How about a deer leg for dinner?

I know that I've been MIA for a couple of days, but I have good reason. Tuesday night Jeff and I were searching for some missing items when there was a knock at the door. Yes, I said knock! Two people from the wolverine study showed up to put up the study sites. I knew that they were due in and would look for me, but the weather was miserable despite the warmth, and it was also an hour and a half past sunset. So, I didn't think they would be coming in that day. But, they made it! Leah and Eric accepted our invitation to stay here in the cabin with us, so Jeff and I have had a grand couple of days with great company. Yesterday, the three of us spent all day setting up three wolverine sites.

I'll take a timeout here for a brief explanation of the study. John Waller, a wildlife biologist in the park, runs the wolverine project. There no longer is the funding to trap the wolverines and put microchips in them for study, so John is conducting a non-invasive study of the wolverines in the park. There are several study sites all over the park. Leah and Eric came to set up the five sites here in the Many Glacier valley. So for example, there is a site on Swiftcurrent Lake. We attached an eight foot long wooden pole (sometimes a dead tree) to the end of the boat dock. On the very top of the pole, Eric attached a deer leg. Along the pole, in a spiral pattern, twelve gun brushes were attached. The clencher is the stank, otherwise known as the lure. The stank is skunk sent and beaver anal cavity juices. YUM! A few drops of the stank is placed on the pole to attract the wolverines. Trust me a few drops is all you need! So, the idea is that a wolverine will climb up the pole to get to the deer leg and will leave some of its hair on the gun brushes. Thus, we have DNA! Amazing, isn't it?

Time in! So, yesterday we set up the site at Swiftcurrent Lake and two on Josephine Lake. Jeff came with us to the first site then headed into work. The weather was quite enjoyable. There was minimum wind, and it was in the forties. The downside to all of this warm weather is that everything is melting, and we can no longer just ski across the lake. Not to mention, the impressive snow drifts that were building are no longer impressive. After we were all done, we enjoyed a wonderful evening playing cards and bullshitting. Eric taught us the game 500, and Jeff and I somehow managed to beat Leah and Eric one time!

Today, Leah, Eric, and I headed out to Cracker Flats to set up the fourth site. I will say the weather was quite unpleasant today. We were still warm (36 degrees) but the wind on the flats was icy and brutal. Long story short, it was a difficult site, and we spent two hours out in the horrible winds. We came back for lunch and a little R&R, then Leah and Eric headed to the fifth site at Fishercap Lake. My knee is crapping out on me, so I decided to stay behind. Jeff treked part way with them to check the shutters on Swiftcurrent Motel but came back quickly to get me. There was a pack of wolves up on the side of Mt. Altyn chasing some bighorn sheep. Thanks to Jeff, I got to see a couple of them before they moved to the other side of the ridge. It was awesome! Everyone went on their way, and I headed home. (This is where I would insert a frowny face if I knew how). Tonight is Leah and Eric's last night, so I'm sure we will have a good time!

What is going on?

THE LAKE HAS OPEN UP...DOESN'T MONTANA KNOW IT IS ONLY JANUARY!
43 DEGREES AND GAINING. UGH!

Dripping Sweat.

We are in a heat wave here at Many Glacier! It was 41 degrees today. The part that stinks though is how slushy everything is. Yesterday, Jeff and I spent most of the day watching football. There were too many games on to get much else done. I wandered outside for a while, but unfortunately was mostly a homebody. The sun was shining yesterday and the wind was definitely blowing. The bright side to being indoors though is that I finally sat down with the avalanche gear and learned how to use it. We have locator beacons, shovels, and probes, but I don't ever plan on actually having to do a rescue! I read how to do a rescue anyway and then made Jeff read it. It doesn't do me any good if Jeff doesn't know how to rescue me. Later, I finished yet another book and am now on to the next.

Today was quite warm, as I mentioned above, and very gusty! We were hoping to make it to the Post Office, but the weather was quite disagreeing. Instead, Jeff and I spent all day working over at the hotel. We have decided that the lake is no longer our preferred route for travel. There is about six inches of slush on the lake now and a huge chunk broke off by the bridge. I'd rather be a wuss and take a longer trek to work than be brave and fall through the ice. It is supposed to be warm all week. Everything is melting and the mountains are looking quite bare. I wonder when the sheep are going to come back.

57 yard return to start the game...Go Bengals

Yesterday was another no work day for me. It's fun at first, but then I just don't know what to do with myself. Plus, I'm worried that once in the real world, I just plain won't want to work. It was really windy yesterday which ruled out much outside time. Also, the clouds are back. Yay! On the bright side, it has be nice and toasty lately. We have been averaging 32 degrees for the past few days.

I finished puzzle number one and moved on to puzzle number two. I've also started the first Harry Potter book. Shayla is awesome and sent me four Harry Potter books to keep me busy. Now we get to have nerd talk on the phone! Jeff was able to get some work done at the hotel. He has been fixing cracks, and priming, and doing all the stuff that I am apparently not qualified for. (Not that I'm complaining.) I made bread, but I was so into writing my lesson for the third graders that I forgot about it and it fell into nothingness. Bummer.

Today, I awoke to more gray skies. Jeff went over to the hotel for more manly work, and I did take two on the bread baking. It is much more successful when you don't forget about the rising bread. I also made some apple sauce and am in the process of drying apple slices. (Our apples were starting to turn.) There was more puzzle work, and now Jeff and I are preparing for the playoff games. I'm not a Bengals fan or a Jets fan, but the poor Bengals haven't won a playoff game in nineteen years. Not to mention, they just lost to the Jets 37 to ZERO last week. So to that I say, GO BENGALS! (That's for you Jim.)

