In which there is not much to write about
Things have been busy, but rather tedious. Work continues to dominate my days, but I did take off Sunday to go to the mountains with the family.
We started west on I-70, and turned off the highway at Empire toward Winter Park. The weather was sunny and windy. Chris drove the first leg which included Berthoud Pass (11,315') the highest point of our itenarary. Berthoud Pass is one of the most notorious passes in the Colorado Rockies due to its elevation and the frequent tight switchbacks on the south side of the pass. The road was not great, but was passable. We decided that new tires are in the budget. The west side of the divide was overcast and snowy. We headed for the visitors center in Winter Park, where we could use the facilities and take the opportunity of a stop to crack open the cooler and see what the lunch fairy had packed.
It was the ice sculptures that first attracted attention.
They were housed in a shelter across from the visitor's center. Now, we haven't had snow in Denver. Not really - only one snowy day since Christmas. Just because the temps have been cold enough to prevent melting doesn't mean that we've really had snow. Snow being something of a novelty this year, an opportunity to play in the stuff seemed to be something of which we should take advantage.
We donned all our winter gear (mom forgot to pack the snow pants, but did have an extra pair of jeans for the boy) and headed across the street. The city had built a sledding slope, and it turned out that they had also supplied sleds for the general enjoyment of said slope. Evan managed to wander out in the middle of hurtling sleds, and we finally got him corralled. Dad put him on a saucer and gave him a push.
Evan is not yet 5. Most of the sleds say that they're for kids at least a couple of years older. I did not know what to expect, but a wet, cold, and frightened Evan was certainly a posibility. Not to worry - he went down that slope at high speed with a grin on his face. And then trundled back up the slope for more.
Here he is on the fourth or fifth run. Of course, he was not willing to stop sledding and get in the car.
He did get a few more minutes playing in the snow while I was spreading salmon cream cheese on bagels. For some reason he kept finding big snowballs that he'd want to nurture. We had to talk him out of taking them home; I know that it'd be tough to explain to him what happened to his snowball once we got home.
I think the most remarkable thing was how fearless he was. There was no hesitation; he was eager to do it again. I feel like he's ready to ski. I wonder what we could do about that this season.
Our Sunday drive took us north out of Middle Park into North Park via Willow Creek Pass (9,683'). The pass was remarkably clear, and the skies had cleared as we had driven north of Berthoud. Once down on to the floor of North Park, the winds' effects were again felt and seen.
The skies were alternately stormy and clear. Snow skuttled thickly across the road, and the wind had sculpted fantastic forms of the plowed hills of snow at roadside. We stopped at Walden for gas and to change drivers. I had snoozed for much of the descent from Willow Pass, and after acquiring a large bottle of diet coke, turned the minivan to the east.
We were headed to Cameron Pass, (10,276') in my opinion one of the most beautiful in the Rockies. Cameron gets loads of snow in the winter, but is pretty easy to plow, and so is seldom closed in winter. The sun was setting, and I was not eager to navigate that pass in the dark. It lies on CO-14, a well-traveled route from the northern Front Range to Steamboat Springs. Nevertheless, the highway was sparsely traveled at dusk on a Sunday. Which was good - the route is populated with numerous recreational venues, but not much else. The blowing snow that we'd encountered in the southern part of the park had intensified into ground blozzards in places. Most of the time there was a track, but occasionally the road was completely covered. Still a very beautiful drive.
By the time we got down into the Poudre Canyon, the sun was fully down. That stretch is very long and curvy, but the snowy conditions encountered at Cameron Pass dissappeared quickly with the dropping elevation. Of course, there are no facilities open in the winter in the Canyon, and so we did have to make one roadside stop. Propriety compelled me to step down a slope toward the river and below the road. This was not a bad thing until I tried to clamber out - backless shoes are a distinct liablity when trying to climb a loose slope.
We got to Ft. Collins at about 8:00, and hit I-25 toward home. I only wish we'd started earlier. Maybe next time, we'll just stay in Winter Park for the day.
