Skiing Corkscrew

Today I hiked with my husband.  We hardly ever ski together anymore and as he left the house at 6:40am, to get the kids to the bus, he yelled up to me to "get your ski gear on and be ready to hike something!" 
I sat on the couch, drinking my coffee and made my mind up that I was too tired.  Then, a minute later, I decided that I was lame and needed to get some exercise.  No excuses. 
He got home a half hour later and I was eating eggs, all dressed in my ski clothes, ready to go.  I think he was a little blown away that I got my act together at 7 in the morning.  Never happens. 
We left and drove down to our mailbox in Montezuma, parked the car on main street and started hiking.  The temp was 18 degrees and it was partly cloudy.  After 30 minutes, I shed my jacket, hat, and put on my spring gloves.  We got up to treeline and I felt great.  Jack kept on hiking and hiking, as usual.  Every time I thought we were there, he would crank out another 10 minutes.  FINALLY!!!  THE TOP!!!  It took us 2 hours.  Time to take off our skins and look at the situation and pick our lines and ski.  But first, we had to wait for a sunspot.  So, now, we waited.  The sun finally did come through the clouds and I went first.  The one thing about skiing Corkscrew is that once you get in there you are completely committed.  If it slides you are going with it and as I made my first turn I was just praying that the snow was stable and it wasn't going to crack on me.  I knew if it did sluff, it would be a surface sluff and I could go straight, as we talked about, and I would hopefully not fall.  I made 3 or 4 turns and the skiing was incredible.  I mean INCREDIBLE!!!
I was getting face shots every turn and the snow was perfect.  I felt safe and sound and happy.   I came around the corner and waited for Jack and he came down skiing getting face shots and hooting and hollering.  It was crazy good. 
When we got to the bottom we were blown away and both of us were looking up at what we had just skied.  We skied aprox. 3200 feet of fresh, deep, untracked powder.  Just the two of us.  What a day.  And, we were home by 11:30am.  I had to meet some friends for lunch in Frisco and called to let them know I was running a little late.  I got showered and dressed in 20 minutes and started driving to Frisco.  It was snowing so hard by the time I crossed the damn road.  It was surreal. 

I still can't believe we have these mountains literally out our front, back and side doors.   We are so lucky to get to enjoy them all year round.  Can't wait for mountain bike season.  I kept thinking of it as we were hiking today.  It's hard to see that summer ever comes.  We are still buried in snow. 

Skiing Cadillac

On Friday a friend and I went for a hike/ski.  She called me the night before and asked if I wanted to ski Cadillac.  Cadillac is this big, huge blue run in the sky.  The only way to ski it is to hike up to it.  Off we went.  I got ready the night before since we were going to get started at 8am.  It was 8:45 when we started hiking but it was cold so we weren't worried that by the time we got up to the top it would be too warm which would make the skiing more difficult. 
It's a steep hike, in many areas and a great workout.  We stopped for lunch after about an hour and a half and drank some water and ate some food.  I did manage to snap a few pictures. 
We got to the top around 2 hours later and took off our skins and put on our goggles and skied the most creamy, soft, fresh snow and the smile on my face lasted all day. 
What a great ski and the hike is well worth the ski. 

I love Montezuma.

