Thanks Everyone!

Thanks for all the wonderful birthday wish comments, emails and special delivery cards (thanks Mom). I had a great day exploring Old Town Albuquerque and an excellent authentic New Mexico dinner at the Church Street Cafe. All and all a birthday that will live long in my memories.

New Mexico

As planned, we left the condo early on Friday morning and headed Southeast toward Colorado Springs enjoying another pleasant drive and arriving before the forecasted snow started to fall.We spent the day visiting nearby Manitou Springs, a small town famous for the many natural springs that flow through the town. We tasted all the waters, but didn’t really find any of them to our liking! On Saturday morning, we took some time to tour the Garden of the Gods. This amazing vertical rock feature which was formed as a result of shifting rock as the Rockies came into being was awe inspiring and we had a great hike up and around many of the formations. The semi-arid conditions and cactuses framed against the back-ground of snow topped Pikes Peak (14,000ft elevation) was an interesting contradiction and we certainly enjoyed the views.

Later on Saturday, we had the opportunity to learn a hard lesson, as we travelled toward Taos, New Mexico. Thankfully, God was with us and everything turned out okay, but we certainly had a couple of hair-raising moments and I for one, have nails chewed down to the quick! Since our destination of Ojo Calliente was several miles South and West of Taos, we travelled down a small rural highway for most of the journey. Somewhere in the foothills in the middle of nowhere, we realized that we were going to require some gas before arriving at our destination and were alarmed to discover that there were no gas stations within 35 miles and no cell signal either! To deal with this issue, we quickly re-routed and headed into Taos. Unfortunately, it was dusk and our GPS made two mistakes. First, it did not realize that one of the local highways had been closed due to a rockslide and second, it didn’t mention that the alternate route required a descent into the gorge down a gravel road with multiple switchbacks. Thankfully, Shawn’s calm nature and confident driving skills prevailed and we arrived to a parking lot at the bottom where we decided to spend the night. The next morning, our salvation arrived in the form of a sweet old ranger who not only provided us with a 5-gallon jug of gas, but also directions out of the gorge. It was a night we won’t soon forget!


Today, we spent our day at Ojo Calliente, a natural mineral springs turned spa just south of Taos on the way to Sante Fe. It was an amazing experience! The day started with a hike up into the foothills where the kids marvelled at the rock and the cactuses. We then registered and entered into the spa where there were six different mineral pools with temperatures ranging from 80-106 degrees. Although kids under 12 were only permitted in the main pool, Braedon’s height allowed him full access all day and we were able to smuggle Riley in for a chance in each pool by the end of the afternoon. Topped off with a massage for each of us and it was a spectacular day! Tonight, after a day in the New Mexico sun with temperatures around 70 degrees, we are resting back at our trailer and enjoying a movie before turning in for an early night.

Tomorrow, for Shawn’s birthday, we are heading into Albuquerque. The plan is to visit the Natural History Museum and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Centre before heading out for a typical New Mexico dinner (green and red chile here we come!).

We are having an amazing time, but miss you all!

Tammy

Powder! Powder! Powder!

On our last day of skiing and riding here we finally got the snow I came to Colorado for. 9 inches of the deep white stuff at mid mountain and more like 15 inches in the upper bowl! I had the ride of my life that I’ve been waiting for almost as long as I’ve been snowboarding. The moguls that were hard and crunchy the day before were full up with fresh snow. Riley was buried almost to the waist when he dropped in the low spots between moguls. We were able to ride the bowl right from the top and drop into Snow White. At one point I went over 300m in fresh powder without crossing a single track! It was like riding a cloud. On our 2nd run from the top, Riley almost got lost in the cloud…he fell in some particularly deep powder and couldn’t get up…Tammy went to the rescue and almost got herself buried as well, it was quite the entertaining show!


Today we are packing up and loading for an early morning start tomorrow. Since we earned a free night with our stays on the way out here, the plan is to stay one night in the Comfort Inn in Manitou Springs (near Colorado Springs) and take in the hot spring and scenery and then to move on to Taos, New Mexico on Saturday. Colorado is an amazing place and the kids are already asking when we can come back, but with tired legs and 3 weeks on the slopes, I think everyone is ready for our next adventure!

