A Day of Sledding

New Year's Day
The children did a lot of sledding in the small space at THOJAL, but they were anxious to move up to something more challenging. Besides checking out Breckenridge, we checked out a park in town that had been recommended. It was pretty dark, but it appeared the slope angled off into a drop that ended in the river. Pass on that one.

Joan, the innkeeper at THOJAL, checked around for information from the locals. They would surely know where the best, and cheapest, places were. Sure enough, we were directed to a "road just beyond the stables. If you go too far, you will see a large farm." We headed out with great assurance, found a stable, turned in, ended up in someone's driveway. They weren't home. As we headed back out, we stopped a car on the way into the driveway and asked for further directions.

We ended up at the local hill near Cottonwood Springs. As the, mostly, children would sled down the hill, the adults would watch for traffic and stop cars or sledders, whichever was more endangered. It was a typical small town gathering and just right for our group. There were some uncommonly good sledders there, indicating many trips to the site.

The children had to learn to watch for rocks, stumps, etc.

Em loved the sledding more than the skiing the previous day.

D.A.  tried it out several times.

Chas really took to it and enjoyed it!

Junior contemplated the scene and was enticed to ride down with his dad.

Eventually, he opted for a stick which became known as the "Sister Whacker" for obvious reasons.

We headed back to THOJAL for our traditional black-eyed peas, ham, and cornbread. Now, we are sure to have good luck all year long!

Reconnaissance for Sledding

DDs - Kr and ABW and I decided to run up to Breckenridge to check out a sledding area for tomorrow's Great Adventure. In doing that, we had our own Great Adventure. It wasn't intended, but those adventures are usually the most exciting.
Gunner volunteered to watch all 5 children while we "quickly checked out the area."
We left about 4:15 PM. That was the first mistake. It gets dark here about 5 PM.
The drive up was uneventful along Highway 285, then we turned onto Hwy 9 toward Breckeridge. The road quickly became smaller, snowpacked and icy in places. Add in several hairpin turns and two backseat drivers and....well, you get the idea.

Photo by ABW

We arrived in Breckenridge at dark-thirty. It was a magical atmosphere with twinkling lights, bumper-to-bumper taffic, and wall-to-wall people. We carefully drove toward our destination which Nellie, the GPS Navigation System, had directed us. We dodged people slipping on the ice, cars anxious to be out of town but sitting in traffic instead, and snowpacked roads to arrive in a parking lot at a local school. It was hard to see what exactly was available in the dark, but we unanimously decided  there must be sledding closer at hand, in an area that did not stress us out to get there.
After checking the map and ascertaining the way we had come was still the most expedient way to leave, we joined the line of cars and managed to work our way back onto Hwy 9. I was not looking forward to the drive. The girls were equally apprehensive, but we found a common thread of humor to see us through the experience. I looked at the speed limit signs as we inched down the mountain. Recommended speeds were 35-45 mph; I was doing 10-20. It looked like a long trip home. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to be driving the same way, so there was no one riding my bumper and rushing me. Well, almost no one. As we rounded one curve and came upon one fairly straight stretch, the pick-up that had been hugging my bumper, gunned his motor and sped ahead into the darkness. I could not believe my eyes!
I wrestled with my vision of the road ahead which held various terrors for us - "black ice," gusts of wind, narrow road, sheer cliffs, and the occasional cloud of gusting snowflakes that severly limited visibility. Through it all, our sense of humor prevailed! ABW attempted to notify Gunner that getting home would take a little longer than expected, but there was no cell service. It was only 5:30 p.m., but it seemed more like 10. We laughed through it all, even as we discovered we all needed a potty stop and the fuel light in my car was glowing bright yellow announcing its need for replenishing. We watched the car's temperature guage slowly drop from a balmy 24 degrees to -2 degrees in less than 5 miles. While we crept along, the girls pulled out a video camera to document our predicament.
We finally reached Highway 285 for the final part of the trip home and found it pleasantly uneventful. We will be sledding close to THOJAL on New Year's Day.

