Stories

We thought of the name Après Noon the way all the best ideas happen: drinking margaritas at a dive bar. We were at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson, WY, a local favorite watering hole. The margs were a well-earned reward for the backcountry ski adventure we had gone on that day. ...At least, that’s what we told ourselves. We had embarked on our “adventure” at close to 4 p.m. The run we chose, Chivers Ridge, is popular exactly because of its accessibility—only a 15-20 minute hike or skin up, then a quick ski down. Perfect for a couple of half-assed...

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by Après Noon

We floated the Grand Canyon, Now What?

Jonathan and my journals from floating the Grand Canyon are basically empty— mine has six entries, his has one. Despite the cases full of camera gear, Jonathan probably takes more photos in a day in the “real world” than he did in 16 days down here. One cannot possibly capture this canyon or this river in words or in photographs. You can try to capture moments, sure, and document specific feelings, but in its entirety the Grand Canyon remains as elusive and full of wonder as the day we left. We both noticed how tight-lipped people seemed about the Grand...

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by Après Noon

Baja California Road Trip in 2 Weeks

One cold wintery day very early in our relationship, Jonathan projected a YouTube video of a beach onto our TV screen and we pretended we were on vacation. We stumbled across photos of Baja, California, and dreamed of being there. Nineish months later, we crossed the border into Mexicali, on the Eastern side of the Baja peninsula. We had made it. It was our first big adventure together, and we had just two weeks to do it, home-to-home. We packed Jonathan’s Toyota Tacoma to the brim and pointed it south. I named the truck Delfín, Spanish for dolphin, in hopes...

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by Après Noon

Misadventures at Garnet Mountain Fire Tower

A secluded fire tower on a mountaintop, panoramic views, a wood stove to keep us warm, and all the alcohol we could drink—that’s the weekend we bargained for. It was not the weekend we got. Jonathan, the planner he is, booked Garnet Mountain Fire Tower nearly six months ago in anticipation of a romantic pre-birthday (mine) weekend. It had been a dream of his long before we even met. He knew everything about it. Everything except, apparently, how to get there. The old fire tower sits atop Garnet Mountain, and as the name suggests, is in the Gallatin Canyon between Bozeman...

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by Après Noon