Planet JH 2.03.16

JACKSON HOLE’S ALTERNATIVE VOICE | PLANETJH.COM | FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016

How a Hawaiian transplant is bringing his marine mojo to Wyoming.

BY PARK DUNN-MORRISON

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

2 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

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COME ENJOY OUR VALLEY AFTER DARK. LISTED BUSINESSES ARE OPEN PAST 6PM.

participating businesses: A TOUCH OF CLASS | ACCENTUATE | BEAVER CREEK HATS & LEATHERS | BOYERS INDIAN ARTS DIEHL GALLERY | EDDIE BAUER | FIGS RESTAURANT HOTEL JACKSON | FULL STEAM SUBS GRAND TETON DISTILLERY TASTING ROOM | HAAGEN DAZS | JACKSON HOLE HAT COMPANY JACKSON HOLE JEWELRY CO. | JACKSON HOLE MARKET PLACE | JACKSON MERCANTILE JACKSON TOY STORE | LEES TEES | LESLIE | LOCAL RESTAURANT | LUCKY YOU GIFTS MADE JACKSON HOLE | MADE TETON VILLAGE | MANGLESON IMAGES OF NATURE MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY BAR GIFT SHOP | MOOS GOURMET ICE CREAM | MOUNTAIN DANDY NATIVE | PINKY G’S PIZZERIA | ROAM MERCANTILE & MAKERY | SKINNY SKIS SNAKE RIVER BREWING | STIO | THE LIQUOR STORE | TRIO RESTAURANT WORT HOTEL SILVER DOLLAR BAR | WORT HOTEL MERCANTILE | WYOMING OUTFITTERS YIPPY I-O CANDY CO.

JACKSON HOLE'S ALTERNATIVE VOICE

VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 4 | FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016

10 COVER STORY FISH OUT OF WATER How a Hawaiian transplant is bringing his marine mojo to Wyoming.

Cover photo by Sargent Schutt

4 OPINION

20 GET OUT

6 THE BUZZ

22 WELL, THAT...

14 CREATIVE PEAKS

28 COSMIC CAFE

18 MUSIC BOX

30 SATIRE

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Robyn Vincent / editor@planetjh.com

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COPY EDITOR

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WHAT’S COOL WHAT’S HOT

February 3, 2016

By Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey

G

This week’s average low temperatures will creep up slightly from what we averaged a week ago, by one-degree! Longer days and shorter nights should be putting the coldest temps behind us for the winter. Although, every once in awhile, we do get some days in February that are even colder than temperatures we had in January. The coldest we have ever been this week in Jackson is 37-degrees below zero, that happened on February 5th, 1982.

Jim has been forecasting the weather here for more than 20 years. You can find more Jackson Hole Weather information at www.mountainweather.com SPONSORED BY GRAND TETON FLOOR & WINDOW COVERINGS

Average high temperatures this week also increase one-degree over last week’s. What’s most fascinating about this week’s weather history is that the record high temperature happened on the same date that the record low temperature occurred, nearly twenty years earlier. On February 5th, 1963 the high temperature was 56-degrees, above zero. That is 93-degrees warmer than the record low of 37 below. It’s hard to imagine that big of a difference on the same date, but that’s what makes our weather so interesting.

AVERAGE PRECIPITATION: 1.14 inches RECORD PRECIPITATION: 2.83 inches (1962) AVERAGE SNOWFALL: 14 inches RECORD SNOWFALL: 33 inches (1978)

Carpet - Tile - Hardwood - Laminate Blinds - Shades - Drapery Mon - Fri 10am - 6pm Open Tuesdays until 8pm 1705 High School Rd Suite 120 Jackson, WY 307-200-4195 www.tetonfloors.com | www.tetonblinds.com

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 3

roundhog’s Day has come and gone, and in case you were wondering, that whole “seeing the shadow” thing is mostly myth, with very little fact involved. What February 2nd really signifies is the halfway point of the Winter Season, between the Solstice that happened on December 21st, 2015 and the Equinox that will happen on March 21st, 2016. It doesn’t really matter much what the rodent sees, winter usually lasts at least another six weeks in Jackson.

NORMAL HIGH 30 NORMAL LOW 5 RECORD HIGH IN 1963 56 RECORD LOW IN 1982 -37

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

JH ALMANAC

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

4 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

GUEST OPINION Playing Safe Let’s make the best decisions possible in the backcountry, and stay alive.

BY CRAIG BENJAMIN

O

ur decisions have consequences. This hit home for me on Monday, March 7, 2005, when one decision saved a life; another, nearly ended one.

That morning, my regular ski buddies Mark and Neil, and I, decided to ski the Northwest Passage—an intricate maze of chutes and cliffs in Granite Canyon. With the avalanche danger rated as “Low,” we felt comfortable venturing into this gnarly zone. But when we arrived at the top of our line, things just didn’t feel right.

The wind had kicked up overnight, scouring the entrance to the chute we wanted to ski and creating a funky layer of wind slab. We assessed the situation and decided to head toward a safer line. We carefully skied the upper section of Endless Couloir and then cut over into the bottom of Mile Long Couloir, mainly skiing along the edges of the timbered island separating the two avalanche paths.

Near the bottom I heard it. I stopped, and above the blustery wind, I heard it again. It sounded like someone screaming. I yelled at Neil and Mark to stop, asking if they heard it, too. They did and agreed it sounded like someone screaming. It seemed like it was coming from up in the Northwest Passage. We instantly decided to send Mark out the traverse to call Ski Patrol to get them activated (You don’t get cell service back in Granite Canyon until you round the corner of the traverse back to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort). In the meantime, Neil and I started back up the canyon to see if we could figure out what was going on.

Neil got to him first. A lone skier laying shattered at the bottom of Endless Couloir, donned only in ski pants and boots, his leg compound fractured with bone sticking out of his pants and a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth.

Incredibly, he was conscious, though in indescribable pain.

He explained he got caught in a slide at the top of the Northwest Passage and had pinballed over thousands of feet

of cliffs with the tumble stripping him of his clothes.

I had no idea how he was still alive, and he didn’t look like he would be alive much longer unless we got him help, fast.

Thankfully, Neil had recently completed a Wilderness First Responder course and swiftly tied a tourniquet to prevent him from bleeding out while we covered him with a space blanket and all the layers we could spare. I bolted down the canyon to call 911 while Neil hunkered down to try to keep him alive.

Approximately an hour later, two JHMR ski patrollers arrived at the scene and provided additional emergency care.

The patrollers then worked with other skiers who had stopped to help. Together, they stomped out a landing zone for a Teton County Search and Rescue helicopter. Somehow, the chopper battled the gusty winds to land safely at the scene, where Grand Teton National Park rangers provided additional medical care before loading him up and flying him to St. John’s Medical Center.

That day, because of a bad decision, this skier dislocated both of his shoulders and a knee, broke most of his ribs, a clavicle, and a humerus. Luckily, he lived to tell the tale. Our decision to ski a less dangerous line was the only reason we were there to save his life.

After the incident, the skier was the first to admit the error of skiing alone in dangerous backcountry terrain. He emphasized that “Low” avalanche hazard does not mean zero risk.

While he learned the hard way, he wanted others to learn from his experience.

Here’s the thing, no matter what we do, we’re never completely safe when recreating in the backcountry. That’s part of what makes it so much fun. All we can do is make the best decisions possible and learn from our mistakes. And one of the best and easiest decisions we can make is to avoid areas closed seasonally to protect wildlife.

Last week, on two separate occasions, groups of riders poached Josie’s Ridge, a winter closure area. All of us in the community should keep in mind that when people—or their pets—disturb wildlife, it forces them to burn calories that are incredibly difficult to replace while foraging through several feet of snow. It can mean the difference between life and death for these animals. It’s also helpful to remember that

poaching wildlife closure areas is a crime, carrying a penalty of up to $5,000 or six months in jail.

As there are exponentially more of us recreating in the backcountry than even a few years ago, wildlife have even fewer places where they can make it through the winter without being disturbed. That’s why it’s more important than ever we don’t poach the powder.

In significantly more tragic news, in the last few weeks there have been three incidents, both fatal and near-fatal, resulting from bad decisions in the backcountry.

The first involved a local snowboarder riding alone on a known slide path on a day the avalanche danger was rated “Considerable.” He perished after getting caught from behind in an avalanche. This terrible incident echoed a nearly identical tragic event that took the life of a local skier in 2004, in the same location, under the same circumstances.

Two other fatalities involved two visitors who lost their bearings in Rock Springs, just south of the JHMR backcountry gates, and got caught in an avalanche and swept over a 100-foot cliff. This area is known as Ralph’s slide because a nearly identical event took the life of Ralph Toscano in 2001.

Then this past Monday, in the same general Rock Springs zone just outside the boundary of JHMR, three out-of-town snowboarders fell off a 200-foot cliff near the Why Not Couloir. Two of the men sustained serious injuries. All three were rescued via helicopter thanks to Teton County Search and Rescue.

They say those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. What binds these stories together is that they mirror events of past tragedies. So while it’s emotionally painful to talk about such heartbreaking events, our decisions have consequences. Let’s learn from our mistakes, make the best decisions possible when recreating in the backcountry, and stay alive. PJH Please visit JHAlliance.org/dontpoach/ to download high-resolution maps of which backcountry areas are closed seasonally to protect wildlife. Also check out JHAvalanche.org for daily avalanche forecasts. And, finally, visit BackcountryZero. com to learn about the Jackson Hole community vision to reduce fatalities in the Tetons.

“I had no idea how he was still alive, and he didn’t look like he would be alive much longer unless we got him help, fast.”

SNOW PACK REPORT

SPONSORED BY HEADWALL RECYCLE SPORTS

A MONTH TO REMEMBER

T

he snow god Ullr really worked his magic in January.

How many powder days did we have anyway? Based off of the Raymer Plot, snowfall for January totaled 104 inches. That averages out to a little more than three inches a day. However, if the snow had fallen that evenly we would be reveling in a relatively stable snowpack. But sporadic storms, dumping 14 inches of snow followed by a dry and warm period, have caused major instability. Throw some wind into the mix and the result is large pockets of wind slabs.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Center, this past month was the deadliest January the West has seen in nearly 20 years. That doesn’t even account for the people we’ve lost at or outside of JHMR. For the month of February we can only hope for the same amount of snow, but in lesser increments over a stretch of

days to create a sturdy snowpack. Looking back on last year though, I’ll take anything. Remember February 2015, with its increasingly high, unseasonable temperatures? I remember being in Salt Lake City that month when the thermometer hit 60 degrees. Fortunately, this season El Nino has been at the helm.

This week will bring icier temperatures and light snowfall.

It is important to remember that skiing above hazards such as rocks, cliffs and terrain traps ­could trigger serious problems, even if a skier or snowboarder is caught in a slough slide.

Remain vigilant and focused while slashing those unforgettable pow turns.

Stay safe out there, friends and pray for snow. ­ – Steve Weiss

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FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 5

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

6 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

THE BUZZ One Step Forward, Two Back Budge gets moved while Housing Authority remains a concept.

BY JAKE NICHOLS

H

ow fitting to be writing this Buzz on Groundhog Day. Like the movie that never ends and always begins the same, members of the board of county commissioners and town council continue to wake to another day’s promise of the same old, only to hit the snooze button over and over. At Monday’s joint information meeting, electeds put the cart before the horse while circling the wagons, yet again, and were eventually frightened by their own shadow back to winter hibernation.

The agenda held promise. The joint boards were to adopt a resolution that would place on the November ballot a sales tax hike to pay for solutions to the valley’s housing and transportation issues. What they didn’t like was the inclusion of Budge slide in the mix.

All agree, to varying degrees, the slow motion ooze is a priority. But some likened the slough to a wrecking rider leached onto a worthwhile cause the community seems to have an appetite for addressing.

Mayor Sara Flitner immediately acknowledged the poison pill at the JIM when she opened the meeting proposing to shelve the afternoon’s first itinerary item.

“It makes no sense to pass the 6th penny apart from having a discussion on the Community Priority Fund,” Flitner said. “I’m moving to take the tax talk off the agenda.”

Everyone was immediately confused.

Some, like Don Frank, were nearly dumbfounded.

“I’m a little bit surprised, but not flabbergasted and falling out of my seat,” Frank admitted.

The idea of pulling Budge from the general fund penny was hatched at the council’s allday retreat last Thursday, so it was the commissioners who were most blindsided.

BCC chair Barb Allen wanted to know who died and left Flitner queen. “I don’t think it’s your purview to take it off,” she said to the mayor.

County attorney Keith Gingery explained that joint meetings were traditionally run in a shared manner with county and town chairs alternating every six months. What Flitner perhaps meant to say, was she didn’t like the mitigation of Budge muddying the CPF, and it was probably better suited to a SPET initiative.

Moving mountains Jim Stanford led the charge to pawn off Budge on SPET. He sees two advantages. One, the extra penny of special purpose excise tax is set to vanish faster than a Jackson Walgreens. By August, the money promised to the last round of SPET beneficiaries will be all paid out. If another round of SPET items is not approved by then, taxes will be automatically lowered by a cent.

Two, SPET funds would become available quicker than general sales tax, which has to be rerouted to Cheyenne where it’s carefully folded, spindled and mutilated before being parsed back out to counties and municipalities.

Stanford, Paul Vogelheim, and others have seen SPET work and work well to fund community enhancements beyond the scope of normal government care and duty.

Mark Newcomb said an Act of God like the one that struck down the nation’s largest pharmaceutical retailer is exactly what SPET was designed to cover.

“Budge Drive sits squarely outside the Community Priorities Fund,” Newcomb claimed. “Budge is squarely in the camp of what government is for—to protect the health and welfare of its citizens. It’s perfectly appropriate to put it on an August SPET ballot.”

All were in accord, though Frank wanted his passion for the mud slither to be felt.

“We all know we have a looming slow emergency along the busiest thoroughfare in the state of Wyoming. We know we have dwindling funding from the state. We know we have escalating costs to the community.

Those are not disputable,” Frank said. “The notion of pulling Budge out takes me short because I don’t think that slide’s going away.”

