ROAD TRIP TO REHAB CHAPTER lll
Road Trip to Rehab Chapter lll
Thursday, February 7, 2019 – Continued:
Still being upset about losing my credit card, Dan took the steering wheel as we headed out of Gunnison on Hwy 50 east, over Monarch Pass and down to Salida… We have driven over this pass many times and in both directions… It was snowing over the pass and visibility was near white-out at times, but with studded tires and fog lamps, the Subaru pushed through to crest the continental divide, passing the entrance to Monarch Ski Resort and down the east side to Salida where we turned north, heading to the front range. Our destination was Eagle, Colorado, west of Vail and Beaver Creek.
We drove through Leadville and took the turn, passing Ski Cooper and down to Minturn where we hit westbound I-70… And, finally arriving and checking in to the Eagle River Lodge (formerly a Holiday Inn Express). We would stay here for a total of four nights.
I did not get a return call from Garlic Mike’s, so I called them again and got a live person. They confirmed that they had my credit card and I was so relieved… I asked them to mail it back and they agreed to do so… Thankful that I did not have to cancel the card and wait for another from the bank.
We ended up heading to Restaurante Casa Mexico for dinner and this place was definitely authentic… They featured a 22 oz. Margarita to which several other patrons were enjoying, and I had a huge Mexican style Carne Asada burrito… It was grandioso!
Friday, February 8, 2019:
After a meager breakfast offering at the Eagle River Inn, we headed out east on 1-70 past Beaver Creek, Vail and all the other resorts to Frisco and onward to Arapahoe Basin… This was one resort that remained on my bucket list as in all the years traveling to Colorado and the resorts on the front range, I had never skied here…
Traffic was backed up coming through Frisco as there was some kind of accident near the Keystone Resort turn off… By time we got up the hill to A-Basin, we got one of their last parking spots in their upper lot… Thank goodness they did operate a shuttle to the base lodge.
Interestingly, their lower parking lot was for early arrivals and they allowed vehicles to park at the edge of the run and set up tailgating with awnings and barbecues and the like… Being a Friday, we expected crowds to impact all the resorts in the front range and there was a good one this morning…
We rode up the Black Mountain Express to the mid mountain and skied to the base of the Lenawee Mountain Lift… Riding up, the scenery was spectacular… with many double diamond chutes… Scarf the Gnar stuff! From the top, we skied down Lenawee Face & Dercum’s Gulch, riding back up to get more turns in… This day started out with blue skies and good visibility, but there were encroaching clouds on the horizon…
We skied to the base of Pallavicini Lift, rode up and skied down Grizzly Road took a break in the Black Mountain Lodge… We met up with NASJA member, Joan Wallen. Joan was out from New Hampshire with a friend, who unfortunately got injured the previous day and through communicating via text set up to meet at A-Basin… Great to catch up with Joan and we headed back up for more turns… with one down Lenawee Lift, back up and headed to the Zuma Lift… this was slightly uphill from the top of Lenawee and I had a difficult time attempting to herring-bone up the grade, but they waited for me before dropping over the backside into Montezuma Bowl… We skied a run, down Larkspur and the snow was really good, so we did it again…
We skied back over and stopped for lunch at the Black Mountain Lodge… inside space was at a premium, so we found a table on the deck… Lots of folks enjoying the outdoor view… I had enough turns in for the day as the clouds were ushered in by winds and found a chair to perch myself on the deck for the remainder of the afternoon, while Dan and Joan took a few more runs…
We skied down to the bottom and after bidding Joan goodbye, Dan took the shuttle back to the car and drove up to the base loading area where he picked me up… I had stopped in the ski shop and pick up an A-Basin sticker to add to my collection on the ski box…The drive back to Eagle was interesting with traffic from Denver heading to the hills, but once past Vail and Beaver Creek, a lot less traffic. The sun was setting by the time we got back to the Eagle River Inn.
Skiing A-Basin for the first time left me with a great impression… I really enjoyed the layout of the mountain and the runs… Being a Friday, the lines were not too long, actually very manageable, and the skiers & boarders on this mountain, for the most part, were very friendly… I look forward to returning another day for more…
A-Basin has 9 lifts & tows leading to 145 trails spread over 1,428 acres offering 2,530 feet of vertical… And, Skis BIG! Great snow quality as well with their base elevation of 10,780 feet… For more info on Arapaho Basin, visit: www.arapahoebasin.com
Later that evening, we went in to town and checked out the Brush Creek Saloon… This was a popular locals hang out and the bar & restaurant was filled with rustic character and characters! We managed to find two seats at the bar and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere…
Saturday; February 9, 2019:
We got a reasonably early start to Beaver Creek and ended up paying for parking in the garage at the village… Walked up some steep stairs to the Village Plaza and rode the escalators to the lift base area… A thin layers of clouds above with good visibility and the snow was in great shape…
Dan and I had skied Beaver Creek several times and this resort is chock full of cruising runs… We rode up the Centennial Express, then the Cinch Express to the top… We skied several nice cruisers from this lift and worked our way over to the base of the Larkspur Express, skied down and took the Bachelor Gulch Express back up and then skied to the base of Arrow Bahn Express… Skied back down to the Bachelor Gulch Lift, rode up and skied to base of the Strawberry Park Express to ride up and eventually get back to Spruce Saddle Lodge for lunch break.
