8/28/2012 3:30:00 PM

WHEN MY MOTHER, a 4th grade teacher of 25 years told me “I want to go ziplining.” I thought I heard wrong- “say again, I think the connection is breaking up.” “I want to go ziplining," she repeated. "It sounds fun and it’s something I have to try.” As luck would have it the town I live near, Big Sky, Montana happens to have a popular zipline course that many Yellowstone Park visitors frequent for an out of car experience. So, I said “heck yes, let’s do it!”

After we hung up, I thought about how my mom would never even ride the Ferris wheel, forget a roller coaster. She preferred the low ride of the tilt-a-whirl. Now this new zest for heights was shocking, yet something I could wholeheartedly get behind.

The plan was made for her to come out to Montana to zipline.

It was a beautiful July afternoon with thunder heads building on the horizon. I picked mom up at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and we headed south to where our adventure was waiting. It was a Friday evening and we had a night to get ready for tomorrow was our big day. We needed a good meal and a good night of sleep. Word around town was that the best spot for a bite was the Friday Night BBQ at the Bunker Bar & Grill, so there we went. Perched overlooking a willow patch on the Middle Fork of the Gallatin River with expansive mountain views we devoured citrus marinated Salmon, zucchini, eggplant, summer squash and potatoes all grilled to savory perfection. Then for dessert a “build your own” Strawberry Shortcake with lots of velvety homemade whipped cream.

After dinner we rolled ourselves through the Mountain Village past children roping log steers and playing the free mini golf course. We stayed in the Village Centercondo hotel. Our hotel donned wrought iron pine cone light fixtures, stone floors and fireplaces. Mom liked the modern amenities with the old lodge feel. “It’s nice to have everything I need, yet still feel like I am on a rustic getaway. I am just not into roughing it anymore, if I don’t have to”. Exhausted, we crawled into our beds, cozying up in our 300 thread count sheets. There was no need to count sheep.

The Big day had arrived. We peered out the window as the morning light touched the mountain peaks. We decided to order from room service and ate al fresco on our deck.

At 9 am at the Basecamp, we met up with our zipline guides and rest of the brave group of zipliners. After getting rigged up in our harness, helmets and girth hitched to lanyards, carabiners and pulleys we headed up the trail. As we meandered up through the lodge pole pines our guide Brad told us about the geology of the Madison mountain range through his colorful blue Rayban sunglasses.

The next thing we knew we were there at the first line. In a single file we jumped one after the other and swooped across a mountain meadow with mountain bikers below. Then it was mom’s turn…She boldly got up on the platform, our guide Angela clipped her on then safety checked “seven, eight, you are rolling straight, go ahead when ready!” Mom nodded slowly, took an unsure step backwards, shot over a look of complete uncertainty or was that fear? “You can do this” I said to her. She turned, nodded and stepped off into flight. I looked across and SHE MADE IT! Next, I stepped up to the platform, locked, loaded, soared. Even my nerves of steel were a little shaken. After a round of high fives with the group and a big hug to mom, we strutted to the second line. We passed blooming lupine (named after the latin word for wolf-lupinus, because their flowers look like a wolf’s tooth) alongside the trail that waved a standing ovation to mom.

At line two our guide Ashley demonstrated how to flip upside down for a more interesting ride across. Mom stayed with the traditional form of feet first; I opted for head first. The third and final line sashayed us over a ten foot cliff and past a hero view of the Spanish Peaks. We all hooted, hollered and high fived each other. The group was chirping excitedly about their next adventure. Some were off to whitewater rafting, paintball, or the giant swing. We headed to the Lone Peak Expedition, the tram to the top at 11,166 feet for another breath taking, fear-of-heights busting adventure.

-Lyndsey Owens

Tags: zipline canopy tours, yellowstone national park, summer activities, big sky resort, basecamp to yellowstone national park, lodging big sky resort, family vacation activities, what to do in yellowstone, zip line, yellowstone zip line tours, montana, big sky montana

Montana | Summer | Yellowstone | General

E-mail |

| Permalink

Windy Pass Cabin

7/25/2012 9:10:00 AM

FOREST SERVICE CABINS are hot-ticket items come June in Montana – the remote cabins are open for rent, and make for amazing weekend trips to remote and beautiful parts of forest service land. Campers book months in advance to snag a reservation.
So when I was offered a last-minute chance to use a friend’s reservation at Windy Pass, I jumped on it.

