Monday 04/04/2011

We have arrived home. We did 375 miles today. Felt like it was nothing. Final blog for this trip

Sunday 04/03/2011

It was another good travel day. We are in Washington, Pa afer travelling 475 miles today. The only problem we had was the WIND. We have about 375 miles to go. We should arrive home in the afterrnoon tomorrow.

Friday 04/01/2011

We started our trip back at 8am, and 521 miles later we arrived in Abilene Kansas, home of the Dwight D Eisenhower Library and Museum. Included on-site of the Library and Museum is the home of the former President. The town is built around this exhibit and  next weekend the Eisenhower Marathon will be held.

Thursday 03/31/2011

Thursday was decision day. With a check of the weather forecast along rt 70, we decided to leave one day early and start our trip home on Friday. We used Thursday to clean the condo and pack the car. It wasn't really a good skiing day. While it snowed, the temps were in the high 30s and the snow felt more like rain. We are looking to leave around 8am.

Wednesday 03/30/2011

Another 4 inches of snow this morning. We went to Keystone and found the slopes completely empty. The spring breakers have all gone home. The snow continued all day and again plenty of power trails.

Tuesday 03/29/2011

Another 10 inches of snow fell again last night on the ski slopes. Not only do we need to be aware of avalanches on the mountain but also in the driveways. Alot of snow hanging over the roofs. The day was sunny and cold, perfect conditions to go to Breckenridge. Only someof the trails were groomed so there was plenty of POWER. The day was crystal clear and you could see for miles.

Monday 03/28/2011

Winter is back. This morning we woke up to about 10 inches of new snow. It wasn't expected but it is welcome. The snow has continued thru the day and is expected to continue thru Thursday. Alot of POWER skiing. Typical spring conditions. This type of snow takes alot out of you.

Pictures from the town of Montezuma

Sunday 03/27/2011

This morning the snow came and continued thru mid day. Then the clouds parted and there was total sunshine. At that point we went snow shoeing. As quickly as the sun came out, moments later the clouds came back in and the snow returned. After snowshoeing, we went to Copper Mt to buy a 4 pass for next year. The pass is on sale until mid April. The tickets cost $139 for 4 days skiing. It is a bargain at $35 a day.

Saturday 03/26/2011

After another snowy morning, the sun came out and quickly melted the overnight snow. In the afternoon we took a ride to the town of Montezuma. Located about 10 miles East of Keystone Ski resort, the town is a former mining camp that sits at an elevation of 10,200 feet and has a populations of 42. Mailboxes are all positioned in one central location and delivery is twice a week. If you want isolation, then Montezuma is the town for you.

Friday 03/25/2011

It was another nice morning and another windy, cloudy and snowie afternoon. The weather keeps changing from hour to hour. Alot of the Spring Breakers are gone and the slopes have spring conditions. There is ice on most of the runs. You need to be very careful. This morning a Ski Instructor asked us to take 2 of her kids up on on the lifts. Once on the lifts, Glenna was afraid that the 5 and 6 year old would fall off. We held onto them and made a safe trip up. We skied til 1:30pm and then called it quits. Can't wait til tomorrow when we can just REST.

Wednesday/Thursday 03/23-03/24/2011

Spring one day, winter the next. Things change very fast in the mountains. Yesterday was a great skiing day. Sunshine, no wind and cold temps made the skiing as good as it can get. The snow cats did a wonderful job grooming all of the trails with many still having their trademark corduroy marks on the trails when we arrived. In the afternoon, we started to see boats arriving by trunk to be placed in the marina area. The area is getting ready for Spring.

However, today the weather changed again. It was sunny and cold in the morning but by noon, it was cloudy, windy and light snow. Not sure what the forecast is but for now it is winter.

Tuesday 03/22/2011

Winter is back in the mountains. Last night we received 3-4 inches of new snow. With the snow came much lower temps and very strong winds. The temp didn't get out of the 20s today and winds were blowing between 30-40 mph. We skied Keystone and watched the snow cats groom the trails through out the day.
It has been snowing lightly all day but the winds have been causing white-out conditions. Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny before another storm comes in for Thursday and Friday. Temps are going down to the single numbers tonight.

Monday 03/21/2011

They have started to ski without shirts on. Some of the snow boarders are showing off their skin. At the bottom of the lifts the snow continues to melt quickly and by 12noon, it is a pile of slush. Hard to ski thru. Today it was a sunny day but around 1pm, the wind came up and was blowing at 40 mph. We had enough and called it a day.

Sunday 03/20/2011

No new snow last night and the temps remained VERY mild. This morning after breakfast, we decided to go skiing. After making 1 run, we decided it wasn't SAFE to continue skiing. Besides the snow being VERY soft, the FLAT light, which is a grey on grey type of light, caused us to not see where we were going. If the sun was out it would have been OK. The clouds were hanging low over the ski area. We then went to the Keystone Nordic center and snow shooed. Not sure how long we will be able to snow shoe, the snow is melting fast on the trails. As we went along the trail, we saw a tree stump that had all types of dog tags on it. It was weird. We also saw black squirrels in the trees eating pine cones. I guess all of the animals are coming out. The non-ski mountains that are facing the sun are really losing their snow. The resorts have to keep up moving the snow around and doing a good grooming job.

Saturday 03/19/2011

Today was a lazy day. After a big breakfast we took a ride to the Cooper Ski area near Leadville. The ski area is no-trills with only 2 lifts and 1 T-bar. You can get 2 for 1 tickets for $42. This is a LOCALS only place. After visiting the ski area we travelled to Leadville which is an old mining town. It is located along the Continental Divide about 10, 240 feet above sea level. Not much going on in Leadville this weekend and very few people out on the streets. Because of the melting snow and mild temps, you have to watch out for small rock slides and rocks on the road. Looking forward to seeing the BIG MOON tonight. 

Friday 03/18/2011

Maybe it was the Luck of the Irish. We had 6 inches of snow last night. The morning brought a beautiful sunrise and mild temps. We skied Keystone and the first wave of Spring Breakers must have gone home. The slopes had very few people on them. As the sun rose in the sky, it warmed to the mid 40s on the slopes. We finished skiing around 1:30pm and went home for lunch. We will be going to the Arapaho Cafe for mussels and beer.