Monday 03/31/14

Another good travel day. Sunny and mild in the morning. Temps about 43 degrees to start. As we traveled across Indiana, Ohio, W.Virgina and into Pennsylvania the temp climbed into the low 60s. We are now in Bentleyville Pa.. The mileage for today was 430. This leaves us about 370 miles to go. If we leave around 8am, we should be home by 3pm. Lets hope so. The weather forecast for tomorrow is sunny and mild again.

Sunday 03/30/14

We started early this morning - 7am, because of the forecast of heavy winds and gusts developing by noon time. It was a beautiful morning with temps around 50. But the wind had started to pick up with gusts to 35 MPH already. But the good thing, as we started EAST, the winds weren't as bad. We traveled across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and into Indiana. The trip today was 557 miles, so we are more than 1/2 way home. Lets hope the weather holds and we should be in Pennsylvania tomorrow.

Saturday 03/29/14

The morning was cold and sunny with the temp at 7 degrees. We packed the remaining items and we started home at 7:30am. As we descended the mountain, we saw all of the weekend skiers heading up the mountain.. They were looking to enjoy all of the new snow that has fallen the last several days. Approaching Denver, the temps was at 32 degrees. and going to the 50s. AS we traveled along RT70, we saw cars fro Arkansas, Texas and Florida all going back from Spring Break. The other thing we saw, was a lot of tumble weed blowing across the highway.. After 520 miles we landed in Abiline Kansas where it was 65 degrees. We are going to a Mexican restaurant which is next door to our hotel

Friday 03/28/14 - Our last day in the mountains

This morning was a copy of yesterday. Overnight, we had another 8 inches of snow. And the snow has continued to fall into the afternoon. We are slowing bringing stuff over to our friend's house and packing the car. We are aiming for 3pm to have the car all packed. We will be going to the Araphoe Cafe for dinner and then go to bed early for a early start tomorrow. Hopefully the snow will stop soon and give the road crews time to plow and sand the roadways. We just need to get over the divide and to Georgetown and then it is clear sailing from there. Temps in Denver will be near 65 tomorrow. We are scheduled to spend tomorrow night in Abiline  Kansas.

Thursday 03/27/14

Overnight we received about 6 inches of new snow. It was a nice beginning to our last day of skiing. We went to Keystone for this last day. However, the snow wasn't the flaky kind. It was a wet heavy snow that made skiing thru it a challenge. After several runs, we called it a day because we didn't want to get injured. On the way down from the top, we saw many people just laying all over the trails. We knew we made the right decision. After lunch, we washed down our skies and started to put them away. It was a working afternoon getting things packed. Tomorrow, we will start to pack the car and bring stuff to our friends house for storage. The weather forecast for tonight and Friday calls for more snow. Lets hope Saturday is a GREAT travel day.

Wednesday 03/26/14

Forecast for heavy snow starting this afternoon. The morning started with overcast conditions so we went to Keystone to get some skiing in before the snow started. The low clouds caused the LIGHTING to be very bad. And when the snow clouds started to march to the mountains it was only a matter of time we called it a day. With this our last week, we wanted to go to Copper Mtn to see Mo Dixon  at JJ's one last time.

When we got there, the snow was really starting to come down. The snow cats had started to groom the slopes. And in the bar, people were drinking shots from the shot ski.

Tuesday 03/25/14

Another sunny and mild day for us. To get the best ski conditions you have to start early and finish up by 12:30pm. We went to Keystone to see if the crowds were better. And yes, for some reason, this resort wasn't as crowded. It was like pre-Spring Break. We had many of the runs to ourselves and the snow stayed firm until 1pm. The temps quickly rise into the low 40s after that. Skiing 3 hours was enough for us. We walked around the village, and then we left for home and had lunch. In the afternoon, we started to separate the items we are taking back with us and those we will be storing at our friends house. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday.

Monday 03/24/14

While it was a sunshine day, it was VERY WINDY. Leaving the parking lot we saw 4 or 5 cars all covered up. They were from Michigan and were being tested out here for high attitude. We went to Copper Mtn today and when we got to the parking lot we had to survive the high winds that was blowing dirt all over the place. This week is Spring Break for the schools in Colorado. The lift lines were long and the slopes crowded. Between the people and the wind it wasn't a nice ski day. In fact at the top of the mountains you could see that the snow was blown away. Many places it was like skiing on ice. In he afternoon, we went to the Dam Brewery to start saying GOODBYE. We may have to do this several times to catch everyone.

Sunday 03/23/14

It was a totally different morning from Saturday. Sunday it was sunny with cold temps and a little wind . After going to church, we decided to take a ride to Vail to see the crowds of people. When you enter the village, you are greeted by the overhead sign. Once pass the sign you see rocking chairs made of old skis . And then the ticket office where the daily rate of $139 hits your eye. Boy it has become VERY expensive. There were many families with small children hitting the slopes. At the end of the day, nothing better than to meet your friends at Garfinkels for some drinks.

Saturday 03/22/14

It was a snow day. The snow started falling around 10am and continued into the late afternoon. We received about 3 new inches and the mountain received over 5 inches. For us it wasn't a ski day so we did our weekend chores. We did our last load of wash and started to pack up the clothes we will not be needing any longer. Right now, we are scheduled to start our trip back next Saturday. We start our weather watch on Monday. The forecast for Sunday is sun and mild temps.

Friday 03/21/14

Another beautiful morning and off to Copper Mtn we went. I thought that the Spring Breakers would be on there way home, but no such luck. Maybe this will be the last weekend and we will be back to normal. Even with the crowds at the lift line, once we got up the mountain, they seem to have disappeared. It has been fun watching them. I learned several things. You can't squeeze 5 people on a lift that seats 4. You can't walk onto the ski bus with your skies sideways. You will only bounce off the doors and fall. You can't take off the ski boots without opening the buckles first. And there are many ways to get down from the top of the mountain, including walking down.

After skiing today we went went over to the Woodward Rec center located at Copper Mtn.. It is a training and fun center that focuses on learning snowboard trick jumping. Unfortunately while we were there, the place was empty. Skiing season is winding down especially with the mild temps (upper 40s). However, the forecast calls for snow tomorrow.

Thursday 03/20/14

Another full day of sunshine and warm temps. We went to Beaver Creek and the day started with icy trails and ended with Spring Skiing conditions as the temps reached into the high 40s. We started with taking the Landing lift which travels over very hilly terrain to Bachelor's Gulch. After several runs, we skied to the Arrowhead area of Beaver Creek. After having a lite lunch, we started the trip over to Beaver Creek Village. This is where we encountered the Spring conditions. It was a tough go because of the many people on the trails. However, we made it to the village in time to get our cookies from the King and Queen. Nothing better than cookies and beer at the end of the day listening to music on the patio.

Wednesday 03/20/14

This morning we had a trace of new snow before the clouds departed and sunshine appeared. We went to Copper Mtn and found 2-3 inches of snow. It was really nice guiding thru the soft snow. At the top of one of the lifts we came across a guided tour. The tour leaders were taking pictures of the people and giving a history lesson of the ski resort. We listened for a while and then headed back down to the restaurants at the base. It was a very mild day with hope that tomorrow is the same.

Tuesday 03/18/14

Surprise, Surprise, - We had about 4 inches of new snow overnight and it was still coming down in the morning. Besides the snow, it was cold (10 degrees) and very windy. We decided to wait a while and then make a decision to go skiing. About 10am, the snow had let up a little and we went Keystone. The parking lots were packed but the snow started to intensify and I think the people migrated inside the Mountain and Summit houses. We had the slopes to ourselves. In fact, one of the more favorite Blue run (Spring Dipper) was completely empty from top to bottom. Not one person did we see on this run. Another favorite, Jack Wacker, has 2 people on it. By 1pm, it was really snowing and we became very cold. That ended our day. The weather tomorrow calls for SUNSHINE.

Monday 03/17/14 - Happy St Patrick's Day

It was another beautiful morning. As the sun started to rise, the clouds became red. It was cold and windy and a great ski morning. We went to Copper Mt. where this week the Spring Breakers were from the mid-west. When we skied past the beginners lift, you saw an increase in the number of beginners getting onto the lift. Lets hope they stay on the beginner trails. Because today is St Patrick's Day, after skiing we went to Breckenridge to Burke and Riley's to listen to Irish music and drink GREEN beer. After 1 hour, we returned home and went to the Dam Brewery for corn beef and cabbage. Even Benny was dressed up for St Pat's.