With a vote to move Budge to SPET looking like a landslide, the only question remaining for electeds was, “What kind of money are we talking about?”

Town public works director Larry Pardee explained how property values on Budge have plummeted, insurance rates for homeowners were outrageous, and talks with Walgreens execs have been “complicated.”

Then he threw out some numbers: $2,880,000 spent by the town to date, a million dollar grant coming from the state, $4.2M pledged so far. The total cost for a fix on Budge would be around $11.6 million, Pardee estimated. And work wouldn’t even begin until March 2017 at the earliest.

Walgreens originally wanted to take their building and leave but town attorney Audrey Cohen Davis brokered a deal that promises cooperation from the drug chain, but little money so far.

Pardee also painted a depressing state of affairs on the butte.

“We floated the idea to [Budge Drive homeowners and business owners]: Would they be willing to participate in the solution and contribute money? They’ve had huge losses and are struggling to understand why they are being asked to contribute even more. Some said they feel they’ve been abandoned and [hung] out on their own.”

Heather Ewing has become the unofficial spokesperson for Budge homeowners. She’s had about all of the nightmare she can handle.

“I have been involved since the slide happened in April 2014. This is becoming a long and drawn out process. There have been injuries and impacts to multiple folks,” she said. “I encourage us all to dig in and do a neighborly good deed. This is a valley problem. Things need to start happening now.”

More than a few affected by the slide still want to find fault with someone. Lawsuits are pending. Pardee urged those involved to stop playing the blame game and get on board with a solution.

Elected officials voted unanimously to put Budge on a SPET ballot next summer, with a dollar amount to be determined.

Identifying an authority figure

All civic leaders had to do next was create a new housing authority from the ashes of The Grove. The much-maligned project has put the current Housing Authority squarely in the crosshairs of some electeds. A new HA would be jointly managed by town and county leaders in the hovering kind of way the Fair board got a taste of last summer.

Once again, elected officials found their surrey out in front of the team when trying to assemble something that looked like a Housing Authority. We can’t fund a department that has no leader, some of the politicians say. We can’t attract a decent applicant when there’s no money to pay him or her and nothing for them to do, counters the other side.

Others still, believe organizing any kind of housing authority should wait on Ruth Ann Petroff’s bill this month that would alter state statute to allow a regional organization to be guided by a joint board-appointed committee.

But Gingery assured the 10 they could start getting their ducks in a row now, either way.

Smokey Rhea questioned the legality of the HA taking on debt and holding assets.

Gingery assured her it was copasetic. Stanford wanted to know why the Authority was currently a county entity when most of the future affordable housing is being targeted in town.

“I begged and pleaded with [the county] when we established the Housing Authority that this was something they might want in town,” Gingery said.

Bob Lenz was all for putting the discussion off for a month. “The world isn’t going to come to an end,” he said. “And there is no money to spend anyway.”

Lenz also pointed out that Whistler manages to oversee 200,000 units with two people.

That sounded a lot better to him than the HA’s FY2016 budget, which was $800k before the expected $180k salary for a new director.

The town voted unanimously to continue any talk of organizing a housing authority.

Commissioners, however, wanted to move forward until Gingery informed them nothing would move forward without the town on board. Allen said she was voting to establish a housing authority whether the town came with or not.

The BCC voted in favor of creating a new, restructured Housing Authority without a director, a clearly defined organizational chart, or a dedicated revenue stream.

Newcomb and Rhea were opposed. PJH

the latest happenings in jackson hole

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RABBIT ROW REPAIR WE SERVICE THEM ALL …

4 2 8 0 W. L E E P E R • W I L S O N • 3 0 7 - 7 3 3 - 4 3 3 1

Choice

IT’S PRO-CHOICE OR NO-CHOICE. Paid for by the KCR Coalition for Pro-Choice Kristyne Crane Rupert | www.naral.org.

Visit our website

TetonWyo.org The public meeting agendas and minutes for the Board of County Commissioners and Planning Commission can also be found in the Public Notices section of the JH News and Guide.

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 7

Take away a woman’s right to choose and she’s left to take matters into her own hands.

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For all MEETING AGENDAS AND MINUTES WEEKLY CALENDAR JOB OPENINGS SOLICITATIONS FOR BIDS PUBLIC NOTICES AND OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION

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Newest Fashionistas

NEWS OF THE

WEIRD

In January, the upscale Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana introduced stylish hijabs and abayas aimed at Muslim women unafraid to call attention to themselves as they exercise their obliged modesty. D&G’s marketing effort even accessorized models’ headscarves and cloaks with stilettos and oversized, gaudily framed sunglasses. It was clear from the suggested retail prices that D&G would be pitching the line mainly in the wealthy Persian Gulf countries like United Arab Emirates.

Unclear on the Concept

The government watchdog MuckRock requested records on the cause of death of a dolphin in New Jersey’s South River last year (to investigate larger dangers to the animal), but in January 2016 the state’s Department of Agriculture initially declined to release them—citing “medical privacy” (usually requested, for autopsies, by “the deceased’s family”). n At the same time, Maria Vaccarella is facing a $500 fine in Howell, New Jersey, for violating a state law because she illegally rendered “care” to two apparently orphaned baby squirrels when their mother abandoned them. She was due in court as News of the Weird went to press.

Questionable Judgments

S A L E S ASSO CIATE

POSITION

The director of senior services for Cranston, R.I., resigned in January after a mayor’s press-conference went badly. To publicize a snow-removal program that would benefit seniors unable to shovel for themselves, the director (needing a proper example of a beneficiary of the program) instructed a middle-aged male subordinate to (unconvincingly) don a wig and dress and stand beside the mayor during the announcement.

Cultural Diversity

Among the sites Japan has submitted for 2017 United Nations World Heritage status is the island of Okinoshima, home of a sacred shrine with which Shinto gods have been “protecting” fishermen as long ago as the fourth century. (The island is so sacred that females have never been allowed on it—judged either too delicate to make the trip or menstrually unclean). n A current Tokyo craze, reported an Australian Broadcasting correspondent, involves “stressed out” professionals and office workers publicly outfitted in colorful, full-body lycra suits (“zentai”) in a rebellion against the nation’s stultifying conformity. Said one, “I’m a different person wearing this. I can be friendly to anyone.”

Suspicions Confirmed

ARE YOU MOTIVATED, HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR AND DO WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT DONE? Planet Jackson Hole is currently looking for an Advertising Associate who can help us stay in touch with some of our awesome advertisers as well as be our on-the-streets super star for Planet JH. The ideal person will be outgoing, hard-working, a team player and must have some experience.

PLEASE SEND YOUR RESUME AND A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF WHY YOU THINK YOU’RE THE ONE TO: JEN@PLANETJH.COM

Crescent City, Calif., drug dealer James Banuelos pleaded guilty in January in exchange for a lighter sentence (three years in prison), thus avoiding for police the airing of an embarrassing hidden-camera video of the raid showing arresting officers stealing the dealer’s money and valuables. “Multiple” officers were shown laughing and helping themselves, and a gold chain belonging to Banuelos wound up for sale a few days later on Craigslist. As part of the plea agreement, the prosecutor agreed to give all Banuelos’ stuff back to him. n The United Nations announced at year-end that the book most often checked out last year at its in-house Dag Hammarskjold Library in New York was the nearly 500-page “Immunity of Heads of State and State Officials for International Crimes.” The list of borrowers

By CHUCK SHEPHERD

was not revealed. (In general, the book concludes, current heads of state have immunity, but not past ones.)

Wait, What?

Surgeons treating four-month-old Teegan Lexcen (born with only one lung and a critically deformed heart) had given up on her, but doctors at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami jury-rigged a surgical tool that saved the infant’s life. In a delicate seven-hour procedure, using an iPhone app and $20 Google Cardboard box virtual-reality viewers, doctors guided themselves through Teegan’s chest based on two-dimensional body scans that the app had converted to 3-D. (Old-style 3-D images, they said, were too grainy for precision surgery.) n In January, the British sex toy company Hot Octopuss, trying for a spurt of publicity in New York City, unveiled a reconfigured pay phone booth at Fifth Avenue and 28th Street in Manhattan that offered a seat, a laptop, a Wi-Fi connection, and a “privacy curtain” to help people (mostly men, one imagines) relieve stress “on both your mind and body.” A company rep claimed that about 100 men “used” the booth its first day, but what the men actually did there is “private.”

The Continuing Crisis

The main road linking the port city of Mombasa, Kenya, to Nairobi and beyond (to landlocked Uganda) was blocked in mid-November by damage from heavy rains, leading to a 30-mile-long stream of stopped vehicles, stranding more than 1,500 trucks. n In October at the end of China’s traditional, annual week-long getaway, new traffic checkpoints for the notorious G4 Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway reduced the previous 50 lanes of traffic (yes, that’s 50) to 20. Videos from a TV network’s drone showed a breathtaking traffic jam-cum-parking lot that quickly inspired delight, or compassion, all around the Internet (Bit.ly/1je9mG6). n Police chiefs of six small Ohio towns recently demanded an investigation of Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer after, comparing notes, they learned that Overmyer had approached each one claiming to be helpfully “collecting” for “disposal” their departments’ confiscated drugs—on behalf of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. (DEA, reportedly, knew nothing of this.) The Ohio attorney general is investigating.

Least Competent Criminals

Jason Hayes, 17, was arrested in a Philadelphia suburb in January when he arrived for a scheduled appointment with a robbery victim from the night before. According to police, Hayes had attempted to shake down a woman in her home, but was still dissatisfied with the money she had on hand. Fearful, she agreed to bring more the next day if they met at a local shopping mall, and he agreed (promising to wear the same clothes so she would recognize him). She, of course, called police. n Dusty Ingram, 38, being searched by jailhouse guards in Crestview, Fla., in January, said she had prescriptions for everything—but then said she thought they were in her purse and professed not to know how they got into that plastic bag in her genitals.

Thanks This Week to Larry Neer, Steve Binning, Jan Wolitzky, Jim Gough, Mel Birge, Rey Barry, Bruce Strickland, and Robin Daley, and to the News of the Weird Board Senior Advisors and Board of Editorial Advisors.

DRINKS. DATE NIGHT. LADIES NIGHT. MONDAY NIGHT. FOR A NIGHT WITH (OR WITHOUT) AN OCCASION

MAIN COURSES

RAW

BAR

OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL half or full dozen.........................A/Q shooters...............................................4 red, bloody mary, green

GRILLED SKUNA BAY SALMON black lentils, whole grain dijon cream, grapefruit, arugula, pink peppercorns.............................................................25 BOURBON BEEF STEW carter country beef, carrots, crimini mushrooms, yukon gold potatoes, house salad, classic vinaigrette.......18

TUNA TARTARE avocado, shiitakes, chili garlic sauce, wontons..............................................14

ROASTED KING TRUMPET MUSHROOMS carrot & leek saute, black garlic broth, toasted hazelnuts, truffle oil..........................................................................16

STARTERS

GRILLED PORK CHOP parsnip puree, black quinoa, fried brussels sprouts, apricot, apple cider gastrique........................................................26

LUMP CRABCAKE

celery root remoulade, preserved lemon....13 FROG LEGS PROVENCAL tomatoes, garlic, white wine, parsley.........11 JOEL TATE’S GARLIC SAUSAGE black lentils, classic vinaigrette, pickled onions............................................9 GRILLED OCTOPUS castelvetrano olives, fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, cannellini beans, capers, marcona almonds.....................................13 ESCARGOT crimini mushrooms, garlic-herb butter.....11 CARTER COUNTRY BEEF TARTARE potato chips, yard egg, capers..................12 FRIED CALAMARI spicy marinara..........................................11

SANDWICHES STEAK SANDWICH carter country beef, caramelized onions, bell peppers, crimini mushrooms, gruyere, house fries...............................................14 GRILLED CHEESE cheddar, muenster, applewood smoked bacon, avocado, tomato, house fries........12 CARTER COUNTRY BISTRO BURGER bacon, aged white cheddar, roasted garlic & dill aioli, house fries.................................15

BRICK ROASTED JIDORI CHICKEN garlic-herb butter, herb-roasted potatoes, haricot vert......................................................................23 BISTRO MEATLOAF rosemary demi-glace, broccolini, mashed potatoes..............................................................21 STEAK FRITES AU POIVRE grilled ten ounce new york strip, house french fries, cognac-green peppercorn sauce.......................................29 DUCK CONFIT braised red cabbage, herbed spaetzle, roasted garlic, orange gastrique..............................................................25 GRILLED VENISON MEDALLIONS chestnut puree, roasted root vegetables, haricot vert, balsamic-orange demi-glace............................................29 VEAL MARSALA herb-roasted potatoes, sauteed greens, crimini mushrooms.........................................................24 FISH AND CHIPS beer-battered haddock, bistro tartar sauce, house french fries.............................................................19

SIDES House Cut French Fries, Sauteed Greens w/ Garlic, Herb-Roasted Potatoes, Bistro Mac & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Haricot Vert, Broccolini

Executive Chef: Eric Greenwood

SOUP OF THE DAY ................................7 CAESAR romaine heart, alici, crouton, parmigiano-reggiano...................................11 BISTRO FRISEE poached yard egg, lardons, tomatoes, classic vinaigrette.........................................11 COBB smoked turkey, avocado, tomatoes, bacon, chopped egg, bleu cheese crumbles, red wine vinaigrette.....................................13 BUTTER LETTUCE fennel, orange segments, walnuts, goat cheese, chives, sherry-maple vinaigrette..................11 GRAVLAX house cured salmon, arugula, capers, crispy potato bits, red onion, creamy dill dressing.....................................12

DAILY PLATES MONDAY CASSOULET braised pork, duck confit, garlic sausage, cannellini beans, bread crumb gremolata....24 TUESDAY BLACK BASS EN PAPILLOTE yukon gold potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, white wine, herbs........................................25 WEDNESDAY MARY’S FRIED CHICKEN mashed potatoes, house gravy, broccolini....................................................23 THURSDAY CARTER COUNTRY BEEF chef’s selection of local beef......................A/Q FRIDAY SEARED SEA SCALLOPS ginger-soy butter, tobiko vinaigrette, crispy red onions...................................................29 SATURDAY LAMB SHANK white bean ragu, persillade.........................31 SUNDAY PORK ADOBO coconut milk, soy sauce, rice vinegar, jasmine rice, pickled vegetables..................19

OPEN AT 5:30PM. HAPPY HOUR NIGHTLY 5:30-6:30PM. 380 US-89, JACKSON, WY 83001 | RENDEZVOUSBISTRO.NET | 307.739.1100

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 9

GRILLED CHICKEN roasted tomatoes, arugula, havarti cheese, basil aioli, house fries................................13

FRENCH ONION GRATIN ...................8

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MUSSELS garlic herb-butter, heirloom tomatoes......11

CRAB & SCALLOP STUFFED SOLE carrots, crimini mushrooms, potatoes, tarragon beurre blanc......................................................25

SOUPS & SALADS

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

10 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Sargent Schutt

How a Hawaiian transplant is bringing his marine mojo to Wyoming.