Las Vegas, Day-3

It was our last full day and night in Vegas and we were looking forward to seeing something new.  Jack called the Mandalay Bay to ask if we could use the pool even though we couldn't check in until 3.  They said sure so we nixed the idea of driving to see the Hoover Dam.  We drove to the Mandalay Bay and decided to try to check in and it was 11:30.  We did and we couldn't believe how nice the hotel was.  The girls were extremely excited to be there.  We found our room and it was gorgeous.  We literally could have spent the day in the room it was so nice.  But, we didn't.  We went to the pool and it was sunny and hot and the girls and Jack played in the water for hours.  We lounged in the lazy river, caught the waves in the wave pool and, of course, people watched. 
After hours in the sun and water we went back to the room and enjoyed the room with a view.  I took a nap and the girls watched some TV and then we all got ready to walk the strip.  We hadn't yet done anything on the strip so we were looking forward to it.  Since the Mandalay Bay is at the very South end we knew we were going to walk and walk.  And we did.  There is always something to see in Vegas and we sure did get our fill.  We made it to the Bellagio and saw two fountain shows which were beautiful.  We were all tired and our feet were killing us because our flip flops were rubbing our feet raw.  Jordan, Hannah and I had to keep rotating flip flops because we were all in such pain.  Time for the walk back and it was a fun night. 
We all slept like babies and the next morning I woke up before the sun came up over the horizon.  I had left the drapes open so I could see the view and just then the sun came up and Jack woke up too and we watched the sunrise from the 19th floor laying in bed.  It was beautiful.
We packed up and drove away from Vegas with not even one penny gambled away. 
The drive was uneventful and we arrived back home having to put the car in 4WD to make it up the driveway in 2 feet of snow.  We ended up getting stuck at  the top of the driveway and had to walk up to the house in knee deep snow in our flip flops. 
Welcome home and we are back in winter.  80 degrees never felt so nice. 

Las Vegas- Day 2

Jack, naturally, got out of bed super early and left for some coffee.  The girls and I slept in and with the wooden blinds closed tightly it was dark and we could have slept until noon.  Jack came back with coffee for me too and we all slowly woke up looking out at the clear, warm skies.  We talked about what to do and see and I had so many of the free things planned out.  Jack really wanted to walk down to the Stratosphere.  Since no one brought any shoes except flip flops I knew the walk was at least 2 miles one way and even though that doesn't seem like far, for our tender, non-broken in for flip flop feet, it was.  We got in the car and drove and had breakfast at Denny's.  It was fine and the waiter was funny and I picked his brain on all sorts of stuff.  We had that waiter bond.
We walked from Denny's to the Stratosphere and like I thought, we had to pay to get to the top.  It wasn't cheap and we are so we weren't about to splurge nearly $20/person for a view of the city.  The girls were upset but they got over it quickly because they know that we just aren't the family that can pay for that and whining will definitely not fix that problem.  Back to the car and we drove to Walmart instead because we were on a budget and needed food for the hotel room so we wouldn't spend any more money on food.  Except for dinner.  But, with 2 for one's who cares? 
The Bussy's obviously don't get much in the culture scene because Walmart, in Las Vegas, was sure entertaining for us. 
We got back to the hotel after awhile and got on our suits and went to the pool.  Books in hand, it was relaxing and warm.  I slept and Jack read.  The girls got into a humungous fight and thank God they left the pool area.  We had our peace at last.  They ended up in the room.  After a couple of hours of getting sun we went back to the room and I took a nap.  It was great!!
Time for dinner and another good time on the street.  With all of the street shows, homeless people, and just everyday people watching we sure did enjoy ourselves.  We had dinner at a place called Hennessey's and the food was good.  We loved it.  We all got a good nights sleep and I was excited to get to the next destination the next day.  It was sure going to be a treat and I saved the best for last.  I didn't tell them where we were going but I did tell them we were moving for our last night. 
I love surprises.

Las Vegas

For a city I once could only take for a day and a half I sure have a different attitude about Las Vegas. 

