break) during break

Ahhh...now that's a catchy title.  Andy and I have been spending a majority of our spring break getting the house ready to put on the market (it goes on this weekend) that we decided we needed a day to go out and play.  So, we headed down to Alyeska for a gorgeous (I mean gorgeous) day of skiing.  It was so clear that we could see for miles and miles.  That doesn't happen too often up here.  We skiied for a good 2 hours before we needed to refuel our bodies with some delicious lunch at the Sitzmark.  After that, it was back on the slopes.  This is where "and, luckily, not a break" comes in.  We were skiing down an area called Trapline and I got going a bit too fast.  (I was trying to keep up with Andy but I now know that that will probably never happen.)  I ended up off the groomed trail and that's when it happened.  I remember thinking, "I'm going to crash.  I wonder if I will break a leg or hurt me knee.  Will the ski patrol have to come and get me?"  Anyways, crash is exactly what I did.  In Andy's words I had a yard sale, meaning one of my skiis, my goggles, and my hat were not attached to my body.  They were up the mountain a ways.  I flipped, rolled over and, I think, did a few somersaults.  I did not break any bones or hurt my knees.  I did not have to have ski patrol come and rescue me. Right now, I'm nursing a pretty sore neck but things could have been a lot worse.      

March Madness

Well, where do I begin?  It's been a really long time since I've updated the blog, that's for sure. With school, getting the house ready to put on the market, getting application packets ready, and wedding planning, I guess it's safe to say that time is going way too fast.  Now, on to the fun stuff!

Before the temperature got into the upper 30's and everything turned to ice, we got out snowshoeing and skiing quite a bit.  We had some beautiful blue-bird days and, oh, did that sunshine ever feel good!!  


The Iditarod started last weekend.  We always go downtown and watch the ceremonial start.  What a rush those mushers must feel as they embark on their 1,000+ mile journey to Nome.  We always seem to meet some really nice people, too.  Some people even come up from the Lower 48 for the event.


It's kind of hard to see him but Lance Mackey is the one in the white bib. He won the Iditarod last year.

School is going pretty well.  We are at the end of 3rd quarter, meaning there's only 9 more weeks of school left!!!!  Andy and I work with some really wonderful people.  It will be sad to say good-bye.  I'm really excited that some of my girlfriends will be making the trip to Utah for the wedding, though.  We'll have such a good time!