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Well, it’s only Monday and I am already irking for Friday.

Today was a marathon of a day filled with all sorts of meetings. I’ve had meetings from 9am all the way through 5pm with only 30 minutes to spare in between to just check emails. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. It makes the day go by so much quicker, but it also tires you out. Especially if sunflower seeds are the only things you’ve had a chance to get your hands on.

But, the beauty of Jackson Hole is that some friend is always aprés-ing. And if not, there are always friendly people to strike up conversations with. So, whether you are getting out of work early at 330pm or late at 6pm, simply drop in and keep that aprés going.

[This lovely photo of friends was taken by Taylor Glenn.]

 

You don’t have to go far to capture a part of Jackson Hole’s beauty. This shot was taken yesterday in the Albertsons’ parking lot.

Unfortunately we’ll have to take another trip to the market today given our lack of foresight to shop for some Super Bowl supplies.

I’m not sure who I’m rooting for. I’m in Bronco nation and I do like watching either Manning play — but above all, I think I’m just hoping for a close game.

When traveling and asked where I’m coming from, people often shudder when I tell them I live in Wyoming. They assume we live in a ice-cold tundra.

It can get very cold here at times, there’s no doubt about it. But, I find myself spending more time outdoors and generally feeling much more at peace with the weather here than I did back East.

You could say I am perhaps more prepared for the weather and therefore dress more appropriately. But if you’ve seen me out and about in the mornings, I’m often dressed in nothing more than shorts and a winter coat. Crazy, yes. But, I’m just outside temporarily before I go to the gym.

There certainly is something about that dry cold out here versus the wet one back East. I can attest to that.

Many of you have been asking for a continued series on the market. I would love to keep posting something consistent, but it will be at least a couple weeks until I can do so. You see, it’s easy to stay on top of the global economic activity and trends when you have risk tied into the market.

Currently, I no longer trade for my own personal account. However, I should make a point to continue to follow the markets.

I had always at least followed the Non-Farm Payrolls release religiously. I checked the usually round of sites this morning and was surprised that I had missed it. In fact, I actually wasn’t even sure what day of the week today was!

The one thing I would like to point out is how low the US 10Y is: 1.87%!? Guys. The Fed had raised rates, is expected to continue to do so a few more times this year, and the 10Y is the lowest it has been since the “flash crash” or “capitulation” that happened during the Ebola scare. Well, should the economy still be as strong as I think it is, housing demand will be up this spring even with prices continuing to climb.

Think about it… lower mortgage rates, more people with jobs, and equally as important, current people with jobs are seeing an increase in their average hourly wage. C’mon the US! ??

Outpost n.   an outlying settlement or position.

It was March of 2014 when Jane came up with the name of the company. We were both in Florida, riding our cruiser bikes along the side of the road. We agreed that the name should revolve more about the experiences and amenities that Jackson Hole offered than the home itself. But, we struggled to find the exact word.

I had suggested “base camp.” It was a term I had read over and over again as I was in the midst of reading the book Into Thin Air, a personal tale of the 1997 Mount Everest disaster. I thought it would be a good candidate for naming a property management company because of the way people here in the valley use vacation homes. We have found that people spend little to no time in their rentals during the day, only using it as a launching pad for their daily adventures. What people are essentially paying for is a comfortable place to come home to in the evenings and to spend the night.

However, “base camp” just lacked polish — if that makes sense.

Back in high school, Jane had spent a couple summers up in the Canadian wilderness at a camp called “Keewaydin.” As a ninth grader, she joined a small group of girls lead by someone barely out of their teens. It’s crazy to think this person lead the group through the lakes and forests of Ontario in hiking, paddling, and portaging! About three weeks into their six week trip, they came upon Keewaydin’s Outpost, a tiny cabin located on Kawaweogama Lake in Western Ontario, where they stopped to restock on food and supplies, and muster the strength for the next several weeks of adventure in the wild! 