Here is a quick video of Tammy experiencing snow up to her knees for the first time:


Shawn

PS. Check out the latest Top 10 List!

The TOP of the World!

I feel like I have been starting each entry with the phrase “It has been a wonderful few days…!”, but that seems to be the reality living up here in the Colorado mountains! While I am writing this, Shawn and Riley have headed out for a bike ride. The sun is out, the weather is spring-like and we are all enjoying a much needed day off.

Saturday morning dawned cold and windy, but since it was our last day at Breckenridge with Jordan and Mark, we decided to take the three lifts to the highest peak of the mountain and conquer the “300 Steps”. For those of you who don’t know, Breckenridge boasts the highest lift-serviced terrain in North America, and despite the fact that the elevation at the top of the Imperial lift is nearly 13,00ft, locals and die hards climb the last 300 ft to the top of Peak 8 and then enter the ungroomed expert runs off the top. We had been told that it is a humbling experience, but the spectacular view and great runs make it well worth the climb. Unfortunately, with the biting cold and blowing wind, Shawn and I made the decision about 50ft up that I would bring Braedon and Riley back down to the warming hut. Jordan, Mark and Shawn struggled through the conditions, the low oxygen levels, and the climb to brave the summit and had a nice moment together at the top before heading back down to warm up. Shawn, who never seems to feel the cold, crossed the ridge line and descended into the backcountry bowls solo and arrived at the warming hut almost 45 minutes later feeling a little numb, but in awe of the terrain and the beauty of the mountain. Here is a 360 degree view from the top of the peak:



Sunday we headed over to Keystone and had an amazing day on the slopes. Jordan, Mark and Riley hung out all day in Area 51, the biggest and most well equipped terrain park that any of us has ever seen. Jordan and Mark both tried and landed the tricks that they have been working on at Woodward and we are really proud of both of them for their efforts. Jordan’s Cork5 and Mark’s Rodeo were spectacular! Shawn, Braedon and I had an adventure of our very own with the opportunity to Cat ski up to the highest elevations. I have to confess to feeling a little trepidation as we boarded the snow cat and headed into the backcountry, but the experience is something we will never forget! Shawn’s snowboard seemed to easily plow through the natural snow, but with the recent freeze Braedon and I kept busting through the crust into powder every time we made a turn and it certainly took a little time to get comfortable. Once we managed to get our skis under us, however, we enjoyed every minute of the run and were a little disappointed to find that the cat was done for the day and we didn’t have time for a second attempt.

Today Jordan and Mark left us to return to Barrie. We were all feeling a little sad to see them go, but are so glad that they joined us and have been a part of our adventure. Tomorrow, we are heading to Vail and Wednesday to Beaver Creek and then we will begin to pack up to move on to our next stops in New Mexico. We are certainly lovin’ every minute and cannot wait to see what lies around the next corner!

Tammy :)

Flippin' Out at Woodward!

After a seriously snowy start to the day, this afternoon the gang is back at Woodward at Copper Mountain and the boys are enthusiastically attacking the snowflex. As usual, Jordan and Mark are consistently out-doing each other trick for trick and inspiring Riley to try many new things. Unfortunately, after almost 15 days on the slopes, Braedon's back muscles are very sore and at our request has had to miss today's drop-in. At this moment, he and Shawn are enjoying having wireless Internet and taking some downtime.

At the end of today's session, we are all going out for fondue at a local restaurant. We are all very excited and looking forward to a great meal!

Tammy :)

Here are Jordan and Mark flippin' out:





Here is Riley gettin' speed:

Slopes, jumps and silliness!

It has been a wonderful couple of days! Monday night, Jordan, Mark and Riley completed the One Hit Wonder at The Barn and thrilled us with their nerve, jumps and tricks. Braedon, who sat back and watched that night, decided to do the same program on Tuesday night and amazed us with his willingness to ski off the cliff and drop 10ft into the foam, and his reluctance to leave after 4 hours! The other boys completed a second drop-in, getting faster, higher and trying more and more challenging maneuvers. The staff at Woodward were really great and were able to give all the boys video feedback after each trick, as well as great advice that they could apply right away. We will be returning for another drop-in on Friday and will update with more pics. It is a truly fabulous environment and we all wish there was something similar back home!