BY PARK DUNN-MORRISON

A

windowless white Ford Econoline van pulls up to a restaurant and a man donning sunglasses with shoulder length blonde hair steps out of the driver’s seat. Another man in a chef coat approaches the van and gives the man a handshake and a hug. The two make their way to the back of the van as the driver, with a hint of surfer swagger, eagerly pops open the rear doors to show off his wares to the chef. The two survey the products with wide eyes like those of both a kid on Christmas morning and a drug addict about to score his fix. They giggle as they sample the goods, letting out groans of hedonistic pleasure.

As they finalize the deal, they high five and exchange words of appreciation as the product is weighed and handed over.

The men shoot the shit for a while longer, the van doors slam shut, and the enigmatic salesman is on his way.

The word “fishmonger” has all but disappeared from the American vernacular. Today such folks make their living solely on the fishing dock markets of coastal cities. This is particularly true in land-locked Wyoming, where most people buy fish at grocery stores or enjoy it at restaurants. That is, until The Captain came to town.

The Captain has decided to bring his passion for fish to life in Jackson, importing the best fish the Pacific has to offer.

With his wealth of connections and unparalleled knowledge of fish, the Jackson Hole community now has access to better fish than most coastal cities around the world.

Living up to a Legacy

Jacques Pillons, a.k.a. The Captain, moved to Jackson Hole from Hawaii last July. He will be the first to tell you that his move felt like that of the Clampetts moving to Beverly Hills, and he still feels out of place to an extent. In Hawaii he fished, dove, surfed, and set foot on the island only to rest

his head at night. He lived and breathed the ocean. It was all he knew. The Captain got his apropos nickname during his time as a fishing boat captain off the coasts of Hawaii and California.

Pillons, whose father hailed from Belgium and mother from Southern California, where he was born, was destined for a life on the ocean, right out of the womb.

When The Captain was born, Pillons’ father was just getting into competitive spear fishing and ultimately started the Blue Fin Dive Club, a renowned underwater hunting club.

Since Pillons’ father was on the cutting edge of diving, and his great grandfather was named Jack, his parents decided to name him after the pioneer of diving and sea exploration: Jacques Cousteau.

While living in Hawaii, Pillons fell in love with a girl named Gracie who was attending the University of Hawaii and just so happened to be from Jackson Hole. The couple got married and Gracie got pregnant, eventually deciding that her hometown was a more suitable place to raise a child than Oahu, Hawaii.

“I had never been away from the ocean a day in my life before coming to Wyoming,” Pillons declared, his sun kissed locks resting on his shoulders. Not only was his move to the mountains a huge culture and climate shock, The Captain had no idea what to do for work. Everything he knew how to do to live and make money was on the ocean.

The Captain’s father-in-law was the true catalyst in getting him to bring his passion for fish to Jackson. It all started Christmas 2014 during Pillons’ first journey to Wyoming. He came to visit his wife’s family for the holidays and decided to put a whole tuna on ice in his checked luggage as a gift.

“I did the whole show of cutting the tuna and giving my family bites of the raw fish,” Pillons said. “Everyone at the

Christmas party was amazed and told me I had to bring more fish to Jackson, especially my father in law. I didn’t think anything of these comments until I moved here, just when I thought I had said goodbye to it all.”

Gracie’s father never forgot that Christmas. While he shipped his family some fish in the brief months between Christmas and his move to Jackson, Pillons had yet to consider it a potential career until his father-in-law approached him while he was struggling to find work in the mountains.

The Captain toyed with the idea, and bounced it off some of his fishermen buddies as he sought their moral support. At the time he was looking to his friends to help ease the stress of a drastic move from the ocean to the mountains. Pillons’ old fishing buddy Bo “Bo Bo” Howlett, offered some advice that Pillons ended up taking to heart: “Don’t worry, everything will be OK. We’ll just have to bring the ocean to you.”

So The Captain decided to start his own business in Jackson importing fish with the help of Howlett in Hawaii. The name for the business was a no brainer: “Ocean to You.”

Sustainable Scales

Some locals and visitors still scoff at the idea of eating seafood in a land-locked state in the mountains. In fact, many tourists still insist on eating traditional Western fish and game when they come to Wyoming because they think it’s local.

Ironically, they often end up with meat on their plate from New Zealand or a commercial fish farmed thousands of miles away.

“I only eat fish fresh out of the ocean,” declared an elderly man from North Carolina’s Outer Banks while dining at the Q Roadhouse recently. “I didn’t fly all the way out to Wyoming to order a snapper,” the man continued with a belly laugh as he gazed around at the smiles of agreement from his family.

Sargent Schutt

Sargent Schutt

Sargent Schutt

The Captain slices into tuna, fresh off a United flight, at King Sushi.

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 11

fish in industrial kitchens, something he often does with his friend Santiago Kano, executive chef at The Kitchen.

The next challenge was figuring out how to ship the fish. He now sends all his fish via FedEx or United cargo.

He started using United Airlines so he could bring fish in seven days a week—which is how often he delivers to restaurants. He lamented the challenge of getting fish here in inclement weather and laughed at trying to keep the fish from freezing, a struggle that was always the opposite on his fishing expeditions around Hawaii.

When asked why he doesn’t have someone in Hawaii or California cut the fish up for him and ship them out broken down into useable parts, The Captain smirked.

Part of the process for him is breaking down the fish.

The act of cutting fish centers him in a zen-like way.

Practically speaking, The Captain insists that you don’t truly know the quality of the meat until you cut into it. This way he knows he’s only giving his best product to local restaurants. Leaving the fish whole also preserves the meat and keeps it fresh while travelling on ice.

He also insists that none of the fish he brings in be frozen, with the exception of salmon, because the health department’s rules are that wild troll-caught salmon has to be caught and frozen for a period of seven days to be eaten raw as sushi.

The Captain only deals in wild, longline-caught fish.

He doesn’t believe in farm-raised fish despite new trends in sustainably farmed fish. “I don’t personally agree with it,” he said. “I think it’s all about where you catch your fish. The big thing in Hawaii is to preserve the ocean for our kids and generations to come. Farmed fish isn’t sustainable at all. It’s a joke. They’re taking away the natural food for the wild stuff. It disturbs the circle of life.”

So is The Captain the only way to get quality, sustainable seafood in Wyoming? Pillons offers certainly the most personal, intimate connection you’ll get to the ocean with arguably the best, handpicked fish, but there are plenty of companies striving to emulate The Captain’s practices on a large, corporate scale.

Seattle Fish Company based out of Denver, Colorado, is a company that cares deeply about where the fish they sell comes from with an emphasis on freshness and sustainability. Derek Figueroa, chief operating officer at Seattle Fish Co., advises skeptical tourists and Wyomingites that now is the time to revel in your seafood options.

Figueroa noted: “Improved logistics make it possible to fly fish from all three coasts in hours, making seafood a healthy, sustainable, delicious and fresh choice. Further efforts to engage the supply chain such as sustainability, transparency, traceability, and focus on provenance enhance the quality of the product.” He added that while enjoying your seafood on the coasts may create the perception of freshness, a Kumamoto oyster served at Le Bernardin flew over Wyoming to get to New York. “So, be free to enjoy your seafood knowing it is absolutely fresh, whether you are eating it in California, New York, Denver, or Wyoming,” Figueroa explained.

A company like Seattle Fish, that distributes 10 million pounds of seafood a year, can’t keep up with demand using strictly longline fishermen for all their product— plenty of seafood can’t be caught that way, anyway—so is it sustainable? The answer is yes, though purists, like The Captain, would argue that the only true way to sustainably catch fish is via longline. While this is certainly the best way to go about it, there are several other practices deemed sustainable.

Figueroa believes his company has a responsibility to ensure the health of the environment and the health of the seafood that live in that environment. They have gone through extensive measures to lead the charge for sustainable seafood. Seattle Fish joined up with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership to guide their sustainability work as well as to provide accountability for their efforts. They have also funded and participate in fishery improvement projects whenever possible.

Seattle Fish also intensively follows their fisheries and farms, sending employees to meet the fishermen and staff working at these establishments to make sure they’re getting a good product.

“Beyond ensuring the product and process meets our high standards, it’s important to form the connection with the individuals that are responsible for fishing and farming.

Relationships are one of the keys to success in this business and having ‘boots on the ground’ generates trust and connection,” Figueroa said. So while Seattle Fish Co. and The Captain are running sharply different businesses, their hearts are surely in the same place.

“Sustainability efforts fuel our passion for seafood,” Figueroa explained, “allowing us to form a deeper connection to our source and the products we ship.”

Seattle Fish earned Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody certification in 2008, and established a formal business partnership with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program—a program that includes local restaurant partners Q Roadhouse and Il Vilaggio Osteria. Q Roadhouse Executive Chef Matty Melehes spearheaded the partnership. “I wanted to promote sustainable fishing and decisions that affect the future of our oceans, even from land-locked Wyoming,” Melehes said. “Since joining, we have helped fund their conservation efforts, while receiving information on which fish I should and shouldn’t be buying.”

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

The Captain is setting out to change antiquated perceptions like these. For him, this business venture is about much more than making a living. While most traditional purveyors don’t care if you throw the fish out after buying it, as long as they collect a check, Pillons cares about where the fish come from and how they will be used. The relationships Pillons cultivates with local chefs are important to him because he cares deeply about the fish, how they will be prepared, and, ultimately enjoyed.

Buying fish from someone intimately connected to the Hawaiian fishing scene has quite a few benefits, too. “I can tell you exactly where each of these fish were pulled out of the ocean and on which day,” Pillons said. “In fact, I can tell you what rock this octopus was taken from.”

Each fish’s journey is unique, and The Captain appreciates this. Knowing when these fish came out of the water is especially important when buying fish from a boat that has been out on a two-week fishing trip. The Captain can request fish that were caught on the last day of the trip from his fishing buddies, while some swanky seafood restaurant on the shore in Hawaii might be getting fish from two weeks prior. That’s right, more often than not, The Captain’s fish are better and fresher than what Hawaiians are eating.

The greatest challenge for The Captain was figuring out the logistics of getting the fish to Jackson and then breaking them down and selling them legally. The Teton County Health Department was his biggest concern at first, but they quickly saw his passion and bought into his philosophy. In fact, the health department became his biggest supporter in getting Ocean to You up and running in the early stages. Now Pillons is certified to break down

Executive Chef Santiago Kano of The Kitchen prepares Hawaiian Lehi crudo.

Big Fish Fighting for Sustainability

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

12 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Guaranteed Goodness

Jacques Pillons

The Captain stands behind all of his products.

In fact, if you don’t like it, he will bring you a new one during dinner service. Pillons has fielded calls from restaurants that sold out of his fish during a busy night and his standard protocol is to come to the rescue, bringing more when the demand is high. He doesn’t have traditional operating hours—he’s available around the clock to deliver, or to answer questions about his fish. He believes that strongly in what he sells that he wants every part of the entire experience to be perfect, including the dining experience.

His fish are guaranteed to last at least seven days after he delivers them because they’re so fresh. His ahi tuna even improves over this time, maturing and losing its metallic edge—almost the way a steak will improve with age as it rests and the natural enzymes inside the meat break down the muscle tissue and make it more tender and flavorful. This isn’t the case with other types of fish he gets in, however.

Most others taste best as fresh as you can get ‘em. Before any of The Captain’s fish go bad if he is unable to sell or eat them within a week, he will smoke, cure, or freeze them so as not to waste them. He won’t sell these products, but instead he saves them for personal use.

Longline fish are not only the most sustainably caught fish, but they also inherently taste better because the fish die peacefully on the line. Fish that are trapped tend to struggle, tensing up their muscles and affecting the quality of the meat. A stress free animal—fish or mammal— just tastes better when slaughtered quickly and humanely. This isn’t just some holistic belief of farmers preaching animal rights; in fact, there is scientific evidence to back up this theory. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has performed studies that show, “the energy required for muscle activity in the live animal is obtained from sugars (glycogen) in the muscle. In the healthy and well-rested animal, the glycogen content of the muscle is high. After the animal has been slaughtered, the glycogen in the muscle is converted into lactic acid, and the muscle and carcass becomes firm (rigor mortis). This lactic acid is necessary to produce meat, which is tasteful and tender, of good keeping quality and good color. If the animal is stressed before and during slaughter, the glycogen is used up, and the lactic acid level that develops in the meat after slaughter is reduced. This will have serious adverse effects on meat quality.”

Buy these fish first, they’re well managed and caught or farmed in ways that cause little harm to habitats or other wildlife.

YOUR CHOICES MATTER Many of the fish we enjoy are in trouble due to destructive fishing and farming practices.

Purchase seafood caught or farmed in ways that support a healthy ocean— now and for future generations.

Fisherman + Chef = Love

Unsurprisingly, each valley chef prepares drastically different dishes with Pillons’ fish, from simple crudos to hand rolls to grilled filets with intricate preparations. The Captain has had the opportunity to sample some of these dishes with his fish and is struck by the creativity involved in making them, though when asked what some of his favorites are that he’s tried, he replied, “You know, my favorite way to eat the fish is while I’m cutting it. Maybe with a little soy sauce, or maybe just on its own. I just love tasting the fish itself.”

