It could have been worse.

Well, the Steelers lost. But, considering our lack of experienced players on the field, they did an ok job. Dennis Dixon did all right for having only thrown one pass in the NFL prior to starting against the tough Raven's defense. So, I can't be too unhappy, in theory.

Monday was a typical day out here. Jeff went to work at 8 am and I started around 10 am. I had the lovely job of cleaning out all of the rotten food left in the Jammer dorm. Thanks a lot end of year maintenance crew. Then I headed over to the hotel for some painting. We painted all day of course and are now back in the comforts of our cabin. The weather was less than desirable today. It was 35 degrees, but the windy was blowing so hard that the snow stung our faces. I suppose it's just the beginning though.

Here are some pics that Victor took. He is an awesome photographer! If you are interested in any of the photos, I will give you his contact email.

A Tough One to Beat

So, we survived Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving. It has all of the good food and company of Christmas without all the stress of gift giving. Plus you get the Macy's Parade and lots of football. What more can you ask for?

So Friday, Victor and Allie came to visit. Let me first say we had the best time EVER, and it would be next to impossible to beat. On that note, if anyone wants to come out and visit and try to beat the good time they showed us, give it a whirl. So, we met Victor and Allie at the gate to let them in. They brought their Wii, so we had a good ole time playing. We played Wii fit forever and also some bowling, then we played Hearts. Hearts is actually a really fun game! Afterwards, we went over to the hotel to do a bit of ghost hunting and exploring. It was the perfect night. The stars were out, which is pretty rare out here. Victor got some amazing photos of the mountains and the hotel. He is such a talented photographer and has promised to share some photos, so i will post some when I get them. We spent a couple of hours in the hotel, checking out rooms and trying to scare each other. When we left, we came back to the cabin, and I started heating up leftover Thanksgiving dinner. Allie brought an awesome pumpkin pie! YUM! We played another round of Hearts in the meantime. At one point, Jeff stepped outside to glance around and heard wolves calling. So we all jumped in the car to get a bit closer. We couldn't see them because they were on the other side of the trees and up the hill a bit, but it was amazing listening to them. There was a very high pitch barking and howling, so we are not sure if it was a pup or not. I am going to look into it. It was just so cool listening to them. They were so close! When we got back, we feasted on the leftovers (finally!) and played DDR. we played DDR then Wii until 4 am!!!!!! Holy crap! Needless to day, we are a tad sleepy today.

Today we hiked up to Red Rock Falls. The falls are about halfway iced over and absolutely beautiful. It was a very nice hike, except for the cold wind in our faces. The lake on the way to the falls was even iced over, so we were able to walk on it. We led Victor and Allie out of the gate and are back at the cabin. Jeff is half asleep on the couch. Later we will eat more leftovers and more than likely call it an early night.

Happy Holidays!

Whoa, Wednesday was a busy day. I stayed at the cabin while Jeff went over to the hotel to work. I baked bread, baked dinner rolls for Thanksgiving, baked a pumpkin pie ( I know, Suzy homemaker), did a couple of loads of laundry, and readied the cabin for Victor and Allie's arrival on Friday. Jeff spent all day painting at the hotel. He didn't even come home for lunch, so he could come home early. It was a nice day, in the the lower 40's, and the sun peaked out a bit. The ice on the lake is slowly starting to melt again. I just want to be able to go fishing!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Jeff and I woke up in the morning and quickly got addicted to the show Cake Boss on TLC. I know, we're pathetic. For the record, Jeff put the show on. There was a marathon on all day, and all the football games were TERRIBLE. So, we watched A LOT of Cake Boss. It's a pretty funny show about a very Italian family who runs this ridiculous cake business. Entertaining. So, throughout the day we cooked our Thanksgiving feast and played cards. We had a feast! Here is a list of the feast: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, butternut squash and apple bake, corn, cranberry sauce, rolls and honey butter, and pumpkin pie. And, there is only two of us! But, Victor and Allie will be here on Friday to help consume the leftovers. As a side note, why does the turkey take so much longer to cook then what the instuctions say? GRRR! After the feast we watched the Giants get their asses kicked. What is up with the Giants this year? Then at half time, we played some DDR, and then we went back to football. Shayla called, YAY!, and then we went to bed early in a turkey coma.

