We were backcountry skiing in the Stillwater State Forest, north of Whitefish Montana, under unusually blue skies. Here is Melissa blasting through some creamy powder, followed by a typical view of trees blanketed in heavy snow. Also, notice the backcountry refrigerator full of beer and our cat getting a jump-start from another cat.
Crazy great skiing
The snow forecast for Steamboat on February 13th was for 5”, and they got 8”. And where we were, at Buffalo Pass (four miles north) they got 18” of powder. Which looks like this…
Deep powder yet again
It just keeps dumping in Steamboat. Here we are a week later - same old, same old.
Mega Powder!
Here are multiple shots from our recent cat skiing trip to Steamboat. There was A LOT of powder.
Heavy snow load
Here are a couple of shots of a stand of trees on Buffalo Pass, following successive storms. The second image is less clear, since it was still snowing at the time. Masses of snow on the trees!
Singing the Powdercats Blues
Here is senior Powdercats guide Kent, wailing away on a harmonica while we took the cat up for yet another run through the trees.
Classic Steamboat Aspens
This photo was taken looking straight up through a stand of Aspens in the hills north of Steamboat, following a snowstorm. Lots of snow on the branches!
My personal parrot
This is either a photo bomb by Melissa or I have my own pirate parrot that looks like a skier.
Winter storm in Steamboat
We were backcountry skiing at Buffalo Pass (near Steamboat) yesterday. That is me shooting past a patch of snow-encrusted aspens.
I have climbed this peak twice - not anymore!
I climbed Popocatepetl twice in the 1980s. That is no longer possible, as the peak has been much more active over the past few years. Watch the following video from yesterday’s eruption:
Why I love fat tire bikers
Today was my 44th consecutive month of running a half marathon, in this case in the snow of Staunton State Park. The far corners of the park are usually snowed in at this time of the year, but several fat tire bikers had packed down the snow. Still needed some beefy crampons for the ice, but the result was the following photo from the West Meadow Trail. Oh, and it was seven degrees Fahrenheit in the parking lot.
This is why I get up early
The sky this morning along the Front Range was red, orange and yellow for about one minute, just as the sun was coming up over the horizon. The following photo was taken from the parking lot in Deer Creek Canyon Park.
14 Degrees in paradise
The temperature this morning was 14 degrees in the parking lot at Staunton State Park, but that was not a problem with enough layers, so I still managed the 43rd consecutive month of doing a half marathon trail run. The following picture is from one of the high points in the park.
Sun after the storm
Here is some sun glancing off the trees along a trail well back in the Deer Creek Canyon Park. I saw this while trail running (OK, shuffling) through there this morning.
So there are aliens in the bathroom?
This sign was posted outside the bathroom in a restaurant in north Las Vegas. Is this where they’ve been hiding?
This is what keeps the slot machines running
Here are some of the generators buried deep under the Hoover Dam, just outside of Las Vegas. Something has to keep those neon lights blazing.
Flying cars exist!
Well, sort of. The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville houses some of the oddest automobiles I’ve ever seen, including a few that literally don’t exist anywhere - the museum built them from the inventor’s blueprints. In the following photo, we have a prime example of a machine that didn’t quite work out - though it must have been a great blow dryer for the driver’s hair.
Goddesses in Tennessee
I suppose it is entirely reasonable to run across a 40-foot gilded statue of Athena in - Nashville? And I thought the Acropolis overlooked Athens? At any rate, Athena did not appear overly active, judging from the thick layer of dust on her. Not to mention a few cobwebs.
At country music ground zero
We were complete tourists and took the backstage tour at the Grand Ole Opry, which (of course) included going on stage. This is sort of like going to Mecca for country music fans, so it was kind of cool (even though we’re not country music fans - well, somewhat, but not that much).
Great music in Printers Alley
Printers Alley is located just up the street from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, behind the Dream Hotel. There’s a series of bars down there that host musicians from 10 a.m. to about 2 a.m., so you can wander in, buy a drink, and settle in for some (usually) great music. The guys in the photo below were playing some fabulous Jimi Hendrix.
