Jackson Hole Podcast

Searching for something new to listen to the other day I stumbled upon a podcast about my home town in Wyoming, Jackson.

The Jackson Hole Connection is an interview style podcast by Stephan Abrams. Released every Thursday, with 42 episodes as of this writing, you will hear the voices of those who live, work and love the town and area known as Jackson Hole.

Jackson, is surrounded by national parks, national forests and wilderness, and is home to outdoor enthusiasts, ranchers, business leaders, artists and other creative types. Winter and summer this little town of about 10,000 plays host to the world. Here you can be fed, sheltered, sold souvenirs, entertained and sent on your way to explore Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Behind the scenes is a "Forever West" Wyoming town that loves its local music, restaurants, brew pubs and farmers markets. Nonprofits are very active here from those that focus on and support the local hospital, child care, the arts and conservation groups.

The people Stephan interviews on his podcast touch all these parts of life in this not so typical mountain town. He talks to natives as well as transplants who felt called to stay or come back to make a life in this special place.

Tim Harland is a very good example of a transplant who found his place here. From the show notes of Episode 1 - Putting Down New Roots with Tim Harland.

For the first episode of the Jackson Hole Connection, Stephan sat down with Tim Harland, the  Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Grand Teton Distillery, a husband, father, volunteer fire fighter and chamber board chairman.

An Oregon native, Tim rode into Jackson Hole on his motorcycle site unseen back in 1993 and never looked back. Stephan and Tim dive into the importance of volunteering, what it was like growing up with exchange students, having kids in Jackson and building a Jackson Hole family.

Episode 6 - A Climber's Perspective: The Evolution of Jackson Hole with Bill Johnson has seen this area change over 50 years with some fascinating insight.

In this week’s episode of the Jackson Hole Connection, Stephan sits down with Bill Johnson. Bill began writing his story about Jackson Hole in 1961 when he arrived for a two week climbing trip.  When Bill first started coming to the valley, the local economy only provided for summer employment. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort had not opened, winter tourism did not exist, and only the old time locals would remain through the winter. Bill used the winter off season to venture back to California to work for his friend Yvon Chouinard, surf and sail. In this episode Bill talks about how Jackson has changed in 50 years, helping build Teton Village and how to have the ultimate work/life balance.

Bill does not have email or other gadgets, just an old fashioned flip phone.

A Jackson native is interviewed in Episode 10 - Six Generations of a Jackson Hole Family with Betty Karns Terrill

In this episode of The Jackson Hole Connection, Stephan visits with Betty Karns Terrill, a Jackson Hole native, born in 1934 in a log cabin at the base of Leeks Canyon. At the age of 84, Betty is still very active in the community. Betty plays the saxophone in the Jackson Hole Community Band and is part of the Jackson Hole Quilt Guild. As Betty likes to say, “that cabin is still standing and so am I”.

Betty is a 29 year member of the Rotary club, former president of the Chamber of Commerce and a former employee of the original Jackson Drug (making 50 cents an hour!). Betty is part of the 3rd generation family with the 6th generation living in the valley today. Betty’s grandfather was the first family member to homestead in Jackson as a hunting guide in 1897.

Stephan and Betty talk about what it was like growing up in Jackson, how the valley has changed from the 30s up until now, the cutter races on the town square, owning one of the first motels in Jackson and why Betty never felt the need to leave our beautiful mountain town.

Above is just a quick sample of three interviews and there are so many more from a film maker, an artist, a buffalo rancher, local politicians, doctors, architects and .......

                           

.........well just subscribe or go to the website already and listen for yourself.

The background noise of my days comes from podcasts. The music I sleep to comes from a podcast. I use an app called Podcast Addict to listen to all of these things. I know there are more popular apps to use but I like and recommend this one. It has lots of sorting and organizing options that I use to listen to whatever I am in the mood for as well as to keep me informed on the news of the day without needing to be stuck to whatever room the tv is playing in. Podcasts can be downloaded and that means I always have something to listen to and learn from whenever I go for a walk too. Between Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and my subscriptions on Podcast Addict I get to be in control of the when how what and why of the entertainment I choose to spend my time on and I like that very much.

Do you have a favorite podcast? 