Here is a video of Riley going off the biggest drop into the foam pit:



As Jordan and Mark mentioned in their blog last night, our condo has been invaded by the phenonmenon of the TALL TEES. While I cannot truly convey the impact that they have had nor the constant ache in my stomach from laughing so hard, I can post a simple picture of the fools in all their glory for you to see. Clearly Shawn and I are WAY too old to appreciate the style of the TALL TEES, but watching the littler boys emulate the older ones has been a wonderful experience over the past couple days. Just imagine...tonight the group of 6 went out for pie to a quiet family restaurant in Silverthorne. All 4 boys were dressed in TALL TEES down to their knees and sported pyjama pants underneath. This look, coupled with a ridiculous and seemingly spontaneous erruption of a (butterfly?) hand gesture that Mark picked up from some guy on the Internet and we certainly got lots of looks and lots of laughs. The funniest moment happened when our waitress unknowingly asked Riley why his t-shirt was bigger than he was and instead of answering we all just about fell off our chairs. I am sure they all thought we were crazy, but we had a great time!

Tammy

Thuggin' Aint Easy! - A Guest Post by Mark & Jordan

We got to Colorado on Friday, we were pretty tired. Braedon and Tammy met us at the airport. We drove to Beaver Creek to meet Shawn and Riley. We ate free cookies at the bottom of the mountain, but didn’t get to shred :(

We came home and went to bed early so we could ride Breckenridge the next day. When we got to Breck we were excited to get to the terrain park. We got separated and couldn’t find it for 5 runs. The park was worth it when we got there :)

The next day we went to Keystone, where we hit up the gnarly park. One of the best parks we have ever been to. We tried to front board a kink rail every single run, we fell almost every time. Riley and Shawn decided to leave because of the weather. We had to find our own way home. The shuttle took us almost 3 hours to get back :(

We are too good at snowboarding so we decided to ski at A-Basin. We did some nice thuggin’ jumps. After spending the day there we spent the afternoon at Woodward. We got to ride snowflex into a foam pit. It was the craziest place evah. The next day we took a day off of riding so we could buy TALL TEES that were 3XL whad up. Then we wrote our blog… We are going to go to Woodward again tonight, then Breck again tomorrow :) Yeye.

Mark & Jordan

This is Jordan flipping out into the foam:


This is Mark trickin' out on the snowflex:


This is Jordan ridin' a rail:


This is Mark on the snow:

And then there were six...

Yesterday marked the arrival of the first set of guests joining us on our journey as Braedon and I picked up our nephew Jordan and his friend Mark from the Eagle Vail Airport. After grabbing bags, we made the short drive from the airport to Beaver Creek to meet up with Riley and Shawn. Although I am sure that both Jordan and Mark enjoyed the free cookies at 3pm, sitting in the sun and watching skiers and boarders come down the mountain seemed to be a form of torture for them both as they eagerly anticipated their own mountain adventures!

Today the entire crew loaded up and spent a great day at Breckenridge. Riley was really excited to be able to spend a full day with Mark and Jordan in the terrain parks and was very proud of some of the new tricks he is learning with their help and support. Shawn and I spent a relaxing day on blue-black runs and even took some time out for a massage. Since Braedon was with us today, he also got to have a massage and now tells us that he wants to come with us every time we go! After a long day on the slopes we all relaxed at the condo and spent some much needed time in the hot tubs. Shawn and the kids are looking forward to their first day at Keystone tomorrow. I, on the other hand, will be taking the day off to hang out with my friend Bonita who was my teaching partner in Aurora about 5 years ago and now lives here is Colordo. It should be a great day!

Tammy

Time for a rest!

On Monday, we celebrated Riley’s 9th birthday here in the mountains. At his request, he and Shawn took a 2-hour snowmobile tour across the continental divide between two mountain peaks at 12,800ft. Although they encountered blizzard conditions and could barely see the sled in front of them, they both had a great time. Riley enjoyed the change to ride a mini snowmobile on the meadow. The rest of the day was pretty low key with a visit to the pool and hot tub and a trip to the movies to see Alice and Wonderland. The kids loved the movie and it was nice to do something familiar and relaxing!

