The next day, the snow continued into mid morning. Then, the glorious sun came out. Emma & I decided to go for a snowshoe hike. We hiked for about 3 hours, all over Stapleton, and I actually got a sunburn! Emma had hoped the Coldstone was open, but alas, they had closed up shop for the day on account of the storm.

We went to Noodles & Co, and I bought her a cookie instead. It wasn’t ice cream, but oh well!

After 3 hours of snowshoeing, I was beat. What a great workout!

Jen’s neighborhood was blessed with 16-18 inches of snow, so we were assurred of a good time snowshoeing. While we were waiting for her friend, Liz, to show up, Jen & I went for a quick warm up. We hopped her backyard fence and walked up the Ridge behind her house. When we got up to the top, just past the sledding area, Liz called. She would be over soon, so Jen & I headed back.

When I met Liz, she was bent over, diligently working at the straps of snowshoes Jen was loaning her. We outfitted her with some trekking poles, and we were all good to go.

We all hopped the fence (by this time I was a pro), and headed up the ridge. It was a beautiful day, and I was looking forward to the view of the Front Range, covered in new snow.

We had gone about 3 miles, encountering ankle to waist deep patches of snow, when Liz experienced a soreness in her hip joint.

Time to stop…so we took off our snowshoes, and walked on a cleared concrete path the last little bit to Jen’s house.

We spent the afternoon baking cookies (some 3 dozen cookies and a tray of Blondies). Jen’s house smelled fabulous, as a result. Then later, Liz’s hubby Bill, and Dennis came over to watch some B-ball. We had a wonderful meal of pot roast (I had salmon), salad, potatoes & carrots, and more cookies. Then we watched Michigan State progress to the Elite Eight.

What a fun day!

On January 15th, I had the first of a series of 3 phone interviews for a new job. The interviewing lasted about a week, at which point I was fortunate to recieve an offer of employment. I just knew the job was right when my future boss invited Dennis & I up for the annual employee snowshoe hike/cross country ski trip! This was an outdoorsy group, and I was eager to learn who my future co-workers would be in an atmosphere away from the office.

Dennis & I left early Saturday morning for YMCA of the Rockies, Snow Mountain Ranch . The drive was a little busy as ALL of Denver headed for the hills. We were a little bit late, but luckily we spotted Dan (my new boss) at the Cross Country Hut.

Dan really spared no expense when it came to breakfast. I was immediately impressed with his preparation, including waffle iron with waffle dough, syrup, butter, yoghurt, fresh fruit, HOT coffee, cream, sugar, and juice. In addition to all this, he had arranged the cross country outing and made sure that Dennis & I knew where to go for snowshoe hiking directions.

After a quick bite to eat, Dennis & I headed off for Nine Mile Mountain. It was a very pleasant trail leading up the side of a sloping mountain. We were not alone, but it was not that crowded. For most the hike, we blazed our own trail and the snow was quite deep! It was a fantastic hike, taking about 2 hours from the pullout to the top and back down to the car. We headed back to the Hut for lunch.

Everybody had a fantastic time cross country skiing, and they were back around the same time as us. We all brought lunch and shared with each other. It was great eating as people had brought all kinds of different foods.

Around 2pm, Dennis & I left for Sol Vista-we had reservations at the Inn at Silvercreek. The rooms were super basic, and not that impressive (no coffee in the room). It felt like a Motel 6, but had Marriott prices! I think we’d have been better off staying at the YMCA in a cabin or something else…anyways, we were not that impressed with the room. I would not recommend it.