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Although I grew up in Hailey, ID, just 45 minutes from Stanley, I had never been into the backcountry of the Sawtooth Mountains in the winter.  We just spent 4 days in there with my brother and close friends to take a look around.  The snowpack didn’t let us get after much this time around.  Yet, after seeing what you could get after in there, we will definitely be back!  Following is a slideshow of the trip as well as a video from the perspective of the Barry Lewis Experience.

Images of the fun.

As seen by the Barry Lewis Experience.

Although the start to this winter is nothing like last year, the skiing has been a nice little surprise.  Last weekend we went out both Saturday and Sunday and found some incredible snow in unexpected places – as well as a Christmas Tree!  We were also able to sneak out on Wednesday afternoon to enjoy a cup of tea and the beautiful sunset from a ridge on Teton Pass.  Although the snowpack is thin, it has been extremely cold which is keeping the snow soft and skiing well.

We joined a few friends in the Canyonlands of Utah just prior to Thanksgiving break. This is a little slideshow of our 3 day bike ride on the White Rim Trail.

Thanks to Scott, Leslie, Dutch and Lucas for the great times!

Thanks to Tom and Julia for unknowingly letting us borrow their blog title, but it couldn’t be a better fit for how we’ve spent the last few months. Since we returned home in July, just in time for summer to begin, are weekends were quickly filled with camping trips, weddings, rafting trips, and adventures in our own backyard. Here are some of the highlights:

Targhee Fest

The annual Targhee Fest for three days of music. Michael Franti puts on a great show every year.

Weekend in Sun Valley

A last minute biking trip to Sun Valley with Brad, Gretchen, Barry, and Martha turned into somewhat of an adventure when Shadow decided to eat a pile of poisonous mushrooms he found by our campsite.

Camping with Jean in Red Lodge and Yellowstone

We drove over Beartooth Pass, into Red Lodge, and back to Island Park for a fun weekend getaway with Jean, Allie, and Shadow.

BJ, Brandon, and Greg Climbing near Mount Borah

The brothers had a chance to catch up on life at 1am as they began their ascent of Mount Borah.

Tom & Julia’s Wedding in Stowe, Vermont

A fun wedding weekend in Stowe turned into a week of catching up with Aunt Kate in Washington D.C., Tara & Will in Williamstown, MA, and Michele & Mirek in Manchester, NH.

Ethan’s Bachelor Party in Cataract Canyon

A multi day trip down the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon to celebrate Ethan’s bachelor party.

Ethan & Colleen’s Wedding in Jackson

Close to home with tons of friends.

Tim & Mary Lynn’s Wedding at Chico Hot Springs

Elvis was there … actually two of them and a dog!

Canoeing Oxbow Bend with Shannon & Jimmy

A cold morning with threatening clouds turned into a beautiful day on the Snake River.

Scott & Leslie’s Wedding in Bozeman

Amazing food and a great party!

Rafting the Main Fork of the Salmon River

We joined Ryan Burke and his former roommates (and our new friends) Sarah, Kristi, Sara Jane, and Kip for 8 days on the Main Fork of the Salmon River. 7 humans and 4 dogs made for quite an adventure.

Our newest family member … Shadow!

Here’s the story: Our neighbor Jason, a chronic Australian Blue Heeler rescuer, brought Shadow over last Friday and he literally fell into our laps. Since it wasn’t exactly planned, we told ourselves that we would give it two weeks before making a final decision on whether to keep him. So much for that!

We noticed that he had a slight limp and took him to the vet first thing Saturday morning. The vet told us that it felt a little “grindy” and that she wanted to take an x-ray on Monday, just to be sure it wasn’t serious. She didn’t seem worried when we asked her what she thought about us taking him cross-country skiing up Shadow Mountain for Gretchen’s Birthday for the day. He couldn’t have looked happier on our tour. Little did we know.

On Monday morning we took him back into the vet for an x-ray. As we waited patiently in the waiting room, we heard someone yell “oh shit” from the back room. We looked at each other and said, “I hope that wasn’t for us.” Well, sure enough, they brought the x-ray out and pointed to his totally dislocated hip. Because of all the scar tissue, it was obvious to the vet that it had been dislocated for at least a few months. Popping it back it wasn’t an option … he needed surgery. And not just any surgery. They had to saw off the ball from his femur. As it healed, scar tissue would build up again and form a replacement joint.

By day four, we were both head over heels in love with this guy. There was no way we could say no. He had surgery two days ago and is already putting weight on his leg.

By the way, Salsa isn’t thrilled but he’s interested. I’m sure they’ll be buddies before we know it.

I think we just experienced the best weekend of the 2010-2011 winter season. After a few weeks of cold weather and occasional flurries, a storm settled in on Saturday and bombarded us with over 2 feet of new snow. Here are some teasers from the weekend and a few more from the rest of the winter.

BJ in the Poop Chutes - Backside of JH

Mellow Grove at the bottom of Four Pines

BJ and Scott show off their Snow Beards

Lisa's 30th Birthday Weekend in Moab

Fun Turns on Cardiac Ridge

Plummer Yurt with Ellery

Victor Sunset

Just a quick clip from this past Sunday at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.  Nothing like returning home to full on winter.  Atlthough things are not completely filled in, the conditions are pretty epic for late November.  This is from a lap over on Four Pines and using the new chest mount that we have for the GoPro camera. Don’t expect a professional edit! This marked an historic occasion for JHMR as they have never had a full opening before December since they opened in 1967.  Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the ski season.

