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: