We drove up through Santa Fe, made a wrong turn and headed through Taos, and ended up on Thursday night in Monte Vista, Colorado. Guess who we met there? Izzy and The Little Guy! (Ryan was away on a hunting trip in Wyoming.) Rumor had it that Wolf Creek Ski Resort already had a 50 inch base, so we broke out the snowboards and met up for an early season slope session. The afternoons of Thursday and Friday passed by on cold Colorado snow, edging our way down 1,000 vertical feet of winter white. For us Californians, skiing on November 2 was almost miraculous. In fact, it was even impressive for the Aspen local. The Little Guy didn't complain about the cold at all, dotting his coal black coat with snow like so much powdered sugar.
When we pulled off the slopes on Friday night, we cruised down the mountain and made it halfway to Taos, where we spent all day on Saturday in the quaint high desert town. We cruised through art galleries, learned the scoop on the incredible local climbing scene, met the most intriguing cowboy at an authentic "old west" shop. Then, in the evening, we went to The Apple Tree to dine. It was amazing. Go there if you can. And go there hungry.
Night time temperatures dipped into freezing, and even the sun couldn't burn off the chill throughout the day. Ugg boots came out, jackets went on, and our little camper heater burned propane 24 hours a day to keep us in the warm.
Winter had arrived.