Today, Victor and Allie are coming!!!!!!!!!! I'm super excited to have some company. Hopefully

the weather will stay nice!

I love to paint!

Well, I am still recovering from the Steeler's loss to Kansas City. I'm sure KC fans are still in shock themselves. I'm trying to get over it, but things aren't looking so good for us Steeler fans. We have some pretty important injuries (Palamalu, Aaron Smith, and Kemoeatu) , and let's face it, Ben doesn't play so good after a concussion (this is his 4th since 2006). Hopefully Tomlin can kick those Steelers into gear for the game Sunday night! We can't lose another one. Especially since we now have the same record as Pete's Eagles.

Anywho, Monday Jeff and I went back to painting. It is miserable work. I'm not even kidding. There is absolutely nothing fun about painting. If you disagree, you can come out here and paint. I am also losing all hope that the hotel is haunted. First of all, it just isn't logical. Second of all, the more time I spend over in the hotel the more I doubt the haunting stories. The building is always making crazy noises, which yes can be spooky, but it is a very old building, and the wind blows here constantly. There is a crack or crevice in just about every wall so the wind whistles through the building quite a bit, but that's it. No ghosts, as of yet anyhow. Now this doesn't mean that I wouldn't be scared if I were alone in the dark parts of the hotel because I would be. But, that's because I am a wuss. So back to reality. Jeff and I finished our painting for the day and headed home to feast on steaks and butternut squash. Yum! The night ended quietly when our satelite went out, mid-movie of course, and we retired to our room to read our books. Seriously, what do people do without TV these days?

Tuesday began. Still no TV. This threw off Jeff's routine entirely. Here is the routine: 7:06 am -wake up. 7:08 am - turn on Live with Regis and Kelly. 7:08 am -8 am - watch Regis say stupid stuff, eat breakfast, get dressed, and go to work. (I am lucky enough not to get up until 8 am when I hear the car pull away. hehe) At 10 am I headed over to the hotel to help Jeff plug the snow holes around various doors then paint. We worked until 1 pm then came home for lunch. Still no TV. Seriously, Jeff and I don't know what to do with ourselves. So, we head back to the hotel, paint some more then come home at the end of the day. Oh yeah, Jeff got the TV fixed. Now it's official, we don't have to talk to each other anymore. Just kidding everyone. Well that is all that has happened today. Now I have to go cook dinner, so Jeff won't starve to death. Until next time...

P.S. Someone send us a postcard for crying out loud! P.O. Box 648, Babb, MT 59411 JEEZE!

Absolutely Unbelievable!

How the H%$@ did the steelers lose to Kansas City??????????????????? Unbelievable! Anyway, enough with the depressing conversation. At least we have a better record than the 49er's. For those of you who don't know, Jeff was a little cocky about his 49er's at the beginning of the season. He bet me that they would have a better record than the Steelers going into playoffs. Whoever's team has the worst record has to drill the hole for icefishing using our hand augar. Hehe. I am also happy that we have a better record than the Eagles because I know Pete would be giving me a REALLY hard time if they were doing better than my Steelers. We need you back Palamalu. You're the man! Seriously.

Well, my last blog was on Friday. The temperature topped out at 48 degrees. Damn, how the weather is so fickle here! Jeff and I got another good chunk of wood chopped. I feel like the pile is never going to end. Is anyone interested in coming out here to chop the rest of our wood for FREE? Then, Jeff taught me how to play hearts so that we can play when Victor and Allie come to visit in a week.

