Happy New Year!!!

 

GREETINGS 2014 FROM THE SLOPES!!

 

 

If "selfies" are all the rage, I need some practice.

 

 

 

Jim and Stown proving they are a bit faster than me by hopping on the chair in front.

 

Finally! 

A nice picture of all of us at the top of the mountain.

Thanks, kind Texan tourist.

 

 

Hope 2014 brings you many smiles and you are surrounded by those you love!!

Workin' to figure it out...

 Like Aspen trying to figure out the smell of the wild flower, I am trying to figure out the new changes to my blog layout /format / set-up / etc.  I can't seem to understand why this picture uploaded horizontally when it is a vertical picture in my files.  I also can't seem to figure out how to rotate it. 

Oh well, on to bigger and better things....

Like Jim snowboarding in July!!

(Sunday 24 July 2011)

Washed down from above in an avalanche.

A testimony to how dangerous this area can be during the winter.

 A little snow-skating for Stown, after he hiked up and took some turns on his snowboard.

Doug was giving me a good luck kiss before I headed down the mountain. 

Thanks for not actually licking me, Doug.

Well, I will have a smile as big as this if I publish this post and it looks right and I can continue updating my blog regularly and effortlessly.

If it doesn't work out right, frustration may get the best of me again and the future posts may be few and far between.  As for now, I am crossing my fingers and hitting "publish"...

Girls Weekend!!!

At the beginning of March I took a couple days to visit my friend in Creede Colorado, which is just over two hours east of Durango over Wolf Creek pass. Wolf Creek is also home to one of the highest ski areas.

Due to the steep mountain terrain the road goes through the mountain - such a beautiful drive!

Main Street, Creede (pardon the window glare - it's not the sun)

Atlas, I arrived in Creede. This itty bitty mountain mining town sits at the base of a canyon. The town kind of dead ends where the canyon gets narrow. The road is sort of paved sort of dirt and not much is open in the off season.....

Sam!

...but leave it to Sam to find a Mardi Gras fundraiser going on that night. We partied in the underground community center with live music and $4 hurricanes! Sam was a gracious hostess and offered to be the designated driver so I could enjoy those hurricanes. We moved the festivities to her house and stayed up way too late talkin' girl stuff.

Delia tried to seek refuse under the coffee table but my camera found her - she seemed less than thrilled with the flash.

Me & Sam

We finally made it up to Wolf Creek mid-morning the next day. True to the picture, I was feeling a bit upside down from the night before.

With over 18 inches of fresh snow in the last two days, we decided to hike to fresh uncrowded powder. Breaking a sweat definitely helped break the hang over.

The top of the world!!

Hey Sam, Look over here!!

What a great day! We rode the open slopes, played in the trees and hiked for epic runs. We didn't take many pictures, I guess we were too busy playing. Isn't that always the case?

We may have arrived mid-morning but we were some of the last to leave. We caught the last lift chair and were the last off the slopes.

The next morning I went back to take pictures of the town. The community center is in the side of the mountain in a series of old mining caves. It made for amazing acoustics for the band during the fundraiser.

Creede's Fire Department is also located in a cave.

"Even though Mother Earth News called Creede one of the best places to live in North America, only 300 or so folks have taken them up on the offer. With a tax base like that, city planners knew it wasn't going to be easy to raise the money for a new fire station. Still, since the entire town burned to the ground just three years after it was established in 1889, it was something they felt forced to propose.



Luckily, the innovative little town lifted itself above convention and came up with the novel idea of building their fire station into the side of a cliff. Using explosives rather than lumber, they blasted out 45 - degree-angle rock stalls for the volunteer fire department's two fire trucks and inadvertently opened up a whole new trickle of revenue. In fact, so many tourists came to see the World's Only Underground Firehouse ( the local 4-H Club gives tours) that they eventually decided to blast another tourist attraction - an underground mining museum." **

"Multiplying loaves and fishes is one thing. But in Creede, with a population of less than 800, the world famous repertory theater manages to sell 19,000 tickets every season. How do they do that? By winning kudos from everyone from USA Today (their reviewer dubbed Creede Repertory Theater "one of the 10 greatest places to see lights way off Broadway") to Rocky Mountain News, who said, "No wonder the Denver Post calls it a 'a miracle in the mountains.'"**

I can't wait until summer when we can go back as a family to visit Sam and take in some of the amazing sights of this adorable little mountain hideaway.