New Year's Eve Day 2009

After an extended breakfast, our group, now numbering 12, headed for Nathrop, Colorado. It is only about 10 minutes down the road. I wanted to show the children and grandchilden where their great grandfather went to school. The building is privately owned now. It seems to be in greater disrepair than the last time I saw it and the big climbing tree in front has been split by weather or lightning. A relative's house across the street, still stands in silent testimony of the courage of the pioneers.
After our sightseeing visit, we lost 3 more of our group. DS, Tia, and GS-W, left, planning to take Highway 285 to Denver. They will spend the night there and take in a concert of some sort before they fly back to Houston on NYD. Our group is down to nine, all active and interested in what comes next.
We journeyed a few more miles into Salida and found some neat shops. Most were having sales and we picked up a few bargains.
Heading back to THOJAL, we stopped by City Market to replenish our supplies, did I mention how nice all the people are here? Menus and Great Adventures are now planned for the rest of our time here. I think we girls are going to check out the site for tomorrow's planned sledding.

30 December 2009 - Skiing

DD-Ki, L and Ky left for St. Louis today. That is the simple version. Actually, Ki was not feeling well so she did not eat or drink so she could avoid being sick while she was traveling. Poor kid. We loaded her, her luggage, and 2 small children into my "sleigh" for the trip to the Denver Airport, leaving 5 hours before her flight time. We figured 3 hours travel time (from Buena Vista to Colorado Springs to Denver) and 2 hour hours for check-in. We made it right on time. All the security rules meant I had to leave DD at the curb, with stroller, 2 car seats, 3 large bags, and 2 small children. She is a strong, resourceful woman and, in spite of not feeling well, maintained her composure and shepherded her bunch safely home. I had tucked pastries and fruit into the children's backpacks for "just in case."
I enjoyed the drive home, it was so peaceful and the scenery was beautiful. I took Highway 285 out of Denver, all the way to Buena Vista. It was about 70 milles shorter, but curvy and slower posted speed limits. The roads were very clear, traffic not heavy, and the snow-covered mountains and trees were gorgeous.
Just DS and GS-W were waiting at THOJAL, with DS on tap to grill as soon as everyone was back.
The rest of the crew? The remaining 4 adults and 5 children went skiing. They picked up discount tickets for the lift, in town, and mistook Ski Cooper for Copper Mtn Ski area. No problem, a quick lunch, and they all headed back down the road.
Ski Cooper is billed as being "family friendly" and less trafficked than some of the more well-known areas. Our group gave glowing reviews. The clerks at the ski rental shop, still talking about the onslaught of our group, were patient and had a good sense of humor. DD-Kr waited with those children who dropped out of the ski pool early, plying them with hot chocolate and french fries. The rest spent their time on the slopes, slowly graduating from Bunny Hill to colored diamonds. Now we have definite skiers and non-skiers in the group.
Dinner was waiting for our tired skiers. After taking turns in the hot tub, they were ready to turn in. DDs-Kr, Ko, and I chatted until the wee hours.

A Visit to St. Elmo

The resident odds right now are 7 adults and eight children. Still, it seems to take us forever to get organized and get out in the mornings. We packed a (large) picnic lunch, gathered all the warm clothes we could find, stopped at the City Market for lunch meat, then (finally) headed out for our "Adventure of the Day." We made our first stop about 5 miles down the road, when W barfed in the lead car and our convoy came to a screeching halt. The diagnosis was "too much OJ at breakfast." A quick clean-up and we were off again.

DH and I had visited St Elmo, Colorado, a couple of times, but always in the summer. This is winter and there is snow everywhere. It will be interesting to go back and compare the summer photos with these winter ones. Today, we were assured the road would be clear, and it was. I was very comfortable driving on the hard packed snow, although not as fast as the locals(?) were traveling to and fro.

St Elmo is an old mining town. It looks as if people just walked out one day and left it, intact.

There is still merchandise in the General Store and "stuff" in several other buildings.

The little schoolhouse has been refurbished.

There are several private residences in the town and, although there has been restoration, some of the buildings date from the late 1800's. The fence sets some of the residential area apart.

The undisturbed snow was quite deep and signs requested we remain on the street. Fortunately, there were not too many visitors, so the children took their sleds to the street and had quite a hilarious time.

Junior kept trying to improve on the age-old methods of sledding. Chas tried to perfect the running start.Twelve year-old Em figured she had the biggest snowball ever, even though she was not allowed to use it.
For some reason, Abs liked to be "one" with the snow - packing it around her.....

...and making snow angels.

Lacking picnic facilities, we had a tailgate party. No one wanted to take off all those snow clothes, climb back in the car, drive to some unknown possible picnic spot, get out and re-dress, for lunch, then repeat the whole procedure.
But Ky had the best seat in the house.

Afterward, we wended our way back to THOJAL, hot chocolate, and home made cookies.