I was hoping to do a bit of ice fishing between games, but the wind is a howling. Perhaps tomorrow?

48 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Yesterday was a nice, easy day for me. Jeff was still preparing rooms to paint, so I was off the hook when it came to working. I watched a little tv (yes Jimbo, I even watched part of The View) then got dressed to go outside. It was a beautiful day but very cold. I shoveled what little snow had accumulated along the house, then strapped on the snowshoes for a tour of the property. I headed up above the hotel to check out the view and the snow drift forming against the hotel. The drift is up above the first floor now. Also, the breezeway to the annex is socked in. I saw some bighorn sheep tracks but no actual wildlife. I didn't hang around too long on top of the hill since it was in the negatives, but I enjoyed the time I had up there. I headed back home, built a fire, and thawed out.

Jeff and I bottled our second batch of beer. It is a porter, and I'm super duper excited for it. It smells awesome. We should be enjoying the beer in two short weeks!

I've finally dug into the puzzles we have, so now there is no stopping me. It is way too addicting. I am also reading an interesting book called Indian Creek Chronicles (thank you stanger at Friedas for recommending it). It's about this kid from Milwaukee who ends up in school in Montana. Long story short, he lands a job living in a tent, forty miles from the nearest plowed road, alone and for seven cold winter months. It makes me appreciate my plush accomodations, that's for sure! Check it out. It's an interesting tale. It's by Peter Fromm.

Today was another beautiful day, but the wind really picked up in the afternoon. It started out at negative fifteen but warmed to the upper twenties. You would have never known it though because of the icy wind. Jeff and I got quite a bit of work done at the hotel today. Oh, and I counted the steps to the fourth floor. Fifty-eight glorious steps. Note: There is no sarcasm here. I am happy for the extra exercise!

We are settled back in at the cabin. I started a fire, but because of my lack of tending, it is lacking a flame. Bummer.

Playoffs Are a No Go. Boo!

Not much new over the last couple of days. Victor and Allie made it back to Whitefish safe and sound. Jeff and I spent all day watching football on Sunday (of course). Both of our teams won, but unfortunately the Steeler's could not climb out of the hole they dug themselves (of course neither could the 49er's). Maybe next year Heinzy. It is still up in the air who we will root for in the playoffs. Knowing Jeff and I it will be two different teams!

It has been snowing lightly for the past three days. Today there was NO wind!!! Jeff and I finished up in the basement, ahem, I mean lake level rooms today. We will be working on the fourth floor of the main part of the hotel tomorrow. The bright side is that now we get to climb four flights of stairs everyday. I'll take all the exercise I can get out here (unless it mean cross-country skiing to the Post Office hehe).

The following are pictures courtesy of Victor and Allie.

Good Times With Good Friends

So, Victor and Allie made it out for New Year's Eve. We thought they wouldn't make it out because Victor was sick, but it turns out they are rock stars...very tough rock stars. Originally they were going to leave Whitefish at 8 am to head out here, but Victor had to go to the doctor and all that good stuff. To make a long story short, they started hiking in at 4:30 PM. Jeff and I headed out to meet them at the ranger station. It was completely dark by the time we made it to the ranger station, and it was only 10 degrees. Victor and Allie hadn't made it there yet and the cold was setting in, so Jeff and I ditched our skis and headed toward the dam to make sure everything was ok. We spotted their headlamps, so we ran up the hill to hide and scare them when they passed by. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at hiding, and I started laughing, blowing the hole thing. As it turns out, luck was against Victor and Allie on New Year's Eve. They had rented skis from Sportsman's Ski Haus, but Victor's ski boots didn't fit his skis. Way to go Sportsman's. So, they were on foot, trudging through almost a foot of fresh powder (and more than a foot in several deep spots). Jeff and I left our skis at the ranger station and treked in with our guests.

We made it to the cabin just before 9 pm. Everyone was extremely exhausted. This exhaustion was caused most in part by the contents of Victor and Allie's packs. Remember how I said they were very tough rock stars? Here is a list of the contents: A gallon of vodka, a gallon of orange juice, a bottle of bailey's, three packs of Jello, a bottle of wine, a pound of skittles, five pounds of carrots, a head of cabbage, plus all of our mail which included a chia pet (thanks Heather!), three nips of liquor (Heather again), four Harry Potter books, candy, and cookies (thanks Shayla), Christmas cards from a hundred third graders, clothes and cards (Thanks Uncle Steve and Yingzi), gifts from Pete (thanks for wrapping them so nicely), and miscellaneous personal items. Whoa!

All four of us lounged around recovering for quite a while. We didn't even end up eating dinner until 11 pm (this seems to happen frequently when Victor and Allie come to visit). We managed to amuse ourselves until 4 am playing guesstures.

Most of us had a tough time rallying on New Year's Day. We ate some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then Jeff and Victor went out to drill another hole in the lake. We all headed over to the hotel for a while via a nice trek across the lake. It was absolutely, ridiculously windy! We sledded a couple of times, but when I rode down the hill I forgot to hold on to the string when I crashed. The sled went flying away up over the hill before I even had time to recover from the crash. I took off running up the hill after the sled, and by sheer luck it got caught up on the other side of the hill, and I was able to recover it. I was done sledding at that point. After we got back to the cabin we played some Hearts, ate dinner, played more Hearts and guesstures, and somehow made it to bed before 2 am. In case you were wondering, Allie and I won the guesstures tournament. It turns out the men couldn't handle their alcohol. Hehe.

Victor and Allie took off this morning about 11 am. We opted not to walk out to the ranger station with them because of the wind. We would have had a hell of a time getting back to the cabin.