Day 5 and 6 - Southwest Road Trip

On day 5 we left the mountain cabin and drove up to Salida, Colorado where Crystal and Daniel live (my sister and brother-in-law). We drove through beautiful mountain passes, one of them with was pretty icey. Forest was driving and he handled it impressively.

Once we arrived at Crystal's we bundled up and went out to the ski slopes where Daniel works to see the New Year's Eve festivities. It was REALLY cold up on the mountain. We stood out in the -5 degree weather and watched a lovely parade of skiers carrying flares coming down the mountain. It was so pretty and I got a little teary-eyed! Afterward they had a fireworks show and it was so beautiful the way it reflected on the snow and trees. The cold was really exciting. I have never been so cold! I could feel my nose hairs freezing.

Afterward we came home and Crystal made us a delicious dinner of pork tenderloin with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, acorn squash, asparagus and bread. It was so nice to have a home cooked meal after eating out so much! We played Scattergories and laughed until midnight.



On day 6 James, Forest and Jessica went up with Daniel to ski while Crystal and I hung out. We took a nice walk around the quaint downtown area. Salida is such a neat little town. The snow crunched under our feet and we had to walk on the sunny side of the street to stay warm. It was so nice to hang out with Crystal. I am so lucky to have such a cool sis. The skiers all had a great time. James hadn't skied since he was 17 but reported that he did fine and only fell once! Forest and Daniel skied together and James said they were skiing fast. Jessica chose a snowboard and had a lot of fun skiing all day. Everyone is sore and tired tonight!

Happy New Year!!