Christmas in Estes Park and New Year's Eve in Vail/Snowmass

 12/23

Powder day (very cold) Snowmass. Drove to Estes Park. Slow drive b/c of bad weather. But when we arrived the downstairs (where we would be quarantining) was so very nicely decorated for Christmas with the snow village, lights, and candles

12/24

Christmas Eve. Cosmos and shrimp for hors devours. Dinner of fondue. Key lime pie and baileys for dessert.

We found out 2 people at work had tested positive for covid and a couple others were out sick. This meant they were closing the game lounge, so we could stay a few extra days in Estes. Our plan had been to leave before dawn on the 26th.

12/25

Merry Christmas!

Eggs Benedict for breakfast. Hiked up to frozen Emerald and Dream Lakes in the Park. Sangria and cheese plate for hors devours. Prime Rib dinner. Bananas Flambé and baileys for dessert. Christmas Chronicles movie.

12/26

Christmas Chronicles II movie in the morning. Ice skating at the YMCA. Walk downtown Estes to see the lights

12/27

Drove to Aspen

12/29

ski toured up Snowmass and then skied major powder (11+")!

Selfie den/game lounge is more or less permanently closed b/c of covid, so we are given another shift at the skating rink and then odd jobs we can do to make up hours (such as sharpen skate, which is actually nice b/c it's easy and allows us to work on our own projects while the skates are sharpening)

12/30

Toured up snowmass and then skied.

12/31

Went to Vail Village. Watched the fireworks, checked out the famous Vail Christmas lights, and walked between the various villages (Vail and its villages are a pedestrian only town. We had pizza by a fire. We then drove home to Snowmass and rang in the New Year on the ski slope. It was eerily quiet (The ski resort town bars and restaurants all had to close by 9pm), but a few people shouted Happy New Year, and a snowcat working flashed its lights.

1/1/2021

Happy New Year!

Cross-country skied up to Maroon Lake to see the Maroon Bells

1/2

Skied on some of the Aspen nordic trails (Golf Course Loop)

1/3

Skied some of the Aspen Nordic Trails (Maroon Creek Club Loop, Moore Loop, and part of the Golf Course Loop

1/4

Skied Snowmass

Offered a job near McCall studying an endangered ground squirrel, but turned it down.

1/5 

Skied snowmass in dumping snow and pow day

Arizona Game and Fish accepted my offer not to start until April.

Notified I was a finalist and given an interview with East Foundation in Texas for a Wildlife and Range Biologist position

More stress about what I should do with jobs!!!

1/6 

Skied snowmass with about 3" of powder

1/7 

Skied Aspen Highlands

1/8

Skied Buttermilk (home to the X-games) and then Snowmass in the late afternoon

1/9

Skied the Aspen High School nordic loop