Holiday Delivery in Bozeman

Holiday Delivery in Bozeman

To ease the stress of any last minute shopping, we are offering a free home delivery service from December 21 through the 24th. Shop online at Outdoor Gift Works and we will wrap and deliver the package to addresses within a 5 mile radius of Bozeman. Place your order before 11 a.m. and we will guarantee delivery that day. Feel free to call us at 922-1290 for further information or if you have specific instructions for a particular order. We are here to help!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

From all of us here at Outdoor Gift Works, to you and yours, we wish you all the best for this holiday season and for the coming new year!

Earth Goddess Jewelry Tree

Do you know a closet, Earth Goddess? Maybe it is you?! You know, the under-appreciated goddess whose throne is constantly besieged by beloved family members or not-so-beloved roommates. Whose deity status faces constant attack by the harsh reality of day-to-day living. The Earth Goddess Jewelry Tree is your salvation, it is your hope, your shining beacon of light in the troubled, confused world known as your closet. Never again will you endlessly search for your earrings, only to find them in a glop of hand cream or toothpaste. Never again will you be late for a meeting because you had to unravel three necklaces that somehow worked themselves into one giant knot. Who knew that this simple earring tree could have such a profound effect on your life! :-)

While it may not be able to elevate you to true deity status, it will make your hectic mornings a little easier, keep your jewelry a little cleaner, and make your closet or bathroom look a little cooler. The design involves an earth goddess figure atop a tree with six or four arms, depending on size. The larger side has grooves to separate necklaces and the smaller size is perfect for bracelets and anklets. Not only that, but the tree is hand made from a studio located in the red rocks of Utah, so a little desert karma goes with each piece. The Earth Goddess Jewelry Tree provides a nice, daily reminder of the Earth Goddess in you, while keeping you organized and adding a special flair to your bathroom or closet.

For more gift ideas, CLICK HERE.

Craft Pronto Gloves

Craft Pronto Gloves

The Craft Pronto Gloves get the green light. I have been skiing with them for a couple of weeks now, and I can attest to their comfort and versatility. For comparison, I am not someone who gets cold easily, but that said, my hands do get cold occasionally and when they do, they are usually the first part of my body to get cold. Here is the rest of the review…

Gloves are like offensive linemen in football. They are very easy to take for granted, when they are doing their job well. Generally, the only times you think about them is when they aren’t working.

I must admit I have taken my Craft Pronto Gloves for granted. The first ski trip I used them on started out at zero degrees – it had been 13 below earlier. I did not bring any liners, so there would be no back up if they did not keep my fingers warm – it was either sink or swim. We were not skiing hard, so I was not keeping my fingers warm through exertion. The gloves performed admirably and I would recommend them highly to any Nordic enthusiast as an all-purpose ski glove. The gloves fit comfortably, and I probably have room in them for a liner if needed, but so far I haven’t felt the need. Since that first ski, the temperature ranges I’ve been using them in have been single digits and teens mostly, with one trip in the twenties -no problems. I can’t say a lot about these gloves besides the fact that they are comfortable and warm, because I forgot to think about them, which to me says it all.

click here to view product page

Scattered Rambling?

Six grouse landed at our office door while I was writing the last post. Is this an indictment of my writing style? If so, I apologize. :-)

Winter Skin Care

It is currently 10 degrees outside, and the overnight low was 2 below. What a perfect time to talk about cold weather skin protection!

Nordic skiers know that when the temperatures drop and the snow crystals get sharper, you need to need to wax your skis with harder waxes to “harden-off” your bases to help prevent the sharp crystals from sticking to the bases and slowing you down. To some extent, in cold weather, you want to do the same thing with your skin. As the temperatures get colder, think about layering heavier skin products onto your exposed skin for wind and cold protection. The following is an old tip that can be helpful at times.

Grease is good… for skin protection. When temperatures are in the teens and single digits, put a layer of sun block on your face to hydrate, protect and help seal up the pores of your skin. Then, put a layer of bag balm or petroleum jelly over the block in areas where there is not a lot of tissue – cheek bones, noses and chins. This additional layer helps block your skin from wind and cold exposure where your skin tissue is most vulnerable. It does not replace full coverage of your skin with clothing, but it does help, and there are times when full coverage is not practical. A little dab on the underside of your nose will also prevent chapping. Don’t want to put petroleum products on your skin – no problem. Use a natural foot balm or heavy body cream. Last winter I used a natural product; the Hand and Body Cream made by Yellowstone Bees (www.yellowstonebees.com). I used it under my sun block and then put it on over the sun block in the thin tissue areas – it worked really well.

