One Foot Weekend

Fox Run - see the ski tracks?

All my Michigan friends can laugh, but we had ONE FOOT of snow this weekend!

I know, the Midwest is digging out from multiple feet of snow, and arctic temperatures, but this just doesn't happen very often in Jan/Feb in Colorado. Most of the snow Colorado receives comes later into the spring (last spring we had six Saturdays in a row of blizzards.)

Enter the Pineapple Express.

Seriously, it's called the Pineapple Express! A dip in the Jet Stream results in pushing moist air over the Rockies from California, bringing snow to Colorado in January and February.

The Pineapple Express made a stop at my house.

It's so happy!


Garden of the Gods

I skied Friday night before Eric got home from Chicago.

We rented snowshoes from REI on Saturday ($15 for a pair, and they let us keep them until today!)



Garden of the Gods

We snowshoed Garden of the Gods on Saturday. It was cloudy and cold, and was snowing, but we didn't mind and neither did the big horn sheep.






Pike National Forest

Eric and the Monument

Sunday, after church and before the Super Bowl, we snowshoed to "The Monument" (the big rock the town of Monument is named for.) It was sunny, 37 and just gorgeous.


Not really sure when I became that woman who talks about the weather all the time?

Eh, who cares, I got to snowshoe and ski!!!!

We're supposed to get MORE snow tonight.

Wheeeee!!!!!

Colorado Winter Weather

So, being newer to Colorado, the weather here never ceases to amaze me. Ok, so I grew up in Michigan, where the state motto was practically: "Don't like the weather? Wait a minute, it will change."

But seriously, out here, it may not be a "minute" but the extremes in a DAY are incredible.

Monday, it was -3 when  I got up. No, not a polar vortex, we just call that winter. It snowed.

This was Tuesday.

Pike's Peak from Fox Run Regional Park. Note the tracks. They are mine (some of them.)

On Tuesday, there was enough snow on the ground that I threw my cross-country skis and gear in the car, and went out to the park after work. I skied until I couldn't see anymore (ok, the other thing about living in the mountains is that it gets dark FAST! There is very little lingering twilight... more like "bam!" gone.)

On Wednesday, I had Physical Therapy after work (tendonitis in my knee. Stupid knee.) Because my PT says its ok, I went running after I got home. In the dark (again, with the darkness) but there are street lights.

I ran in a long-sleeve t-shirt (my fun, new, car-stopping, neon green one) and pants. It was 45 degrees and a warm breeze was blowing.

Wednesday night, that "warm breeze" turned into gale force winds. Despite EAR PLUGS, the wind blew so hard that it woke me up seventeen million times, at least one million of those because the house was shaking so hard it shook my bed and the bathroom door.  At one point I seriously thought, "this wind is going to knock the house off the foundation and Eric is out of town. What do I do about that?" Ok, so it was a serious, if not totally rational, thought...

Today is Thursday, and its cloudy, but in the 40's. I guess that means it should snow, and we'll be at 65 by the weekend???