The Captain loves to go to these restaurants and eat his fish, though. He especially loves King Sushi. “That’s the whole personal part about it,” Pillons said. “I like to have the relationship to talk about these dishes and ask how they’re preparing the fish. I’m not gonna sell you sashimi grade fish if you’re gonna cook it. You don’t need that. I’m not here to

ARCTIC CHAR

CATFISH (US)

CRAB: KING, SNOW & TANNER (AK)

(US & Vietnam farmed)

BARRAMUNDI

CLAMS, MUSSELS & OYSTERS

(Lake Erie trap net, except Ohio)

BASS

COD: PACIFIC

PRAWN: FRESHWATER

(farmed)

(US hook & line, farmed)

*MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM SEAFOODWATCH. CENTRAL U.S. CONSUMER GUIDE. JANUARY–JUNE 2016.

stiff anyone.”

Jason King, owner-chef at King Sushi, relies heavily on The Captain to provide him with the best seafood in the valley.

“Some of the fish Jacques brings me are so beautiful I don’t want to cut into them,” King said. “I feel like I’m destroying something precious.”

King fondly recalled his first encounter with the unlikely fish slinger: Pillons entered King Sushi on one of his first ‘cold calls’ and could barely look King in the eye. “He was acting shady and didn’t know how to sell me his product; that’s what I grew to love about him: he’s not a salesman. He brought me in his fish and it spoke for itself.”

Today, King says it is more than just a mutual love for quality fish that has cemented his friendship with Pillons.

The laid back vibe that Pillons exudes is contagious, King explained, and this helps center King during stressful times— an invaluable remedy for a busy chef. King has embraced Hawaiian culture in other ways as well, using Hawaiian names he’s picked up from Pillons for his sushi rolls. Pillons even provided King with some special ingredients he uses to make authentic Hawaiian poke such as spices, nuts, fruits, and even salt native to Hawaii. King uses these ingredients in his recipes, making the dishes uniquely his, but with the spirit of Hawaii in them.

On a recent wintry day, Chef Matty Melehes of the Q Roadhouse asked for some advice on ways to prepare a Hawaiian pink snapper that he bought from Pillons. The Captain rattled off a cookbook’s worth of ideas for Melehes.

Many of the preparations or techniques mentioned the chef wouldn’t have considered doing, like stuffing the fish and steaming it. As he showed Melehes photos of different fish dishes he had prepared for his wife Gracie, it was evident that not only does The Captain know his way around the ocean, he knows his way around the kitchen, too.

Currently, The Kitchen, Snake River Grill, Q Roadhouse, King Sushi, The Mangy Moose, and The Amangani serve The Captain’s fish. He would like to add more accounts, but he’s pretty busy since he has to contact fishermen to find the specific fish he wants to bring in; then ship them here, pick them up, cut them, and deliver them all by himself before 4 p.m., when most restaurants need their product. He doesn’t want to sacrifice face time and important relationships he has with the chefs he already sells to in favor of adding more

(AK)

PERCH: YELLOW

(Canada & US)

ROCKFISH

(AK, CA, OR & WA)

(Canada & US)

When he moved to Jackson, The Captain surprisingly showed little interest in trout fishing. The idea of sport fishing didn’t jibe with the way he was accustomed to catching his food. Fly-fishing is an interesting art, Pillons said, but for him, fishing involves big lures and big fish, so he hasn’t been drawn to fly-fishing since moving to Jackson. When prodded about keeping his fishing interests alive in Jackson, Pillons admitted, “Trout just aren’t the same. They don’t sound good to me. I’m busy with other cool fish, so I don’t want to do anything with trout.”

He has, however, taken up snowboarding to fill the void left from surfing. In Hawaii, Pillons kept his surfboard in the back of his car. Whenever he saw a wave he wanted to ride, he would just pull over. Now, his snowboard sits in the back of his car, and if he’s passing by Snow King, where he has a season pass, he’ll ride the lift up for a quick lap and be on his way. This type of quick, spontaneous snowboarding is the perfect fit with his erratic, busy schedule.

Now that The Captain has been in Jackson for six months, he’s beginning to settle in and look at ways to expand his and Howlett’s business. The Captain wants to sell his fish to

SCALLOPS (farmed)

SHRIMP

TILAPIA

(Canada, Ecuador & US)

TROUT: LAKE

(US farmed & AK)

(Lake Superior, MI)

SMELT: RAINBOW

TROUT: RAINBOW

(Lakes Erie, Huron, Superior)

(US farmed)

individuals, not just chefs; however, he doesn’t want to do so at supermarkets. After all, he thrives on talking fish. “I’ve shipped stuff out before and I didn’t like it because I didn’t know what happened to the fish,” Pillons said. “Did they like it? Did they not? How did they prepare it? It’s a personal level for me. I care about where it goes and how it gets treated.”

After checking out Local Butcher on Deloney Avenue, Pillons said he began dreaming of having a small market-like shop where he could sell his fish. In the meantime, however, his goals are to obtain a facility in Oahu from which Howlett can work bringing fish in from different fishermen.

Ocean to You may be young, but its owners’ ocean roots run deep and their passion palpable. These are men transforming the way Jacksonites think about fish. On the brink of revolutionizing the seafood game in the Rocky Mountain West, Pillons and Howlett are going back to the basics and bringing some of the best fish in the world to the Tetons. With an approach seeped in love, not avarice, The Captain has a shot at winning the hearts of food lovers wherever he goes. PJH

TUNA: ALBACORE

(Pacific troll, pole & line)

TUNA: SKIPJACK

(Pacific troll, pole & line)

WHITEFISH: LAKE

(Lake Michigan, WI)

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 13

SARDINES: PACIFIC

Life After the Ocean

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

SALMON

(AK & New Zealand)

a Native American who worships and uses every ounce of the buffalo, The Captain uses the dorsal fins and turns them into artwork; he polishes the bills of marlin to keep as trophies, and he uses the bones of the fish for stocks.

Both The Captain and Kano are keen on the personal relationship they’ve developed. They both thrive off of their connection and although Pillons is no longer fishing, he and Kano enjoy the closest thing to a fisherman-chef dynamic you can get in Wyoming. They both appreciate that there are no sales reps, and there’s not a product list—Kano can ask for whatever he wants. “I don’t have a price list. I’m pretty grassroots,” The Captain said. “I ask the chefs what they want and I find it. I make sure it’s the best out there. That’s part of the fun for me is the hunt.”

Sargent Schutt

accounts to his list and losing the relationships that he values so much.

The Captain’s passion for his trade is clear when talking to him, but it becomes much more evident when he actually gets to show off his fish. His eyes light up, and he starts talking a mile a minute about every detail of the fish, often using the Hawaiian name for the fish. “This one’s real cherry, check this out,” he said, using his island vernacular to describe each fish that he cuts bits off of for chefs to sample.

Executive Chef Santiago Kano, who dreams up myriad raw fish dishes for his menu at The Kitchen, was awestruck at the fish The Captain had in the back of his van. “His fish is the best without a doubt,” Kano said. “He brings stuff nobody else can get. Not because they’re rare or endangered, but because they’re hard to fish and he knows some incredible fishermen in Hawaii.”

Kano met The Captain when Pillons was first starting his business last summer. The chef was caught off guard when a long-haired, surfer-looking guy walked into his kitchen holding two massive snappers and unabashedly asked him if he wanted to buy some fish.

“It felt like a drug deal,” Kano remembered of his early encounters with The Captain. “Well, actually, it still kind of feels like a drug deal, going out to his van and being shown fish I haven’t heard of before.”

Now Kano considers The Captain a close friend. He invited his fisherman friend to The Kitchen during their seasonal menu training, where The Captain broke down a tuna in front of the staff and shared his craft with them. Talk to the staff at The Kitchen and each will tell you how The Captain made an impact on their lives with his presentation. Eyes light up as staffers narrate a rendition of this very story–of how Pillons came to be a fishmonger in Jackson.

Kano is continually learning from The Captain, whose name transcends his occupation and goes deeper into that of a sensei or guru. A culinary school graduate whose family owns a deep sea fishing boat off the Baja peninsula in Mexico, Kano is humbled by The Captain’s knowledge. “He’s always showing me how to get a few more bites out of a random part of the fish that I considered to be waste,” Kano said. “He knows I won’t be able to use these in a dish because they are small amounts of fish—he wants me to know personally so I can enjoy it while I’m breaking down the fish,” Kano said. Like

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

14 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

CREATIVE PEAKS Of Clay We are Created Figurative sculpture kicks off Center’s 2016 art season in high relief.

BY KELSEY DAYTON @Kelsey_Dayton

CENTER FOR THE ARTS

T

he lunch lady wears a hairnet, collared shirt and glasses. She is the cafeteria worker we all know and remember, and she is captured in clay by artist Suzanne Storer.

After sitting in a Smithsonian portrait competition at the National Gallery of Art, the sculpture will show in the Center Theater Gallery as part of Storer’s exhibition “Who We Are.” Storer will show about 18 clay pieces, including the “The Lunch Lady,” in the exhibit.

Storer starts with life drawings and then transfers the images onto clay, which she molds to create a three-dimensional form.

“It’s why her stuff has that unique look of a life drawn portrait, but in 3-D,” said Carrie Richer, a development associate at CFA and its coordinator for art in public spaces.

All of the sculptures, which weigh between 20 and 30 pounds, will be placed so they are looking at the piece next to them, or can make eye contact with the viewer.

The design creates relationships between the sculptures and the viewers, Richer said.

Storer features people from all walks of life in her work­—from her own family, to a homeless man she met in the park.

“I really like the greater perspective she works with,” Richer said. “It broadens our horizons and our compassion for humanity as a whole.”

The work in her exhibition at the Center was created from her desire to connect with other people and for people to connect with each other to better understand the human condition, Richer said. Storer finds the uniqueness in each of her subjects, all of whom are everyday people. She respects them by creating a strong likeness physically or psychologically.

Born in Oregon, Storer earned a degree at California College of the Arts. Many artists have influenced her; in particular, Picasso’s painted ceramics, and the ceramic sculpture work of contemporary artist Akio Takamori.

Her interest in sports also helps to mold her artistic work. Growing up, she was interested in art and sports. By first grade she was drawing Walt Disney figures. As she got older

Each of Suzanne Storer ‘s clay sculptures is an intimate human narrative. she became a serious tennis player.

Her experience in sports gives her perspective on how bodies move, how they are proportioned, as well as angles and shapes, Storer explained.

“You are aware of yourself in space and my sculptures are about that to some degree, but they are grounded by the wall,” she said.

Storer started her career as a potter, but people kept hanging her work on the wall so she shifted to sculpting, beginning with crows and ravens. “Even though that was very interesting, you look into their eyes, you don’t get much back,” Storer said. “But with another person, it’s just an immensely rich and deep connection.”

An experienced figure artist, she combined her interest in the human form and her love of connecting with people, with her love of clay.

Storer works from life drawings she creates from collaboration with her models. They express themselves in their poses and she gives them part of the credit when it comes to her work. “With one model in particular, every time I draw him, it’s like self-rising flour,” she said. “I know the drawing is successful.”

She enlarges the drawings, placing them on a slab of clay. She works in high relief, meaning the sculpture is raised from the background. The clay brings dimension and depth to the work, and Storer loves the physicality of working with it. You can create anything with clay, she said.

After firing the clay, Storer adds color using terra sigillata, which cracks when used in multiple coats. Those cracks add texture as well as color to the sculpture. If Storer needs more color, she’ll use room temperature glaze, which she can drip onto the surface.

She’s been told by writers at Sculpture Review her work is moving high relief sculpting forward. No one in her home of Ogden, Utah, is creating similar work, so she continues to push herself and her art into new territory.

Storer’s is the first show in the gallery this year and kicks off a lineup of high quality and award winning artists, Richer said. PJH

“Who We Are,” new work by artist Suzanne Storer, exhibit runs through Feb. 29, artist talk noon Thursday, opening reception 5:30 to 7 p.m., Friday, Center Theater Gallery, Center for the Arts.

WEDNESDAY FEB. 3

n Free Tax Preparation: InPerson 4:00pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Winter Wonderland: Ice Skating on Town Square 4:30pm, Town Square, Free n Evening Yoga 6:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group 6:00pm, St. John’s Medical Center Eagle Classroom, Free, 307-690-5419 n Ciao Italia! Italian for the Intrepid Traveler 6:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $100.00, 307-733-7425 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Cribbage Club - Driggs 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-354-5522 n Young Adult Book Club Victor 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Barbara Trentham Life Drawing 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307733-6379 n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Bridge 6:30pm, Old Wilson Schoolhouse, Free, 307-413-9507 n Salsa at Dancers’ Workshop 7:00pm, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n STACKHOUSE 7:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Tavern Trivia 7:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n Songwriter’s Alley 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-733-2190 n KHOL Presents: Vinyl Night 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Brad O’Brien 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886

THURSDAY FEB. 4

n Kettlebells 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025

n Special Olympics Wyoming Winter Games 7:00am, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, 307-235-3062 n 6th Annual WinterFest 8:00am, Various Locations, , 307-733-3316 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, Free, 307-733-6398 n Yoga 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Intermediate/Advanced Ballet @ Dancers’ Workshop 9:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Tech Tutor 10:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 733-2164 ext. 218 n Curious Kids 10:15am, Jackson Hole Children’s Museum, $8.00, 206733-3996 n Storytime 10:30am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Storytime 11:00am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 12:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Teton Toastmasters 12:00pm, Teton County Commissioners Chambers, Free n Lunchtime Artist Talk with Suzanne Storer 12:00pm, The Center Theater Gallery, Free, 307-734-8956 n Cribbage 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Driggs, Free, 208-354-5522 n Freestyle Skating 3:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Culture through Clay 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $150.00 $180.00, 307-733-6379 n Nature Video Youth 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $75.00, 307-7336379 n Apres with Stack and the Attack 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913

A LIVE IN HD BROADCAST FROM THE

GIACOMO PUCCINI’S TURANDOT PRESENTED BY THE GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL & CENTER OF WONDER

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 | 7PM | CENTER FOR THE ARTS

EXPERIENCE PUCCINI’S EPIC FINAL OPER A through the opulent and golden lens of director Franco Zeffirelli. One of opera’s greatest dramatic sopranos, Christine Goerke takes on the title role of the proud princess of ancient China, whose riddles doom every suitor who seeks her hand. Tenor Marcelo Álvarez is Calàf, the brave prince who sings “Nessun dorma,” ultimately winning her love. Paolo Carignani conducts the passionfilled score, leading the orchestra and chorus to a level deemed by The Huffington Post as pure magnificence.