We started west on I-70, and turned off the highway at Empire toward Winter Park. The weather was sunny and windy. Chris drove the first leg which included Berthoud Pass (11,315') the highest point of our itenarary. Berthoud Pass is one of the most notorious passes in the Colorado Rockies due to its elevation and the frequent tight switchbacks on the south side of the pass. The road was not great, but was passable. We decided that new tires are in the budget. The west side of the divide was overcast and snowy. We headed for the visitors center in Winter Park, where we could use the facilities and take the opportunity of a stop to crack open the cooler and see what the lunch fairy had packed.
It was the ice sculptures that first attracted attention.
They were housed in a shelter across from the visitor's center. Now, we haven't had snow in Denver. Not really - only one snowy day since Christmas. Just because the temps have been cold enough to prevent melting doesn't mean that we've really had snow. Snow being something of a novelty this year, an opportunity to play in the stuff seemed to be something of which we should take advantage.We donned all our winter gear (mom forgot to pack the snow pants, but did have an extra pair of jeans for the boy) and headed across the street. The city had built a sledding slope, and it turned out that they had also supplied sleds for the general enjoyment of said slope. Evan managed to wander out in the middle of hurtling sleds, and we finally got him corralled. Dad put him on a saucer and gave him a push.
Evan is not yet 5. Most of the sleds say that they're for kids at least a couple of years older. I did not know what to expect, but a wet, cold, and frightened Evan was certainly a posibility. Not to worry - he went down that slope at high speed with a grin on his face. And then trundled back up the slope for more.
Here he is on the fourth or fifth run. Of course, he was not willing to stop sledding and get in the car.He did get a few more minutes playing in the snow while I was spreading salmon cream cheese on bagels. For some reason he kept finding big snowballs that he'd want to nurture. We had to talk him out of taking them home; I know that it'd be tough to explain to him what happened to his snowball once we got home.
I think the most remarkable thing was how fearless he was. There was no hesitation; he was eager to do it again. I feel like he's ready to ski. I wonder what we could do about that this season.
Our Sunday drive took us north out of Middle Park into North Park via Willow Creek Pass (9,683'). The pass was remarkably clear, and the skies had cleared as we had driven north of Berthoud. Once down on to the floor of North Park, the winds' effects were again felt and seen.
The skies were alternately stormy and clear. Snow skuttled thickly across the road, and the wind had sculpted fantastic forms of the plowed hills of snow at roadside. We stopped at Walden for gas and to change drivers. I had snoozed for much of the descent from Willow Pass, and after acquiring a large bottle of diet coke, turned the minivan to the east.We were headed to Cameron Pass, (10,276') in my opinion one of the most beautiful in the Rockies. Cameron gets loads of snow in the winter, but is pretty easy to plow, and so is seldom closed in winter. The sun was setting, and I was not eager to navigate that pass in the dark. It lies on CO-14, a well-traveled route from the northern Front Range to Steamboat Springs. Nevertheless, the highway was sparsely traveled at dusk on a Sunday. Which was good - the route is populated with numerous recreational venues, but not much else. The blowing snow that we'd encountered in the southern part of the park had intensified into ground blozzards in places. Most of the time there was a track, but occasionally the road was completely covered. Still a very beautiful drive.
By the time we got down into the Poudre Canyon, the sun was fully down. That stretch is very long and curvy, but the snowy conditions encountered at Cameron Pass dissappeared quickly with the dropping elevation. Of course, there are no facilities open in the winter in the Canyon, and so we did have to make one roadside stop. Propriety compelled me to step down a slope toward the river and below the road. This was not a bad thing until I tried to clamber out - backless shoes are a distinct liablity when trying to climb a loose slope.
We got to Ft. Collins at about 8:00, and hit I-25 toward home. I only wish we'd started earlier. Maybe next time, we'll just stay in Winter Park for the day.
posted by Melanie Unruh-Bays at
1:43 PM
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