Monday, December 27, 2010

I hope all Borderlanders are having an enjoyable end-of-year! All is well here in the Bozone! Last week I took some pictures around town, and over the weekend there was plenty of festive Christmas skiing at Bridger Bowl! Here are some of the shots:


Did you see the lunar eclipse last week? This is what it looked like from the Borderlands Lodge


To the left, a festive octopus-inspired holiday decoration hovering over the intersection. To the right, Vargo's Books and Records—my favorite record shop in Bozeman. On Thursday, I bought records by Joe Walsh and Ypsilanti, Michigan native/(Ann Arbor) Tappan Junior High School alumnus Iggy Pop.


I love the way the mountains pop out unexpectedly here. I guess I should always expect to see mountains here, but still it always gives me a thrill.


To the right you can see the old Baxter Hotel. The hotel is closed now, but there are still some good drinking establishments located on the ground floor. At the top of this building is a blue light which flashes when there is fresh powder at Bridger. And look, grandma, up at the intersection you can see another Christmas Octopus!


Bozeman might be a one-horse town, but at least the horse spins—here you can see it expose its equine glory to pedestrians crossing the intersection of Bozeman and Main. To the rear, a giant green Christmas octopus. 


You've seen this shot a million times—it's the bike path just off of Rasheed Wallace Avenue


Pretty house on Grand Avenue. I think Boo Radley lives up there in the the turret.


I love riding—or in this case, walking—through the neighborhoods between the university and downtown

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I went skiing at Bridger Bowl, Bozeman's local ski hill. My brother's family was visiting from Minnesota, and we spent the weekend skiing together:


Bridger is just fifteen miles from Bozeman, and it's a gorgeous drive. No matter how many times I see the mountains, I'm always amazed by the fact that I live in such an unusual and special place. 


Pretty and peaceful as always at Bridger


Christmas Day on the slopes!


As you can see, it's as crowded as ever at Bridger these days—just an insane number of people. At times, there were up to 4-5 people in front of us in the lift lines.


Me, on the lift with brother Jack

 
The end of another nice day at Bridger—time to head back to the Borderlands Lodge for margaritas and kebab 

All in all, it was a nice way to spend the weekend, and in the process some new Christmas traditions may well have been created. For now, I'm trying to get ready for my upcoming cross-continental trek to Washington DC, which begins next Monday with the start of what I anticipate will be a 3-day drive to Michigan.

But before I start that, I'll get at least a couple more days of skiing in—New Year's is going to be spent at Big Sky!
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