What about a podcast about where you live that you would recommend? 

I like to learn about new places, please share!

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

A Fresh New Look

I recently changed my look for online shops and social media. I used the website Unsplash which has a wonderful collection of images available to be used for free. I was able to find a yarn photo that was perfect for me. By cropping and resizing I was able to make banners and smaller profile images. I am so pleased with how it they all turned out.

Places you can check out my new look are-

• https://www.etsy.com/shop/cozyatoz/
• https://marketplace.zibbet.com/cozy
• https://cozy.zibbet.com/
• https://twitter.com/CozyAtoZ
• and of course here on the blog https://cozyatoz.blogspot.com

If you have a minute I wouldn't mind a comment or two on how you think this all looks.

The image came from Steve Johnson. His portfolio on Unsplash is filled with photography and abstract painting images. I found scrolling through delightful. To find out more and see what's new you can also follow him on Instagram or support his work through Patreon.

On Patreon he introduces himself with these words-

I am a visual abstract artist. Painting is my big thing. I also do digital art, photography, collage, video compositing and mixed media. I often incorporate one art form into another. I know it is a cliche but I really am all about the process. If I am learning something new, I am generally happy. 

Steve Johnson

I am so glad people like Steve are so generous with their work and I am glad he had just the right photo for me.

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Mom Bear in Grand Teton National Park

I live close to GTNP as some of you may know from my posts about spending days on Jackson Lake on our boat. Every time I enter the park boundary I am on the lookout for something amazing to see and am rarely disappointed.

Over Memorial Weekend we were at a fundraiser for the local hospital foundation. Known as the "Spring Fling", the evening was hosted at the Jackson Lake Lodge. That event was lovely with great company at our table for dinner. But it can't compare with what we got to see on our way home from the lodge.

The pictures here are of one of the famous roadside mom grizzly bears. I am pretty sure this is the one known as 399. If you google her you can find out lots about her history. We sat in the pickup and watched her for awhile with her two cubs.

Of course there was a traffic jam with others stopping like we did. There were also a lot of professional photographers with lenses as long as your arm so they can get shots worth selling. My own pictures were taken with a point and shoot and no tripod and zoomed as much as I was able. Not the best but I do get to have a reminder that once again something amazing happened on a visit to Grand Teton National Park.

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Being a Real Grownup

My birthday is tomorrow. I will be turning 64. I will get phone calls from faraway children and thank them and miss them. I will get asked by my husband what I would like to do on my special day. I will say it doesn't matter and mean it. I don't eat anything with sugar in it anymore so there will be no cake with candles. I am used to that now since I gave up sugar more than 20 years ago to head off a family trait of Type 2 Diabetes. So far is has worked.

With all that said the day will be a good one. I am not sad and without grand expectations I don't get disappointed. Physically I feel really good these days. I sleep well, eat well and get those 10,000 steps most days and a couple times a week do some strength training for my bones.

I remember turning 27 and for some reason it struck me that I was a mother of three and supposed to be a real grownup. It is called adulting now isn't it? I didn't like that birthday at all. The big zero birthdays of 30, 40, 50 and even 60 didn't phase me at all, just 27. I still struggle with being a real grownup, not even sure of what it means.

I thought by now I would be a wise self assured old lady ready to pass on the wisdom of my age. That hasn't happened yet and probably never will. I have doubts and consider myself still learning. I have come to think of this as a good thing.

I do still make goals and look forward to projects I want to accomplish. I have more ideas in my head than I will ever get done for knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting and more. I am never bored. Projects to do and books to read along with Netflix and Amazon Video binge watching take care of that. All of these things keep me out of trouble and happily occupied.

I have one other goal that I am very serious about. I come from a family of many long lived people. I want to have a 90th birthday and I have 26 more birthdays to go to get there. This goal is the reason I quit smoking 12 years ago. This goal is the reason I try to stick to healthy habits.

So tomorrow, the day that marks my 64th year is another day towards my goal  of 90 years and I will be and am thankful for it and each day that comes along.

Will I still be here and blogging at 90?

Will I still be having a life worth a few words and be able to write them?

Who knows?

Maybe.

Will you still take the time to read and comment sometimes if we make it that long?

Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!