I rounded up a crew for the trip and we planned to leave that day after work. Just a few miles from Big Sky, we’d need to take a high-clearance vehicle up a bumpy road to get to the head of the two-mile trail. With the long summer Montana days, we knew we could make it before dark.

Finally hitting the trail at 8:30pm, the sun was still well above the horizon as we trekked up the fierce elevation gain. Across streams and through the forest we climbed until the landscape opened up to a field of wildflowers and we saw the Windy Pass cabin perched near the ridge.

The view clearly called for a few verses from the Sound of Music, and my friend Tallie and I immediately broke into song. This was truly a Maria moment – never had I seen such lush rolling hills surrounded by mountains outside of that classic musical.
The cabin was one small room with bunk beds and two more cots in a small loft above. The moon was full and rising, and even as the sun vanished around 9:30pm, the moon lit up the night with an eerie silvery glow. Somewhere not so far off, we heard coyotes howling.

We had packed in takeout pizza from big Sky’s newest joint, Ousel & Spur, and dug into Fig and Prosciutto slices around the small cabin table before topping it off with homemade gingerbread. Not having to carry sleeping pads, pots, pans, or utensils – the cabin comes equipped with mattresses and cooking staples – we’d also been able to squeeze in a bottle of champagne, just in case the mood struck us.

At 5am, we woke and hiked another 15 minutes to the top of the highest ridge, and watched the sun come up over Paradise Valley below. I couldn’t think of anything better to celebrate in life than a Montana sunrise, so we popped the Champagne and toasted to the Big Sky.

- Greer

Photos by Anna Middleton-http://annamiddleton.wix.com/photography

Tags: yellowstone national park, zip line canopy tours, gallatin national forest service cabin rentals, big sky montana, big sky resort,

Montana | Summer | Yellowstone | General

E-mail |

| Permalink

Mountain Cuisine | The Carabiner: Climb Up to the Alpine Table

7/19/2012 12:07:00 PM

THE WINDING MOUNTAIN road ends one hour north of Yellowstone National Park at the Summit Hotel, elevation 7,500 feet. Anchored in a window laden corner is the Carabiner Bar & Grill offering views of God’s country. As we stumbled in awe, gazing out at the stunning scenery we were greeted by warm smiles that lead us to a comfortable window seat for two.

The ziplining and whitewater rafting adventures from the day were enough to make me want to eat a horse, but luckily here Bison and Wagyu beef are the stars of Chef Michael Bockelman’s summer menu. The carte du jour is traditional bar and grill; from lighter fare of salads, soups, sandwiches and burgers to Montana NY Strip and Alaskan Salmon as well as delectable plates of red quinoa salad, smoked tofu sandwiches or Moussaka for the discriminating vegetarian. Plates ranged from $11-31, allowing for any range of budget.

Outside there is a terrace where vacationers and conference attendees (indicated by the square name tags on white lanyards around their necks) were enjoying the fresh mountain air as they dined. While inside the room fashions mountain elegance with stone colored walls, black stone accents, vintage French ski resort art hanging on the walls and a cozy fireplace to water glasses with hand holds in them.

We decided to dive right into the local flavor with a small plate of the Bison Satay paired with a Monchoff Estate Riesling, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer 2010. The grilled bison skirt steak was mounted on top of a cold chili and pineapple buckwheat noodle salad with rice pickled vegetables. The warm tender bison was more sweet than spicy and disappeared rapidly between the two of us, one of us using silverware, the other opting to eat off the skewer.

As we continued on we chose the Montana Smokehouse Ribs with a glass of Zenaida Cabernet, Paso Robles 2009 and the Wagyu Noodle bowl with a glass of the Riesling again as recommended by the sommelier. The ribs were-so-tender- juicy-meaty and covered in a naturally sweet huckleberry glaze with a side of fresh slaw. We had agreed to share, but I didn’t want to. The apex of the bowl of rice noodle was a delicately marbled Wagyu skirt steak that scored the heat of the spicy Vietnamese broth. This was served Montana style where the helping of beef overshadows the vegetables in the bowl.