After lunch, we skied a few more runs off the Cinch Express and Birds of Prey Express and I was ready to call it a day. I skied back down to the Beaver Creek Village and hung out, while Dan took a few more runs…
I managed to find the doorway leading to the parking garage and while attempting to get down the steep stairs, I caught a buckle on my left boot and bent the riveted mount attached to the shell… No big thing, but the when I took off the boot, noticed that the buckle alignment was slightly off center… not sure if this would present a problem in the future as the buckle, when closed, was tightening at an angle…
I attempted to text Dan that I was at the car, but the message didn’t go out, since I was underground in the garage… Duh! He eventually figured this out and we packed up and departed Beaver Creek back to our lodging in Eagle.
This day, I skied about 12 runs… although mostly low angle groomers, the consecutive days were starting to mount, but still feeling good about how I was making turns and keeping up… Unfortunately, somewhat disappointed that I have been shying away from challenging myself on much steeper terrain…
Later that evening we headed out for Italian at Pastatively, a family owned restaurant offering great service and great food… Veal Parm was my choice this evening…
By this date, we had been on the road 15 days and I was missing my dogs and my bed… Dan received news that his dog, Gus manage to injure his leg a day before and he too was missing the same. We decided to cut our trip by a day, but still one more day tomorrow at Beaver Creek before attempting to drive home on Monday… Originally, were going to drive back to Utah on Monday, spend a night and get a morning ski at Park City, then drive home on Tuesday…
Sunday: February 10, 2019:
Our final ski day on this road trip and we checked out of the Eagle River Inn and headed back to Beaver Creek. This time entering the mountain from the Arrowhead Resort side… This is a private home development and we were lucky to get the last parking pass to their lot this morning… It was about a 2-block walk to the lifts and Dan, thankfully carried my skis as I negotiated the uphill walk to the base. A beautiful bluebird day and great groomed runs…
We rode up the Arrow Bahn Express and skied down to Bachelor Gulch and back over to the main side of the resort… Most of these trails looked familiar as we skied some of these runs the day prior… We also got over to the Birds of Prey Lift and skied a few runs back down and thought about lunch back at the Spruce Saddle Lodge but, judging by the number of skis parked outside the lodge and all the tables occupied on the deck, we decide to find another on mountain lodge to have lunch. We skied back over to the base of Arrowhead Village, realizing when we got there, that the on-mountain lodge was at the top of the Bachelor Gulch Lift. So, we rode up and skied down to the Bachelor Gulch and back to the top where lunched in the sunshine of Mamie’s Mountain Grill. Nice deck like setting with an Umbrella Bar and where you grill your own burgers, etc… It was nice to hang out in this location and as mentioned, sunshine forever and it was hard to get up and leave…
I skied a few more runs on this side of the mountain before calling it a day. Dan, as usual, skied a few more as I chilled out and warmed up on the deck of the base of Arrowhead Village…
The sun had moved further west casting a shadow on this deck, by the time Dan finished up and he decided to grab a beer in the bar before we headed back to the car… Walking downhill was much easier than walking up, but I made it…
Beaver Creek is undoubtedly the premiere resort and compliment to Vail. The lift system, extending to a variety and numerous ski pods and their world class grooming sets this resort apart from others… A Gran Dame of a cruiser resort, but yet still hosts the infamous FIS World Cup “Birds of Prey” Men’s Downhill. What other resort do you know of, has escalators? First Class and Exclusive ski-in / ski-out lodging with full village amenities offering shopping, dining and resort services, enhances the “Special Place” experience…
Beaver Creek has a total of 23 lifts and tows, leading to 150 established trails, spread over 1,832 acres with 3,340 feet of Vert… If you have an Epic Pass, this resort is worth skiing or riding and, as we did, deserves more than just a one day visit… For more information on Beaver Creek Resort, visit: www.beavercreek.com
We packed up and departed Arrowhead back to Eagle for a final night before attempting to make the full drive back the next day…
My ski legs felt good, my skiing felt good with more confidence in skiing more aggressively, but still having issues with walking long distances without having to rest…
We headed to town for dinner and this time, craving Asian food, we ended up going to OWashi Sushi Kitchen, just a few doors down from the Brush Creek Saloon… The Beef Lo-Mein was calling my name and it was delicious…
Monday: February 11, 2019:
We packed up the Subaru as the skies were gray and light snow started to fall… We hit the road by 7:15am (MST) driving west on I-70 towards Glenwood Springs and to Grand Junction… Snow was sticking to road and I was glad for the studded snow tires and at times visibility near white-out and vehicles in front kicking up mini blizzards… so I am glad, I also have fog lights…
Most traffic was driving slowly and cautiously in the right lane, where most of snow was worn off, and faster vehicles and trucks were passing in the left lane where snow was accumulating… I took my time and drove in the slower lane, until having to pass much slower vehicles… Although I have many years of experience driving in snow conditions, this was still a white-knuckle drive for me and even getting up and over the mesa before dropping in to Grand Junction was scary…
By the time we got through Grand Junction, blues skies replaced falling snow and we continued the drive, leaving Colorado and heading to Green River, Utah. We stopped for fuel and Dan took the steering wheel for the next leg and we continued west, taking the roadway north, back through Price, Utah and onward, joining I-15 north to Salt Lake the I-80 west exit…
Interestingly enough, when we drove out through the Provo Canyon, we had a beautiful view of the east side Mt. Tipanogos with cloud layers and on this drive got the other west side view of the mountain.
