For Every Low, There Will Be a High

At the shelf by my bedside, is where it has been told to be placed

a moment of comfort, reassurance, and some needing to be spaced:

From the words of a remarkable woman,

"There will be times where you just don't want to take another step.

For those times, remember you can only go forward.

Nothing behind you is worth having because if it was, it would still be with you."

Thanks B.

Your letter of hope gives light to an end of a challenging tunnel.

TheChristyBel

Happy Heart Day From the Tetons!

I really have never been too keen on the whole Valentine's Day thing,

but I know whether it's today or any day,

you should acknowledge someone that you not only love, but care about.

Whether that is a boyfriend or girlfriend, a close friend, or someone that is special to you.

Express not only today, but everyday about loving and acknowledging your loved ones.

Make sure you let someone know how much you appreciate them in your life!

I hear moose kisses are a pretty nice way to show someone you care about them!

<3

TheChristyBel

Happy Valentine's Day From the Wyoming Moose and TheChristyBel!
Photo Credit to HolidaeHouse.com

Avalanche Off Cloudveil

So, yesterday, I had a day off from class and teaching.  Did a lot of personal errands, or well to-do's around the campus from cleaning my messy cabin, rearranging the furniture, writing letters to friends and family, to finishing up my Year 2-Graduate School application to the University of Wyoming.

In the midst of my productive zone, I was sitting at my desk and all of a sudden I hear this huge crash outside my cabin.  I turn to my window, and it was not what I saw but lack of what I saw: which was nothing except snow!  Instead of seeing the view to the Main Lodge and Dining Lodge, all I could see was a huge mound of snow!

Avalanche off of Cloudveil Dome Cabin!

There was a mini-avalanche that had occurred on my roof and covered my view from my window.  All winter snow had been piling up on the roof.  I am thinking about 2 and half to 4 feet of snow.  The past few days have been full of an endless snowfall and the weird thing is that the temperatures have been increasing to the low and mid-30s. So this slight warming had been causing snow all around campus to melt and fall off.  Which can be really scary based on how much had accrued on my cabin!

Snowy Damage

Luckily, no one was hurt in the process and my cabin was left un-damaged!  However, I think maybe should try to prevent this from happening again and taking off some of that accumulated snow off my cabin.  Hmmm. Or Maybe I should do what they do at the ski resorts, bomb the snow and have artificial avalanches!

What It Looked Like Before the Fall: Lots of Snowy Layers & Icicles

Deadly Icicles

This Has Left Me With a Lack of Sunshine Into My Cabin & Scenic View Out of My Window

Guess I'll Have Some Shoveling To Do Tomorrow!
TheChristyBel

Ecological Inquiry

Here are some photos from our Ecological Inquiry Class Presentations:

One-Year Cutthroat Trout in the National Fish Hatchery

A Bad Photo: Can You Spot Something Not Like the Rest?

Evidence of Otter Presence at the Jackson Dam

Belly Sliding!

Interesting Algae Blooms

Stellar Snowflakes

Precious Moments in the Snow!

Stay Tuned From More!
TheChristyBel

XC Skiing To Granite Hot Springs

Friday, I went to a dance performance hosted by Dancer's Workshop (where I dance).  The performance were by the Gallim Dance Company.  It was a really awesome and interesting performance.  Included dancing with cardboard boxes and some really awesome, intricate combinations of modern and contemporary dance.  It was such a treat to see them perform that night.

Gallim Dance Performance Ticket & Program!

Saturday morning, I woke up really early (about 6am) to get myself up and ready for a full day of cross-country skiing with people Teton Science Schools community.  It was a blistering cold, windy, and snowy day in store for us.  Our goal was to ski 9-miles to the Granite Hot Springs south of Jackson.  I had not been back to the hot springs since Luke and I had gone back in September so I had no idea what to expect for this travel in.

It Was So Snowy, You Could Not Even See the Gros Ventre Mountains!

The decision to ski in was not optional.  They close the road up to the hot springs when the snow comes in and the only way to get to the hot springs is by either cross country skis, snowmobiles, or dog sled.  How cool is that?!

The Crew Trekking Through to the Hot Springs!

Leslie, one of our Grad Faculty & I

A Little on the Snowy & Chilly Side...

 Out ski began pretty late that we had expected: we were aiming to get onto the trail by 9:00 am MST, but there were two slides (small avalanches) along the road to the trailhead and we had to wait to for the plow to go through and plow the snow off the road and the road that leads to the Granite Hot Springs Trailhead.  So by the time the roads had been plowed, we were hitting the trail by I think 10-10:15 am MST.

A Snowy Cross-Country Ski!

The ski in was really fun and tiring.  The one thing that I found hard was as the fast snowmobiles were soaring past us cross-country skiers, was trying to breathe with all the smog and exhaust from the snow mobiles.  

When we finally got to the hot springs, it was a little past 1:00pm MST.  It took up about 3-3.5 hours to ski in.  It was totally worth the ski!  Doug Wachob, one of our TSS Grad Faculty who organized this awesome trip supplied us with some delicious hot stew and treats for lunch.  After rejuvenating ourselves with energy, we grabbed our bathing suits and went in the hot water!

The Natural Hot Springs Were Converted into a Pool
The Hot Springs Water Just Replenishes the Pool

It was such a cool experience to be in our bikinis and bathing suits while it was below 30 degrees and snowing!  Sure I have gone in hot tubs while it has been cold out back east, but to do this very same exact idea in a natural hot spring was pretty cool!

Can You See the Steam Rising From the Hot Springs?

Such a Snowy Hike Up!

So Much Snow Accumulation on the Creek Rocks!

Getting Ready to Cross-Country Ski Back!

On our way back, the snow was getting heavier and it was getting darker.  Luckily a few of the staff's friends had snowmobiled in and we worked some magic and get them to snowmobile us back to the trail head!  I had never been on a snowmobile before, so that experience was pretty over the top awesome as well!

The whole trip was pretty awesome in general: cross-country skiing more than I ever have, swimming in hot springs while it's snowing!, and then riding a snowmobile!  What more fun could a girl ask for on a snowy day!

The Cross-Country Skiing Snow Bunny!

I want to definitely do that again!
TheChristyBel