ADULTS & SENIORS $20 | STUDENTS & CHILDREN $12 GTMF.ORG OR 307.733.4900 | PRESENTED AT THE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 15

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 19

Compiled by Caroline Zieleniewski

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n Boot Camp 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Special Olympics Wyoming Winter Games 7:00am, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, 307-235-3062 n 6th Annual WinterFest 8:00am, Various Locations, 307-733-3316 n Pilates Mat Classes at Dancers’ Workshop 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Toddler Gym 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Yoga 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Toddler Gym 10:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Tech Tutor 10:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 733-2164 ext. 218 n Story TIme - Victor 10:00am, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Open Hockey 10:15am, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Lap Sit 11:00am, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Ladies Day Wednesdays 11:00am, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Total Fitness 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Ranger-led Snowshoe Hike 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307-739-3399 n Alpine Skiing for Seniors 1:30pm, Snow King Mountain, $90.00 - $120.00, 307-739-9025 n Freestyle Skating 3:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Chess Club: Grades K to 12 3:30pm, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 x118 n Apres with Maw Band 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913

COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN OPERA

THIS WEEK: February 3-9, 2016

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MUSIC BOX Potter Plunges into Pop The rock songstress returns with a new band, and a new sound.

BY AARON DAVIS @ScreenDoorPorch

A

rtists reinvent themselves for a slew of reasons, wise and unwarranted. David Bowie’s long career was constantly fluid. Robert Plant went Americana. In the 80’s, under the gun from his label, Neil Young made widely differing albums that flopped— 1982’s synth-heavy “Trans” followed by the short rockabilly set “Everybody’s Rockin’.”

Laidback folkster Nathaniel Rateliff fruitfully changed gears to an old school, soul bandleader after being dropped by his singer-songwriter label.

For the restless 32-year-old Grace Potter, a reinvention comes in the form of her 2015 solo debut, “Midnight.” The album’s tag on iTunes reads “high-gloss pop.” This follows five albums with her longtime band, The Nocturnals, whom became rock stars in front of our eyes here in Teton County. The band first sold out the Mangy Moose in February 2008 (at a $10 ticket), followed by a subsequent set at Targhee Fest. Then another sold out show at Pink Garter Theatre (at $25 a ticket) and finally as headliner of JHMR’s Rendezvous Fest in 2010. At that time, the fiery band was a mash of rootsy Neil Young,

Little Feat and Susan Tedeschi-vibed rock ‘n’ roll with bluesy-soul undertones.

In the meantime, Potter has sidestepped into mainstream country, widening her audience by guest singing on Kenny Chesney’s Grammy-nominated “You and Tequila,” and this year’s hit “Wild Child.” Now, without The Nocturnals, “Midnight” is a plunge in synth-fortified dance-pop. With her new solo band, she opened up two dates with The Rolling Stones last year, even joining Mick Jagger on stage to sing on “Gimme Shelter.”

Well, damn!

As a fan of the ‘old’ Nocturnals vintage live sound, this columnist found “Midnight” to feel like a conscious campaign to create a hit-making pop star. There are often unnecessary and distracting glam effects on Potter’s voice and the drums are overthe-top electronic. Though I’m alienated by the production, when hearing an album song stripped down to its core, such as a solo acoustic version of “The Minor” that Potter played live on WXPN in Philadelphia, the rawness of her down-to-earth writing resurfaces.

“Artists that I love—Bowie, Miles Davis, Dylan—that really challenged the perception of the outside world really made the big breakthroughs,” Potter told WXPN of the new direction. “This solo record is singularly an opportunity for me to both wander into a movie I’ve never been in before, but also stay true to myself and speak from a singular perspective.”

It takes a lot of guts to change your sound once you’ve already had the public in your grips. Potter is still a force to be reckoned with on stage, and my guess is that the new live show bridges the gap between her split musical personalities. The faces at her concerts will grow more diverse, her music will reach a broader demographic, and that will likely enable her to go in more directions than she’s already been. Touché.

Grace Potter unleashes her new sound for a sold out crowd at Center for the Arts on Monday.

Potter’s new keyboardist, Eliza Hardy Jones, opens the show in support of her debut solo album, “Because Become.” You may recognize her as a member of Strand of Oaks and Buried Beds.

Grace Potter with Eliza Hardy Jones, 8 p.m., Monday at the Center Theater. $51-$71 (sold out). JHCenterForTheArts.org.

Harris, Jr. (drums), along with Matt Herron on fiddle and Sheena Dhamsania singing harmony behind the core songwriting duo of Bo Elledge and Dusty Nichols. PJH A benefit for the Red Top Meadows Mark Ames Wilderness Memorial Fund featuring Canyon Kids, 8 to 11 p.m., Saturday at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson. $10. 733-4407.

Red Top benefit with Canyon Kids A benefit is always sweetened when it’s a concert at a honkytonk. Red Top Meadows is under the umbrella of Teton Youth and Family Services, providing residential treatment and therapeutic wilderness programs for adolescent males with behavioral issues.

The wilderness programs help accelerate the therapeutic process and were a brainchild of the late Mark Ames, who started at Red Top in 1981.

If you don’t know the hippest indie-folkrockers in town—Canyon Kids, here’s your chance to experience the project in its big band era. From a duo, to a quartet, and now a six-piece for select shows, the lineup now features the old Elk Attack rhythm section of Adam Woolley (bass) and John Wayne

WED: Maw Band (après; Mangy Moose). FRI: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn (Center Theater).

SAT: Benefit for the Red Top Meadows Mark Ames Wilderness Memorial Fund featuring Canyon Kids (Stagecoach); Marti Gras Party with Teton Dixie Kings (Trap Bar). SUN: Byron Tomingas (National Museum of Wildlife Art). MON: Grace Potter with Eliza Hardy Jones (Center Theater). TUES: Futurebirds (Town Square Tavern).

Aaron Davis is a songwriting troubadour, multi-instrumentalist, founding member of Screen Door Porch and Boondocks, and host of Songwriter’s Alley.

Friday, 7:00 pm at The Rose Art Opening: Kayla Arend’s Ignis Anima

FRIDAY FEB. 5

n Boot Camp 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n 6th Annual WinterFest 8:00am, Various Locations, 307-733-3316 n Toddler Gym 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n bootybarre® at Dancers’ Workshop 9:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Yoga 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Special NO SCHOOL Day: Visualize - Accessorize 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $55.00, 307-7332164

n Portrait Drawing Club 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307733-6379 n Ballet Workout at Dancers’ Workshop 9:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 10:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Toddler Gym 10:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Open Hockey 10:15am, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Curious Kids 10:15am, Jackson Hole Children’s Museum, $8.00, 206733-3996 n Imagination Detectives 11:15am, Jackson Hole Children’s Museum, $25.00 $55.00, 307-733-3996 n Yoga 12:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Feathered Friday 12:00pm, Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center, Free, 307-201-5433 n Total Fitness 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Story Time 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-3545522

TUES, FEB 9

7 p.m.

The Rose

Theme: Broken Get storytelling tips: tclib.org/cabinfever

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 19

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 20

n National Theatre Live: Skylight 7:00pm, Center for the Arts, $12.00 - $20.00, 307-733-4900 n JH Community Band Rehearsal 7:00pm, Center for the Arts Performing Arts Wing, Free, 307-200-9463 n Major Zephyr 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Salsa Night 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Disco Night 10:00pm, Stagecoach Bar, Free, 307-733-4407 n BODDOG 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n Thursday Gates 4:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Yoga 4:15pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Metal Working Series - All Classes 4:15pm, Art Associaton of Jackson Hole, $165.00, 307733-6379 n Winter Wonderland: Ice Skating on Town Square 4:30pm, Town Square, Free n Jazzercise 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Total Fitness 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Ciao Italia! Italian for the Intrepid Traveler 6:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $100.00, 307-733-7425 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Linocut 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $35.00, 307-7336379 n ACT Prep Course 6:00pm, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Great Books Group 6:00pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Movie Night: Winter Comedy Series: “Some Like It Hot” 6:00pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Open Gym - Adult Soccer 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-0925

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

20 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

SATURDAY FEB. 6

n 6th Annual WinterFest 8:00am, Various Locations, 307-733-3316 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 9:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 22

ELIZABETH KOUTRELAKOS

n Ranger-led Snowshoe Hike 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307739-3399 n Moonshine Mountain Band at The Trap 3:00pm, Grand Targhee Resort, Free, 307-3532300 n Camera Flash Photography 4:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $130.00, 307-733-6379 n Winter Wonderland: Ice Skating on Town Square 4:30pm, Town Square, Free n ART WALK in Driggs 5:00pm, Downtown, Free n Ladies Night Fridays 5:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Scotch Whiskey Experience 5:30pm, VOM FASS Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307734-1535 n Opening Reception: WHO WE ARE Suzanne Storer 5:30pm, The Center Theater Gallery, Free, 307733-4900 n Friday Night Meditation 6:00pm, Zendler Chiropractic, Free, 307-6998300 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Kathryn Lynch Artist Reception 6:00pm, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Free, 201-4216848 n Open Gym - Adult Soccer 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307739-0925 n Pam Drews Phillips Plays Jazz 7:00pm, The Granary at Spring Creek Ranch, Free, 307-733-8833 n Art Opening: Kayla Arend’s Ignis Anima 7:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307-733-1500 n Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn 7:00pm, The Center Theater, $54.00 - $67.00, 307-733-4900 n Jackson Hole Moose Hockey 7:30pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $5.00 - $10.00, 307-201-1633 n Jackson 6 7:30pm, The Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-733-2190 n Off Season Shorts Film Festival 7:30pm, Pierre’s Playhouse, $8.00 - $20.00 n The Laff Satff Improv 8:00pm, The Black Box at The Center, $12.00, 307-733-4900 n John Wayne’s World 9:00pm, Mangy Moose, $5.00, 307-733-4913 n Rude Noodle 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-7333886 n OH! NASSI 10:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307-733-1500

GET OUT

Wimpy Triumph Overcoming a questionable breakfast and a slick skin track to get to the top.

BY ELIZABETH KOUTRELAKOS

T

his weekend, I had a new ski date lined up. This was no Tinder or “Planet Loveland,” but simply an invite by a known comrade that I had never toured with before. Our friendship history assured me that I could hang out with her for more than three hours (the critical period of time where I start tiring of other people’s company). Plus, I wanted to take her somewhere beautiful yet slightly miserable.

Maybe Wimpy’s knob is a mellow stroll for those with the Jacksonite perspective, but with more than 3,000 feet of direct vertical terrain, it’s not bad. Originally named by a guy and his friends, the title describes how they felt on a high avalanche day when they chose not to go to the summit of Albright. I don’t remember the first time I went up there, most likely because I block unpleasant past thoughts from all memory stores. What I can provide is the story of my friend on her first time up, per my observation.

This friend shall not be named as she may or may not be a public figure in the steezy town of Jackson’s Hole. However, on one cold and foggy day, I invited her to join me on a tour. We planned to meet at the Death Canyon Trailhead post breakfast.

Left: Cresting the top of Wimpy’s offers spectacular views of Albright, well worth an icy tour. Right: A blanket of fog rises off of Phelps Lake.

She decided to indulge in the sweetness of Bubbas while I, living north, cooked my own breakfast. I texted her the words, “I’ll meet you at Death.” Looking back, it’s a bit strange to have a canyon and a trailhead by that name. The creepy name dates back to 1899 when an explorer supposedly disappeared somewhere up in those ethers. There’s a marked road around there now and I wasn’t planning on having the same fate.

The initial path felt chilly and the trees blocked those precious warm rays of sun from shining on my back. Just enough uphill to start to sweat but not enough to keep you warm if you shed a layer. After what my friend called an “infinitely long way”—three miles to be exact—we were at the base of Wimpy’s.

This hill shoulders Albright Peak and is located just north of Death Canyon and south of Stewarts Draw. The spot also serves as a superhighway of Dynafitters. One minute you think you’re alone and the next moment, carousels of these creatures trot by, beads of sweat dancing off their steamy shoulders.

After letting some by in the flats, my poor friend underestimated the journey. “Oh cool, we’re almost there,” she said. Little did she know the icy and slippery skin track ahead of her would give way to a bit of an epic. The melt freeze on the east slopes made the skinning more like glorified edging with essential regard for the trapezoids and forearms. Every once in a while when you let your guard down and let those arm muscles relax, a prompt slide for life down the icy kickturn of doom sends you much further down than where you started.

I tried assuring my friend of the inherent benefit of this as it creates a better work out.

But she had stopped listening at the halfway mark of the climb. Bubbas had caught

up with her. Sometimes the Workingman’s Special just doesn’t do it for everyone. Maybe she blamed it on the restaurant or simply had too much coffee, but my friend was struggling hard in the unknown of this new and measly named tour. Luckily, her nausea eventually subsided as she clung to a few last pieces of hope.

The thing about this place is you never feel like you are anywhere until you’re almost at the top. You could literally struggle hard for an hour and the vertical gain looks exactly the same. Once the dead whitebarks begin appearing, it reminds me that I am getting somewhere closer to not being too far away.

Per usual, I bribed my date with snacks to continue on and she obliged. Her face may have looked green once we reached the final bowl. A few more lightweight people did some laps on the bowl while we sat in the sun and snacked. Besides the occasional bustle of humans hurrying to ski down, the top had a crisp and mellow air about it.

We discussed the possibility of going up Albright or doing another lap. She said she’d contemplate it. And that’s about as far as I got before she ripped her skins off and glanced at me with pleading eyes. Scarfing down my Havarti dill cheese and corn chips, I assured her that I didn’t care if we skied another lap but I would prefer finishing my snacks. Even though we were “just skiing Wimpys,” a substantial amount of food is required to push one through this journey.

