As you read this, we will probably be driving through Nebraska (sigh, again). But no worries, it’s been a most excellent ski adventure! #livingmybestskilife 😉 One of the things I enjoy most when I’m on a ski trip is talking with people who have shaped their retirement years into a winter ski life. We meet people who have houses in ski areas and spend months there, much like the “snowbirds” in our area who flock to Florida for the winter. Or maybe they are traveling around the different resorts like we are. We share stories on the chairlift rides and it’s quite inspirational, especially those people in their late 60’s who meet up with friends because so-and-so has a condo that they use. Next step, we need to make friends with some of these condo people! But overall, this trip really solidified the fact that yes, we too can enjoy that lifestyle. We skied 10 days on this trip. We will have driven 4,000 miles by the time we get home! We return from this trip with tired legs, and very full hearts. Here’s what went down this past week (lot of pictures, hope you like them!)….
Sun – skiing at Keystone. Items to note for this skiing day… I had a stellar fall! Unlike last week where it was icy and steep, this was when I was cruising super fast down the slopes (ironically to avoid having to turn on slippery spots) and one of my skis caught. 99% of the time my skis are doing what I want, but every now and then a ski will just go off on it’s own. My ski caught a patch of snow and I spun around in a circle, on my stomach. Alan said I looked like a snowball! It must have been pretty great to watch because someone stopped right away and asked if I was OK. I just laughed and said I was fine (which I was!). My ski left a large bruise on my leg but otherwise it was pretty funny!
The other item to note was the absolutely adorable ski patrol dog who was out on the slopes. Awwwwwww!!
Mon – Rest day! This was a total rest day other than a walk around town. Our bodies really need a rest after all of the skiing! Here’s my remote workspace in the condo. It does not suck 🙂
Tues – Rest day! Another rest day while I worked remotely. We met up with my transplanted Colorado friend. It was 2 years ago that we skied with her and she had a major injury on the slopes. She had to be hauled down the mountain by ski patrol! After a year of recovery and rehab for an MCL surgery, she is back at it again… now a snowboarder! It was great to catch up with her. Fun fact – she was my inspiration to plan these extended ski/remote work trips. In 2020 she worked remotely while enjoying van life with her 2 dogs. She explored some great places during that time.
My Strava activity for the day was a short hike with a beautiful view of Lake Dillion. The water level is very noticeably low! Did I mention this area has historically low snow levels this year (this having lower water levels too)??
Weds – 23 miles skiing at Keystone. Again, another day of skiing on less than ideal conditions. We watched the snow clouds hovering in the area though. We looked across the valley to see snow falling at Breckenridge. It was quite a view!
Thurs – 25 miles skiing at Breckenridge. Finally we got some new snow! The area was supposed to get dumped on (forecasts up to 8 inches of snow) but Breck reported 2 inches. Even so, 2 inches of snow made a major impact! Instead of slick, packed snow, we now had fluffy trails which made skiing quite easy and enjoyable!
To give you an idea, you really had to choose your run wisely. Some of the runs looked like this! We all agreed this run really shouldn’t have been open. So many rocks, trees and dirt!
We tried a new place for happy hour. It was a hit! We walked out of there paying only $28 for three beers and a giant pretzel. Winning!
Fri – 32 miles skiing at Vail! Our final ski day ended on a high note. The new snow made skiing really good and we spent a lot of time in the wooded area of the mountain. Fun, fun, fun!
In 2011 Vail renamed a run in Lindsey Vonn’s honor. It’s fun to ski in the same areas that Olympic skiers have trained on. What a sad turn of events for Lindsey. I wish her the best in her recovery.
Since we enjoyed that new restaurant so much, we went back for happy hour again, this time sharing some nachos. Hard to resist half price beer!
Sat – Happy Valentine’s Day! Move out day. Whomp whomp.
We had a romantic day of hauling our stuff out to the truck, driving across the country, and resting our tired heads for the night at a cheap hotel. LOL! And it was perfect. It was sad to end our wonderful ski trip but it’s time. We miss our cats and family. We made it to the Iowa City area. Our romantic dinner was BOGO Whoppers ❤️❤️. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Burger King. It was YUMMY!
Sun – driving home, hopefully picking up the cats if we get home soon enough and enjoying our own bed. The thing I am most looking forward to is using a variety of facial products, hair products and blow dryer!! My hair is whack when I don’t have my own “stuff” available, and the mountain air really dries out my skin.