Yesterday, we had our first day that did not go as planned. After taking Monday off, we were all excited to spend another day on the slopes and rose early for our first day at Vail. It was a beautiful drive and since there had been some fresh snow, conditions were lovely. Unfortunately, with the exception of Riley who seems to have limitless energy, the rest of us had legs that just refused to work. After riding a snow machine for two hours with Riley in front, Shawn’s knees were very sore. My feet and ankles, unused to the moguls, had still not recovered from camp and decided to cramp up after only a couple runs and Braedon simply seemed to lack energy. As a result, we called it a day after only a couple hours and headed home to soak in the hot tub, where friendly locals told us that at this altitude, two days of skiing followed by one day of rest is the magical combination. I think we will take that advice from now on!

After our experience yesterday, we decided to take today as a day of rest, and rather than simply hang out, indulged Braedon’s idea to visit the Country Boy Mine.It was a grand adventure! After arriving and signing up for the tour, we were able to walk 1400ft down an add-it into an old gold mine that was in operation from the late 1800s until 1948. The walls were solid rock, the planked floors wet and muddy, and the exceptional tour guide was able to explain to us all about what it must have been like to mine 10 hours a day by the light of a single candle. To our horror, we found out that due to black lung disease, the average life span of a hard rock miner at the turn of the century was only about 5 years! The kids had an amazing time, even getting to play the role of “Blast Monkeys”, and ended the tour by panning for gold. Unfortunately, we didn’t strike it rich, but it was a great day nonetheless.

Tomorrow, we head to Beaver Creek for our first day of skiing. The locals tell us that it is a very family oriented resort, with the reputation of having the best customer service in North America, and a tradition of serving hot fresh-baked cookies to visitors each day at 3pm. It should be a great day!

Tammy

Loving every minute!

It has been another incredible few days! Other than the afternoon on Friday when we had some serious snow and wind, the skies have been blue and the days have been perfect for skiing with temperatures hovering around +1 with lots of sun. Breckenridge is a truly amazing ski resort. There is a huge variety of terrain, staggeringly gorgeous views everywhere you look, efficient lifts, great staff, and white powdery snow covering every surface. The views from the peak are so truly breathtaking that even the word Wow! does not seem sufficient. We have all been on the slopes now for four days and although our legs are tired, this is definitely shaping up to be our best ski trip ever – with the exception of having our friends and family with us like we usually do in Vermont.

For the past three days, I have been busy in my Working Women’s Ski Camp. Although I was feeling a little nervous when I started, I could not have asked for a better instructor and absolutely loved the women in my group. Things got started on Friday morning with my instructor Kalin reviewing the questionnaires that we completed and completing some on mountain evaluations and then gathering our group to make a plan for the weekend and to set some goals. Not surprising to me, she suggested that what I needed to work on most was learning to plant my poles and improve my stance. What was surprising (and a little terrifying), however, is that her suggestion for how to accomplish this was for our group to learn to ski moguls! Even though my past experience had taught me that I not only xski really poorly in moguls, but that they hurt my knees and hips, the 72 year old in my group said she was game, so with trepidation I agreed to give it a try. To make a long story short, this afternoon, after three full days of instruction and lots of practice, I skied a double black diamond mogul run from the highest peak of the mountain and enjoyed every minute of it! I am officially a convert and will definitely be playing in the bumps for the rest of the trip and continuing to work on my forward stance and not dropping my right pole.

As a fabulous bonus to this great weekend, I was also able to score an amazing deal on a new pair of powder skis. After struggling to carve and slide in the bumps on Friday, I was admiring the width of my instructor’s skis, and learned that she has just purchased new ones and wanted to sell them. She let me demo them today, and I was really pleased with the difference they made to my skiing and confidence. Since she gets a great discount on her equipment, she sold them to me for a great price and I will now get to enjoy them for the rest of the trip. Braedon is pleased as well, as he can now upgrade to my old skis whenever he is ready for more length.