As we skied down, the once slumped shoulders of my partner perked up and the vague sound of uncontrollable laughing was audible. I skied up to her and, from the looks of her eyes, she had forgotten the slight misery and appeared all smiles in the powder.

PJH

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE

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FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 21

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

22 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

n Winter Trails Day 9:00am, Trailheads around town, Free, 307-732-5762 n Teton Valley Winter Farmer’s Market 10:00am, MD Nursery, Free, 208-354-8816 n Adult Oil Painting 10:00am, The Local Galleria, $25.00, 208-270-0883 n Treasure Chest 10:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $40.00, 307-7336379 n Parents’ Ski Saturdays 10:00am, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Tram Jam 11:00am, Base of the Bridger Gondola, Free n LEGO Builders 11:00am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Off Season Shorts Film Festival 11:00am, Pierre’s Playhouse, $8.00 - $20.00 n Winter Wonderland: Ice Skating on Town Square 12:00pm, Town Square, Free n Skijouring 1:00pm, The Snake River Ranch, $15.00 n Ranger-led Snowshoe Hike 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307-739-3399 n Raptor Encounters 2:00pm, Teton Raptor Center, $10.00 - $12.00, 307-203-2551 n Mardi Gras Party with Jackson 6 3:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free n Chanman Solo in the K BAR at the Teton Mountain Lodge and Spa 4:00pm, K BAR, Free, 307 413 1348 n Snowboard Saturday Adult Classes 5:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Open Gym - Adult Soccer 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-0925 n Wyatt Lowe 7:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, n Jackson Hole Moose Hockey 7:30pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $5.00 - $10.00, 307-201-1633 n Off Season Shorts Film Festival 7:30pm, Pierre’s Playhouse, $8.00 - $20.00

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 23

n Whiskey Tango 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Moose Gumbo 8:00pm, Knotty Pine, Free, 208-787-2866 n The Laff Satff Improv 8:00pm, The Black Box at The Center, $12.00, 307-733-4900 n 86ers 9:00pm, Mangy Moose, $10.00, 307-733-4913 n Bob Marley’s Birthday Reggae Band & DJ Night 10:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Stylust Beats 10:30pm, Town Square Tavern, $10.00 - $12.00, 307-733-3886

SUNDAY FEB. 7

n 6th Annual WinterFest 8:00am, Various Locations, 307-733-3316 n Kettlebells 8:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n First Sundays 9:00am, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Free, 307-743-5424 n Mardi Gras Mambo 11:00am, Jackson Hole Children’s Museum, $8.00, 307733-3996 n Super Bowl Party at The Trap 11:00am, The Trap Bar & Grill, 800-TARGHEE n Winter Wonderland: Ice Skating on Town Square 12:00pm, Town Square, Free n Ski with the Godfather-Bill Briggs 12:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Byron’s Guitar at the Museum of Wildlife Art 12:00pm, National Museum of Wildlife Art, $0.00 - $15.00, 307-733-5771 n Skijouring 1:00pm, The Snake River Ranch, $15.00 n Parent /Daughter Workshop 1:00pm, Jackson Hole Children’s Musuem, $80.00 n Sunday Silver 2:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $35.00, 3077336379 n Open Gym - Adult Volleyball 4:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Apres with Major Zephyr 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913

n Stagecoach Band 6:00pm, Stagecoach, Free, 307-733-4407 n Taize 6:00pm, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Free, 307-733-2603 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Western Swing & Texas Two-Step Lessons 6:00pm, Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center, $30.00 - $60.00, 307-413-9507 n Hospitality Night 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Uncle Stackhouse 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886

MONDAY FEB. 8

n Boot Camp 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n 6th Annual WinterFest 8:00am, Various Locations, 307-733-3316 n Pilates Mat Classes at Dancers’ Workshop 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Toddler Gym 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Jazzercise 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 9:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Kindercreations 9:30am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $85.00 - $102.00, 307-733-6379 n Toddler Gym 10:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Open Hockey 10:15am, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Little Hands, Little Feet 11:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $85.00 - $102.00, 307-733-6379 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Total Fitness 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Story Time 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-3545522

ELIZABETH MOSS/MOSSANDBUSH.COM

WELL, THAT HAPPENED

Trading the Hole for the Unknown A microcosm of international travelers come together to WorkAway.

BY ANDREW MUNZ

L

ast fall, over two steaming cups of tea at the Lotus Cafe, Jamie Dunphy and I chatted about my plans for Iceland.

I knew that my life in Jackson was full of opportunity, friends and family, but something was missing. Something challenging and unpredictable. Having traveled to Iceland three times, including one six-month stint as a whale-watching guide, I still had an urge for adventure and instability. A good handful of people told me I was crazy to leave the Hole for an undetermined amount of time (“At least a year,” I said.), but I still couldn’t shake the Iceland bug. I needed to get back.

The other handful of people envied me, saying, “I wish I could do what you’re doing.”

But because my decision was completely fueled by impulsive urges, I didn’t have a plan, per se, and as I’m writing this column in the midst of a snowstorm while a fishing vessel from Greenland maneuvers into harbor outside my window, I still don’t.

And I’m totally OK with that.

Luckily, Jamie had asked me if I’d ever heard of a program called WorkAway, and recommended I check it out. The program operates in a similar fashion to the popular travel accommodation site CouchSurfing, but is more of a work exchange than just a free bed. Hosts from all around the world put a call out to travelers offering free accommodation and food in exchange for 20-25 hours of work per week. Farms, guesthouses, tourism companies and regular families seek temporary workers for various odd jobs that can range anywhere from cleaning hotel rooms to cooking for a family of five. Whether for only two weeks or multiple months, hosts post their needs, and travelers heading to those

Australian WorkAwayer Kellen Bush meanders through the quiet streets of Neskaupstaður, Iceland, population 1,500.

respective countries answer the call.

Thanks to Jamie’s recommendation, I checked out the site, browsed through the Icelandic hosts, and got hooked up right here at the Hildibrand Hotel in Neskaupstaður. I posted my work experiences and skills. The boss, Hákon, said he would find a spot for me on their temporary staff.

Upon arriving in November, I was surprised to see 13 other WorkAwayers who had been helping out at the hotel, including a couple from Slovakia, two girls from the States, a girl from Lithuania and two Irish gents. As time has gone by, our staff has morphed, with people heading back home or traveling on to new countries.

We’ve even had a few people come back after spending the holidays with their families.

We all stay in apartments at the hotel and get fed three hearty meals a day in exchange for our work. Some of us will head out to Hákon’s family farm to help with the horses while others work in the bakery making cakes and breads, or wait tables in the restaurant. I primarily work in the kitchen, but the other day I was breaking down sheep carcasses, transforming them into 485 lamb burgers.

Today I was told to find a great rustic bread recipe, and, for the first time in my life, successfully made loaves of bread.

WorkAwayers do not get paid for their work (although the hotel is going to hire me full-time in the summer), but every other aspect of the experience is exactly what my life in Jackson had been lacking: each day is an adventure, and 90 percent of the time I go to sleep without knowing what I’ll be doing when I wake up.

Because of our desire to reciprocate the generosity of our employer, we each put in extra hours and do our best to keep the hotel alive and running. And since no one is getting paid more than anyone else, tension or stress is very rare. We’ve become a family, all of us from different backgrounds and different cultures. We speak different languages but always come together for our staff meals and room together. Sure, life in a town of 1,500 people can be grudgingly slow, but it’s so refreshing to escape the hustle of what we sadly call the “real world.”

I know Jackson folks are always anxious to get out of town, especially in the winter.

I cannot recommend enough you partake in WorkAway the next time you travel. And should you get the urge to butcher some lamb and/or prepare mussels for dinner, just let me know. PJH

n White Lightning Open Mic Night 4:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 x 1360 n Yoga 4:15pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Winter Wonderland: Ice Skating on Town Square 4:30pm, Town Square, Free n Tele Tuesdays 5:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Jazzercise 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Total Fitness 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Homebrewing for Beginners 5:30pm, CWC-Jackson, $40.00, 307-733-7425 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Screenwriting 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $160.00 $192.00, 307-733-6379 n Scholarship Application Help Nights 6:00pm, Teton County Library Computer Lab, Free, 307-7332164 n Alliance Speaker Series Double Header 6:00pm, Old Wilson Schoolhouse, Free, 307-733-9417 n Jackson Hole Bird & Nature Club 6:00pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium B, Free, 307-733-2164 n Adult Book Club - Victor 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Open Gym - Adult Volleyball 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Hip Hop at Dancers’ Workshop 7:00pm, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Language Exchange Night 7:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Cabin Fever Story Slam: Broken 7:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n One Ton Pig 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n FUTUREBIRDS w/ Susto 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, $15.00, 307-733-3886

FOR COMPLETE EVENT DETAILS VISIT PJHCALENDAR.COM

SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH 10:30am - 3:00pm Bottomless Mimosas & Bloody Marys $15

HAPPY HOUR

1/2 Off Drinks Daily 5-7pm

•••••••••••

Monday-Saturday 11am, Sunday 10:30am 832 W. Broadway (inside Plaza Liquors)•733-7901

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 23

TUESDAY FEB. 9

n Kettlebells 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n 6th Annual WinterFest 8:00am, Various Locations, 307-733-3316 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, Free, 307-733-6398 n Yoga 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Ballet Workout at Dancers’ Workshop 9:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Strollercize 10:00am, Teton Recreation Center, 307-739-9025 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library, Free, 733-2164 ext. 118 n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 12:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Adult Skate Skiing refresher Class 12:00pm, Wayne May Park Ski Track, $30.00, 307-739-9025 n MELT at Dancers’ Workshop 12:10pm, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Spin 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-733-5056 n Senior’s Classic and Skate Ski Workshop 1:30pm, Senior Center of Jackson Hole, $12.00, 307-739-9025 n Freestyle Skating 3:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Excel Introduction 3:00pm, Teton County Library Computer Lab, Free, 307-7332164 n Afterschool Monthly Workshops - All 17 Sessions 3:30pm, Borshell Children’s Studio, $180.00 - $216.00, 307733-6379 n Print Shop 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $50.00, 307-7336379 n Free Tax Preparation: Drop-Off Service 3:30pm, Teton County Library Computer Lab, Free, 307-7332164 n Apres with Fresh Roy and the Winch Cats 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n Ranger-led Snowshoe Hike 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307-739-3399 n Freestyle Skating 3:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Maker Monday’s - Victor 3:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Handbuilding Plus!

3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $150.00 $180.00, (307) 733-6379 n After School Kidzart Club 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $195.00 $234.00, 307-733-6379 n Heart Centered Mixed Media 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $5.00, 307-7336379 n Apres with Tucker Smith 3-piece band 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Barre Fusion at Dancers’ Workshop 5:30pm, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Hootenanny at Dornans 6:00pm, Dornans, Free, 307733-2415 n Evening Yoga 6:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Foreign Policy Series: The Future of Kurdistan 6:00pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Italian Cuisine - Gnocchi 6:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $65.00, 307-733-7425 n Ballet Class at Dancers’ Workshop 6:30pm, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Skiers can Tango, and so can You! 6:30pm, Center for the Arts, Free, 917-613-3176 n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Grace Potter & Eliza Hardy Jones 8:00pm, Center for the Arts, $49.00 - $69.00, 307-733-4900 n Brothers Gow 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

24 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

BEER, WINE & SPIRITS

Sweet Sips for V-Day Aiming straight for the heart with sparkling Rosé, Port and more.

BY TED SCHEFFLER @critic1

O

n the one day of the year dedicated to sweethearts, what could be more appropriate than sipping sweet wines and cocktails? Just as Valentine’s Day is an excuse to throw caution to the wind and binge on Whitman’s chocolate assortments, it’s also an opportunity to indulge in perverse pleasures such as sweet beverages that you might forego during other occasions. Here are a few naughty sips to get you and your sweetie started.

Sparkling wine is always appropriate at Valentine’s Day celebrations, and Martini & Rossi Sparkling Rosé Minis ($14.99 for a fourpack) are a good way to kick-start a romance.

These petit 187ml bottles are sold in a decorative pink carrier and filled with slightly sweet,

sparkling Rosé—a blend of Moscato Bianco, Brachetto and Malvasia—perfect for sipping alongside chocolates, fruits, smoked salmon and mild cheeses. Or, pick up a bottle of the more traditional 750ml size ($12.99) and enjoy that.

You can also use Martini & Rossi Sparkling Rosé to create a Cupid’s Cup. In a cocktail shaker over ice, shake together 1 part St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, 2 parts vodka, 3/4 part fresh lemon juice, 1/4 part simple syrup and 1 part muddled strawberries. Strain into a cocktail glass and top with Sparkling Rosé; garnish with a fresh strawberry.

If you’d prefer to crack open a bottle of higher-end pink bubbly, turn to Moët & Chandon. For a decadent splurge, get your mitts on a bottle of Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Rosé 2006 ($90). It’s an intense and powerful, yet refined, Rosé Champagne with stone fruit notes and plenty of depth. For a little less coin, Moët & Chandon Impérial Rosé NV ($55) is a fruit bomb brimming with strawberry and raspberry flavors and floral aromas—a good accompaniment to Valentine’s Day desserts.

My very favorite Valentine’s treat, however, is Italy’s luscious Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto ($22.49). Rosa Regale is created in one of Italy’s smallest production zones, the Brachetto d’Acqui Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, commonly referred

IMBIBE to as DOCG. It is produced from 100 percent Brachetto grapes grown exclusively at the La Rosa Vineyard in the town of Acqui Terme, located in the Piedmont region of Italy. Appropriate especially for Valentine’s Day, the black-andred label features a single red rose, which represents the single vineyard La Rosa estate.

The wine itself is akin to sex in a bottle: a seductive frizzante Rosé wine that’s slightly sweet and rich, and which runs the gamut from partnering well with chocolates to foie gras.

Speaking of seduction, the seductive lychee, white pear and honeyed tones of Fifty Shades of Grey White Silk ($14.99)— an off-dry blend of Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc—is, well, a lot better than the book its name is based on. And, renowned wine writer James Suckling awarded 90 points to Fifty Shades of Grey Red Satin ($14.99), a

deliciously rich blend of Syrah and Petite Syrah.