Shot with GoPro® HD Cameras

We spent two weeks surfing near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua in November with a solid crew of friends and family (including BJ’s brother Brandon, Clay Steph & their 11-month old Ellery, Gretchen, Becky, Angela & John).

The View from our San Juan del Sur House in the Trees

The walk down to the beach

The entire crew at Mango Rosa

Just the ladies

Ice Cream “Truck”

Ellery and his favorite Tio

Playa Maderas

Mmmm … Sand.

The Brothers

Oh yeah … We went surfing

Our Chilly Pool

Swimming at Mango Rosa

Boat Trip to Panga Drops a.k.a. Drop you on your ass

Clay and Steph swim home to Ellery

Granada Chapel

The House in Granada

Synchronized swimming in the Laguna de Apoyo

Cigar Factory

It’s hard to believe that my nephew Sam turned 1 month old yesterday. I must admit that 4 ½ weeks ago, I was a little terrified meeting Sam for the first time. I thought that I would surely drop him, squish him, or do something terribly wrong. But after a couple of days, I didn’t want to put him down. It was amazing to watch him change not only physically, but in his awareness of his surroundings. I have loved every minute … getting up with Shalyn to help feed him in the middle of the night, watching Randall nuzzle him every time he came home from work, and laughing hysterically at his many gestures, facial expressions, and massive poops. Most of all, I will miss dozing off on the couch with him snuggled closely in on my chest. It’s hard to compare my feelings about the last four weeks to anything else I’ve experienced. It was emotional and exciting, and yet totally natural and peaceful at the same time. My time here has gone by so fast and it has been such a treat to be able to share the first month of Sam’s life with my sister and brother-in-law. Shay and Randall, you two are already such amazing parents. Sam is one lucky little guy … and incredibly cute too.

I took a few weekends to visit other family and friends and to experience a bit of the Bay Area’s wide array of culture. I went to a handful of movies, had high tea in the city, saw a play called Marcus about a young gay African American man in the south, went to a Wake the Dead (a Celtic Grateful Dead cover band) concert, and saw Thievery Corporation & Massive Attack (one of my faves) at the Greek Theater.

It’s been such a nice month back “home” and sometimes I wish I could just pack everyone up (including a few cultural events) and take it all back to Victor, Idaho with me. Well, that would be with a stopover in Nicaragua of course to join BJ and friends for a little surfing.

As a side note, something must be done about the bay area radio stations. I swear that some of the stations that I used to listen to in high school (like Live 105 and KMEL) play exactly the same songs … Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, oh and Warren G’s “regulators.” Don’t get me wrong, I like all of these artists. But I can’t believe that these stations haven’t found anything new to play over the last 10 years.

BJ and I make the long boring drive through northern Nevada a couple times a year to visit friends and family in California. We’ve never ventured far off the highway through the barren state but a recent trip to Lamoille, Nevada may have changed that for future trips out west. Just 30 minutes from the city of Elko, the small town of Lamoille sits at the base of the stunning Ruby Mountains. There is even heli-skiing in the Ruby’s if that gives you any idea of their grandeur.

The reason for the trip? Jean’s grandmother and grandfather had a ranch in a protected little valley in Lamoille and Jean spent quite a bit of time down there as a child and teenager. Although the main house is no longer standing, the ranch still exists. From her many stories and a video she brought along, it was easy to imagine the ranch as it used to be.

The Lamoille Cemetery: Jean's Great Uncle (John Billet - died age 15), Great Grandmother (Hanora McDermott Billet - died age 43 in 1918), and Great Great Grandfather were all burried here. They have their own family plot.

The family plot.

A well known Basque restaurant we ate at in Elko. We had way too much food - endless soup, salad, french fries, beans, and spaghetti .. oh, and our entres of beef, pork, and mountain trout too. Our waitress gave us some laughs.

On a drive up into the Ruby Mountains. Like I said ... impressive.

It was hard to leave this little slice of Nevada. Other than exploring the tiny tiny town of Lamoille, visiting the ranch and the cemetery, and driving up the Lamoille Canyon into the Ruby’s (okay, that actually sounds like a lot), we sat at home snuggled into the couch with many cups of coffee and multiple books. It was one of the most relaxing weekends I’ve had in a while.

The following weekend we got a group together to ride the Pinnacles Trail on Togwotee Pass. The only stories I have heard about the ride involve grizzly bears so along with our 8 bear canisters for our group of 8 riders, we spent most of the ride hooting, hollering, and singing down the trail. In the end we were a little bummed we didn’t see a bear – ha! The ride was around 17 miles but with the number of hike-a-bike sections, it felt much longer. It took us roughly 6 hours car to car. The views were amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to ride with. Don’t miss our mid-trail dance (led by the one and only Barry Lewis) … everyone was so delirious at this point.

Riding through the meadows.

At the saddle.

The sketchy section.

Yay - fun group.