Chocolate Fondue for Two- who could say no in this alpine environment? With a glass of Dows 10 year tawny we sat grinning across the table at each other bite after bite of strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and petit four sec dipped in warm Belgian chocolate ganache. The hedonists that we are, we also ordered a bowl of house made vanilla ice cream with season appropriate strawberry-rhubarb sauce. Sharing is not so bad, as long as you can share two desserts.

Carabiner Bar & Grill, Summit Hotel
1 Lone Mountain Trail, Big Sky, Montana; (406) 995-8078
www.bigskyresort.com
Summer season open daily 11:00am – 11:00pm

Bon Appetit!
-Lyndsey Owens

Tags: yellowstone national park, zipline tours, yellowstone zipilne, carabiner lounge, montana food, where to eat in yellowstone, where to eat montana, big sky montana, big sky resort, dining in montana, dining in big sky, bar and grill in big sky montana

Montana | Summer | Yellowstone | General

E-mail |

| Permalink

Summer Face Shots: Whitewater Kayaking the Gallatin River

7/12/2012 9:59:00 AM

ALL WINTER IN Big Sky, powder hounds talk about the epic face shots of Cold Smoke pow on Lone Peak.

But in summer, there’s a different kind of face shot in Big Sky – face shots of cold water from the rapids on the Gallatin River for whitewater Kayakers.

And while most of the time those exhilarating kayaking face shots are reserved for the seasoned river rat after hours of training and practicing rolls in a pool, I recently found my novice self snuggly sealed in a dry suit and spray skirt, face-to-face with the legendary Mad Mile of rapids.

I was on one of the first of Geyser Whitewater’s new guided tandem kayaking trips down the Gallatin. It gives novices a unique chance to experience whitewater Kayaking with a personal guide, and pro Matt Larson was giving me the rundown on what to do should our boat flip – a distinct possibility on the raging rapids of the Mad Mile.

“Are you ready? On three I’m going to flip us.” Per Matt’s instructions, I threw away my paddle, held my breath, and tucked, suddenly upside down, immersed in the cold water. In another instant, I was gulping air again– Matt had righted our boat.

Both exhilarated and shaking with fear, I was (sort of) ready to head for the rapids. “Paddle!” Matt yelled, and we launched forward into the first section.

Rapid after rapid our boat crashed into the water, sometimes with a force that threw my torso back, engulfing me in a wave of the ice cold river. It was cool and invigorating, and my veins coursed with adrenaline. Like the perfect powder day on Lone Peak, I was getting river face shot after face shot.

- Greer

Geyser Whitewater is located in Big Sky just off of highway 191 and leads whitewater rafting and kayaking trips on the Gallatin River. New this year, you can also book a Zip and Dip tour, including whitewater rafting and Ziplining at Big Sky Resort.

Whitewater Kayaking Big Sky Resort Montana

Tags: yellowstone national park, yellowstone, big sky, rafting and zipline tours, whitewater rafting, geyser whitewater, big sky montana,

Montana | Summer | General | Yellowstone

E-mail |

| Permalink

OMG, Animal Capshunz Big Sky Style

5/24/2012 2:40:00 PM

WHEN I TOLD my sister last December that I I’d never heard of I Can Has Cheezburger,she was shocked and appalled. Apparently, I was the last person on the face of the planet not obsessed with Lolcats, and she had me download the blog feed immediately.

At first it seemed inane. But now I find myself chuckling over ridiculous captions of silly cat pictures on a regular basis. Apparently, cute animal + bad spelling = obsession.

And then I discovered Animal Capshunz, I Can Has Cheezburger’s sister blog that extends beyond the world of silly cat pictures into silly pictures of animals in general. My favorites are the LOLs of animals I can see in my own backyard, and in Montana that means moose, bears, and elk.

So in honor of the animals emerging all around Big Sky as summer approaches, here are some of my favorite Big Sky style Animal Capshunz, as well as some relevant LOLs of my own: