The new car came, finally, on Monday with the title following on Tuesday and the roof rack parts coming late in the day on Wednedsay. Whew! I was starting to get a little stressed that everything wasn't going to come together…but it did. We loaded the car up Wednesday and headed out of town bright and early on Thursday. We pulled into Pagosa Springs after a quick 8 hour car ride. It felt so quick because our new car is so luxuriously quiet, at least compared to Vinny. (Speaking of which, Vinny's new owner is hoping to come and pick him up next weekend!)
Pagosa Springs greeted us with a spectacular view - and I do mean it's spectacular. The San Juan Mountain Range at sunset. Wow. I can see why the area is growing so quick - there are sub-divisions everywhere. The town itself is on a river with hot springs so it smells a bit like sulphur and it's got a Western Cowboy feel to it.
We stayed in a subdivision outside of town, near a couple of lakes. The house had a view of the lakes and the mountains further in the vista and it was spectacular. With two bedrooms, a kitchen and a small living area, it was a great place for us to stay for the weekend. The house even had a sledding hill behind the house with just enough snow for us to make a worthy sledding run.
Friday we headed up to Wolf Creek Ski area, which boasts the most snow in Colorado, for a gorgeous day of skiing. I have to admit I was a little concerned that it was a holiday weekend and there was little snow in town and on the pass. I wasn't excited about long lift lines and hard compact snow. It turns out I had nothing to be concerned about. The lines were nothing compared to lift lines in the Seattle area on a holiday weekend and the snow, which was compacted, was great for staying on the blue and green runs. The kids were off and running after two or three runs and it was hard for me to keep up with them half way through the day, especially when they started going through the woods. By 4pm we were all tuckered out and headed home, where hot chili was waiting for us in the crock pot.
Saturday Balin needed to work so the kids and I went downtown to the hot springs and went for a swim. It was a little "rustic" and not in the hip, cool way. More like, hmmm…has this been updated since the 70's. The warm water soothed away any thoughts of discomfort, even though the kids couldn't quite get over the smell. Afterwards we had lunch at a great little bakery, where Balin was working, picked him up and headed back to the house. The kids played in the snow all afternoon and watched movies.
The next day we headed back up to the mountain where we skied another full day. The lift lines were nonexistent once again and we were happy to be out in the cold, beautiful air again. The kids got so good at getting off the lift, going straight down the hill and then getting on the lift again for another run, Balin and I let them go down two runs by themselves while we had a drink in the lodge at the top of the ski run. So we're sitting there enjoying ourselves when we see Sam come up the the chair lift and get off, all by himself. "Where's Perrin?" Sam continues down the hill without stopping or checking in. We finish our drinks in a single gulp, grab our helmets and gloves and head out to find PepeLou. I decided to sit at the top of the run where the chair lift empties out, while Balin heads down the slope looking for Perrin. Sam comes up the lift again and I ask him, "Where's your sister, who you're supposed to be skiing with?" "I don't know," Sam says. Are you kidding? Nice work Sam. I tell him to go find her and he shrugs his shoulders and says, "ok" and off he goes. Shortly thereafter Balin comes up the lift and he's got Pepe next to him. Turns out Sam and Perrin ran into each other and while Perrin was getting her skis back on, Sam took off down the hill and didn't wait for her at the bottom. The next run Balin and Sam had a "heart to heart" about what skiing with your sister looks like. Lesson learned by all.
Monday we packed ourselves back up and headed farther East to Denver where we are staying with Balin's brother Charlie and his fiancé Lindsey in Golden. They have a lovely house and a dog that the kids are really enjoying. A bit later today we'll head to the Taylor's house in Morrison for an afternoon of playing and having dinner together. I'm really looking forward to it. Tomorrow the kids and I are heading to the Natural Science Museum in Denver - after they get their school work done of course.
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