2016 – Return to the Rockies

Jon: A connection through San Francisco from Honolulu brought us back to Minneapolis, MN where we departed for our international journey months ago. This was our first taste of winter weather in quite some time and we weren’t conditioned for the frigid morning. Amy and I threw on our warmest layers and braved the cold while we dashed from the terminal to my dad’s car. We caught up with our families, shared stories, ate some of our favorite foods, played cards, and decompressed in familiar surroundings.

Time in Minnesota was brief. Amy and I soon pointed our RAV4 west and aimed for Colorado. I was excited to be heading “home.” In fact, we stopped at the border welcome sign to get a quick pic and celebrate our return. Our dear friends, Chris and Sarah, took us in for a couple nights and showed us to the latest Denver craft breweries. We also visited with our crew from the ol’ neighborhood.

We stuffed the car with ski gear and cold weather clothing and headed up “the hill” to the ski town of Breckenridge. There was a fresh dusting of snow on the slopes, which made them irresistible. I planned to take it easy, but was in my playground and did a few too many runs. My quads ached and lungs burned. I wasn’t reacclimated to the altitude, but the pains were well worth it.

We checked into our little condo after our day on the slopes. The 400 square foot space was perfect for us and served as basecamp. We weren’t too far from the ski resorts and could access Forest Service lands by simply walking across the road.

In February, Colorado’s mountains received the least snow in over three decades. However, Mother Nature redeemed herself during our stay in March. We enjoyed several powder days and one week where each day brought more snow – a blissful winter wonderland. As luck would have it, we were able to share some of the best snow days with family and friends visiting from near and far.

Amy’s sister and family were in the area for a week. I hit the slopes with my bro-in-law and nephews while Amy snowshoed with her sister. I met up with a friend from Florida and another from down “the hill” who came up to ski with us for a couple days. I’ve found that lift rides make for good conversation time. It certainly works with strangers – forming 10-15 minute “friendships.” It’s even better to catch up with friends between runs.

Though much of the time was spent on the lifts at ski resorts like Breckenridge, Keystone, and Vail, we also skinned up (ascended on skis) Arapahoe Basin and Loveland (on Amy’s birthday). When resort skiing wasn’t optimal, we snowshoed. We ventured into the forest across from the condo and also climbed, and post holed through deep snow, to summit Argentine Peak. I even brought the skis into the backcountry to try a couple lines I’d scouted. I had a fun, but conditions challenged my abilities and ego. There were a couple hilarious “learning moments” when my skis wouldn’t break through a wind-blown layer. In other words, I wiped out – more than once.

Day trips brought us to the town of Fairplay and the South Park Brewery (yes, South Park – like the show) and the town of Buena Vista (aka BV).  BV provided a refreshing warm-up in alpine desert terrain with the snow covered Collegiate Peaks as the backdrop. A lunch and craft beers at the Eddyline Brewery, hike in the foothills along the Arkansas River, and ice cream stop at K’s Dairy Delite filled the day.

We spent a weekend in Denver where Amy met with friends and I attended the required training to maintain my qualifications as a wildland firefighter. We headed down to see friends once more before leaving on the next adventure. We are so grateful to have wonderful friends and family in our lives. The love and support has been so helpful and sometimes needed. Thank you!

I hopped on the Breckenridge gondola one morning and was joined by a familiar face. Fellow firefighter and friend, Steve, was up for the day and luck brought us together. We ended up skiing some great terrain and chatting about fire, travel, and mutual friends. Before we parted, Steve offered his mountain home as a place to crash. Our time in the condo was nearly complete and a plan to stay in Denver had been thwarted by a friend’s illness. So, we enjoyed a few days at Steve’s place before we finally said our goodbyes to the mountains to rejoin Chris and Sarah for one more night in Denver. Again, our friends have been so helpful!

Amy and I worked to prep the car for our upcoming road trip. The RAV4, now dubbed G2 (like Gramper 2 – for those who followed our New Zealand posts) has been configured for sleeping. We’ve started a road trip and are at our first stop along the way – Albuquerque, NM. More to come on that shortly!

(Dates: February 16- April 11)