As I flew into Dallas, a homely feeling swept over me. As always, my buddy Dave was already waiting for me as I stepped off the airplane and soon we were off to prepare for our 2006 snowboarding trip. For me, it'd been two years since I'd last gone--and the last time I fell too sore too soon; so I feared the worst but remained hopeful. Immediately, we caught some lunch at a local breakfast diner and then prepared for my sister's baby shower... Yes, my sister's baby shower. Dave had to cut early, but I stuck around for a few drinks and a few laughs; and
Jesus, my sister is huge! Later that evening, my parents gave me Christmas presents--belated; on purpose, of course.
They gave me some clothes and, best of all, an iPod 60GB Video. This turned out to be perfect because I'd bought the Nextel i870 just before I left Florida, thinking I was going to use it as both my camera and my media player on the mountain. However, I didn't really have time to get to Best Buy in order to buy a 1 gig memory card for the phone, nor did I have time to pick up the headphone adapter. Why they don't sell these things at the Nextel/Sprint stores is beyond me. So again: Thanks mom and dad!
The following evening, we found ourselves descending down to Jackson, WY. As we left the tiny airport, I gazed at the mountains, succulent with fresh powder. This was it.
We were here, man. We checked into our hotel and met up with Phil, a dear friend of my entire family and business associate of myself. After a quick meal at Subway, we hit the hay as quickly as possible, given the less-than-appealing time of departure for Grand Targhee Ski Resort.
The next morning, I cranked up my iTunes and slept most of the way to the top of the mountain. We finally hit the slopes between 9:30 and 10:00... And it felt like I'd never left. Even though I was trying out a new board (one of David's) and step-in bindings--verses strap-in--I quickly picked right back up where I left off. David kept me loaded on all sorts of vitamins and various supplements, so my muscle reparation was in overdrive and the pain wasn't as bad as it otherwise would have been. The fact that we screamed down blues, primarily, also helped. Fresh powder on clean runs with enough steep to entice me gets me going. Moguls do not. We left in time to catch our bus back to the hotel and prepared for a keen dinner at the
Snake River Grill. Although quite an expensive meal, it was certainly a nice treat. I started off with some Buffalo Carpaccio and finished with some Baby Lamb Chops. Phil had the Prime New York Steak and David, the Grilled Elk Chop.
Jackson Hole Ski Resort was our next destination. We slept a little more and got to the slopes just after ten, fresh and ready to go. We stuck to the
Apres Vous lift, offering us several more difficult blue paths down the mountain. Other than mauling Phil on one of the runs, the day went fairly smoothly. David and Phil left a few minutes early and I got in an additional four to five runs. As is par for the course, I always go a little nuts when I'm all alone on the mountain. I boarded faster and more consistent than I had the entire weekend. I barely made it to the lift on what would be my last run before it closed; and would have begged the operator to let me proceed if I'd had to. I still wish I was on that mountain.
That night, Phil decided to stay near the hotel, while I went into town to meet David at the
Million Dollar Cowboy Saloon. We had a beer, but the atmosphere wasn't actually meal-friendly and the restaurant down below was all booked up, so we decided to walk down to
Burke's Chop House, and boy am I glad we did. I had a few more beers and we started off with some fine game sausage. If I recall correctly, it was buffalo and venison. For the main course, I had a rare filet mignon and David had a pasta dish. The intimate atmosphere encouraged quiet conversation and the service was impeccable.
We took it easy the next day, instead of snowboarding. We hit the town and checked out all the stores and art galleries. For lunch, Dave raked me into
Jedediah's House of Sourdough, his ultimate Jackson Hole treat. And it was well worth it too; we both had scrumptuous buffalo burgers. Mine was medium rare, of course, and it bled like a fresh wound. Mmmmm mmmmm good! After some additional shopping, David and I found ourselves at the
Harvest, a local café, where we managed, as always, to find the philosopher's couch where I sit and the thinking man's arm chair where David sits. We first engaged in some light political conversation with a local who shared the seating area with us, and later, hashed out some ideas for a film I've wanted to make for many years now. As we got into the themes and sketched out some characters, I realized that the film I'd imagined was evolving... into something far more insightful. Thanks be to David for that. I'll be happy to see where this goes. We caught a screening of the film
Capote immediately afterwards. The film moved me quite a bit; I actually left the theater feeling strangely empty and shallow. But not for long! David and I headed to the
Snake River Brewing Company where we filled up on several pitchers of beer, some snacky appetizers and two pizzas!
I said "goodbye" to Jackson Hole Gonzo style, as I walked onto the tarmac and into the plane.
"Too weird to live, too rare to die." David snapped some mountain pictures (three of which shown at the top of this post) and we shuffled onto the plane. Please see David's post about the trip and always remember to keep your tips up. The last thing we boarders need is one of us holding up the damn lift!
Me and my roommate, Aaron, and his friend Derek went to downtown Fort Lauderdale last night to a club called Voodoo. Now, that's basically an every-other-weekend or more kind of thing. The great thing about this trip was that Derek let me drive his 2003 Porsche Carrera the fifteen to twenty mile stretch from Fort Lauderdale to Pompano Beach. I was dumbstruck the entire trip. Reaching 100 mph took all of only several seconds on the highway. I figured I was at about seventy. You can literally accelerate at every speed in any gear. It's absolutely phenomenal. I took the picture to the right at a stop light with my camera phone. 
Hi! My name's Adam Donaghey and this is my weblog. 
The Abductors (producer)
