The rest of the holiday vacation in Silverton

This is my favorite decorated house in Silverton. I love the way the snow is hanging off of the front.

Okay - here is what we did:

Sunday:

Snowshoeing, for the first time ever, on the 'Snowshoe trail' (actually, I think there is a real name for it, but that is what everyone calls it) with my husband's friend's wife, Cindy. Some of the trail was started by someone else, but we had to pack some new trail down, which is hard! It was through a forest of trees weighed down with tons of snow, which was beautiful. It was a lot of fun and definitely a good workout. Kenny went downhill skiing while I did that. I then took a one hour 4pm Body Pump class at the Silverton Movement Center.

Monday:

Took a one hour 8:15 am Pilates class at SMC. It is a super core workout. We then went to the Kendall Mountain Ski area and sledded for the afternoon.

We tried out 3 different sleds, and came to the conclusion that the wood ones from Mountain Boy Sledworks, made in Silverton, were the fastest and best. We trekked up that hill more times than I can count. Legs feel like jello. We had a few wrecks, but that is part of the fun, right?
Me:

Kenny:

It was really warm out (well, around 35 degrees, but with the elevation and the activity, I really was warm!) Had to make sure we wore sunglasses, because the sun was out in full force and can really snowblind! I got 2 new hats while I was here - one is the bright pink flower one on me above and the other, a cute pink (yes, more pink, are you surprised?) knitted number with little animal ears on top.

Tuesday:

Well, it should be obvious by now, but I couldn't get up for the 8:15am spin class. Too sore! So, we went and ate breakfast at the San Juan Grill, which I would recommend highly. I had a burrito filled with black beans, eggs, cojita cheese, and hashbrowns and smothered with vegetarian green chile sauce.

We then headed back to the Kendall Mountain Ski area. Kenny did some more downhill skiing (he is pretty good for not doing it for 26 years!) while I sledded some more and did some cross country skiing on a groomed loop nearby (okay, that is pretty hard - legs are really tired now). After falling over once, I can see why it wasn't a good idea to downhill ski. I didn't hurt my wrist when I fell, but I wasn't hurtling downhill either. Here is my only proof that I went cross country skiing (Kenny wasn't around to get pictures because he was on the slopes):

Here is Kenny with his crazy bear hat, which gets a lot of attention on the slopes: He got braver as the day went on, trying the really steep slope a few times at the end. It was fun to watch him.

Wednesday:

Full day! I got out of the warm bed for a one hour 8:15am Body Pump class at SMC. This one used a Bosu ball, which you balance on while doing your exercises. Legs are now officially wiped out (and my upper body is, too).

Kenny and I then took the dogs snowshoeing on the same trail I went on the other day. The forest is so amazingly peaceful. No doubt God created all I see in nature.

After that, we went snowmobiling with Ken's friend Bill. I had a smaller snowmobile which was perfect and had so much fun! We went all over the open areas in the town of Silverton, including next to the Animas River, which is where I run in the Summer. Amazing what 5 months time does. Everything is covered in snow, and the river is frozen over. I was pretty careful on the river trail, as one wrong move could land you in the partially frozen river. Wouldn't want to break the crust - a freezing death for sure. Once we were back on the regular trail, I was gunning it and catching air - Bill said I was a natural. It did leave me with a case of 'snowmobile thumb' - that whole area on my hand and wrist is sore. We were pretty bundled up to stay cozy and I wasn't cold at all. Kenny wore his 'eskimo' hat, which is super warm.

We then finished off our last afternoon in Silverton with a couple of sledding trips down the big hill in town.

After going to dinner that night at the Pickle Barrel, we were in bed on New Year's Eve by 11pm, since we were headed back to Tucson early in the morning. We were exhausted after all of our fun, which was evident by the fact that we heard no fireworks at midnight. None.

Seriously, if you haven't visited Colorado, you must go. The San Juan mountains are so unbelievably a sight to behold. And if you go with us, plan to have fun and wipe yourself out. It is the only way to live. But don't let me tell you; see what Taos and Cracker have to say:

Silverton to Tucson with a trail run on the side

Today, I leave Silverton, Colorado, to head back down to Tucson for some desert running! Very hard to leave Kenny and Silverton, but he'll be home in a few weeks, and I'll be back in Silverton next year to visit.
Bye, bye Silverton! Your snowcapped mountains and brightly hued mountainsides are amazing to look at!

I drove home through Flagstaff, and yes, I stopped off for a little trail run! I did Soldier's Trail, which is located in the Flagstaff Fairgrounds. It is about 5 miles, but I did part of the Flagstaff Urban trail, also, so I ended up running about 6.5 miles, which was great after being in the car for 6 hours. The trail is a combo of single and double track and is located in a beautiful pine forest (Coconino). I didn't see anyone on the trail; just a bunch of huge squirrels! I had one take a picture of me. :)

Silverton, CO - Highland Mary Hike

Highland Mary Trail Hike!
Ken, Dixie and I went on a hike today to Highland Mary Lake near Silverton. We didn't make it all the way to the pass, but we did make it to about 12,000 feet. The snow was getting deep, and we had already trekked through a trail filled with mud and ice from the snowfall that came several days ago, so we were pretty tired. About the time I was reading our hiking book (to decide if we should go further up, which we decided not to) two hikers that were hiking the Continental Divide Trail, which intersects with the Highland Mary trail, came along. They were coming from Canada all the way to Mexico!
All together, we did about 6 miles round trip and saw some beautiful country. When we started, it was below freezing, but we warmed up quick, and I ended up getting a pretty bad sunburn that day. Sunscreen is just not the first thing that comes to mind when I'm freezing, but at altitude, it is so easy to burn. I get to see some amazing places. Thank you, God!