Also, winter athletes – are you inflicted with really dry skin in the winter? Does the dry air, and the showers or hot tubs after workouts fry your skin? For me, it got to the point where I would completely avoid hot-tubs and my shins would dry out to such an extent that the itching and bleeding would keep me up at night. After being reluctant to try any products on my shins due to irritations and reactions, I finally used the Hand and Body cream last winter on my shins. The hand cream completely fixed my shins, and it seemed to have long lasting effects. I generally would only put it on 2 or 3 times a week, basically because I forgot about my shins and I’m not in the habit of using skin cream. It does have a buttery, greasy feel to it, but is also has a soothing, healthy feel to it. Unlike petroleum products, it felt good to slather it on – and my skin would absorb it and became more resilient (hydrated) because of it.

Got cracking heals due to the winter weather? My wife used Yellowstone Bees’ Foot Balm all last winter, and was very pleased with the results. She used to use bag balm, but the foot balm felt better, was a little lighter, and she felt her skin absorbed it better. Just remember to put on light socks after you put it on at night, to prevent any staining of your bed sheets.

I seem to have sensitive skin that reacts to the fragrances and other junk that many companies put in their products. As a result I wouldn’t do anything to try to alleviate my dry skin. Yellowstone Bees’ Hand and Body Cream completely solved the problem and now I don’t even think about my skin. Yellowstone Bees’ products are hand made using quality, natural ingredients, and you can feel the difference. They worked for me and I hope you will find them helpful as well. Many commercial products promote their grease-free composition, but when you need a product to deal with harsh winter conditions – grease is good.

Virtual demos...dressing for the moment...

We get a lot of questions regarding weight and warmth of apparel. To help give you real world answers to those questions we will be posting "moments" outdoors giving you temperatures and conditions, activity levels, clothes worn and an evaluation of how the clothes worked - essentially giving you a virtual demo! Stay tuned... we've had temps well below zero and we'll be posting those reports soon!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Thank you everyone for your support, messages and orders! It is a great help to hear from you, and it has been a blast working with you - Thank you.

Our site: www.outdoorgiftworks.com

Nordic Ski Festival

The Nordic Ski Festival in West Yellowstone reminds me of an extended Christmas Stroll for cross country skiers. Everyone has a smile on their face, people are psyched to be back on snow, there is a palpable excitement and anticipation to the season, and most importantly it is a fantastic social atmosphere where skiers can catch up with old friends and meet new ones from across the country.
With family and job schedules taking everyone in different directions, West Yellowstone offers a small town atmosphere where you can take a moment and spend some quality time with family and friends. The Dads took the kids sledding and swimming, so the girls could hit the trails (above).

Tony and I worked in Wyoming together about 20 years ago (yikes). The ski festival provides a great venue to catch up with old friends.
In addition to the miles of ski trails where you can lose yourself in the solitude and natural bliss both inside and outside of the park, the ski festival offers a great outdoor showroom where you can demo all the latest gear,
and watch some the best young cross country skiers duke it out in both sprint and classic races.
I think the thing that I enjoy most about the festival is seeing all of the families out there introducing a new generation to the exhileration of Nordic skiing. Seeing the grandparents out with the grandkids is probably the most inspirational for me.

To find out more about the festival go to http://www.rendezvousskitrails.com

We are Virtually Open!

Yahoo! We have opened our virtual doors and it is snowing! A solid 6 to 8 inches - sure lifts the spirits! Can’t wait to get down to West Yellowstone for some Nordic skiing this weekend.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our friends and family as well as to those of you who are new to this site. Our intent is to build a virtual place that reflects the spirit and the passions of those who enjoy the outdoors. We hope to create a place that is much more than gear reviews (although we will have those), a place where you can find a gift with depth, sustenance and a true appreciation of the natural world. It is also a place where you can find quality clothing to help get you out there, and some gear to make your trip more enjoyable. Be it athletic, recreational, creative, spiritual, meditative or academic Outdoor Gift Works will bring authentic items that truly reflect those qualities.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Our site: www.outdoorgiftworks.com

Outdoor Gift Works

Outdoor Gift Works is the culmination of thirty years of outdoor and backcountry experiences. Thirty years of observations, learning, adventures, memories and connections. These experiences have shaped who we are as a company and what we have chosen for our products and gifts. These experiences have one thing in common, and that is the restorative, replenishing quality of the outdoor experience. It is that quality, that emotional restorative connection, that we want to nurture, grow, share and replicate here through our collection of products and gifts. The emotional connection is what is remembered and meaningful over time. We want our gift selection to have those same qualities, so your connection with the important person in your life is just as meaningful. Our goal is to provide a convenient way to purchase quality, meaningful gifts for those who love the outdoors, and by doing so to earn your trust as a partner in giving and connecting. We look forward to working and connecting with you!

- Carmen & Doug McSpadden