Mountain Road Trip

Per tradition, since we are all about tradition around here this time of year, we took our annual Mountain Road Trip this week. Spending time away from the house and getting into the snow and bitter cold does a body good as we say goodbye to the holiday season and prepare to ring in the New Year.

The bitterness of the crisp air combined with the quiet of nature surrounding in the valley of regal mountains is my favorite. We traveled past the county road on a dead end street - the same road my man and I parked when we took our days bike trip for our anniversary celebration in September. The region looks much different covered in thick layers of snow.

However, it was just as peaceful and quiet as the Fall.

We parked. My husband did some photography work, we played with the kids in the snow, we listened to nothing. So tranquil.

The rental of cross country skis is the way to go for the novice type like us. For under $75 we had four ski and boot rentals, and ski passes for twelve hours. You can't beat the price and we used up every last minute too. Now that the kids are 10 and 12, they can last longer on their skis and we proved to be able to keep right along with them. Headed over rivers and through woods, and up and down hills, was a beautiful challenge.

Sure we fell, but we got right back up laughing (me, because while I only fell twice, they were ultimately, without a doubt, completely graceful-less!), or with a few tears (kids) when the fall was a little more tender as a result of landing on ice, rather than fluffy snow. We kept going and got stronger as a result. The kids did not want to stop, and neither did we. It was a gorgeous, crisp, in the teens kinda day. Perfect.

We found time to sled, too. Growing up I loved to sled. I would go through woods dodging trees and down streets dodging parked bodies and cars. But as an adult, I have found that it is not as thrilling; something along the lines of an aged back that isn't the same post child birth. So I live vicariously through my children and husband enjoying the view through the lens of the camera and video. I find them extremely adorable bundled up, cruising down a slope, screaming with laughter, and landing/crashing with a smile.

We ate. Plenty. Enough said about that. We relaxed in the warm condo by the fire - looking at HOME magazines for a potential purchase (dreaming).

Our Mountain Road Trip of 2010 was spectacular. The tradition to be continued ...