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**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

Our trip was almost complete. The relatively short road trip from Amarillo to our home in The Colony was all that remained.

We started the day with a filling breakfast to tide us over.

The first stop was a really neat place called a Safety Stop. Although the name was strange, the rest stop itself was new and nice.

We drove on while the kids played in the car.

I promise Parker did sit in his car seat for some of the trip.

Wichita Falls found our van in need of gas and the kids in need of playtime. We stopped at the park that holds the actual Falls for which the city is named. Wyatt climbed a tree with his typical male zest.

Ashton slid and dug in the sand. Parker, too, enjoyed the granules.

Hardest to believe was that in a matter of 30 hours, we had gone from 1 degree in Steamboat to 90 in Wichita Falls. We were over dressed in long sleeves and pants.

After the park, a final drive brought us to our home, sweet home. The kids and we were excited by the familiarity of home.

A big thank you to all who helped make this trip possible. Thank you to all who gave us money and gifts to help with the cost of the trip. Thank you to Sheri for going with us and for being such an incredible help.

Our trip had been full. Full of laughter, adventure, athleticism, new ventures, challenges, incredible fun and lots of love. What will next year’s trip bring? I cannot wait to find out.

**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

Alas, our time to leave the ski slopes of Steamboat had come.

Some snow had fallen the night before.

The kids needed one more romp in the frozen white stuff.

As I swept the van of snow and scraped the window free of ice, a fellow Texan passed by and noticed our Lone Star license plates. He said, “Tell me you borrowed that ice scraper from someone. I know there is nowhere in Texas that gets enough snow to use a snow sweeper and ice scraper like that.” In fact, I had borrowed the scraper from James, our trusty shuttle driver. It was a humorous Texan connection.

The next order of business was packing.

Kara calls me the “Master Packer” because I can cram clothes and sundries into the smallest possible area. This fact was made perfectly clear when I packed into three suitcases and bags what had taken Kara five.

This morning found me packing the roof carrier and the van in sub freezing temperatures. WAY sub freezing.

The outside temperature was so cold that when I went to refill the van with gas, the hatch to the gas tank was frozen shut. I had to use a key to pry it open. Also, the LED display on the gas dispenser took several seconds to refresh because it, too, was frozen. It’s a wonder my fingers worked at all while packing, but, finally, I got the job done.

The roads were in a condition known as, “icy snow pack” on both of the two mountain passes through which we traveled. I hate driving on snow and ice; it frazzles my nerves.

The trip to Denver, which took three hours on the way in, took four on the way out. By the time we got there, it was lunch time.

The snow was finally starting to melt from the van.

After lunch, we made a jaunt to Denver International Airport to drop Sheri off. (Thank you, Sheri!)

From the airport, we took a tollway on the edge of Denver to get back to interstate 25 going south. The toll was $2.00…at EACH tollbooth. $6 later, we found the interstate. Next time, we are going through town.

Then, we drove like the wind toward Texas. The day was beautiful.

On our way back, we made the decision to get a hotel room in Amarillo because we would arrive there pretty late. Kara called her sister, Sara, to have her book a room online for us. The booking was made, a credit card was given, and we were set for lodging.

Or so we thought; read on.

Many hours in the car and too much fast food can really make a person sick. In Parker’s case, it literally did. Somewhere between Denver and the Colorado border, Parker started throwing up, and up, and up. His sick day took three sets of clothes, a stop at K-Mart, several plastic bags and other containers, and several naps. Sick babies are not fun, sick babies on a two-day road trip are really not fun. Kara must be commended for her wonderful motherly care taking.

One neat site (and the only one of note in New Mexico) was a long dormant volcano near the road called Capulin Mountain National Monument. The roadside sign said to tune into an AM radio station for more information. We did and the kids were impressed.

Amarillo finally came into view at 11 pm. We were tired and ready to sleep. We drove through town to find our hotel and when we did, I ran in to get the key. Only, there was not a key to be had because they did not have our reservation on their books. Asking, searching, and arguing could not help our plight.

I stormed out ready to go to the next available place with any type of bed.

When I started to make my u-turn out of the parking lot, I plowed the van’s left front tire into an unseen curb. The tire not only went flat, it popped wide open.

We had to completely unpack the back of the van to access the tire jack and spare tire. And change the tire, we did.

So there we were, longing to sleep, laying instead on a gravel parking lot of a hotel that was not even going to house our family while accessing the spare.

Here is a picture of the spare the next day.