The view on the way back down the mountain was gorgeous, of course. We climbed about 1,500 feet in altitude.

Snowy Stony Pass - Colorado San Juan Mountains

On Sunday, it rained and snowed (at higher elevations), so we didn't do much but eat! Kenny and I got up on Monday morning and bundled up for a ride up over Stony Pass (12,650 feet) to see all of the snow. Here is what I was wearing:

Wind pants
Base layer 'long-john' pants
Jeans
Sports bra
Hooded base layer
Heavy base layer 'long-john' shirt
Wind jacket
Insulated Soft shell jacket
Neck gaitor
2 ear headbands
Crocheted hat
2 pairs of gloves and 1 pair of insulated mittens
Thick pair of socks
Snow boots
I was still cold in a few spots, which is unbelievable, but we were on the Arctic Cat, and it had to be well below freezing up there. Felt like we were in 'no man's land'. We did finally see someone in a Jeep, but there is a weird isolated feeling up there. It is so quiet and peaceful. The view coming down from the pass was amazing.

Later that day (after bundling up under some blankets for a while watching a movie to try and warm up) I ran the most beautiful 6 mile trail run from our cabin into Silverton along the Animas River with Dixie Dog for the 3rd time this week. After last night's weather, it was an extremely cold and windy run. Regardless, I knew it would be my last run in Silverton this year, so I savored it.
This place will be extremely hard to leave.

First longer trail run in Silverton, Colorado

The obsession could wait no longer! I had only run 3.5 miles since Saturday. Okay, I have been hiking quite a bit, but I think my endorphin levels had dropped significantly! Today I went on a 6 mile trail run from the cabin we are staying at near Howardsville into Silverton, which was about 6 miles. I ran past the Old 100 Gold Mine through Cunningham Gulch, which has beautiful mountain views, a stream alongside, changing leaves, and no pavement or concrete! Most of the rest of the run is along the Animas River, which flows through Silverton. It was amazing! Running in such beautiful country is such a treat. I was a little winded from the elevation (still getting used to it) but I really enjoyed doing a little longer run. It was not as easy as my desert runs in Tucson, but I could tell I was feeling better. The view going into Silverton was wonderful - Silverton is nestled in a little valley surrounded by huge mountains. Kenny was working at his art gallery in Silverton, so he gave me a ride back to the cabin. I'll be doing this trail run again.

Later that evening, we drove up to Clear Lake, which is on the other side of Silverton. To get there, you have to travel on a 4WD road that has a lot of switchbacks. It is about 4 miles up the mountain, but it took us over an hour to get up there and about an hour to get back down. The lake itself is not that impressive (it is above treeline - sparse vegetation at the top) but the drive was spectacular. A storm was brewing off in the distance, so I took some interesting pictures of the activity over the mountains.
Afterwards, we finished the day off with some dinner (yum, sweet potato french fries) at The Pickle Barrel in Silverton.
I just don't sit still for long. I love DOING. However, I always take time in the morning to BE before I head out for the day and DO. When I do that, I seem to be helpful to those around me.

A mountain hike and run - Silverton, Colorado

I arrived in colorful Silverton, Colorado (at elevation 9,318 ft.) on Sunday after a 10 hour drive from Tucson. After a day of rest on Monday to get used to the altitude, Kenny, Dixie and I went on a hike up Stony Gulch, heading up to the Old 100 boarding house. It was a pretty steep hike, so we didn't make it to the top, but we still got in about 1:45. I felt like we were on top of the world! I could see for miles and miles. There was quite a bit of fog that day in the valley - we are at about 11,000 feet (guess) in the picture. The landscape views from up high almost look fake! Dixie was very happy to see me and really enjoyed the hike. It is great to finally be with Kenny - we don't get to see each other much over the summer. He is going to get us in some good hikes this week to get me ready for the Bisbee Stair Climb race in October.

Later that afternoon, Dixie and I went on a 3.5 mile run around Cunningham Gulch, which is beautiful! We are staying in a cabin up there, which is near the Old 100 Gold Mine. The leaves are changing and are a sign that fall has arrived. All the pine trees, mountains and streams make it just an amazing place to run. I was pretty winded from that run - the elevation near the cabin is even higher than Silverton, and my lungs were trying to adjust! It always takes a few days to get a little acclimated. I like a little bit of a longer run, but I was trying to take it easy until I was fully acclimated. It was a little cool, but Dixie didn't notice - she was playing in the creek. She loves the water, no matter how cold it is!
I feel very connected spiritually up here. It is just too beautiful for words. Thank you God for the changing leaves, the majestic mountains, the deer and the marmots, and for bringing people (and dogs) into my life that love and cherish me!