At the end of an evening— Valentine’s Day or any other—Port is always fitting. And Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port ($18.99) won’t break the bank. Cockburn’s, founded in 1815, celebrated its 200th birthday this past year, and its Ports are still produced in the upper Douro Valley of Portugal, in Cockburn’s premier vineyard of Quinta dos Canais.

Matured in oak casks for four to six years, Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port has concentrated cherry, strawberry and plum aromas. On the tongue, rounded sweet red berry flavors dominate and lead to a fruity finish.

A perfect way to wrap up Valentine’s Day is with this Port and strong cheeses or a nutty chocolate dessert.

Confession: I like Port with Reese’s Pieces. PJH

SCOOP UP THESE SAVINGS

1/16TH COLOR AD Local is a modern American steakhouse and bar located on Jackson’s historic town square.

Serving locally raised beef and, regional game, fresh seafood and seasonally inspired food, Local offers the perfect setting for lunch, drinks or dinner.

Lunch 11:30am Monday-Saturday Dinner 5:30pm Nightly

Trio is located just off the town square in downtown Jackson, and is owned & operated by local chefs with a passion for good food.

Our menu features contemporary American dishes inspired by classic bistro cuisine. Daily specials feature wild game, fish and meats.

Enjoy a glass of wine at the bar in front of the wood-burning oven and watch the chefs perform in the open kitchen.

Dinner Nightly at 5:30pm

HAPPY HOUR Daily 4-6:00pm

307.201.1717 | LOCALJH.COM ON THE TOWN SQUARE

45 S. Glenwood Available for private events & catering For reservations please call 734-8038

• FREE PRINT LISTING (50-75 WORDS) • FREE ONLINE LISTING ON PLANETJH.COM • 6 MONTH MINIMUM COMMITMENT • $25 A WEEK CASH OR $40 A WEEK TRADE ON HALF OFF JH

CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE TODAY TO LEARN MORE

SALES@PLANETJH.COM OR 307.732.0299

POLKA NIGHT FEATURING THE

HOF POLKA BAND THURSDAY, 7PM-10PM GERMAN BEER SPECIALS 307.733.3242 | TETON VILLAGE

Featuring dining destinations from buffets and rooms with a view to mom and pop joints, chic cuisine and some of our dining critic’s faves!

ASIAN & CHINESE TETON THAI Serving the world’s most exciting cuisine.

Teton Thai offers a splendid array of flavors: sweet, hot, sour, salt and bitter. All balanced and blended perfectly, satisfying the most discriminating palate. Open daily. 7432 Granite Loop Road in Teton Village, (307) 733-0022 and in Driggs, (208) 787-8424, tetonthai.com.

KAZUMI

Steamed Subs Hot Dogs Soups & Salads

The Deli That’ll Rock Your Belly 307-733-3448

Sun-Wed 11am-4pm, Thur-Sat 11am-8pm 180 N. Center St. | 1 block n. of Town Square Next to Home Ranch Parking Lot

Kazumi is a family-owned and operated restaurant serving unique sushi rolls, fresh sashimi and nigiri, and off-the-charts specialty items. Located near the Town Square, we also feature hot noodle soups and the spiciest rolls in town! Open Monday through Saturday at 11 a.m - 9:30 p.m. 265 West Broadway, 307-7339168, jacksonholesushi.com.

KIM’S CORNER Best ski food in the area! Korean and American style, from breakfast sandwiches, burgers, chicken tenders, Philly cheese steaks to rice bowls and noodles. Something for everyone!

Open Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At base of Snow King between the ski patrol room and the ice rink. 100 E. Snow King Ave. Order ahead (307) 200-6544, facebook.com/ Kimscornercafe.

THAI ME UP Home of Melvin Brewing Co. Freshly remodeled offering modern Thai cuisine in a relaxed setting. New tap system with 20 craft beers.

New $8 wine list and extensive bottled beer menu. Open daily for dinner at 5pm. Downtown at 75 East Pearl Street. View our tap list at thaijh. com/brews. 307-733-0005.

CONTINENTAL ALPENHOF

THE BLUE LION

carry-out special sunday, february 7 th

Buy two 12” pizzas & get a third free! (includes four fountain drinks for $5)

11am - 9:30pm daily 20 W Broadway 307 - 201 - 1472

CAFE GENEVIEVE Serving inspired home cooked classics in a historic log cabin. Enjoy brunch daily at 8 a.m., dinner nightly at 5 p.m., and happy hour

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 25

the big game

A Jackson Hole favorite for 37 years. Join us in the charming atmosphere of a historic home. Ask a local about our rack of lamb.

Serving fresh fish, elk, poultry, steaks, and vegetarian entrées. Live acoustic guitar music most nights. Open at 5:30 p.m. Off Season Special: 2 for 1 Entrees. Good all night. Must mention ad. Reservations recommended, walkins welcome. 160 N. Millward, (307) 733-3912, bluelionrestaurant.com

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Serving authentic Swiss cuisine, the Alpenhof features European style breakfast entrées and alpine lunch fare. Dine in the Bistro for a casual meal or join us in the Alpenrose dining room for a relaxed dinner experience. Breakfast 7:30am-10am. Coffee & pastry 10am-11:30am.

Lunch 11:30am-3pm. Aprés 3pm-5:30pm.

Dinner 6pm-9pm. For reservations at the Bistro or Alpenrose, call 307-733-3242.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

26 | FEBRUARY 3, 2016

THE LOCALS

FAVORITE PIZZA 2012, 2013 & 2014 •••••••••

$7

$4 Well Drink Specials

LUNCH

SPECIAL Slice, salad & soda

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

TV Sports Packages and 7 Screens

Under the Pink Garter Theatre (307) 734-PINK • www.pinkygs.com

daily 3-5:30 p.m. featuring $5 glasses of wine, $5 specialty drinks, $3 bottled beer. 135 E. Broadway, (307) 732-1910, genevievejh.com.

ELEANOR’S Enjoy all the perks of fine dining, minus the dress code at Eleanor’s, serving rich, saucy dishes in a warm and friendly setting. Eleanor’s is a primo brunch spot on Sunday afternoons. Its bar alone is an attraction, thanks to reasonably priced drinks and a loyal crowd. Come get a belly-full of our two-time gold medal wings. Open at 11 a.m. daily.

832 W. Broadway, (307) 733-7901.

FULL STEAM SUBS

FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL

20%OFF ENTIRE BILL

Good between 5:30-6pm • Open nightly at 5:30pm

733-3912

PIZZAS, PASTAS & MORE HOUSEMADE BREAD & DESSERTS FRESH, LOCALLY SOURCED OFFERINGS TAKE OUT AVAILABLE Dining room and bar open nightly at 5:00pm (307) 733-2460 • 2560 Moose Wilson Road • Wilson, WY

160 N. Millward

Make your reservation online at bluelionrestaurant.com

A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965

KOREAN & AMERICAN BREAKFAST & LUNCH BURGERS • FRIES RICE BOWLS • NOODLES

Breakfast Lunch & Dinner

(at Snow King Mtn between Ski Patrol & Ice Rink)

••••••••• Open daily 8am 145 N. Glenwood (307) 734-0882

307.200.6544

WWW.TETONLOTUSCAFE.COM

Tues-Thur 9:30am-7pm | Fri-Sun 9:30am-4pm 100 E. Snow King Ave

LOCAL Local, a modern American steakhouse and bar, is located on Jackson’s historic town square.

Our menu features both classic and specialty cuts of locally-ranched meats and wild game alongside fresh seafood, shellfish, house-ground burgers, and seasonally-inspired food. We offer an extensive wine list and an abundance of locally-sourced products. Offering a casual and vibrant bar atmosphere with 12 beers on tap as well as a relaxed dining room, Local is the perfect spot to grab a burger for lunch or to have drinks and dinner with friends. Lunch Mon-Sat 11:30am.

Dinner Nightly 5:30pm. 55 North Cache, (307) 2011717, localjh.com.

LOTUS CAFE

Cafe

- Snow King Mountain -

The deli that’ll rock your belly. Jackson’s newest sub shop serves steamed subs, reubens, gyros, delicious all beef hot dogs, soups and salads. We offer Chicago style hot dogs done just the way they do in the windy city. Open daily11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Located just a short block north of the Town Square at 180 N. Center Street, (307) 733-3448.

Serving organic, freshly-made world cuisine while catering to all eating styles. Endless organic and natural meat, vegetarian, vegan and glutenfree choices. Offering super smoothies, fresh extracted juices, espresso and tea. Full bar and house-infused botanical spirits. Open daily 8am for breakfast lunch and dinner. 145 N. Glenwood St., (307) 734-0882, tetonlotuscafe.com.

MANGY MOOSE Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally fresh food at reasonable prices, is a always a fun place to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel right at home and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit. Teton Village, (307) 733-4913, mangymoose.com.

SNAKE RIVER BREWERY & RESTAURANT ®

Large Specialty Pizza ADD: Wings (8 pc)

Medium Pizza (1 topping) Stuffed Cheesy Bread

$ 13 99

for an extra $5.99/each

(307) 733-0330 520 S. Hwy. 89 • Jackson, WY

Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally FRESH FOOD at reasonable prices, is a always a FUN PLACE to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel RIGHT AT HOME and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit.

Reservations at (307) 733-4913 3295 Village Drive • Teton Village, WY

www.mangymoose.com

America’s most award-winning microbrewery is serving lunch and dinner. Take in the atmosphere while enjoying wood-fired pizzas, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. $9 lunch menu. Happy hour 4 to 6 p.m., including tasty hot wings. The freshest beer in the valley, right from the source! Free WiFi. Open 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 265 S. Millward. (307) 739-2337, snakeriverbrewing.com.

SWEETWATER Satisfying locals for lunch and dinner for over 36 years with deliciously affordable comfort food.

Extensive local and regional beer list. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. features blackened trout

salad, elk melt, wild west chili and vegetarian specialties. Dinner 5:30 to 9 p.m. including potato-crusted trout, 16 ounce ribeye, vegan and wild game. Reservations welcome. (307) 7333553. sweetwaterjackson.com.

TRIO Owned and operated by Chefs with a passion for good food, Trio is located right off the Town square in downtown Jackson. Featuring a variety of cuisines in a relaxed atmosphere, Trio is famous for its wood-oven pizzas, specialty cocktails and waffle fries with bleu cheese fondue. Dinner nightly at 5:30 p.m. Reservations. (307) 734-8038 or bistrotrio.com.

ITALIAN CALICO A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965, the Calico continues to be one of the most popular restaurants in the Valley. The Calico offers the right combination of really good food, (much of which is grown in our own gardens in the summer), friendly staff; a reasonably priced menu and a large selection of wine. Our bar scene is eclectic with a welcoming vibe. Open nightly at 5 p.m. 2560 Moose Wilson Rd., (307) 733-2460.

MEXICAN EL ABUELITO Serving authentic Mexican cuisine and appetizers in a unique Mexican atmosphere. Home of the original Jumbo Margarita. Featuring a full bar with a large selection of authentic Mexican beers.

Lunch served weekdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nightly dinner specials. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 385 W. Broadway, (307) 733-1207.

PIZZA DOMINO’S PIZZA Hot and delicious delivered to your door. Handtossed, deep dish, crunchy thin, Brooklyn style and artisan pizzas; bread bowl pastas, and oven baked sandwiches; chicken wings, cheesy breads and desserts. Delivery. 520 S. Hwy. 89 in Kmart Plaza, (307) 733-0330.

PINKY G’S The locals favorite! Voted Best Pizza in Jackson Hole 2012, 2013 and 2014. Seek out this hidden gem under the Pink Garter Theatre for NY pizza by the slice, salads, stromboli’s, calzones and many appetizers to choose from. Try the $7 ‘Triple S’ lunch special.Happy hours 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. Sun.Thu. Text PINK to 71441 for discounts. Delivery and take-out. Open daily 11a.m. to 2 a.m. 50 W. Broadway, (307) 734-PINK.

PIZZERIA CALDERA Jackson Hole’s only dedicated stone-hearth oven pizzeria, serving Napolitana-style pies using the freshest ingredients in traditional and creative combinations. Five local micro-brews on tap, a great selection of red and white wines by the glass and bottle, and one of the best views of the Town Square from our upstairs deck. Daily lunch special includes slice, salad or soup, any two for $8. Happy hour: half off drinks by the glass from 4 - 6 daily. Dine in or carry out. Or order online at PizzeriaCaldera.com, or download our app for iOS or Android. Open from 11am - 9:30pm daily at 20 West Broadway. 307-201-1472.

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L.A.TIMES “PRESIDENTIAL FIRSTS” By Alan Olschwang

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016

ACROSS

87 One who might be given the business 89 Ages and ages 90 Acknowledge tacitly 91 Prophet’s claim 93 Yet, to Yeats 96 Put a handle on 100 Cuddles 102 D.C. trip highlight (#27) 106 Author Madeleine L’__ 108 Holly genus 109 Sports __ 110 Valuable deposit 111 Former Saturn model 113 Max. 115 Drained of color 117 Alibi problems 120 Critical point 124 Lotion additive 126 Agricultural pioneer 129 Call on the carpet 130 Drinking song popularized by the Glenn Miller Orchestra (#36) 133 ’90s veep 134 Bumpy 135 Andalusian city 136 Snickered 137 Roma road 138 Tossed about

DOWN

architectural piece 94 Hang out 95 “__ Gang” 97 Saskatchewan city 98 Asian lead-in 99 “The Chronic” Dr. 101 Downed noisily 103 French possessive 104 Blew out 105 Give a little 107 Gp. that hired an orchestra for its “Eldorado” album 111 Phased-out Apple messaging tool 112 Papal garment 114 Anklebone 116 Barack’s 2010 High Court appointee 118 Exchange of nasty spots 119 Shells alternative 121 Astringent fruit 122 Foolproof 123 By __ of: due to 125 Joule components 127 Snippy, say 128 “Great Scott!”