After the spare was in place we went to find another hotel. While we drove, we called Hotels.com. They stated that we could find another hotel for up to $50 over what we paid and they would reimburse us – finally good news.

We pulled into a Motel 6 – no rooms with two beds. We tried a Best Western – no vacancy. Would a Country Inn work – nope. Apparently Amarillo was the stopping place for all ski-bound Texas families. At last, an old, moldy Econo Lodge had what we were looking for – sweet relief!

At midnight, after a long drive, a sick kid, a flat tire, and “no room at the Inn,” we slept like logs.

The final stretch home would take place tomorrow.

**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

Our last day for skiing found a morning with more snow. Even still, there were a few sun-filled breaks to be seen.

One part of the hill that I like to seek out is the terrain park. If you are not familiar with this feature, it is worth describing. On an open run of the mountain, slow plows, shovels, and manpower are used to pile up snow into jumps, rail slides, roller coasters, and a half pipe. It is here that extreme snow sports were born (see the 2006 Winter Olympics).

When I ride the park, the 20 year old in me is unleashed. Some jumps I land…

Some I don’t…

I expect Wyatt to be showing me a thing or two here before long (with helmets, of course).

The only minor injury happened today when an ice covered rock steppe on one of the runs took my skis out from under me. When trying to catch myself, my thumb found the rock. Ouch.

We were blessed with great health and safety for the entirety of the trip.

Wyatt and Ashton had another great day of ski school to enjoy on this day. Both were becoming quite the Snow Monsters. (A neat program at www.snowmonsters.com)

Wyatt was exhausted from a long week and sat in the snow. Ashton, on the other hand, could not ride the lift to the top of the bunny slope enough times. Below is a short clip of Ashton smoothly skiing down the aforementioned slope. This circuit repeated, to our delight, for the better part of an hour.

Ashton the Skier

Our skiing done, it was time to return the skis and boots. On the way to our renal shop, there was a ring-around-the-rosy sculpture that lured the kids.

Snow falling, was also a kid’s delight.

In all, skiing was each one of our delights. We had such a great time carving, tree bashing, jumping, snow plowing, sifting the pow, watching the kids, enjoying family.

Today (March 24th), my youngest child turned 1 year old.

It’s hard to believe that 365 days have passed since we welcomed our third bundle of joy to this world. We will celebrate with a birthday party on Sunday. Keep an eye on this blog for pictures.

**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

Thursday found us ready again to depart for the mountain. We rode our trusty shuttle bus driven by our cowboy-hat wearing friend, James. When he was not driving a bus, he told us, he drove cattle. He was a good guy with a toothy smile that drove us faithfully most mornings we were there.

Once on the mountain, we found A LOT of the white stuff. (Click the image to see the snow coming down.)

The snowboard slang for the deep stuff on the mountain is simply: Pow. Because of the conditions as the week wore on, it is hard not to use the word snow 100 times each posting. We were, on this day powder hounds.

As you can see, there was a bit of pow to be plowed.

Sheri and the kids took a day to have fun in and around the condo (thank you Nana!) so today was a day for Kara and I to take in the beauty.

It was hard to believe, but the skiing portion of the trip was 4/5ths over. The adventures, however, were just beginning.

**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

When we awoke on Wednesday morning, a glance out the window of the condo provided the same wild-eyed wonder as a kid on Christmas morning. It had snowed a blanket.

It was, even still, actively coming down in flakes the size of dimes.

Our van was undriveable, as if we would have wanted to try.

While our condo had a free shuttle that ran every 20 to 30 minutes, today it was stuck in the snow induced traffic snarl that can seize a ski town and bring drooling powder buffs to their knees. We were among the kneeling. We decided to hike the 50 yards to the equally free but slightly more reliable city bus stop. After navigating two wrecks and slick streets our deft driver delivered us to the Square.

Today was a day that we decided to split up while on the mountain. We planned from the start to make Wednesday a half day; ski in the morning then do some fun stuff around town.

Kara would ski with Wyatt and I would ski with my iPod.

Since Kara has no desire, as I do, to risk life and limb on the steepest double black runs, we knew that I would have to go it alone at some point. The Christmas tree bowl was one such double black that called my name.

The Chutes (1, 2, and 3) were others. Here, I found a sign I was sure not to disobey. (Remember to click the image for a larger view.)

Once around the bend, I see to what the warning sign referred. Yikes.

This run was aptly marked as a double black. These pictures do not really do the run justice but look at the angle at which the trees are growing. I am glad Kara did not come with me.

