Big Sky Montana - a week in a winter wonderland

I wanted to get out of the Bay Area after returning from UK and the holidays. I thought it would be fun to go somewhere I could do cross country skiing and snoeshowing and settled on Lone Mountain Ranch near Big Sky. It's one of the National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World. It's near Yellowstone and is in the mountains.

Strangely, the week before leaving I met with Emily Thurber and she said Mary is now living in Big Sky. We tried to meet, but Mary had commitments and it never worked out.

The Lodge was nice, but also a bit of a disappointment. I had to move cabins half way through and it was expensive. Food was not included, but skiing/snowshoe equipment was. I didn't see much wildlife. Some of the snowshoeing trails weren't cleared yet, so there was some adventure trying to walk through these areas. There was remoteness and cold - both good things. The welcome basket had 2 half bottles of wine which I was able to cool in the snow. The second lodge had a great fire place. Somehow I managed not to break a leg while skiing, but did fall several times.

A nice minibreak, but not sure I'd return to that particular lodge.