We continue west on I-80 across the Salt Flats and refueled in Wendover. We decided that we were not going to get back to my house until after 7:00pm and Dan would spend the night at my place, instead of driving back to his home in San Anselmo. So, we decided to stop for dinner in Winnemucca at the same Mexican restaurant that we had dinner in, the first night driving out… Déjà Vu!
I took the steering wheel over for this final leg and continued driving under night skies with one more stop in Fernley before the final stretch to hit Hwy 50 into Carson City and back to the Carson Valley. We got to my house about 10:30pm and my Dogs were elated to see their dad.
I noticed that the heat in my house was not on and it was 42F in my house and attempted to figure out why my furnace wasn’t firing up… to no avail, I was not able to get the heat on…
In early November, when temps were cooling down, I had an issue with this and called the plumber and they replaced the ignitor to the unit… They told me that these go out and they replaced it with an updated one that should last for many years… I suspected that it failed and all I could do is bring a portable heater in from my garage, that I leave for my dogs, to warm the interior.
The next morning, I had to actually turn on my gas stove to get some heat in the house and Dan packed up and departed… Another great road trip in the bag and thankful that we had great snow conditions, everywhere we travelled, and no one got hurt!
That morning, I called the plumber to report the problem with the furnace and they were not able to get out to repair it until the next day… It was the igniter and it did fail… So, much for many years…
My Road Trip was over, I was glad to be back. We had been on the road for 17 days… I had skied 13 days at 11 different Resorts… in both Utah & Colorado… Elko Snobowl, Snowbird, Brighton, Alta, Solitude, Park City, Purgatory, Telluride, Crested Butte, A-Basin and Beaver Creek/Arrowhead. The Subaru logged a total of 3,024.6 miles with the one-day, 14 hour drive back from Eagle, Colorado logging 944.8 miles. Oh, by the way, I had to call again about my credit card and it finally arrived on February 25…
The snow pack reported at Tahoe resorts had more than doubled from the first week in February through the Presidents week… A few folks asked about my other winter road trip buddy, Hula-Gan, the Powder Monkey, as he was absent from this year’s road trip and I had to let them know that Hula-Gan is our good luck charm for finding fresh powder on our road trips… And he knew big snows were coming to Tahoe and decided to stay home… Well, that’s the story and I’m sticking to it… In reality he was on my counter, next to my briefcase and I forgot to pack him… Sorry, Hula-Gan and Hula-Gan followers… There’s always next years road trip and we are hoping to get to New Mexico resorts to make turns…
It was a great road trip shared with great friends, visiting 11 different resorts with great snow conditions and good weather, staying in a variety of lodging properties, including with the Ralph’s… Enjoyed a variety of resort food & great Apres Ski dining! Managed to ski myself into descent shape with increasing aggressiveness & confidence… I actually feel accomplished with my skiing ability and willing to continue challenge myself on steeper terrain…
Big Thanks to Dan Giesin for putting up with me and helping to carry my skis as I progressed or digressed, daily… Best Friend and Ski Buddy forever! Looking forward to heading to Park City for the NASJA Annual Meeting and U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame activities in April…
Am I Rehabilitated? Not Yet! I will continue to work on my legs to walk with-out fatigue… My surgeon told me that this should get better as time passes… So, for now, still one step at a time and one turn at a time… And, hoping, soon get back on the saddle of my bike and return to my normal active lifestyle. Thank you for your continued love and support and joining me on this journey… The journey to rehab and full recovery continues this spring, or whenever spring gets here!