**Quoted from Colorado Curiosities by Pam Grout 2006




Sometimes you just gotta get away and have a little girly time!!

Scenes of Winter

Doug and Regina

Snowshoeing with friends and dogs

Jim and Will and Burgers and Beer

Tailgate BBQ parties at the ski resort

March Morning Snow #1 (all taken in our yard)

March Morning Snow #2

March Morning Snow #3

March Morning Snow #4

Me & Ed (Hawaiian Day)

Volunteering at the ski resort with the Adaptive Sports Association

Stown

Volunteering at ASA


Winter brings so many days of activities it's hard to find the time to take pictures or post new blog stories. Those of you who follow us know that every year we fall of the map until the snow starts to melt. So I hope you enjoyed the brief recap of the last few months.

LOVE TO ALL.

An Expensive Day on the Slopes

So what happens when two snowboarders collide at high speeds, at just the right angle and one of them has a really expensive board and the other has a more affordable board?

The lesser of the two boards is sliced like butter with a hot knife!!

Cut five inches straight down the nose of the board... (Top view)

(Bottom view - note the metal edge cut through and torn back)

And the structure explodes in a delaminated mess.

Well, that's what happens when you go fast.

We were all at the mountain on Sunday, I was teaching with ASA (Adaptive Sports Association) and Jim and Stown were out playing. They came into the school were I was having lunch with my student and were all excited and stammering out bits of a story and most of what I caught was that Stown crashed really hard and exploded his nose. Being a mom I start to freak out a bit until I notice nothing is wrong with his nose. That's when they made it clear that it was the nose of his board.

As the story goes, Jim and Stown were on the backside of the mountain carving down a run when Stown collided with Jim (both were blindsided due to their riding styles). The nose of Stown's board hit the tail of Jim's board with such force and at just the right angle that it was cut in half, while Jim's board sustained only a minor scratch. They managed to ride to the front of the mountain and get to the local board shop at the base area. The thought of repair was beyond consideration due to the damage, if it was a car it would have been "totalled". Jim got a screaming deal on a used board out of the rental fleet ($600 new but we paid a fraction of that). They mounted up the bindings and took it for a test ride. By time they got to me, the deal was done and Stown ended up with a new board that day.

Life happens and sometimes it cost money. I am just glad no one was injured.

Be safe and go fast!!

Holidaze...

December always seems to go so fast. It is such a busy time at work with long hours and late nights and the shorter daylight hours don't help. However, I am thankful for all that December brings - good cheer, visits from family, dinner parties, etc.

Doug helped get us in the Christmas spirit, as Aspen watched with a bit of worry fearful she was next for the dreaded antlers.

Grandma Brandon and Stown decorated our small Christmas "bush". Perhaps I should have told them the ornaments were not edible.

Snug and warm in his new "Yooper" hat,
Stown was ready to settle in for a long winter's nap.

Grandpops and Willy

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without time spent on the slopes.

Grandma looking stylish in all her toasty warm layers.

Stown hanging and catching a break while the others catch up.

My In-Laws come every year for a week at Christmas time. We eat, laugh, ski and play games. I look forward to this week every year. I guess we all had such a great time that we forgot to take many pictures.

May your Family Time be well spent!!

Where Have We Been?!

Well, the snow is starting to melt and we are coming back to reality. The question remains... Where have we been for the past few months?! March brought a visit from Stown to celebrate his 13th birthday! (Whoa! I'm the mother of a teenager!) His birthday is in February, however we celebrated with him in March. We flew him to Durango on a Wednesday night and he stayed until Sunday. Jim and I both took vacation while he was here. No work and all play made for a great time. We spent three days on the slopes together. After all the eating out and snowboarding at high altitude, Stown returned to California to rest and catch up in school.
Between work and sleep, Jim and I spend every Sunday together on the slopes. Usually, we are tearing down the mountain creating high speed havoc and on occasion stopping in the trees for a snack break. On my other day off (if I get one), I spend it volunteering with the Adaptive Sports Center teaching skiing to those with disabilities.

On Jim's other day off, he can be found with his best friend Will throwing smooth tricks and mad style across the slopes. If you ever catch a glimpse of these two flying down the mountain together, stop and stare! They weave in and out so close together that they look like the Blue Angels on snowboards. I have to admit that sometimes when they click boards and bump off each other but continue like nothing happened it makes me a bit nervous. Yet, knowing that they both have crazy skills, I know they can pull it off with flair.

