Winter Park, Colorado

Check out these videos....Colin...hold the mouse over the coloured writing below!
WinterPark shenanigans
Powder day at Winter Park

We had a great time at Silverthorne...it's a very picturesque area, with plenty of places to drive to,  amazing scenery and we were very fortunate to have free accommodation.  Stu had met a guy on the chairlift who travelled 3 hrs each way each day to ski as he couldn't afford the accommodation...so we were very lucky.
Next stop was Winter Park,

Winter Park Visitor Centre

where we were meeting up with Connie and Bill who have a condo there....here it is................just kidding!

This was actually their condo...that building with no road to it, swallowed up by snow............just kidding....

  They actually have a gorgeous place in Winter Park!! We have kept in touch with them since we returned home, via Skype and it was just fantastic to see them again...like old times! So there were plenty of laughs,

Stuart still gives Connie plenty of cheek...(nothing's changed) and I won Moose Farkel too many times to count!!

We are very happy that Connie and Bill are a part of our lives...they are really wonderful people, so hospitable, generous, good fun......AND.... I now know how to do "egg in a bag"...a great Windy Harbour recipe I think....starts off looking like this...(yes a little gross)

but comes out like this and tastes delicious!..

Thanks guys!
This was our view just after we arrived....

and then the next morning it had transformed into this....breathtaking!

So Connie and Bill left on a snowy Monday morning to go back to Denver and we had the condo for a week.  Stu snowboarded every day,

Ski runs at Winter Park

... and had a great week with plenty of snow (see video at start of blog)...even catching up with Ken who is part of CITEL and a keen skier.

I never get tired of the amazing features that snow can make...it really transforms a place and is so quiet when it falls....we watched icicles form over the week....getting longer and longer each day...

and check out this close up of an icicle formed from the verandah roof...

We would go for a drive after Stu got back from snowboarding and one of my favourite parts of snow (other than the icicles) is the way creeks come back to life after snow and how they meander, forming beautiful patterns...and with the colour of the bushes and mountains as backdrops it makes for some gorgeous scenery...

The weather changed constantly and to see see snow falling over a mountain on one side and blue skies on the other was great.  The snow was so white...almost blinding....

One of the days we drove out to Rocky Mountain NP...unfortunately we could only go 10 miles into the park due to the huge amount of snow but it was still beautiful, we got snowed on and we did manage to do it all last year, so we have seen it.

We weren't sure of the speed limit through the park....

and we thought if we were confronted for driving too slow or too fast,

we had our weapon of choice...

and we thought about stopping for a picnic,

but had trouble locating the picnic table...while it was snowing!

Driving back we took some roads off the main road, and as is the case in Colorado, you don't need to go far to see spectacular scenery..

Snow storm coming in

So another great week in stunning country.  Stuart is getting his fix of snowboarding with some pretty good snow and he hopes there will be enough to see him through till the end of April....cheers!

and thanks Connie and Bill..xx

PS The 5th April was Jordan's anniversary...it was 24 years ago that he died at Gascoyne Junction...so it was a very tough day.  The 5th April is also Heather's birthday so we were happy to brave the freezing cold and create a birthday photo for her...so Happy Birthday Heather xxx

Please take note of Stu's snowman above the "H" in Happy!!