Not Quite Alaska...But It Works. :)

Since Alaska is not feasible for Josh {anymore than Fiji is feasible for me :)} I prayerfully planned a surprise weekend for him that simulated Alaska as much as possible. I was only able to plan one night in detail. The LORD exceeding abundantly took care of the rest!
Monday I called Josh's boss to see if he could have Thursday and Friday off and asked for his help in keeping it a secret from Josh. He was shocked that I would be willing to do such a thing as call my husband's boss to personally ask for days off, but was more than happy to help me out. I don't think I could have pulled it off without him.

This is the wintry, secluded lane that led to the lodge that we stayed in our first night.

The "Bear Suite" at the Gallatin River Lodge B&B {click on the link to see more pictures}. A gourmet dinner and breakfast were included. Since it's their off season there was only one other couple there that we only saw in passing once, and we got an amazing deal on the accommodations.

Josh is always less than enthusiastic about being photographed. LOL

The room had a beautiful fireplace with the satellite tv above it that you could see from every angle of the room.

The walk-in shower and jacuzzi that are open to the room. The toilet and additional sink are inside the door.

These smell SO good. Their attention to detail in making everything special was impressive.

Just me right before dinner.

We had so much fun watching this herd of deer! Apparently the front yard of the lodge is their home. We saw them first from the amazing view in our room and then got to enjoy them some more during dinner.

Not that you all care but...the food here was incredible. This place is renowned for their gourmet food. We had scallops in a special sauce and a citrus salad with walnuts and goat cheese as appetizers. Josh had the buffalo steak dinner w/ sparkling water, and I had BBQ Ribs w/ lemonade for the main course. Dessert was included in the deal so even though we were stuffed to the gills Josh had vanilla creme brulee, and I had huckleberry ice cream with a caramel sauce. Breakfast was even more spectacular. Strawberries and mandarin oranges with cream came with every breakfast entree. I can't remember what else Josh had, but there was a ton of food on his plate and he ate all of it, commenting often on how good it was. :) I had plain old boring oatmeal that ended up being anything but! It was premium oatmeal prepared with a creme brulee topping. SO. GOOD. Whoever woulda' thunk it? ;)

The scenic drive to Moonlight Basin where we spent a day skiing and got to see three big horn sheep within six feet of us! Definitely too up-close and personal.

West Yellowstone's "Hibernation Station" {click on the link to see more pictures} where we stayed Friday night. We had no idea where we would be staying that morning when we left the Gallatin River Lodge, but Josh and I prayed that God would lead and bless every moment. We stopped at several places inquiring about lodging near Big Sky where we would be skiing on Saturday, but everything was very plain and way over-priced. While it was still within our budget, barely, we just didn't feel right about any of those places. We both just knew that the LORD had something else in mind so we literally drove until Josh knew that the Lord wanted us to stop. That's how we ended up in West Yellowstone. We had no intention of going there originally, and even though it was off the beaten path, we drove straight to this place. Within ten minutes of arriving we were settled in our very own private cabin. No slamming doors or other people to disturb us (or for us to disturb). It was actually almost too quiet with all the snow to muffle everything.

There were snow drifts over 7 ft. high and when we got up the next day it was -21 degrees. The car almost didn't start. I don't think you get much more "Alaska" than that. :)

The "Elk Suite Cabin" the Lord provided for us to stay in. Since it's their off season too, the manager gave us his most elegant cabin for $30 less than what we had budgeted, which was also less than what we would have had to pay for a plain cabin in Big Sky with a barely working bathroom. It included a jacuzzi hot tub and a fireplace, PLUS an outdoor jacuzzi tub that was usable year round. We weren't ambitious enough to use the outdoor one in subzero temps though. :)

The kitchenette, and some of the beautiful wall hangings.

The fireplace and "loft" area above the bathroom on the other side of the wall.

All of the sinks were built into alcoves. So beautiful!

The enclosed toilet room. :) Just had to share because this is the best picture I have of the padded material that covered much of the walls.

Loved the cathedral ceilings throughout.

The very cute and creative built in desk.

I want this trunk!

After checking in we went shopping for surprises for the kids, and enjoyed two IMAX theatre presentations. One was about Yellowstone National Park and the other was a very cool glimpse into the life and significance of bears. We were then eager to return to our wonderful secluded cabin to watch "Tammy, Tell Me True" on Josh's laptop in front of the fireplace while enjoying gourmet pizza delivered right to our cabin. It doesn't get any better than that, my friends! :)

Our outdoor jacuzzi. :)

These are vehicles that are snowmobile buses. How cool is that?