131 Power agcy. created in 1933 132 Fido’s find

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10 When doubled, a common dolphinfish 20 Back-country “contrary to” 30 Do spadework 40 Centric start 50 ’90s Toyota 60 Netmen’s gp.

70 “Cheers” actor Roger 80 Icelandic literary works 90 Gave it another go 10 Skating legend 11 Venomous venting 12 Nicollette’s “Desperate Housewives” role 13 Words with letter or fax

14 Conceptualizes 15 To follow 16 Sweetie along the Seine 17 On a lark (#35) 18 Soviet cooperative 19 Unkempt 24 Green wheels 29 One may be named for a president 31 Screening org.

33 NW Penn. airport 36 Base fig.

37 __ pal 39 Santa __ winds 41 Rains hard?

43 Like Pinocchio, eventually 44 Cinch course 46 Bar fruit 47 Beanpole 48 Immortalized vessel of rhyme 49 Abbr. before a year 51 “Law & Order” detective Briscoe 52 Trimming tools 58 “No argument” 60 Mercedes rivals 61 Pacific salmon 63 Walk in the park 65 Drawing rooms 66 End of the ’50s TV intro that began “This is the city” 67 Could be more productive (#34) 68 Badlands formation 70 Verboten thing 71 Aleve can alleviate one 75 Toughness 76 Greets, with “to” 77 Danish capital 80 Board 83 Structural subj.

85 Half a patio pair 88 High degree 92 Columnlike

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10 Got a four, probably 80 Undermines 14 With one’s back against the wall 20 Unsettle 21 Ridicule 22 Retiring 23 Austria’s Railjet, for one (#33) 25 Has a life 26 Fatuous 27 “The Lion King” baddie 28 French connections?

30 Derisive shout 32 Source of twigs called withies 34 __ nouveau 35 Take the high way?

36 Vietnam’s __ Dinh Diem 38 MLB scorecard entry 40 Most massive known dwarf planet 42 Word on mail from Madrid 45 Changes the play at the line of scrimmage (#21) 50 NutraSweet developer 53 Fatty acid type 54 Sea-Tac abbr.

55 Some oscilloscope users: Abbr.

56 Invited 57 Actor with a mohawk 59 “Football Night in America” network 62 “Avatar” extras 64 Telling tales 65 Like many an infielder’s throw 69 Missoula home 72 Spotty affliction?

73 Latin trio word 74 Words from a returning traveler (#43) 78 White wine aperitif 79 “M” director Fritz 81 1988 NFL MVP 82 Sentence sections 84 Bits in a byte, e.g.

86 Vague number

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Soul Mates a Plenty Exploring the inexplicable connections we have with certain people in our lives.

Unconditional love Soul love is unconditional. It means that you see, love and accept the good and bad, or the beautiful and ugly of the other person. You may not like some of their behaviors. You may not agree with all their ideas. However, the love for the other is never subject to conditions nor is it ever under threat. It’s always there and always deep. There is no energy focused on changing the other person. They are loved for who they are and vice versa. As you might imagine, unconditional love is a recipe for thriving and naturally moving in the direction of living your full potential.

Conditional love Plenty of love relationships are limited and conditional. Love is extended and withdrawn based on how you feel, or how you want the other person to behave, or how you think they should be. It feels more like: “Honey, I love you, now change to my way or else.”

Conditional love is fear-based and often drama filled because there’s a heavy dose of controlling behavior, and whether or not the love will be there is uncertain.

Friends, lovers, family Unconditional love/soul connection does not have to be sexual or even related to a romantic relationship. Experiencing unconditional love is possible with anyone in your family, or anyone who is not in your family—a mate of any age, gender, race, religion, or nationality. One of the most powerful experiences of pure unconditional love is with our children. Kids are meant to crack open our hearts, and hopefully keep them open.

You don’t need to have past life connections with a person to experience soul love. You do have to allow yourself to share the

unconditional love in your soul, and to receive that soulful love from the other person.

Some soul mates are past life connections When you do meet someone new (again, it could be anyone, not necessarily a romantic encounter) with whom you have an automatic sense of connection, and it feels like you’ve known each other forever, you are likely recognizing a soul whom you have known in a caring way in another life. Hopefully we have all had loving relationships of all kinds with many souls in many lives, which would include friends, teachers, mentors, family and lovers.

When you cross paths with an old soul it’s a delicious feeling, but it does not automatically mean jump in bed, be a couple and live together forever after. It also does not mean drop your life right now and go with them. You both have to discover who you are now. Are you on the same page, with similar values and priorities and responsibilities? Have you each evolved in positive ways since a prior life, or not? Take the time to learn what’s real and what is true right now. The loving feeling can take any form. Some soul encounters are simply an uplift as you then each venture on your own separate journeys. And if you do choose to live together forever after, it is not a fairy tale; it is real life.

Four legged soul mates Unconditional love for our animals is also soul love. That connection can develop now. We all know that some pets are just great pets, and some pets are way more. Animals travel with us lifetime to lifetime as well. Instant familiar bonding and a special communion with the pet is a clue to recognizing each other’s souls. These experiences are so nourishing and special whether they begin now or are a continuation of prior love.

More than one soul mate By now you have gathered that unconditional love is the key, rather than thinking there is one person who is your soul mate.

There are many potential soul mates we have not known previously, and many whom we have met in other lives. Enjoy the gift of unconditional love wherever you share it and receive it.

Last and not least Practice unconditional love and compassion toward yourself. It is so important to learn to embrace the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly of who you are. Be the magnificence of your soul.

Share and develop your gifts whether you are in a relationship or not. Love is love. PJH

Carol Mann is a longtime Jackson resident, radio personality, former Grand Targhee Resort owner, author, and clairvoyant.

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REDNECK PERSPECTIVE FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

SATIRE

Pilsner, Pickups and Potato Chips Man-to-Man coverage of Super Sunday’s Pigskin Classic.

BY CLYDE THORNHILL

I

t’s time for the Super Bowl! Four hours of drinking, eating, and television, all so we can watch the less-than 12 minutes of action that takes place between snaps of the ball and whistles. (If you think four hours is an excessive amount of time for 12 minutes of action, you should play poker with Bill Swenson when he is explaining to the other players at the table why he should or should not call, raise or fold!)

The time in-between is spent listening to announcers stating bold insights like, “When you get in the red zone you want to come away with points,” or, when a team is on defense and behind late in the game, the announcers will explain with perceptive understanding, “They need to stop them so they can get the ball.” Or my favorite, “They want to stop the run.” Because, let’s face it, if you don’t stop the run, the other team will run all the way to the end zone.

Astute analyses aside, the vast majority of Super Bowl time is spent in commercials for junk food, beer and trucks. Plainly, they are targeting the greater Hog Island/Hoback population! Truck ads involve fit men with facial hair, dirty work clothes, construction

sites, farms, and announcers with stern tones. Beer ads feature scantly attired cute females who evidently desire men dressed like yuppies without beer bellies. (Hog Islanders could provide a more authentic face for the truck owning, beer drinking demographic, but my calls to ad agencies have not been returned.) The huge number of ads for the Super Bowl is not an act of greed by the network, but an act of compassion. The more ads, the longer the game, the better the party, and the more time we have before the season is over and we have to start talking to our wives again.

For the novices out there, I have explained jargon used in football.

Suspension: What occurs after a star player rapes, assaults or kills someone. It can affect the team’s chances in the game as the NFL, in an attempt to protect its image, will often punish the player involved in said rape, murder or assault with a one or two game suspension.

Cheater: A Patriots fan.

Pervert: A Dallas Cowboy fan.

Contract: The amount of money a player makes. Jay Cutler makes roughly $18.5 million a year. So, at 16 games, with Cutler playing the six minutes of what the Bears jokingly referred to as offence, he makes $3,211 dollars a second.

Free agent: Someone who doesn’t have a contract. Sam Bradford and Von Miller will be free agents this year. And, as I don’t have an NFL contract, I am a also free agent.

A personal foul is a penalty assessed for grabbing a facemask, a late hit, or coming within six feet of Tom Brady. At a Super Bowl party, a personal foul is passing gas and trying to blame it on someone from Hoback Junction. PJH

ARIES (March 21-April 19) The Bible’s Book of Exodus tells the story of the time Moses almost met God. “Show me your glory, please,” the prophet says to his deity, who’s hiding. “You cannot see my face,” God replies, “but I will show you my back parts.” That’s good enough for Moses. He agrees. I hope that you, too, will be satisfied with a tantalizingly partial epiphany, Aries. I’m pretty sure that if you ask nicely, you can get a glimpse of a splendor that’s as meaningful to you as God was to Moses. It may only be the “back parts,” but that should still stir you and enrich you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) The archaic English word “quaintrelle” refers to a woman who treats her life as a work of art. She is passionate about cultivating beauty and pleasure and wit in everything she is and does. But she’s not a narcissistic socialite. She’s not a snooty slave to elitist notions of style. Her aim is higher and sweeter: to be an impeccable, well-crafted fount of inspiration and blessings. I propose that we resuscitate and tinker with this term, and make it available to you.

In 2016, you Tauruses of all genders will be inclined to incorporate elements of the quaintrelle, and you will also be skilled at doing so. If you have not yet dived in to this fun work, start now.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Sufi teacher (and Gemini) Idries Shah offered this teaching: “They say that when Fortune knocks, you should open the door. But why should you make Fortune knock, by keeping the door shut?” Let’s make this your featured meditation, Gemini. If there is anywhere in your life where proverbial doors are shut—either in the world outside of you or the world inside of you—unlock them and open them wide. Make it easy for Fortune to reach you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Many Cancerians harbor a chronic ache of melancholy about what they’re missing. The unavailable experience in question could be an adventure they wish they were having or an absent ally they long to be near or a goal they wish they had time to pursue. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that you can harness the chronic ache.

In fact, it’s your birthright as a Cancerian to do so. If you summon the willpower to pull yourself up out of the melancholy, you can turn its mild poison into a fuel that drives you to get at least some of what you’ve been missing.

Now is a favorable time to do just that.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) How will the next chapter of your story unfold? I suspect there are two possible scenarios. In one version, the abundance of choices overwhelms you. You get bogged down in an exciting but debilitating muddle, and become frazzled, frenetic and overwrought. In the other possible scenario, you navigate your way through the lavish freedom with finesse. Your intuition reveals exactly how to make good use of the fertile contradictions. You’re crafty, adaptable and effective. So which way will you go? How will the tale unfold? I think it’s completely up to you. Blind fate will have little to do with it. For best results, all you have to do is stay in close touch with the shining vision of what you really want.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) “To hell with my suffering,” wrote Arthur Rimbaud in his poem “May Banners.” I suggest you make that your mantra for now. Anytime you feel a sour thought impinging on your perceptions, say, “To hell with my suffering.” And then immediately follow it up with an expostulation from another Rimbaud poem, “It’s all too beautiful.” Be ruthless about this, Virgo. If you sense an imminent outbreak of pettiness, or if a critical voice in your head blurts out a curse, or if a pesky ghost nags you, simply say, “To hell with my suffering,” and then, “It’s all too beautiful.” In this way, you can take advantage of the fact that you now have more power over your emotional pain than usual.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) “I like people who unbalance me,” says Irish writer Colum

McCann. Normally I wouldn’t dream of encouraging you to make the same declaration, Libra. My instinct is to help you do everything necessary to maintain harmony. But now is one of those rare times when you can thrive on what happens when you become a bit tilted or uneven or irregular. That’s because the influences that unbalance you will be the same influences that tickle your fancy and charge your batteries and ring your bell and sizzle your bacon.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) The African Association was a 19th-century British group dedicated to exploring West Africa. Its members hoped to remedy Europeans’ ignorance about the area’s geography. In one of the Association’s most ambitious projects, it commissioned an adventurer named Henry Nicholls to discover the origin and to chart the course of the legendary Niger River. Nicholls and his crew set out by ship in their quest, traveling north up a river that emptied into the Gulf of Guinea. They didn’t realize, and never figured out, that they were already on the Niger River. I’m wondering if there’s a comparable situation going on in your life, Scorpio. You may be looking for something that you have already found.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Richard P. Feynman was a brilliant physicist who won a Nobel Prize in 1965 for his pioneering work in quantum electrodynamics. He also played the bongo drums and was a competent artist. But excessive pride was not a problem for him. “I’m smart enough to know that I’m dumb,” he testified. “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.”

I suggest you adopt him as your role model for the next two weeks, Sagittarius. All of us need periodic reminders that we’ve got a lot to learn, and this is your time. Be extra vigilant in protecting yourself from your own misinformation and misdirection.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Food connoisseur Anthony Bourdain has a TV show that enables him to travel the globe indulging in his love of exotic cuisine. He takes his sensual delights seriously. In Charleston, S.C., he was ecstatic to experience the flavorful bliss of soft-shell crab with lemon pasta and shaved bottarga. “Frankly,” he told his dining companion, “I’d slit my best friend’s throat for this.” Bourdain was exaggerating for comic effect, but I’m concerned you may actually feel that strongly about the gratifications that are almost within your grasp. I have no problem with you getting super-intense in pursuit of your enjoyment. But please stop short of taking extreme measures. You know why.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You may sometimes be drawn to people or places or ideas long before they can give you their gifts. Although you sense their potential value, you might have to ripen before you’ll be ready to receive their full bounty. Here’s how author Elias Canetti expressed it: “There are books that one has for twenty years without reading them, that one always keeps at hand, yet one carefully refrains from reading even a complete sentence. Then after twenty years, there comes a moment when suddenly, as though under a high compulsion, one cannot help taking in such a book from beginning to end, at one sitting: It is like a revelation.” I foresee a comparable transition happening for you, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) The Leaning Tower of Pisa is eight stories high, including its belfry, and tilts sideways at a four-degree angle. When builders started construction back in 1173, they laid a weak foundation in unstable soil, and the building has never stood straight since then. And yet it is the most lucrative tourist attraction in the city of Pisa, and one of the top ten in Italy. Its flaw is the source of its fame and glory. What’s the equivalent in your world, Pisces? Now is a favorable time to take new or extra advantage of something you consider imperfect or blemished.

Go to RealAstrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes. Audio horoscopes also available by phone at 877-873-4888 or 900-950-7700.

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