Steamboat

I have been remiss in blogging lately, but in my defense its been busy in CO! Last week all the head honchos in my company had their quarterly "are we making enough money" meeting at the Denver office, which required high heels, long work days, and no blogging. But the long hours were worth it: I was planning on taking off on Friday and heading up to Steamboat Thursday night!

I hadn't been to Steamboat but my ski pass gave me 6 free days to ski there and I was eager to use them! I think I'm in love with spring skiing. A balmy 58 degrees at the base, I only skied with my shell and a thermal long sleeved tee. Unfortunately, all the high-heel wearing really killed one of my feet, so I only skied one of the two days.

I defy you to tell me this isn't heaven

The second day I hung back with the non-skiers and caught up on my reading and sleeping and then we all headed for Strawberry Springs Hot Springs that evening. It was a crazy dirt road to get there, but an amazing time!

I promise you I'm not naked. Its not clothing optional until after dark...

After three glorious days, we packed up early and headed out, in an attempt to beat the snowstorm that seemingly came out of nowhere, considering it had been 64 degrees the day before. We thought we shipped out early enough, but apparently not:

Yeeps!

That wasn't even the worst it got. At one point it was a complete white out and I was pretty much thinking I was a goner. After the first pass out of Steamboat, it got a lot better and we picked up speed (it took us 2 hours to go 30 miles, originally). Unfortunately, a combination of weather and accidents closed the Eisenhower Tunnel and we were unceremoniously trapped in Silverthorne. Thankfully between the Chipotle, Outlets, and a hotel room, we were able to pass the 5 hours fairly quickly and were on our way home again shortly before 6 pm. The tunnel traffic was typically slow, but picked up and I was unpacking in my apartment before 8pm.

While trying to find out the status of the tunnel, I did learn a few fun facts about the Eisenhower Tunnel: Its the highest point in the interstate system, at 11,158 feet; its one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world; and its the longest mountain tunnel. Who knew? It also the biggest cause of headaches and cursing on Sunday afternoons as people attempt to return home.

Overall, it was a great weekend and I cant wait to get back there next year - hopefully once I've replaced the Echo with a mountain-ready vehicle.