The rest of our family have also had a great few days. Shawn has been amazing. Not only has he carted the boys back and forth between Frisco and Breckenridge, but he also handled all the day to day details while I got to enjoy my time at camp and has willingly taken care of me each evening as I rested my tired legs. Braedon has had some huge triumphs on the slopes and Riley had an amazing time at his Park and Pipe camp (for details, please check out their blogs).

Tammy

Braedon and I have had some great times the last two days while Tammy and Riley were busy in their respective programs. The conditions have been amazing! Breckenridge has some wonderful terrain and this is only the first of the 5 hills and we’re looking forward to checking out.

While it’s been wonderful, we’ve had a couple mishaps…from minor falls /close calls on chairlifts, lost children and poor run choices….it’s kept it exciting. Braedon and Riley both had minor incidents getting on or off the chair, thankfully neither with any permanent damage. I lost Braedon for a few minutes yesterday when he fell a bit behind and made a wrong turn. He handled it wonderfully, made his way back to the bottom of the chair we just went up and went straight to guest services. He stayed calm and made great choices….unlike me today. We had done a few runs already from the top of the mountain so we decided to check out the other side of the mountain, a nice big bowl. Unfortunately, it was much more challenging than it looked from a distance and once we were in there was no turning back. Braedon was a real trooper and pushed his way through some of the toughest terrain I’ve ever been on.

Shawn

Hittin' the Hill

It has been an eventful couple of days! Yesterday, after proactively purchasing a pair of auto socks (like chains for traction) just in case, we headed out of Denver on I-70 toward Frisco, Colorado. Thankfully the weather continued to cooperate with dry roads and sunny conditions, but the climb from 5200ft to almost 11000ft was quite a challenge for our little MPV. As we travelled up the nearly unbelievable incline, we all marvelled at the sight of mountains on all four sides. The boys particularly enjoyed the two tunnels that passed directly through the mountains and kept their eyes on the altimeter on our GPS as we climbed higher and higher. Although Shawn and I were a little concerned about how the trailer would pull through the mountains, the drive went very well with two minor exceptions. First, we encountered a short section of vertical highway where the roadway was reduced to only one lane and as you can imagine, we were not very fast and were a little embarrassed to be holding up loaded tractor trailers! Second, we blew the fuse that controls our signals and had to fix it today. All in all, it was not a bad drive.

After driving for about 90 minutes, we arrived at our condo in the quaint town of Frisco and were pleasantly surprised to find it even nicer than it appeared in the pictures we viewed online. The clubhouse in particular is really lovely with a large indoor pool and hot tub, as well as an additional two outdoor hot tubs. After spending some time unloading, we were all happy to take some time to relax and enjoy the beautiful view right outside our patio.

Today was another beautiful sunny day and we were delighted to spend our first day on the slopes. After a relaxing morning, we spent about 4 ½ hours this afternoon at Breckenridge and absolutely loved the terrain and the views! Although we are all feeling the altitude and have had some minor headaches, after a first run where Shawn and I both felt like we had been transported forward in time about 40 years, we all did really well for the rest of the day. There were, however, a couple of interesting moments. After seeing a lot of young people riding the chairlifts without putting the safety bar down and talking to the kids about the need to be safe while riding, Riley reinforced the point by sliding off the lift a little early and slipping down the embankment. Thankfully, he was not hurt and now both boys are aware how easy it could be to fall off if they were not careful. The other interesting moment happened when Braedon and I were racing down a black diamond run at speeds faster than I think either of us has skied before (which in hindsight was probably a bad idea on our first day!) and Braedon caught an edge. Although I was in lead and didn’t see him fall, Riley and Shawn compare his tumble to the falls from the Olympic Women’s slalom and say it was quite spectacular and involved a really well executed front flip. Luckily, he was very brave and other than a flat lip and some sore muscles shook off his fall very quickly.

Tonight, I attended the reception for my Working Women’s Ski Camp which starts tomorrow morning. Since this is the first camp I can remember attending since I was about 11 years old, I have to confess to feeling a little nervous, but was really pleased to find that I had been placed in a really great group with three other much older women who have all been to the camp before and have taken me under their wings like a daughter. I think it will be a great three days and look forward to improving my technique and learning what to do in both powder and on moguls. It should be a great three days!

