Cross Country Ski on Coney Flats

Headed up to Coney Flats today for a little classic back country cross country ski. Super conditions with blue sky sunny weather and NO WIND! Almost unheard of at Coney. This ski is not very hard elevation wise and up to the wind blown ponds (usual turning around point) is about 3 miles.

Used a mix of blue and red wax but purple would have been the best with the 28 degree temps and shady trees. Grip up was great. Oh did I mention almost no crowds either--what a day. A few graphs follow as I tried to keep my HR consistent and keep a good workout going. Aerobic cross country skiing up above 9000 feet really gets you working!

Here are some pictures of the day:

Heading up the trail after a water break....

Enjoying the view!

Clouds starting to move in.

End of the line--no more snow to ski on!

Bike stuff moved...

Well, I moved all the bike training/riding stuff to another site--wanted this to be more about family adventures instead that when friends and relatives read, they do not have to sift through boring bike trainer graphs and my moaning and groaning about being sore and out of shape. See the link to the right now to view that info if you are really and truly interested in my workout log...

Siesta Key and Grandma

Photos: Memorial at her Residence, Recipe for Quick grits and Cheest Quick Grits--she loved those things! Us walking to dinner with Bob and Gerry--two of my Grandma's good friends. Mostly my family and Dad's sister at Lido Key Resort for Xmas dinner-amazing night for sure!

Siesta Key and Grandma

Photos: My grandma and her children, same again, all grandchildren present at the time, same again. Here we were all having a blast just at sunset with these family shots--my grandma was having a wonderful time as you can see from the laughter.

Siesta Key and Grandma

Photos: Joking on the beach, Camera guy, More family photos

Siesta Key and Grandma

Photos: Siesta Key Point of Rocks, Us kids at sunset, Siesta Key Looking North, A "normal" sunset that my Grandma used to love to watch.

Family Passing

Well, just got back into town after a 9 day trip to Sarasota Florida. I was just there over the Xmas break to see my grandmother whom has lived in that area since 1973. She had just been diagnosed with leukemia at age 87. Turns out that it was aggressive and was only given a few days to live her life. She passed January 5th very peacefully with family present. I found out early the 6th as I was replacing some bathtub/shower plumbing in a late 1800's farm house in Boulder and did not get home until 1am. I made some plane reservations and jumped on a Southwest flight by 3pm Sunday. I then proceeded to spend the last week plus helping my father go through her apartment and pack/ship/etc her stuff as necessary. I was able to contact local Boy Scout Troop 50 to donate some furniture items too for their garage sale--this sale helps scouts attend summer camps like Philmont. She would have been happy about this as her two sons were scouts and there now are three grandsons with their Eagle badges. I also had to fix her car so we had a vehicle to run errands in during the week--this required a new ignition coil, wipers, and a front motor mount--a few hours of running to Car Qwest and we were on the road again. Other than that her vehicle was in great shape--a 94 Buick Regal with only 52K of miles on it! Some misc stuff was also donated to Goodwill. The week was long and tiring but I was glad to be there to help the family. At the end my father handed me a silver dollar of my grandma's that was on my birth date--it was quite the reward for being there all week and knowing she is watching over us now. The memorial service will be held in Virginia in a week or so. There was also a small service in the retirement community for her local friends and church while we were there. Several family members also were there to help including my Dad's sister, his brother's wife (Steve was in Tanzania on safari during all of this) and my brother who actually lives locally attending med school. Before we left we were able to have dinner with Betty and Also Gerri/Bob--both life long friends of my grandmothers. The time was special and I will never forget the trips to Siesta Key Beach all these years--enjoying the water, playing in the white sands, fishing off the boat, and eating lots of seafood at local places like The Oyster Bar and Phillipe Creek. You will be missed by all. Updates with photos soon....

Cross Country ski on the Sourdough Trail

What a way to break on the first day of 2008--a classic cross country tour in the Indian Peaks. This is a stellar bike ride in the summer but just as good of a ski in the winter. Above is Amy heading North with Col out front pulling hard! Temps were cold and the wind had picked up a good bit--not as much snow as two days ago now.

Amy and Col on a downhill!

Maybe I should get a helmet cam instead for this type of shot!

A tired puppy...