Hi! I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas holiday. I've been super lazy about posting, and I think it's because I just don't feel like I have that many exciting things to say. There are still a lot of cool things out here to see, especially with winter, so I think I am going to start posting mostly pictures. This will motivate me to post more often and let everyone see what we are up to, as well as some beautiful winter scenery. Also, the picture quality should improve as I learn how to use my awesome, new camera! These are all from my phone.

View during our hike near Cache Creek today

Sammie loves us.

Getting ready to ski at Teton Village on Christmas Eve

It was really snowy!

Deep snow

Here she comes!

Our first time Cross Country skiing ... It is a great workout!

More cross country skiing with Sammie's leash attached to my waist

Sammie likes to sprint towards me a lot.

So, there are some scenes from winter so far! Some days are really gloomy and cloudy, which almost never happened in the summer, but there are still a ton of days that are sunny and crystal clear. It seems to be warmer on snowy, cloudy days and freezing cold when it's clear out, so there are pros and cons to both! (When I say warm, I mean 25 degrees.) We are having fun, though, and it is cool to experience a real winter. 

It has been a long time since I've posted! We have been traveling a lot and are finally back in Jackson for a while. In fact, I'm not sure how easy it will be to travel from this point on with winter road conditions. Hopefully this will mean more regular posting for me. I think it will be interesting for everyone in the south to see what living in a true winter climate is like! 

This picture doesn't really do it justice, but here it is!

William worked on sawing it, while Sammie acted confused as to why were standing on the side of a hill. William is the red blob behind the tree.

"Umm... What are we doing here and why?"

"This is boring... Moving onto better things!"

After cutting it down, William carried it down the hill. The trail we took was really icy, so getting it back to the car was a little difficult, but let's be honest- William did most of the carrying. I did help for a little while, though!

Safely lowering the tree ... I probably would have just let it tumble down the hill.

Carrying it down! Good thing the hill wasn't icy!

Packing out our Christmas tree! (Please note how icy the trail is!)

I know, it has been forever since I've done a blog post... right after I said I would post twice a week. Obviously, that didn't work out! It's been almost 3 weeks since I posted. Oops! Since my last post, William and I (and Sammie!) have traveled to Bozeman, MT and back, and then we did a trip around Colorado. We first went to Denver, then Colorado Springs, and finally to Summit County (Breckenridge/Vail area.) 

I'm really glad we decided to do the trip that we did. It was much less road time, less expensive, and still allowed us to see some amazing parts of the country that we had never seen before. One of the main reasons we moved to Jackson in the first place was to experience a different part of the country, and I think we have definitely accomplished that. We have seen so much that many Americans never see! Even in just the Jackson area, there is so much natural beauty to see. The west is so much different than any place I've ever been. I also have to say that seeing so much of the country has made me appreciate where I am from. After seeing lots of little towns and cities throughout, it has actually made me like Columbia a lot more than I did last time I lived there. 

Anyways, on to the trip. Honestly, I did not take many pictures in Bozeman. The weather was pretty gray and gloomy, which doesn't make for great pictures. The town was pretty cute, though! The main street area was nice, and the surrounding area was great. Lots of cool bungalows and some different architecture than what I'm used to. The landscape was pretty similar to that around Jackson, without the dramatic Tetons. There was some snow on the ground in the National Forest, which was very exciting for Sammie.

William at the Great Divide Brewery

Boulder, CO

Some extremely enthusiastic volunteers at GABF

Lexington Avenue Brewery presentation on Lowcountry food

View from the main parking area at Garden of the Gods

Sammie at Garden of the Gods, overlooking Pike's Peak

One of the other main attractions in CO Springs is Pike's Peak, which you can see in the picture above. It's definitely not the most dramatic peak I've ever seen, but it was a cool thing to have overlooking the whole city. You can actually drive all the way up to the top!

Aspens along the trail

Booth Falls in Vail, CO

View of Vail ski area from Booth Falls