Saturday, the weather was cold again. The max temp was 30 degrees. YAY! Despite the cold temp, wind, and snow, I took a stroll around Swiftcurrent Lake. There was quite a bit of snow. It was so quiet and peaceful out there. The only thing I heard were the trees creaking in the wind. Then, I spent a few hours working on my blog and lesson for the third graders this week. Jeff watched some football and played video games like a man. We feasted on some chili and cornbread, watched a couple of movies, and called it a night.

Which brings me to the misery of today. Both the Steelers and the 49er's lost, so Jeff and I are quite depressed. BOO!

The Week Flew By!

Wow, this week just flew by! Tuesday was nice and warm. It reached 46 degrees. Unfortunately, it was a rainy and windy 46 degrees. I went over to the hotel in the afternoon to help Jeff. Jeff replaced some door jams, so we had to go around and putty in the holes and drill out that thingy that the doorknob clicks into. You're jealous aren't you!

Wednesday, it turned back into winter. I have only myself to blame. Tuesday, I was cursing the rain and said I would much rather have it snow. So it did! Jeff and I got some more wood chopped. I've had enough of this wood chopping thing! Jeff works four 10 hour days, so he only went in to work for a couple of hours. The rest of the day, we hung out inside. We watched a movie, then began our beer brewing task. It took a few hours to brew the beer, and now we have to let it sit for 3-5 days. Then, we have to do something else to it that I don't remember at this time. Eventually, we will bottle the beer, and it will sit for a number of days that I also don't remember at this time. Anyways, the point is that we should be drinking our beer around Christmas time. We hope. And, we hope it's drinkable! So we brewed our beer and played some cards. I finally beat Jeff! The end.

Thursday was a day from hell. Jeff began on his room list which consists of lots of PAINTING! I hate painting. I went over to help Jeff after lunch. He went around taping the places that needed painted, and I started painting. It wasn't so bad at first. Not until I got to the room with the bathroom that needed the ceiling in it painted. Have you ever painted a ceiling? It's horrible. My neck hurts, and I had to scrape paint off of my face last night. Not to mention there is an old bathtub that takes up most of the bathroom, so there I am, balancing on the edge of the bathtub, straining to paint the ceiling. Oh, and to top it off I have to go back today to do it again. One down, two hundred and some to go. YAY! Don't you wish you were me? I actually can't even complain. Look where I get to live all winter! So, after work Jeff and I tryed to scour ourselves clean. Then, Jeff made an awesome plate of nachos as a reward, and we relaxed the rest of the night.

Today, I am getting ready to head over to the hotel to help Jeff with...you guessed it...PAINTING! I'll let you know how it goes. Oh and it warmed up again. 47 DEGREES! Can't the weather gods make up their mind.

Damn, It's Windy!

Well, Jeff and I were able to escape for the weekend! We made it up to Lethbridge, Alberta Saturday. There was an international beerfest in Lethbridge Saturday night. It was not exactly what we had expected. It cost us $10 to get in and then about $2 for every TEENY sample. Nonetheless, we had an ok time. We met a couple of guys who told us about a blues band playing at an old firehouse cum restaurant/bar down town. They were kind enough to drive us so we wouldn't have to walk. First, we went to a water tower that has been made into a bar. It was a neat place for a drink and some appetizers, but it literally took us 30 minutes to get our drinks. Afterward, we headed to see the blues band. The service there was equally as terrible (is it like that everywhere in Canada?). There were four of us. Jeff ordered a bottle of wine and the poor waiter for some reason brought us 3 wine glasses. Hmm? Then, no joke, he set the bottle on the table then said, "Oh, I guess you need something to open that with." WHAT? And, this was a "nice" place or was supposed to be. He then took the bottle away, opened it behind the bar, then put the cork so far back in that Jeff had to use his teeth to get it out. WOW! Anyways, we again had a pretty ok time. Why is it that everytime you go to Canada you leave feeling like you got ripped off?

Well, sunday we left the great country of Canada and headed to Shelby, MT where we found a bar to watch the Steeler's game at. (What the hell Roethlisberger? And, when will we get rid of Jeff Reed for someone who can 1. kick the ball and 2. TACKLE the runner on a punt?) It was an awesome little local bar and by the time we left we had eight dinks bought for us. Needless to say, we will be back in the spring to cash in some chips when we break out of this place. FYI: it's called the Alibi. Then, we stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get some much desired fresh produce.

