Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Day 7

NOT MOVING from Cooke City, MT  (2,231 total)

Following the prior day's ordeal and the grueling pace we'd kept so far on the trip, we decided to "take a beat" and relax at the spacious Airbnb we'd rented. Sitting inside the warm chalet, drinking our coffee and looking out upon the early-season winterscape seemed like the best decision we'd made in a while.






As we settled in for a day of catching up on work and relaxing, the power went out. And because we had no power, we had no heat. And no wifi. Which meant no contact with the outside world because there was no cellular service...in the entire town.

As temperatures continued to plunge and we got closer to sunset, Jon and I strategized about what our next steps might be if power was not restored. Or, I should say, Jon strategized and I panicked.

Fortunately, the electricity kicked back on after a few hours and, secure in the knowledge that we no longer had to worry about conserving our body heat, we decided to venture outside to explore the town. Along the way, we came across a Yamaha store which was eye-opening for me; when our Airbnb host had mentioned this as a signpost, I had envisioned a piano dealership and thought to myself what a classy place Cooke City must be. Apparently, that's not the kind of Yamaha they trade in in this rural Western town. 

A bit further along the walk, we got rather turned around in all the snow and it was unclear where the road was that we needed to turn down to get back to our chalet. As we high-stepped it through the deep snow, the door to a motor home opened and a woman peered out.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

We explained that we were just walking back to the house we had rented just a few yards away. To which she replied that they were "posted." Jon, ever the intellectually curious, asked her just what that meant.

"It means this here is my property and I can shoot you."

Friendly folk here in Cooke City.

We thanked her for asking first before she fired upon us and continued along our way...quickly.


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