Here is proof of me on the run taken with my own outstretched hand.

After the half day adventure of the mountain, we went to town to discover how the naming of Steamboat Springs came to be. The Steamboat Health Club and Spa allowed a warm soak in naturally hot and effervescent waters.

Too bad that during the winter, the pool’s two story water slide did not open until 4 pm. We were too early.

Still, swimming and relaxing were the order of the afternoon and that is what we did. I took a video clip of Parker “swimming” and the rest of the family in the pool.

Pool Video

To cap off the snow filled day, I took the kids sledding. We drove to a parking lot across from a field that had a slope on one edge. I tried to send the kids down one at a time but because of the powder, I had to ride with them for it to be any fun.

As we rode down the hill, the front rider of the sled took the powder shots. In this case, the kids were the recipients of frozen facials.

A great day of skiing and winter fun was had by all.

**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

Back to the hill today for day two of Steamboat skiing. All weather indications were that a system was moving in to the area and we could get a bit of snow.

Ashton and Parker both stayed at the condo with Nana on this day to play.

Wyatt was to return to ski school after a first day that saw him advance past level 2 to level 3.

Kara and I were off to the mountain to enjoy the open runs. At mid morning, the clouds started to move in a bit.

Already at the top of the mountain, snow started to coat some trees. It was time to exchange our glasses for goggles, our open collars for closed ones.

At lunch, Kara and I were walking through Gondola Square and saw a kid hamming it up while posing behind a cutout of Gnarly Charly. For those of you who don’t know, Gnarly Charly makes some of the best and most affordable pizza on the mountain.

As we rounded the cutout we noticed that the kid in question was none other than our Wyatt. He was returning from lunch with his class of rambunctious boys and their goateed and obviously relaxed instructor. The boys liked him for both of these attributes.

Confident Wyatt was in good hands, we headed back up to see the clouds lowering like a down comforter over the mountain. I snapped this shot from one of the lifts.

Wyatt’s class let out at 3 pm everyday but the mountain did not close all the way until after 4 pm. Because of his progress thus far, we decided to take Wyatt up on the big hill…he was ready. To date, he still says that his favorite part of the trip was riding on the Gondola.

Wyatt had indeed improved so much that he was now in control of his body the entire time, he even went down a short blue (intermediate) run.

On our final run of the day, we paused to pay homage to our Native American brethren. In reality, this tepee was just a prop to help families find a common ground…we gave in.

More snow was to come as the week moved on. Just how much…read tomorrow.

**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

The 6 AM wakeup call from our Central Standard Time Zone oriented youngest child helped us to give in to the excitement that called from the mountain slopes. Today was our first day to ski.

The condo where we stayed (big THANK YOUS are in order to Robert and Dora Scarborough for letting us buy the week!) has a free shuttle to ease the 1 mile commute to the ski area. There we found Gondola Square. The sound I heard in my head was that of an angelic choir beaconing me to the hill.

The first order of business was to drop Ashton and Wyatt off at ski school. Steamboat has an excellent and large ski school with really dedicated teachers (for the most part…read on.)

Ashton went right in and joined the other 4 year olds in the playroom. They would spend some time indoors, ski (or learn) for about two hours, break for lunch, then back out for two hours. She picked up the skiing very quickly and was making pizza (ski school slang for the snow plow) down the bunny slopes on her very first day. And to think, we were skeptical.

Next to be dropped off was Wyatt.

Wyatt’s first ski outing was in Durango when he was four. We read the Steamboat literature and decided that he should be in the level two class. When we met his teacher, though, she was not so sure.

She argued that most kindergartners were in a lower level and that slower skiers might slow other kids down. She was bordering on offensive when the supervisor walked up and called her aside. Immediately upon her return, Wyatt was in.

The instructor apparently got quite the straightening out. After that, we were nervous that she would hold a grudge against Wyatt during the day. But all indications were that the class went very well and Wyatt had fun.

With the kids off to their own fun, Kara and I headed up the Gondola to the top of one of Steamboat’s four peaks, Mt. Werner. Since I had skied the bunny slope at the bottom, I found it in me to pause for a picture with my ski bunny.

The day was beautiful with sunny skies and warm temperatures. It was 45 degrees, which makes for some crusty surfaces. We even got a bit sunburned, it really felt like spring skiing.

The day ended with tired bodies going through the same bedtime sequence as at home complete with a cereal snack.

Goodnight all, see you in the morning.