Tammy

PS. I am just about to sit down to a yummy spaghetti dinner that my amazing mother-in-law prepared for us and froze before we left. After a long day away from the condo, coming home to a dinner that cooked itself was a real pleasure – thanks Noreen!

Who knew you could fit so much into one day...

Today was an incredible day – what an adventure! We woke early and after a hearty breakfast at the hotel headed out to see Denver. Mother Nature was clearly on our side as the day dawned bright and sunny with spring-like temperatures nearing 60 degrees. We started our day with a tour of the US Mint. After arriving and finding out that tours have to be booked online months ahead, we were very pleased to find that some of the registered guests did not show and to be welcomed by a very charismatic tour guide. For those of you who were with us in Dominican, thankfully Riley kept his hand well away from the conveyor belt as we went through security! After the tour, we walked through a lovely pedestrian mall downtown and enjoyed some lunch outside in the sun.

After a quick drive across town, we spent the afternoon Indoor Skydiving. Yes, I did say INDOOR skydiving! Who knew how much fun you can have NOT jumping out of a plane. To start, we spent a little time in the classroom learning about the required body positioning in the wind tunnel and then got suited up for our adventure. Each of us got two 2-minute flights with our instructor. It was not nearly as scary as I thought it might be, but it was much more challenging to stay balanced and in control than any of the boys expected it to be. Our instructor Allan was really wonderful and took time to work with each of us so that our second flights were even more exciting than our first. It was a truly incredible experience and if any of you are ever in the Denver area, we highly recommend visiting SkyVenture. Below you will see a couple of short videos of Shawn and I in action. For more, check out each of the boys’ blogs where they will share their own experiences flying through the air!





To end our day, we had dinner at the most unusual restaurant any of us has ever been to. Casa Bonita, otherwise known as “The World’s Most Exciting Restaurant” was a feast for the senses. Not only did this multi-story building have the most unusual architecture we have ever seen, but also an 30 foot tall indoor waterfall complete with cliff divers, strolling mariachi bands, gunfights, a secret cave, puppet shows, piñatas and an arcade. Probably the best part of the whole visit was the Soppaipillas, a warm Mexican fried sweet bread covered in honey, that were so delicious Shawn and I nearly had to crawl out of the place. Needless to say, we all had fun! As the on-line site where I found the information put it, it is kind of like Disney and Tijuana had a child and left it to fend for itself in a random strip mall in Colorado – quite an experience!

Tammy & Shawn

Welcome to Colorado!

Wow! After three long days and almost 26 hours of driving, we have arrived in Denver, Colorado. The boys have been incredible travellers and have spent most of the long drive happily playing games and watching movies. Amazingly, they have even avoided sibling squabbles and have been getting along really well even in such tight quarters. We are hoping this bodes well for 5 ½ months living in a small condo and trailer.

The scenery along the drive today has been quite lovely. After leaving Lincoln, Nebraska early this morning we spent many hours driving through the US equivalent of the prairies and enjoyed the many massive herds of Black Angus cattle that were grazing roadside. In addition to the cows and some horses, we also saw lots of wildlife including large families of deer, a huge flock of wild turkeys, and some rabbits. As we drove through the foothills on our way into Denver, we saw firsthand why this area is known as Big Sky Country. The sight of huge open fields and rolling hills beneath a wide open gray sky was truly breathtaking.

Now that we have arrived in Denver, we have been able to see glimpses of the amazing mountains way off in the distance through the clouds. Unfortunately, since it is kind of overcast today, they are a little hard to see with the camera – we will add some photos as we head to Frisco on Wednesday.

Although we have been travelling now for three full days, the realization that we are really on our “Big Trip” did not fully sink in for any of us until we saw the Welcome to Colorado sign. Actually arriving to ski country makes our journey feel a little more real and we are all looking forward to strapping on our skis and boards later this week and seeing what real mountain powder feels like. Tonight and tomorrow night, however, we will be taking some time to enjoy Denver and take in some of the city sights including the downtown aquarium and a wacky Mexican restaurant called Casa Bonita that several folks we know from Colorado have said is a must-see. It should be a really fun couple of days!

Tammy & Shawn

P.S. Way to go Canada! We have been very proud to be Canadian over the past few days as we chat to people about the Olympics.