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
Q: Thoughts on the Olympics so far??
We had Peacock service which gave us a lot of choices to watch the Olympics but for some reason every time we turned it on the live events were either curling, luge or cross country skiing! So much curling coverage!! The mogul skiers were amazing and I loved the ice dancing.
Q: What is your go-to fast food restaurant on a road trip?
Taco Bell is usually in the rotation, Chick-fil-A if we’re feeling fancy, and McDonalds as a last resort.
You’ve had a fantastic ski trip! How fun would it be to have a ski condo to visit? Retirement goals, right!
Oh my goodness, I haven’t been to Burger King in years, but I do love their Whoopers! Now I want one. LOL To answer your question, though, I guess Chick-fil-A is our quick stop in lunch of choice when traveling.
Chick-fil-A does seem to be the most healthy choice, and you can’t get better, friendlier service! Oh, we did stop at Arby’s too. I do love an Arby’s sandwich with cheese!
When we first got married we started saving for a Colorado condo to own. But, we’ve found the best choice for us is traveling to different locations. I don’t want to be limited to one destination! Condo HOA fees are crazy expensive now too, so I’m glad we never bought anything. I’m happy to be someone else’s guest!
This all sounds AWESOME! Well, except for that fall (that sounds scary to me but it sounds like you weren’t hurt at all). Even the “unromantic” Valentine’s Day sounds really fun- I hope you get back in time today to see the cats!!!
I LOVE all the photos! The snow… the mountains… that GIANT PRETZEL. I could totally dig into that while drinking a delicious IPA.
My go-to fast food is Chipotle, but Taco Bell wins for being cheap!
Yummm, Chipotle is a solid choice, although maybe not as “car ride” friendly as others. That giant pretzel was a great deal and so good. The week prior we had two beers and two grilled cheese sandwiches (with chips) in Breckenridge. Total cost was $48 before tip. I guess I don’t go out to eat enough because I thought that was waaaaaay overpriced!
Oh, how nice it must be to get to chat with all those people and hearing the stories about how they got there and chose to spend so much time there. I’ve never heard of that choice of lifestyle – I only know of people who choose to retire in warm places (like Florida). I’m glad you didn’t get hurt when you fell! Sounds like it was tricky, getting caught in something.
I’m not much for fast food… mostly because I can’t eat most of it. Last year when we were in Sweden driving to the airport after visiting my parents, we came across an independent burger place in the middle of nowhere. Those are the best places. When I asked (with no hope) if they had any gluten free options, he said “we can make everything gluten free” and they even had sweet potato fries. That was such a fantastic place. Otherwise during roadtrips I prepare protein powder with cocoa powder and some sugar in a shaker and then I just need to find milk, or cold cappuccino or something, and I have bananas and protein bars.
I can see how it would be challenging to find gluten free options when traveling! Your travel food sounds much healthier though, so that’s a huge plus when you know what works for you.
I agree, you don’t hear much about people who head to the ski slopes for winter season! Warm weather climates definitely win the popular vote but we run into a lot of people on the chair lifts with interesting life stories to tell.
What a fun week! Safe travels home. Also, what a great deal for the half-priced beer – I definitely would’ve been back for more too. That pretzel looks SO SO GOOD.
You sure did have a fantastic ski adventure! Looks like conditions were pretty good! We are excited about our trip in a few weeks
What an amazing trip you’ve had! I have to admit that I am envious–my hubs, who used to love to travel, does not love to travel anymore. So I will live vicariously through you! And travel when I can. Glad your wipeout wasn’t too bad. I’m sure I told you that Vail owns a local ski resort here–kind of random that they would buy that. It’s really a big hill with a chairlift. Anyhoo, safe travels, and you know it will feel good to sleep in your own bed!
Speaking of Burger King, there’s one by my work, and when I leave on my late night, I can smell that flame-broiled smell–I can’t deny that it makes me hungry! But I drive home and eat what I have there…sigh…it’s hard to be good sometimes…
This was an epic trip! Sounds like you guys kept VERY active and your legs will appreciate some down time 😉 I don’t do fast food very often, but I do like a Whopper on occasion (minus the ketchup and pickles,LOL). Subway or Chick-fil-A are also in rotation.
You definitely had an epic trip — it looks like you made the most of the conditions and got a lot of good skiing in. Your ski condo office set up looks great.
We usually hit up McDs if we need a breakfast stop or bathroom break. Otherwise I try to pack sandwiches for the car or we will try to find a diner-style place.