Today, the wind is insane! We are getting gusts at 60 mph. Jeff went to work like a good boy and I stayed home (hehe). I did get some stuff done though! I skyped with the kids at the elementary school in PA and wrote my blog and assignment for them for the week. I also made some french onion soup. Jeff and I have been craving french onion for a while now. And, finally I put away all the extra cans and food on the new shelves that Jeff built. Jeff is home now, so we are relaxing. We're going to watch some football and maybe play a game. I'll post some pics tomorrow. I'm not that motivated to do it now. Sorry bout that!

A Wonderful Night

Ok, I've been harrassed for not blogging enough (that's you Pattie), so here I am. I guess my life is just not intersting enough for a daily blog, yet.

So, Tuesday Jeff cut a booty load of wood, and I stacked it for him. We are officially in a mad rush to finish chopping all of our supply before we get any more snow. Monday was gorgeous with the high at 46 degrees! By tuesday, however winter came back. I haven't been back over to the boat launch to see if my fort survived, but I have high hopes. Anyway, back to tuesday... Jeff demanded that I begin pulling my own wait (only kidding), so I covered all of our windows with plastic. It SUCKS! The cabin stays so much warmer, but I can't see out the windows anymore. BOO! To finish the night off, Jeff and I played a heated game of shanghi rummy, then a heated game of sequence, then a heated pretend game of scrabble slam. We have a lot of time on our hands. P.S. Happy B-day mom and happy late B-day dad (Nov 7). Another year YOUNGER! Only 4 more treatments mom!

Wednesday, the weather was not so lovely. Oh, how the mountains hold in the clouds. I chopped wood in the morning. The stack is slowly getting smaller. After lunch, I went to the hotel to help Jeff with work. I had the pleasure of staining a bunch of wood. Fun Fun! Then, Jeff left me alone in the shop...not cool. And finally, we walked around the hotel shutting off breakers and making the hotel even more dark and scary. Oh and yes, I heard a weird noise, but Jeff, being the sensible man that he is, said it was just the building creaking in the wind. HMMM.

Today was my day to chop a booty load of wood. First of all, let me just say that I am a rock star! I chopped a ridiculous amount of wood. I started the day by baking more bread. First try, not so successful. Today, VERY successful. Didn't I just say I rock? As it turns out, being at a high elevation DOES make a differnce, a big one. While the bread was raising, I shoveled snow and chopped wood. I probably logged about 3 hrs of wood chopping. I am strong like caveman! I also did laundry, made lunch for Jeff, played DDR (apparently that's what I'm supposed to be calling Dance, Dance, Revolution), and chopped MORE wood. It was awesome today. The temp was 29 degrees but not a cloud in the sky. There were at least 20 bighorn sheep out this morning (and the males were trying to do IT with the ladies, who as it turns out, weren't interested). I had plans to fish but was too worn out after all the caveman like wood chopping. We are now watching the 49er's play the bears. FYI: Jeff is a 49er's fan, so keep your fingers crossed!

Also, keep your fingers crossed that the weather will be nice this weekend. Jeff and I are hoping to head up to Lethbridge, Alberta for their international brewfest this weekend. Please weather gods, let us go!

Go Steelers!

Winter definitely decided to rear its head this weekend. It snowed non-stop! Sunday, we drove Jimbo out of the park. There was about 18 inches of snow on the road, but Jeff's car plowed through ok. We unlocked the gate and set Jimbo free. It was beautiful out in Babb. Not a cloud in the sky. Back here in the park, however is another story. The clouds just hand in the mountains, keeping it very gray. Boo!

