Vacation Anticipation

Because we bought our tickets months ago we would be allowed to check baggage without a fee.  But we decided that it would be sooo much easier to pack two large boxes of snow clothing and boots, drag them to the front porch and let the UPS man take it from there.  So our ski clothes and boots will be waiting for us. Onkel Earth will be bringing our boots with him to the airport, as our lightweight Georgia shoes just won't do.  WY & ID snow is so much neater than the slush I grew up with in New England.  The snows, then thaws and the sand and salt makes the northeast states a slushy, dirty mess.  There are no thaws in WY & ID, plus they don't even bother trying to melt the snow off the roads.  Only on the high mountain passes do they sand. As a result, the snow stays clean, dry and beautiful.   

I'm adding a link to the webcams on the Teton pass (the mountain pass between Jackson, WY and Victor, ID.  The cars you see at the top are people who are hiking (with their skis and snowboards) into the back-country for some free and magnificent, but dangerous downhill runs.  This road gets closed often and residents of the area keep a toothbrush and other emergency items in their vehicles just in case they can't get home.  This road is also closed to trailer and truck traffic during the winter months.  It's a beautiful view, but no way would I drive it.  My son, however, is a pro.  You might remember from a June 2008 post, this is the road we hit the elk on.