Sabbatical Ski Adventure

Good night sleep!!  A partly cloudy day ahead for our Travel Day to Cortez, CO where we plan to base for Telluride.  After a quick discussion we opted to skip the morning ski option for the ability to do some scenic driving.  A couple of observations a out Taos.  Very rustic and in many ways like a border town on the mexican side.  The economy must be tough.  The Hampton was ok, but really run down.  Would not stay there again.  Maybe by the mountain as some newer places were available. Why Cortez you may ask for this next leg of the trip.  The cost to stay local in Telluride was over the top so opted to suffer the extra drive time each day.  The plan is after or second day of skiing we will head to Grand Junction instead of Cortez.  The next travel day is to Salt Lake City to meet up with the family members joining us. The drive was an awesome trek with only one spill for Jeff.  The cap to the protein drink dribbled down the f...

We watched the Creator movie last night.  Not recommended for consumption.   Still crashed around 10 pm with a 6 am wake up.  The two of us on the same sleep schedule. Spent time with the massage gun working quads, hamstrings and calves.  Really works.  Then of course you have to get the day started with a Hampton Breakfast. 8:11 departure to the mountain with blue skies.  Sun screen applied and a few less layers than yesterday.  Upon arrival we found the better parking and suited up. Oops, Drake forgot to grab his coat so we are starting a new tracking category. Brain Farts. Dad offered his thin pull over, that helped do the trick for most of the day.  A few chili moments, to start and end the day. After a couple of warm up runs Drake wanted to climb and do a chute.  His second run was a 1.5 hour hike/ski to the run along the ridge.  On one of the warm up lift ride Jeff dropped his ear bud.  Spill, no wait found it...

The morning started early for us both with 4:30 am slow wake.  Typical pre ski ritual with lunch wrap creation, thanks Drake, Hampton coffee and breakfast.  Great to wake up to Chiefs Victory over Ravens!!!  Back to back Super Bowl. 35 min drive to Taos Ski Valley for day1 skiing!!!  7:34 departure.  Arrival at 8:10 where free parking was not clear.  We learned from the shuttle driver we were really quite a ways out.  Tomorrow we will be parking next to a shuttle stop a lot closer to the village.  The following picture from the parking spot where you can see the valley end. The ski village is very small, but a lot like other resorts.  We quickly learned no cell coverage on the mountain. 2nd in lift line when they opened at 9 am.  The mountain is smaller, but gorgeous views.  Tucked in the very back of a valley in the mountains.  Lots of Black Runs and the chutes all around the val...

January 28th is here and with a 4:45 am wake up the trip begins.  Jeff headed out at 6 am to pick up Drake with Janie following.   Sarah strained her back yesterday, so grandma helping by taking Parker for the day and sleep over.  Upon arrival the last packing of Drake's gear and then on the road 6:55 am departure. Starting mileage was 50,170 First pit stop for food and mother nature in Emporia. Drake worked up to the Chiefs game start.  Between radio and Drakes laptop we were able to keep up with the game until the last few mins when we lost coverage. The drive overall was a refreshing change from I70.  After crossing I25 the foothills took over and the drive became a windy mountain drive. Came across several deer in the road and safely got by. Chiefs victory!!!! Taos is a big desert valley with a great skyline and we had the sunset on top.  Check into Hampton (a little tired, but suffices).   ...

Today marks the less than 48 hour window for departure. Drake has a 4 week sabbatical he earned through 7+ years of tenure with Cerner (Oracle). He approached me over 9 months ago with the proposition to do a 4 ski trip. I was in being retired, but then as we started to discuss realized that's a long time for the overall family. We also after our initial mapping of the various mountains determined that any CA ski resorts were outside the realm of reality. So the trip narrowed a week and several mountains to end in our current itinerary. Kansas City to Taos, NM - Telluride, CO - Salt Lake City, UT (Snowbird, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City) - Jackson Hole, WY - Big Sky, MT - and then Summit County for Keystone and Copper. We had Sun Valley, ID in the mix, but with poor conditions and president day pass issues, we opted to change things up and drop that location. We were able to cancel our VRBO and only lost a $90 deposit with 12 hours to spare. Yesterday, I picked u...