Sunday, February 26, 2012

Idahoan weekend.

Last weekend I went up to the land of potatoes (a/k/a "Idaho") with a few friends. (I promise that these friends exist, even though I failed to take any pictures of them.)  We stayed in the South Fork Lodge, which was glorious.

You can go there, if you'd like.  Or if you'd rather just experience it vicariously through me, read on, my friends.

This was our view from the back of the lodge.  Glorious.

So was this. Awww.

On Saturday we went to the Heisi Hot Springs (it was my first hot springs experience. 'Twas quite sulfur-y. But it was fabulous, anyway.).  When we got back to the lodge, there was a friend waiting for me on my bed.  It scared the **** out of me.


That night we played pool, ate, drank, talked, ate, talked about playing Pictionary, but ended up playing some other random game(s) instead....and ate.  We (well, the guys, at least) cooked an array of different types of meat, including some Chukar (tastes like chicken), on a bonfire outside. It was delish. So we ate some more. And roasted s'mores, of course.

The next day we went to Grand Targhee ski resort.  So...I don't ski. I snowboard. I've done it for about 12 years. I'm not awesome, but I can do it. These friends I was with like to ski. And they do it really well. I have not strapped on a pair of skis for about 15 years...and I remember it being easy, back when I was 14 and agile. But it's like riding a bike, right? Like... it comes right back to you. Easily. So the next day we went to Grand Targhee, and I rented some skis. Because apparently I'm overly confident really smart.

First, however, we almost died going up there. A little mazda + these roads = stupid.  

Half of our friends (the smart ones, obviously) drove up in a snow-loving subaru, so they made it there with zero problems. But the 4 of us in the Mazda were holding on for dear life and slipping all over the road. Luckily, we made it. White knuckles and all.

Finally - Grand Targhee!

The views were so beautiful. Blue skies. Fresh snow. The weather was glorious. Perfect conditions to ski. 
If you know how. 

If you don't, then you can just fall a bunch of times and sprain your thumb. Like I did. 

But I didn't let a little thumb sprain keep me from making a fool of myself having fun. I sucked it up and just zig-zagged my way across the mountain the entire day because apparently remembering how to ski is only like riding a bike if it hasn't been 15 years since you last rode one. Luckily my friend Emily (who is pregnant) stayed back with me and taught me how. 


By the end of the day I could actually make a turn without falling. Go me!

Then we all went out to dinner and had a good laugh at my gigantic thumb.

After some food, ice and pain meds, I was feeling great!

It was definitely a fun weekend. And even though I am all gimpy with my thumb, and it hurts to type or write (which is 80% of what I do for work), and my hand has looked like this all week:
I would totally do it again.

10 comments:

Brandon said...

What is that THING on your bed?!! That would have freaked me out, too!

So sorry to hear about your thumb, but I'm glad you had a good time.

I don't know how to skii well either. I've done it a couple times and always feel akward and fell a lot. I've never tried snowboarding, but I think it would probably be more comfortable for me. If anyone can actually drag me to a cold, snowy place again, I may try it.

the mom said...

I'm so glad you had such a great time, despite the sprained thumb. And the sprained thumb makes for a better story than hearing that you just zipped down the mountain like a pro.

Skiing is far more elegant than snowboarding and I've always been envious of those people who could gracefully swish, swish, swish their skis down the mountain in a beautiful s pattern while keeping their knees together.

A couple more times and you'll be a pro :)

Jennifer said...

Skiing is no piece of cake, that's for sure. My Dad has been skiing all his life and is actually really good at it, but he broke his collar bone skiing a few weeks ago. So, there you have it. It's just a dangerous sport.

As for myself, I think I will stick with skiing over snowboarding, simply because I don't think my tailbone could take the pain of it.

I hope your thumb heals up really soon. I'm glad you had so much fun anyway.

I think I would have died of shock on the spot to see that thing sitting on the bed though. That is SO scary!!!

The Anderson's said...

Looks like such a great trip! Glad you were able to get away. Im partial to skiing myself;)

wurstens5 said...

Looks so fun!! Glad our thumb is ok!

Raising Helm said...

Excellent Idaho! Yes, I have made my way up North MANY times and white knuckles were a passenger far too often. Those roads can be freakishly scary:( glad you made it safely, though your thumb was sacrificed for the good of the sport. SOrry:( Sounds like you had a great weekend. Who's the buddy on the bed? the dog? the happy guy? j/k Glad you had a fabulous weekend. Love ya lady!

Ashley Rae said...

@Brit-
The guy on the bed- haha. It's a bunch of random clothes, with a balloon for a face.
The good-looking gentleman in the picture is named Casey :)
And the dog is his friend's cute Vizsla named Tuli.
It was a VERY fun weekend. Hopefully I'll have more of them!

Michelle said...

How fun! Except for the thumb (could have been worse) and the scary ski/terrorist on your bed.

Loved all the pictures, especially the one of the handsome young man. :)

Ashley Rae said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sarah said...

Grand Targhee is just beautiful, isn't it? Looks like a fun weekend, minus the hurting your thumb part. but at least you got out of some work chores, right? I hope you did! :)