Outpost made perfect sense. It was a more polished version of “base camp” and had captured the meaning we had aimed for. It felt rustic, but yet also sounded like it could be used to describe a more luxurious property.

That’s how we came to the name and we certainly are happy with it. The question is, when we launch our new product, will it still be appropriate or will we need to separate the two businesses?

Time will tell.

We’ll soon release more details on the new product, I just want to be certain we will launch as planned. In the meantime, did you know the Outpost logo was designed to look like the Moulton barn? Shout out to local artist Tim Tomkinson and his wife Kate for all the help they have provided in our designs and marketing materials.

One of my favorite places to eat at the Village is the Spur. They have creative cocktail choices, good food, and a very friendly staff. If you get the honor to sit at the bar while Alex or Ted are working, you are in for great drinks and even better conversations.

The “Mini Tuna Tartare Tacos” are a new addition this winter and my go-to item, but other favorites include the “Chile and Citrus Gravlox” and the “Marley Nachos.”

I’m a little disappointed they took off the “Smile of Siam” off the menu, but I’m just as happy with the “Insomnia” or “RPK 3.”

Happy eating.

[Read more about the aprés scene here.]

It’s incredible how every single time I look at any mountain in the Teton range, I notice something different.

And, that’s kind of like how things are in life, right? No matter how many times you look at something, the next take will be a fresh, distinct look.

I like to think I approach just about anything with that mentality for nothing is ever really complete.

 

We’ve had some snowshoes sitting in the garage for some time now. We’d tell ourselves weekend after weekend we’d go to the iconic Moulton barn or explore in Grand Teton National Park, but it never ended up happening until yesterday.

If you’ve never done it, it’s easy and fun. Not to mention it was somewhat of a leg workout, but that could be because I was doing it completely wrong!

The road leading to Mormon Row is fully accessible by car until the winter months. Once the snow starts coming down, they stop plowing after a certain point. We arrived at the “parking area” at around 4pm and started making our way out to the barn.

I’d say it takes about 30 minutes each way if you are stopping from time to time.

Apart from one or two cross country skiers, we were the only ones there. And, we were the only ones to attempt the trek to the barn after this blizzard by the looks of the fresh snow.

Scout struggled a bit, but had fun nonetheless. She was exhausted when we returned, into the night and the next morning.

It was a fantastic experience and it has made us want to go check out new places in the weekends to come.

I took this shot yesterday amidst a break in the storm. We’ve had 26″ in the past 48 hours taking the season total to 269″ (upper mountain stats).

Even though I live in Jackson Hole, I’ve actually been skiing only 3 times this season. Feels like a crime. I used to ski more when I was living back East in NYC. That’s pretty sad, I know.

And, I figure I’ll be skiing less now that I hurt my wrist playing basketball last week — of all the ways you can injure yourself in this town…

I’ll get back out there. I have to. But it may be some time until I do so.

I wanted to take the time to explain our concept behind the content we post under #ItsWhatWeDoHere, given we just published “All About that Aprés” in that section.

Our distinct concept is not to be a guide for the options of things to do here (plenty of guides to Jackson Hole exist already), but instead to inspire people by beautifully showing both the range and depth of the Jackson Hole lifestyle.

People read our content who live in Jackson Hole, are in Jackson Hole for vacation, are coming to Jackson Hole for vacation, and even who might come to Jackson Hole for vacation. All of these types of people are interested, to varying degrees, in the Jackson Hole lifestyle. Our content is designed to arouse and deepen this interest by showing them examples of the things we do here and how we do them. Hence our slogan, “Its What We Do Here”.

Our goal is to share inspiring stories about what can be done here in Jackson Hole through high quality writing and exciting photography from our in-house photographer. Our aim is to let each piece of content engage you for a few minutes and excite you about the offerings of this beautiful place. Individually, our stories cover a range of topics that when looked at together begin to paint a picture of what Jackson Hole is all about.

So, here’s a shoutout to Taylor Glenn, Catherine DiSanto, and Melissa Thomasma along with all our friends who participated in the shoot to make “All About that Aprés” come together.