Durango, Day 5

We started out the morning with an early breakfast of leftover gooey butter cake (thanks, K!), then piled in the car (no dogs allowed) and headed out to Mesa Verde.

We stopped at the visitor's center near the park entrance, then at the museum near Spruce Tree House.  K served as an excellent tour guide during our stop at Spruce Tree House, enlightening all of us about the history and culture of the ancestral Puebloans who lived there.  And though they weren't there for long in the grand scheme of things (700 years or so), they built quite a place.

K, inside a kiva

There's lots of great history about Spruce Tree House, the other sites, and the people who lived there, on the National Park Service website.

We also made a stop at an overlook which allowed us a lovely view of Cliff Palace, but unfortunately the site was closed to visitors for the winter.

We made our last stop at a scenic overlook looking out from Mesa Verde, and what a view it was!

Not far from Mesa Verde is a little town called Mancos (or Marcos, depending on which sign you believe).  We stopped for lunch at an adorable (though not particularly speedy) spot called the Absolute Bakery and Cafe where, in addition to a delicious roasted veggie quiche, you can also buy used books!

Upon our return to Durango, we commenced shopping.  Collectively we had some belated Christmas gifts, travel gifts, and other goodies to gather, so we tromped up and down Main Avenue poking in the shops.  We were all delightfully surprised by the Derailed Pour House, which serves up some awfully tasty cocktails if you ask nicely.

When that was all done, we headed back to the house to prepare a dinner of overdue lamb kebabs, mashed potato casserole, and Brussels sprouts.  Delish!  And Dad and D looked quite stunning in their new getups!

Goal #52

Goal #52: thank you notes.

What a great Christmas and birthday!  Now it's my turn to let everyone know how much I appreciate their thoughtfulness.

Recap of goal #51: there have been a bunch of vacation posts so far, and there are a couple more to come -- so if you wonder whether I've been relaxing, read those.  It's true, I have spent an hour or two a day staying on top of things at the office.  Fun?  Not really.  But will it make my return to work much smoother?  You bet.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Durango, Day 4 -- Christmas!

As I mentioned, I slept in on Christmas.  I was the last one of our little crew of five to arise, and I did so just in time to open presents.  Riches abound!  That was followed by a bacon-and-egg brunch and a flurry of cookie dough-making, before D and I headed off for another day on the slopes.  Dad took K&J on a hike, as they prefer not to rocket down the side of a mountain on greased boards.  I don't know what's wrong with them.

We met up with T's family again, and all told there were 14 of us skiing that day.  Even on the six-pack lift we needed 3 chairs!  Quite a crew.  For the most part though, everyone stayed together really well, and only split up on the very last run when it was getting cold and people were getting tired.

The view leaving Purgatory

The combination of the "red cliffs" and the snow creates really cool striped mountainsides.

Our big plan for Christmas dinner was to make lamb kebabs, but everyone was so full from earlier in the day and from our many plates of cheese and crackers that Dad, D, K&J ended up watching The Heat while I made the aforementioned cookies and made some "Merry Christmas" phone calls. I had planned on joining them at some point, but I so enjoyed my conversations that I just never got around to the movie.  I'll have to get back to it.

And then, by the time the movie was over, everyone was too tired to worry about making the kebabs, so we just had leftover (but still delicious) tamales and pasole.  Merry Christmas to us!

Bedtime for Keystone

Durango, Day 3

I woke up late, to a breakfast of sausage, eggs, sweet rolls, and coffee. What a great start!  As per usual when I'm on vacation, I lazed around for a couple of hours -- worked, blogged, wrapped presents -- before getting ready to head off on a hike.  The poor dogs have been cooped up in the house for two days, and they needed to burn some energy.

So off we went to Dalla Mountain Park, and along our route, I found some rocks to climb, hiking boots and all!  (Lots of bouldering right along the trail, in case anyone is looking for some.)

The dogs were covered with mud from the belly down by the end of our four or five miles, so we had to hose them off when we got home, and that was a pathetic sight if ever you've seen one.  Once they dried off, they found a cozy rug on which to have a snooze.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon prepping for the big Christmas Eve party.  This was essentially the family party of T (of tandem ski fame), and he has quite a family.  He is one of five kids, four of whom were in attendance, along with spouses and kids, where appropriate.  And the parents of the whole brood.  Dad and D ordered a bunch of tamales from Zia's, D made pasole, and T's clan brought some additions of their own.  Booze flowed freely and generally it was a good party.  And then I slept.  And slept.  And slept.