Our kids have been on spring break since last Friday and we had no plans to do anything.  Looking out at all of the snow I was becoming more and more antsy to get them some sun and warmth.  A good dose of vitamin D was just the answer.  Jack had unburied the camper and hauled the bikes out of our shed.  Except, Hannah still doesn't have a bike.  We gave it away last year before we left for Costa Rica because she had outgrown it.  I kept thinking of where we were going to go camping and even though it sounded great I knew it would be cold in the morning and night and I really didn't want to put on my down jacket, not even once.  Plus, Jack mentioned, casually, that the heater wasn't working in the camper.  I don't think so. 
I got on the computer and started looking for cheap hotel rooms in Las Vegas.  There were many.  Now, I had to convince Jack and the girls that the Bussys needed a good road trip.  I had stashed most of my cash tip money from the winter so I could justify the cost.  Which was not much considering I booked a hotel for 2 nights at $34.00/night for the 4 of us.  I sold my trip to the family, not easily mind you, but it sold.  We loaded the car at 8p.m. Monday night and drove.  Jack didn't want to drive the whole way on Tuesday so we drove to Grand Junction and got a good nights sleep. 
The next day we made it to Las Vegas and it was 77 degrees when we arrived. 
After spending a few hours on the computer at home looking for a place to stay I booked a room at a hotel downtown.  I figured we had never explored the downtown area.  Plus, I splurged and booked us a room on the strip for our last night.  I knew we could only handle the strip for so long. 
We found our hotel, The California, which was in a great location a block off of Fremont street.  We checked into our clean, non-smoking room and I was pleasantly surprised. It didn't smell like rank smoke, the hotel was clean, the room was big and bright and nice and the beds were wonderful.  So far so good. After getting off on the 13th floor I had my doubts.  I'm not kidding.  We were on the 13th floor.  Superstitious??  Not really. 
We decided to find the pool and get on our suits and lounge.  After all, we came here for the sun and warmth.  It was now 80 degrees after all.  The pool was a disappointment though.  It was ice cold and small but we enjoyed the pool  anyway and of course, the girls went swimming regardless of the temp.  It was nice. 
We went back to the room and got ready to explore.  I had done some research on the downtown area and I liked the thought of the Fremont Street Experience.  Not knowing exactly what that was we would soon find out. We walked the block to the pedestrian mall and it was all action.  Not many people but for us coming straight from Montezuma, the lights, shops, casino's, it was action.  We walked up and down and found a restaurant that was serving 2 for one dinners and decided on that for dinner.  We were still a couple of hours from dinner time so back to the room for a bit.  We all chilled and explored our hotel and found shops and the arcade and the 9 different restaurants and we were getting the lay of the land.   We were now ready for dinner and walked back to Fremont Street and things had changed.  It was happening.  There were people everywhere and street shows anywhere you looked and it was going on.  We were the rubber neck family and loving it.  We ate dinner and as we were walking back it was 3 minutes to 8 and Jack got a feeling something was going to happen.  Hundreds of people were standing, no one was walking anymore and all of a sudden  all of the casinos turned off their lights and the music started playing.  Coming out of the speakers throughout the mall was Don McLeans, American Pie.  It was in sync to the video that ran the entire distance of Fremont Street and the video was showing above our heads.  It was incredible.  If you have never seen this, go downtown and experience that.  It was so cool and I couldn't get over the fact that we were watching this amazing show.  We were just in awe over this.  Everyone was.
The Bussys were warm and happy. 

Complaining

It's Sunday and my kids are on spring break.  I'm feeling sorry for ourselves that we aren't in Disneyland or at the beach or camping or in Costa Rica.  It's snowing out right now and it's not even 30 degrees.  Wah!!
I got home from work at around midnight last night and today I slept in.  Unfortunately, I had to wake up to a snowmobile reving up its engine and it sounded sick.  For hours this guy was out there and after listening to the sick pig I got my coat on and boots and walked down the driveway to see what the deal was.  Here is this guy stuck in my yard with his fancy schmancy sled and there are 5 or so guys down there digging and shoveling.  I climbed up on the snowbank and threw up my hands clearly pissed off at these bozo's.  I told them I was sick of the noise and to get out of my yard.  What a bitch, is what they were thinking.  Well, after a huge winter and not wanting winter anymore I AM a bitch and would like not to hear anymore machines stuck in my yard.  So, I'm sure they all took a pee in my driveway and left.  I didn't stick around to see.  But I did leave my ginormous dog outside to intimidate them.  I love big dogs.  Except, my big dog barfed 3 times on our carpet at 7am this morning so that was actually the first thing I heard when I woke up this morning. 
I got on facebook to catch up on some reading, pathetic, I know, and it's depressing reading that so and so's family is flying South, such and such is in San Diego, blah blah blah is at the beach.  Woe is me.
Time to get over it and go out and shovel off some snow from the deck. 
Keystone closes today so the season is definitely ending.  After today we should see things really slow down.  This seems to have been the season that never ended.  Work is still busy and that's a good thing. 
Happy snowy day and for those of you who are at the beach, get over yourselves. 

April 1st. No Kidding

This is the bottom of our driveway

Leaving the driveway.   This is the garage on the right. 

View from the front door.