Stown isn't the only birthday in February. Aspen (on the left) turned 3 and Doug (on the right) turned 1. We took them in for a birthday weigh in at the vet and Doug topped the scales at 90 lbs!! He's a big boy full of muscle. Aspen, however, got put on a diet because her lard butt was 76lbs... almost 20lbs heavier than last summer when she got fixed. I suppose getting a puppy, my job change (longer hours) and shorter days in the winter didn't help. The good news is that the days are getting longer which means more hikes, we've cut back on her food and at the 30 day check in she had lost over 3 lbs. The vet was happy with her progress.

(Not the best picture, but trying to get these two to both sit still is not easy.)

Last but not least... Pablo!

We love entertaining friends for dinner - or having entertaining friends for dinner!

Pablo is quite the character. Here he's making his famous mushrooms and sporting a very flattering apron. What a figure, Pablo!!

Well, that's the gist of why we haven't returned phone calls, emails or letters.
We can't help that when the ski season starts we disappear.
If anything was truly important, I figure people will call twice or leave a message.
We love our family and friends and those of you that love us understand.
As the season comes to close, we will be coming back to the reality of emails and phones.

But not for too long...'cause as the roads and trails dry out - motorcycles, mountain bikes and running shoes will find their way out of the shed!!

Love to all and may you find your happiness outside!!

Our Son - STOWN EVEREST!!!

Stown is a typical 12 1/2 year old boy, always goofing off for the camera! He's the most wonderful son a parent could hope for and has such a vivid imagination. An incredibly intelligent kid who can converse with adults then turn around and do something so childlike you want to pull your hair out. He's tall, taking after his mother, so there are times you forget he's only a kid. He's very responsible for his age and therefore is given quite a bit of rope to hang himself if he chooses. Stown lives with his father in Lakewood California and comes here to visit us for holidays and summer vacation. Jim and I love having him here and showing him all the outdoor activities that Colorado has to offer. This past summer we went camping in the high country outside of Silverton for a couple of nights to escape the craziness of town over the 4th of July weekend.

Stown was a trooper! He carried all his own gear - tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, clothes and water. Jim and I split up the cookware and food. Remembering that Stown lives basically at sea level and we were hiking up over 12,000 feet, we didn't want to make it miserable for the kid. We hiked slow, taking rest breaks and snacking along the way. We made our way up the mountain in a slow but steady pace, until we came to a place to break camp just before a nasty wind and rain storm blew in. We all huddled into Stown's tent to pass the time playing "Pass the Pigs". After the storm moved on we went out to explore, play and collect snow to melt for water.


Stown was impressed with the amount of snow still around in July. After an early dinner, he build a Snow Goddess. Decorating her with wild flowers and a grass skirt, she stood strong against the night. Like a protector, she watched over our camp while we slept, then began to melt away in the morning sun.

On the last day, we headed back to the truck where we had left our snowboarding gear. Jim hiked up to a long chute to get a good steep run in. Stown, the dogs and I stayed low to catch more shorter runs. As Stown laced up Doug stood guard, then would follow him down the mountain loping through the snow until they both crashed.

Stown had a great summer in 2008. We also went to the Grand Canyon and spend time with friends in Big Bear Lake California. Stown took kayak lessons here in Durango on the Animas river for two weeks and got his first job. He worked for a local Old West Photography studio, where he would dress up and pass out fliers on the sidewalk. While Jim and I worked during the day, Stown was free to "roam" town. He had a pass to the local rec. center, his bike and his cell phone. He was responsible for keeping in touch with us and being at one of our offices at certain times of the day. Stown made sure he was never late to work and was always accountable for his where abouts. We are fortunate that Durango is such a kid friendly town and everything is connected by a beautiful bike path. Stown has thought about the idea of moving here to live with us. He is his own person and we respect his choices. He has experienced more freedom and responsibility during his visits here than he does back in the city in California. Stown is fast becoming a young man and growing into himself. He will soon make choices that we as parents may not agree with but need to try to understand and be supportive of. It is our job to give him guidance and provide him with the means necessary to make educated decisions, not crucify him for making what we may see as the wrong choice.

Unfortunately, our situation it seems to be the story of the country mouse and the city mouse. Each place has something to offer, it is just deciding which you like better. As for Jim and I, we will always be country mice.