Bozeman, Big Sky and Julia’s 50th Birthday Trip

14 Mar 20 Saturday – Tucson to Bozeman

The early days of the Covid -19 pandemic. We pondered cancelling our trip out of fear that we would get some kind of illness and not be allowed to fly back to Tucson. To a lesser extent, we were worried about getting the virus from all the travel exposure. We decided the risk was low, but reserved a rental car for the day of our return just in case we had to drive the 1200 miles back.

Main St Bozeman

Gavin left us his car at the airport and we drove around Bozeman to check out where Gavin and Allan lived, the local best Thai restaurant, the campus of Montana State University that Gavin attends and Allan will start in the Fall. The Thai was good, the campus friendly looking and Main St was looked nicely frequented by locals. After shopping for groceries we drove the 50 miles to Big Sky in light snow with some cover on the roads. Driving in gave a good view of Lone Mountain, the 11,200 ft. main feature of the Big Sky ski area. Julia had rented a condo near the slopes. We had dinner with Allan and Gavin who had worked the day on the slopes. We stayed up till 11 when Julia, Nathan and Tad arrived.

15 Mar 20 – Sunday Big Sky

They announced early that the slopes were closing for the year after today because of the virus. The Faulkner’s were definitely going to ski. Lauve and I decided to try after seeing the slopes and being encouraged by Gavin. 

8-Person Lift!

Hitting the slopes

After a few “runs” we decided it we had lost lots of muscle memory and confidence. If we had done more runs we might have gotten lots back, but may have been injured in the process. So, we threw in the towel and went for lunch – custom hot dog. 

Lots of Cruising Runs, Sun Came Out

Both Gavin (ski patrol) and Allan (Yellowstone Club ski instructor) lost their jobs this day. Put a little damper on the day.

16 Mar 20 - Monday

Lone Mountain in the Background

Bright sunny day, temps high 20’s. We hiked the North Fork trail and Ousel Falls with Julia and Tad. The trails were crowded because of all the people who came expecting to ski. This is birthday night for Julia (50th) and Allan and we had dinner at the condo worrying about conditions at restaurants. Seems like much is shutting down.

North Fork Trail

Ousel Falls - the creek and ice climbers

17 Mar20 Tuesday our last day at Big Sky

Breakfast Chat at the Condo

18 Mar 20 Wednesday the trip back to Tucson

To catch our early flight we drove Gavin's car the 50 miles to Bozeman in the dark on partially snow-covered roads. There were a couple of white knuckle moments. Our Air Alaska flight connected through Seattle, speaking of white knuckle experiences. The planes were only half full and people spread out nicely in Seattle, but we brought our own food for safety. What turned out crowded was the terminal in Tucson - must have been spring break people. We're home safe now and best of all, not sick!