**Remember: scroll down and read the bottom most entries first if you want to go in order.**

We awoke Sunday to warm temperatures and sunny skies in Denver. The first order of business was for the kids to get some swimming done in the hotel pool while I went to purchase groceries for the week.

Sculptures of animals are popular in Colorado; must be something to do with being “one with nature.” This one of an elk sat in the parking lot of the Target where I went to get various foodstuffs for the week (notice the snow-capped Rockies in the background. Click the image for a larger view.)

My company, as a Christmas gift, gave me a substantial Target gift card. We decided to use this card to get groceries and any ski clothing we may need to help keep the costs of the trip in check. Target, unlike Wal-Mart, has not permeated every corner of the American impulse-buying market and therefore does not have a store in Steamboat. We decided to do our shopping in Denver before ascending to the slopes.

So I shopped, buying everything on Kara’s carefully crafted list. When the cashier finished ringing the items, I confidently handed over the card. She swiped. Then she proceeded to tell me the remaining balance of the transaction. My first thought was, “Wow. Cookies by Design (my company, found at www.cookiesbydesign.com) is more generous than I thought.” Imagine my surprise to find that I actually owed the cashier money.

Come to find out later, we had grabbed the wrong gift card from our house. So much for defraying the cost of the trip.

Back to the hotel, pick up the kids, Nana and Kara and we head west on I-70 toward the mountains. We could not ask for dryer, more travel ready roads. Over Loveland pass to Silverthorne/Dillon, CO where we will turn north on State Highway 6. A good time to stop for lunch.

After the stomach refill, we travel on through some beautiful Colorado mountain and river backcountry.

The final pass into Steamboat is Rabbit Ears Pass where the snowmobile tracks crossed here and there on both sides of the road. That, by the way, will be something we try on a future trip.

After two days of driving, we arrive at the condo.

Judging by the snow accumulation on the roof, there had been a snow shower or two this season in Steamboat. Under this precariously perched snowdrift, the parking lot was cordoned off by warning tape for the traveler who did not bother to look up after parking.

This sucker could go any day.

We unpack the car and then make a break for the snow.

Our condo was on the second floor but that did not slow Parker from trying to make his way to the white stuff.

Last order of business before turning in was to rent skis and boots for the family. While usually a major trial for a family with small kids, the Sunday afternoon timeframe eased tensions considerably.

Finally to bed. Hopefully the anticipation of our first day of skiing tomorrow will not keep us awake all night.

More tomorrow.

Two years in the making, the day has finally come…Road Trip to Ski! Everyone in the car!

Not so fast. There is much packing to do. Apparently a family of five is required to travel with something on the roof of the car. Thusly, we bought a roof carrier.

Kids packed safely in, we go. Through Denton then west. First stop was for gas in Bellevue, TX.

The kids jumped, the adults gassed (and fueled the car.)

Back in, we drive on…and on. Parker, although not even 1 yet, loves to read. In this case, 10 Little Ladybugs, a new American literary staple.

Lunchtime at, where else when the kids outnumber the adults but, McDonalds.

Luckily this nice, new McD’s was in sunny Amarillo (a nickname I just made up) which is where Kara’s cousin Tye, his wife Jere, and thier three kids reside. It was good to have some 2nd cousins to play with under the watchful eye of Ronald himself (see red mouth pictured below.)

After lunch and play, we went in search of the smelliest city in Texas. And what should cross our path but a town surrounded by cattle farms, Dalhart, TX. The cattle so fully surround the town that any way the wind blows you are sure to get a whiff, and we did. What a treat, then, that this fertilizer-scented burgh is what welcomes travelers back to Texas after their trips to the north-west!

On to the Texas border and through New Mexico; no stops, no pictures, nothing to see…literally.

We cross into Colorado and head north to Trinidad, CO for dinner. For the second time today, we patronize Sonic. I thought the neon mixed with the old Sonic logo was an interesting shot. To be honest, this old logo had left my mind completely until I saw it on this trash can. Marketing and branding is interesting to me.

The final destination for the day was an Amerisuites hotel in Denver near the airport to meet up with Nana and get some much needed, road weary rest (say that fast three times). Sheri, Kara’s mom, had flown to meet us in Denver. While departing 12 hours later, she beat us there. Needless to say, the decision to fly to the slopes for our next ski trip seemed foregone.

The bed in room 406 called our names and we answered willingly. Sweet sleep.

A long but fun road trip day! More fun tomorrow, stay tuned.