Winter Park and Mt Evans drama....

Stu enjoyed 3 friendships on staff when he arrived. Sadly they have all left the school and gone to other jobs or retired.  Our retiree friend Connie has maintained contact and along with Bill, her husband, have been fantastic to us. We have been to their place a few times for parties which are always loads of fun and they also have a condo up at Winter Park, which is a ski resort town.  They invited us up there a couple of weekends ago, so we left Joshuah behind and went up to the mountains.  The last time we were there we got a huge snowfall and I went snowshoeing while Stu and the boys went snowboarding.  This time there wasn't any snow around, but still pretty cold and the view from the balcony at the condo was pretty speccy....

We had a lovely evening with Connie and Bill....Connie showed us why she and Bill had the upstairs room...she is tiny and I'm not sure how Stu would have fitted through this doorway...

The next morning, Stu went and climbed a mountain and Bill and Connie took me to some shops for a look, where I finally purchased a few small momento's...my first since I have been here! We all met back at the condo for lunch before we were taken for a lovely drive.  On the way we found a good use for unused snowboards...(WA is not know for its high snowfall!!!), so we'll have to find some use for the snowboards we are taking back...

 and were treated to some beautiful scenery.

Fall is approaching and the colours on the mountains are changing and it really is a sight to see.

We stopped at Grand Lake for a look around the town.

A gorgeous place nestled on a lake at the foothills of mountains.  We grabbed an icecream,

spotted stupid yellow cars,

thought about getting married again, (we could've done with a new dinner set),

did a short hike with Bill,

checked out some more scenery,

before making our way back to the condo for nibblies and then a meal out at a restaurant.

I must admit I can be on edge when in public places while in the US...you just never know...and while we were eating at the restaurant, a light exploded creating a loud cracking noise.  It scared the life out of me, there was a hint of nervousness amongst the patrons, before someone said what it was and we all went back to normal.  But for me, it is always in the back of my mind.
Connie and Bill then taught us Moose Farkle...a dice game.....where I was the consistent loser!

The next morning they taught us how to cook "egg in a bag"....2 eggs squished into a plastic clipbag, any extra ingredients you want: cheese, bacon, onion, tomatoe etc etc. Remove any air out of the bag and seal it and place into a boiling pot for about 10 mins.  It was delicious, filling, easy and a great recipe for camping!
We left Bill and Connie and drove down the mountain to the Mt Evans Rd.  Unfortunately Mt Evans Road was closed so we stopped at Summit Lake which is kind of at the base of Mt Evans.  Mt Evans is what is know as a "14 er", meaning it is 14 000 ft high and Stu has wanted to climb one of these since we have been in Colorado, but the opportunity has never arisen.
So we got to Summit Lake at 12.30, it was FREEZING cold and Stu decided he would climb it as I was happy to wait in the car. So off he went up the side of the mountain, waving at me and making great progress. I went for a walk to look at some of the amazing scenery.

and before I knew it, it started to snow.....and was windy and visibility became poorer.....

I headed back to the car and saw a Ranger, so I went up to him, mentioned my husband was up the mountain, (which I could hardly see), how long was the walk? (about 3 1/2 hrs), would this snow be hanging around for long? (yes, we are expecting 6 -12 inches) and what would it be like up on the mountain? (hard to say).  So I didn't panic and instead waited and waited and then I waited and waited some more.  In the meantime the snow had stopped, but it was bitterly cold.  I knew Stu was a fast walker and always does hikes in far less time that is suggested, so I expected him to appear any minute.  Still I waited and waited....and then the snow/sleet/wind started again and visibility was terrible.
By this time he had been gone close to 3 hours, so I thought what can I do but...PANIC!!! And I did!!  I went up to the Ranger who was sitting in his car (coz it was so friggin' cold) and said my husband is up there, I am really worried, can you open the road up so I can go look for him? (no), can you go and look for him? (how long has he been gone? how old is he? does he have survival gear with him? is he fit?) and because I answered all those questions with the correct answers, the answer to "can you go and look for him?" was a NO! So what did I do?  I cried!!  In front of the Ranger and probably did a little bit of hyperventilating as well (we were at altitude!!) and went back to the car to wait.
Finally way in the distance, walking down the track I saw a single figure but even with the binoculars it was hard to make it out because of the poor visibility.  Thank God...it was Stu and he was OK, had done a great walk, was totally unaware of what I had been through as the weather up on the mountain had been nowhere near as bad as where I was...he had taken his time, enjoyed it...done everything correctly, except marry a woman with an enormous imagination and worse case scenarioisms (is that even a word?)!!!!
So here are the great shots Stu took on his hike.....

 After I had calmed down, we headed back down the mountain, stopping to take some photos of these gnarly trees that have grown like they have due to the extreme weather conditions.

It was another great weekend away.  We are continually amazed at the beauty of Colorado and it's changing colours.  We are excited to see the snow again, but have agreed...if Stu wants to climb another mountain, it will be in the morning (before the storms come in) and I don't want to know about it!!