Durango, Day 2

I had my second Christmas of the year on my second morning in Durango (my first Christmas was the previous Friday with V&S).  Because the visiting crew in D-town was moving in and out on different schedules, Christmas celebrations had to be timed and separated accordingly.   The present opening was followed by a breakfast of bacon and eggs, which was followed by a flurry of activity in an attempt to get out of the house and up on the mountain.

This was my first time skiing at Purgatory, and there was a group of seven who went.  I've never skied with a group that big before, and it's an interesting but fun exercise (probably aided by the fact that they are all cool people - with a less fun group, I would imagine the whole outing could have been a disaster).

I took one pretty awesome fall of my own accord, and then expressed a death wish by suggesting/agreeing to ride tandem for our last little run.  Here's how this happened:

I was the only one of the crew who rented gear, so when we returned it at the base of the lift, everyone else was still kitted up.  We took a little break post-equipment return for beer or margaritas (as the mood suited) and french fries.  So after a drink or two, it occurred to us that there was still one little chute we had to run down in order to get to the lower parking lots, where we had parked our cars.  I had no skis.  So why not just hop on the back of someone else's skis for the ride down?  The lucky victim was T, E's husband, who is a good skier and a bit of a daredevil.  Really, what could go wrong?  (Never you mind that there is actually a shuttle.  What fun is that?)

Off we go!

To T's credit, he navigated the first (and toughest) part of the route quite well.  We had to make a big turn, run under a bridge, then make two sharp turns to the left and right.  No problem.  But after that, it's a long, steady downhill grade, and my feet were about as wide apart as they could get.  For T it was no problem: (1) he's taller, and (2) his feet were in the middle of the skis, not on the tails.  So I did the most gymnastic thing I could, which was get a feel for the ground underneath me and just tuck into a somersault.

The bailout, from a distance.

T managed to stay upright even as I bailed, and because I came up laughing, we decided it would be a great idea to try again.  This time, we made it to the bottom.

Somehow, miraculously, we're each still in one piece.

I finished off the afternoon with an hour or so of work while noshing on cheese and crackers and sipping some delicious pinot noir.  Dinner, which I neglected to photograph, was venison loin with wild rice and Brussels sprouts, followed by dessert of pecan pie and vanilla ice cream.

Keys, enjoying all the attention he can get

Roxy, enjoying having no attention at all

And last but not least, a late-night run to the airport to pick up K and J who came in from Florida.

Merry Christmas to All!

What I Watched -- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Somehow, I sort of missed the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  I mean, I knew it came out, but it was just off my radar.  Too busy doing other things, I guess.  Then I made tentative plans to go see the second one, so it was a happy coincidence that the first one was on TV the other night.

I have to say, it wasn't as bad as I expected.  I've heard some pretty negative reviews of The Desolation of Smaug, and I think in my mixed-up brain, those carried over to An Unexpected Journey.  It certainly wasn't up to the same standard as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but for us Tolkien junkies, it was enjoyable.

(Aside: written correctly, wouldn't it be "...up to the same standard as the The Lord of the Rings trilogy..."?  But that seems redundant.)

Bottom line: if you're into hobbits and elves and wizards and whatnot, it's probably worth it for you.  I am seriously lamenting the absence of Aragorn though.

Durango, Day 1

After a very early flight out of St. Louis, a layover in Denver, and a final commuter flight, much of which I don't remember because I was sound asleep, I arrived in Durango.  On the way home from the airport, we made a stop at Bread for some delicious goodies, we noshed for a bit then headed to The Pine Needle to outfit me in my new ski kit (aka slightly early Christmas present).

I did a bit of work that afternoon (just a bit), read a few pages of my book, showed my face at a bonfire and had some snacks, then came home and settled in for the evening in front of the TV to watch a movie (more on that later).

Not bad for a first day.

Goal #51

Goal #51: break time!

This week is Christmas.  There will be good times with family, much less work than usual, food, drink, and general merriment.  I am going to enjoy it.

Recap of goal #50: cookies were delivered to 3 lucky recipients, but unfortunately for E, she was not one of them.  Sorry E!

By way of further updated, my foot is doing better.  I ventured out without my boot for the first time yesterday (to the symphony).  I did just fine without it, but was walking carefully so as not to do any additional damage.  However, by the end of the evening, the foot was not feeling super hot.