Caroling & Chili in Elk Mt.

Sunday we spent with Jason's parents, Bill and Dee, in Elk Mountain. Jason made a huge pot of chili, which he entered in the fire department's annual chili cook-off. And the winner is...Are you suprised? Its a wonder what you can do with road kill! J/K Jason came in first out of 16 for his yummy elk chili.

Jason's chili is closest to the camera in the tan pot.

The drive to Elk Mt. was very pretty.

The roads were not bad but Shelby was holding on!I didn't get any pictures of us caroling because it was so COLD but I did take pictures of the new fire house. Bill is the chief! A lot of hard work, fundraising, and grant writing went into this building, and this is just his volunteer "job"! We are all very proud of him and the rest of the Elk Mt. fire crew.Bill & Dee in the fire house's new kitchen. Got to keep this short, Jason and I leave for Atlanta tomorrow!

'Twas Nearly Christmas.....The Annual Christmas Tree Adventure!

Twas nearly Christmas....and yet again we were too busy chasing poachers and artifacts to find a tree! Then, when we were able to schedule a day for our annual adventure, the Mother Nature chose not to cooperate (however dreams of a white Christmas are looking like they might come true, finally). With bad roads all around and holiday travel plans coming quickly, the chances of us meeting with parents and friends to find a few trees were nearly gone.

Nearing desperation, the we decided to risk the wind and cold to find a tree on our own. Teresa, now being an experienced tree-hunter, quickly found a nice stand with some likely candidates. We were surprised no one had taken them home before us!

Unfortunately, we soon realized the tree was a little too large for our home. (Luckily, that observation came about before I got too much sawing done.)

Perserverance paid off, though, and we did find a very lovely tree to grace our house this Christmas season. Most surprisingly, we even ran into a nice man with a red apron and a chain saw who wanted to help us prepare it for the tree stand--an opportunity not often seen in the wilds of Wyoming!

Anyway, the tree is now nestled into the corner of the living room, adorned with the ornaments of the past few years' travels--and a few dozen S'mores ornaments (the ones appropriate for this holiday season and not in use decorating the mantle, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the. . . .).

Continuing with the "green" theme this Christmas season, and in no way related to the hectic schedules we have created for ourselves, we have decided to save paper and not send individual Christmas cards this year. We will still support our friends in the logging industry, though, and will continue to wrap Christmas gifts. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if the paper is recycled from a slightly used magazine. . . .

Check back before the New Year for the "end-of-the-year" review!

(No "wild" trees were harmed in this blog posting!)

Adventures of Blaky in Wyoming

For Jacob & Mrs. Lisa Kopacek's class at West Wood Elementary:

My grand adventure started in Laramie, Wyoming with Teresa and Jason Sherwood. As soon as I arrived, they put me to work! I learned how to make pasta with game meat. It was ok, but I preferred the peppermint ice cream we had for dessert. The second day in Wyoming I helped decorate their Christmas tree and tended to the Sherwood’s indoor winter garden. You see Laramie, Wyoming is 7,200 feet above sea level so it can get very, very cold and the growing season is super short. The Sherwood’s are growing fresh herbs to use in their pasta recipes.

While I as in Laramie I patrolled with Jason who is a Game Warden with Wyoming Game and Fish. He enforces the hunting laws and protects wildlife, like me! There are a lot of black and grizzly bears in Wyoming. Most of them live in Yellowstone. Because I did such a good job watching for poachers and checking ice fishermen, Jason dubbed me a Junior Game Warden. I even got a badge! I got to play with the siren and lights!

My last day in Laramie I spent locked in the Wyoming Territorial Prison. Just kidding! The old prison is now a state historic site where people can visit and learn all about the men and women who were incarcerated there between 1872 and 1903. Teresa is the curator of the prison. She takes care of the old artifacts, designs exhibits and gives tours to local school children. Teresa introduced me to Bertha Ward who is a volunteer at the prison and descendent of one of the inmates. Bertha’s grandfather was Clark Pelton. Clark spent time in the Minnesota prison at Stillwater in 1878 for robbing stagecoaches. He also was incarcerated in the Wyoming Territorial Prison for murder.
Before I left Wyoming I said goodbye to the Sherwood’s dogs, Tilley and Shelby. They were nice but they kept trying to eat me. Next I’m off to the Big Apple, New York City!