day 4 cont'd:
my nikon 3000 and my 18-200mm lens...
...cont'd...We got ty off to the airport...then we got bundled up and headed off to breckenridge colorado and to try new slopes at keystone...the gondolas looked better and more adult friendly...
Got to breckenridge after about a 40 minute ride...spectacular beauty ...straight up cliff...valley's that go on forever...massive mountain views and ear popping climbs...
Kids had a blast as i wandered around and found out different things about the village..great possibilities for next stay...took some photo's
walked back to bottom of mountain..to scared to ride gondola by myself...caught beverly on the end of her snowboard run...said everyone got split up...funny on how taking one turn can lead you astray ...everyone finally meet up and we had a beer and laughs...they all agreed they had a blast on this mountain...day two of snowboarding turned out a huge success for all!!
packed up and decided to try visiting leadville again...this time coming in on hwy 191...wow... drove thru a massive valley...which turns out later where we did our dog sled adventure(more to come on this)... also stopped in another valley which was the WWII camp for the 89th division and was called hales' campground...got to visit the town of CLIMAX...LOL and saw a live wolf...( kids did...i missed it driving)...then thru the valley of Climax and into leadville...we parked at the start of downtown and walked down..visiting stores and saloons and finally stopping in quincy's a 1 menu item restaurant...all they served is filet mignon, salad and baked potato...PERIOD...nothing else..LOL...it was fantastic...everyone had the same thing...best of all the meal was $7.95 per person...loved it!!!
....took some great photo's of the true western town...never gone believe it but once again...got the damn...27 miles to park on the gas gauge...guess i'm not gonna learn...we all held our breath to minturn and got fueled...lol..
Day 5
great breakfast ...everyone sore....but in good spirits...early rise...today is our snowmobiling day...4 hours plus lunch......lot's of excitement....something we all have been waiting on....piney river excursions was the host and our guide karl from lakoda guides totally exceeded our expectations...Wow...so here go on a amazing 4 hours in the mountains of colorado...got picked up at 10:15 in the lobby... drove to vail and up, up, up the mountain to the entrance of the white river national forest ... got dressed with helmets and snow boots..and once again...signed our life away...the most paperwork we've done to date...
meet our guide karl...got 15 minutes of instruction on bike...including starting, stoping, leaning, holding on, kill switch, hand signals and finally trail etiquette....told us we were going to travel 30 miles during the day...the park had over 45 miles of maintained trails for snowmobilers...and 1/2 way we would stop at piney river ranch lodge and have lunch...everyone gave their lunch order.. joining us was a couple from san antonio and two guys from hot atlanta....off we took...up, up, up, again even further...starting on a one lane road...and finally turning off onto a single trail...hard to take photo's while driving...so most you see are still shot's..
words are hard to describe the first 1/2 of the trip...spectacular...mind numbing...amazing...god's special singular touch...massive...small.. and OMG...scary..and dangerous...why dangerous...here's why...20 minutes into the drive...coming around a corner i saw what appeared to be one snowmobile stopped and josh running and pumping his fist in air with the stop sign...as i came up i saw that the snowmobile in front of josh had turned on it's side in a huge hole...the two girls were laying on their side...but quickly jumped up...whew...as i jumped off mine and ran jerking my helmet off i heard .."i didn't see it"
..."gas is leaking...help us get it up"...when karl arrived...he was praising us and said you did good...and yes .just a slight misdirection into the powder can pull you over...lesson learned for all...and off again we were... on a incredible journey thru the woods and into a large valley and to a cleared area twice as large as a football field oval in shape....karl said ..two things...don't hit any trees and go as fast as want, till time to move on...THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART! wide open...leaning, sliding, holding ones's breath, braking, grinning, over and over...around, straight, and then finally stopping....gave my camera to josh and he took some incredible action shots...
...the next part of the journey was spent traveling to the ranch...we traveled on bunch various of trails, some single, some roads, some not sure...bumpy and very narrow, to come to another large valley...signs directing us to piney lake...lunch was coming...i could begin to taste it...pulling thru the gates of piney river ranch i knew we had come to a special place...the photo's will never do it justice as so much of my photo's i've taken during this trip can't compare to the views one's eyes receive...a lunch of cheeseburgers and a lengthy visit with karl fascinated us all..the old lodge sitting in the valley on the lake... which was snow covered from a winter of heavy snowfall...all knowing it held all kinds of stories and secrets....took killer photos here...
after lunch we took off for what karl said would be another journey as we had to eventually come down the mountain...not sure what it initially meant but found out after 30 minutes ...as we stopped for a breath taking view on a ridge and karl gathered us to discuss the next stage...a straight downhill descent of over 1/4 of a mile... this proved to be one of the most difficult parts of this adventure and one i was not totally sure i was ready for...as i saw each snowmobile take off and as i was the last...i couldn't help but wonder i just sat here would anyone comeback???
next was the journey to the backside of the mountain and views of the white river national forest...and our final descent back to base camp...this journey was mostly across rugged terrain, that of massive boulders and step cliffs...the trees were larger and split between evergreens and aspens...all larger then most of the previous parts...as we entered onto the two lane road that was packed with all types of tracks...i knew we were approaching the final stretch ...and was beginning to swell up with tremendous pride to have witnessed such beauty and nature, given to us all to treasure and share...and most important to take care of for the next generation..i will always do my part...i promise...as each kid promised...
as we said our goodbyes...karl leaned over and told me how appreciative he was of "my" kids and how we handled ourselves...and he would love to host us again...and you know...we just may do that.........
a magnificent spaghetti dinner tonight was prepared by the kids as i played on the computer and loaded/edited photo's...wow...what another blessed day......
to be continued.....
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