Another great trip with literally a wide-open big sky as the backdrop, and very little lift lines.  Snowmobiling through Yellowstone was a great experience!

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Thursday 2/12/04
Hetty arrives first, grocery shops and picks up Anish and Shirphone back at Bozeman airport
Car#1 (4WD Subaru) has a helluva time finding the lodge even with a map (find out later that road name changed but not reflected in map)
Ying and Chris arrive and hang out at the airport bar
Howard arrives and waits forever for boot bag to show up; Ski bag arrives but no boot bag; Deal with United lady
By the time that's done, Evan arrives and we call the Dollar rent-a-car guy who comes and personally picks us up
Drive to Pines #4B lodge, passing several death crosses along the highway; There aren't many traffic lights in Montana;
-1 degrees F out Car#2 (Tugboat Concorde) can't find the Resort Quest location so no better person to call than Mr. GPS himself, Anish
Anish tells us to go "4-5 miles". Try 2 miles… Passing the "Lost" sign was a big indicator of what was going on
1/2 hour later, after backtracking several times, we find the hidden Andesite Rd.
Chris gives new meaning to "Andesite" which in Chrisese means "Can you f*ing turn the heat down up there?"
The Concorde is not faring well on the slopey, unmarked, snow-covered roads and Mr. GPS is summoned again to navigate
We get close but Howard backs the car into a snowbank and we are stuck
Mr. GPS puts on his Mr. Towtruck hat and comes to the rescue
We use the Subaru to push the Concorde fearing we'll end up with 2 dented rental cars but it was too late to matter
An hour later, we dig the car out and arrive at the lodge at 2am

Friday 2/13/04
Anish boils eggs and shovels snow off hot tub in preparation for apres ski; Chris comments on Anish's egg-boiling abilities
Officially check-in to Resort Quest and get info; They convince us to try this brand new resort, Moonlight Basin
It was late morning and they were giving us a good deal…
Rent equipment near Big Sky and head over to Moonlight Basin where we find only a dozen cars in the parking lot
We ski the entire mountain pretty much by ourselves. It was very nice until…..
The main 6 person chairlift breaks down!
Howard takes shuttle back first to argue for a full refund;
The rest of the group gets a tour and story of how the guy built the resort out of his own hands.
3 hours later, with refunds in hand, we ski the side of the mountain that's open fearing to head over to the broken chairlift that is now operational.
Enjoy the outdoor hot tub with scenic views of the mountains around us; Only 104 degrees though
John & Stacy arrive with very little guidance; What a difference daytime makes!
Watch When Animals Attract
Corral - happening bar/restaurant by Montana standards; Eclectic animal décor
We all order Moose-drool "boots" with the souvenir boot
Buffalo was not that tasty

Saturday 2/14/04
Big Sky ski resort; Beautiful scenery and truly a Big cloudless Sky; Stacy gets pampered with a massage;
If you ever go, don't take the 4 person gondola--there is a line and it is S L O W… whereas everything else is fast w/ no lines
Experience their retarded "stick in your lift ticket to the reader" system
Howard's adjustable bindings are frozen and luckily the slow gondola ride up gives it time to defrost along with the heater at the top
Meet at the Lone Peak Café for lunch
Attempt to take the tram up to Lone Peak but it was closed already
Sourvenir shopping
Dante's Inferno; Shirphone attempts to get everyone to do the "head bob"
Hot tub is a steamy 106 degrees today; Shirphone and Hetty lead the charge to do snow angels and hop back in
Anish the Pyro lights some newspapers on fire from the stove to help light the fireplace
Milkie's Pizza & Pub
Howard throws things

Sunday 2/15/04
Early start to head out to West Yellowstone; Walkie Talkies don't really work on low batteries
Back Country Adventures Snowmobile rentals
Anish head-butts the snowbank and the extra snow to the head gives him the "swervies"
Watch bald eagles, elk, and buffalo, but no moose as our guide told us, for Chris to moon
So cool watching the buffalo heads pass us on the road; We had to stop for them but could've just outran them
Stop at waming huts to get food, warm up; Madison junction
Watch Old Faithful erupt (more like sputter); We were pretty disappointed; Hard to see due to cloud cover
John gets us into Obsidian Dining Room for lunch
Incredibly slow service for John, Stacy, Hetty and Howard
Fountain Paint Pot; watch more buffaloes and thermal formations
Anish is King of the radio game as we drive back home; Apple-Os awarded for song success
Buck's T-4 dinner; Excellent meal; Waitress kisses up to Howard; Guarantee on best Buffalo and free desserts

Monday 2/16/04
Some of us hang out w/ Evan to wait for his 3:45am shuttle
John & Stacy catch an earlier flight
One last hot tub run; Eat oranges in hot tub
Pack up
Anish and Howard head out to catch their 1pm flight
Hetty, Shirphone, Chris, Ying explore the area and Bozeman before heading out

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