Today is a beautiful day. It has warmed up to 39 degrees! This morning there were probably twenty bighorn sheep in the front yard. There were three males. Every once in a while I see one but never three. John Waller, the wildlife biologist, said we should start seeing more males and that we should see them butting heads. That will be awesome! I spent an hour on the other side of the lake working on my snow fort. It's coming along well. I just hope it doesn't warm up too much and melt. It's been years since I played in the snow like that. You're never too old to build snow forts!

Tonight, the Steelers play the Broncos in Denver. It's going to be a tough game, but I have faith in the Steelers! Oh by the way, congrats Stace for staying in the pool for another week. Russ must be pissed! hehe

Thursday, John Waller, a wildlife biologist with the park came up here to talk about his research project that I will be helping him with this winter. John is mapping the wolverines in the area using genetic information he gathers from hair samples. We will start on the project sometime in January when the lakes begin to freeze over. Basically, John takes a wooden pole and screws a deer leg to the top of it. When the wolverine climbs up the pole to get at the deer leg, its hair gets caught in the brushes attached to the poles. That's where I come in. I will collect the hair from the brushes and send it to John.

Anyways, John and I went for a short hike to Lake Josephine to see some of the study sites. Before we even made it on the trail, we came across a pile of bear scat. John spent 5 minutes sorting through the poo, thinking out loud about what the bear ate. I guess thats how a wildlife biologist's mind works.

Friday, I baked my first round of bread. Man, that's a lot of work! I wouldn't call it a failure, but I wouldn't call it a complete success either. Better luck next time. Then, I played Dance, Dance Revolution for an hour. Finally, I can beat Jeff EVERY time! hehe. Jimbo showed up about 4 pm. We hung out, drank some beers, played some Dance, then Jeff and Jimbo played video games for hours, and I went to bed.

It snowed a lot last night and is still snowing today. I think Jimbo might have to stay forever. If so, we're going to run out of food by February.

Victor sent me these pics from when he came on Tuesday.

WINDY!!!

Tuesday, Victor and his mom came out here. The bighorn sheep licked Victor's car clean for almost 2 hrs straight. We walked around the lodge then headed to the other side of the lake to get a better look at a female moose over there. We got a pretty good look at her as she was feeding on plants in the lake.

Wednesday, I went for a very long drive around the east side of the park. I drove up the Going-to-the-Sun road as far as I could drive (they close it in the winter). The mountains up at the pass were beautiful. Then, I drove towards Two Medicine, where I sat at the lake for 3 hours doing some soul searching and drinking a few beers.

Today, John Waller, a wildlife biologist here in the park, is coming out to show me how I can help with his wolverine research. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. Damn you Yanks!

Go Phillies!

Ok, so I slacked last night on the blog. I was sucked in to the two awesome games that were on. Way to hang in there Phillies! Yesterday the rangers came by to go over the rules with us and to give us emergency information. I didn't realize that we will have to pass through an avalanche slide zone to get to Swiftcurrent (the other hotel we have to keep an eye on) and another to get out of the park. So, as soon as it snows Jeff and I are going to practice with our avalanche gear. We will carry locator devices, so hopefully if we are caught in an avalanche, one of us will be not be buried and will be able to dig the other person out. Fun, huh? Other than that, it was a slow day. I chopped some wood while Jeff was at work, and I attempted to get some cookware out of the lodge kitchen. However, it was dark in there, and my imagintion got the best of me. Then we settled down to watch the Phillies kick some Yankee rear. Good luck in game 6!

Victor is supposed to be bringing his mom here today, so we should be going for a hike. I will fend off my laziness and actually right a blog tonight.

Beautiful Day

Nov 1, 2009

Today was a beautiful day. The sun was shining for the first time since I've been here, and the wind was mild. Jeff chopped wood all day, and I was kind enough to stack it for him. hehe. Anyways, it has been a wonderful day of sports, sunshine, and manual labor. We saw a few visitors drive by today, but other than that, its been quiet. I think we will cap the night off with a game of Sequence and possibly another heated match of Dance, Dance Revolution.

Here's the proof of the manual labor: (The pic of Jeff was taken last week when he had the luxary of an electric chainsaw)