LIVE and LEARN: Ski Days, Vail and Breckenridge

Friday, February 8, 2013

Ski Days, Vail and Breckenridge - Skywatch

What a great week of skiing in CO!

Skiing in fresh powder is always a treat.

I've skied for over 40 years,

and I never get tired of snow storms.

(Well, maybe I get a little tired of snow by May!)

We celebrated a dear friend's birthday by skiing in Vail,

about 45 minutes from our home in Breckenridge.

After skiing, we had lunch at Sweet Basil - yummy!

Our friend, Barb (in red), is now 76 years young.

Here we are just before skiing the moguls on Highline.

(We both survived!)

Back home, Bob and I ski through the National Forest

to the lifts on Peak 9, Breckenridge Ski Area.

We snap into our skis as the evergreens

glow in the early-morning sun.

New snow frosting trees and a bright blue sky mean a great day of skiing!

I have a big smile on my face

as I ski through this winter wonderland.

Skywatch Friday

37 comments:

Nancy JFriday, February 8, 2013 at 2:39:00 PM MST
What a wonderful world, and day, great to be together for the celebration. Lovely photos, great snow, enjoy more skiing this season. Greetings from Jean.
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CarverFriday, February 8, 2013 at 3:01:00 PM MST
Wonderful sequence of shots. The winter landscapes are beautiful and great shots of the skiing friends and birthday treat too.
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Carol MattinglyFriday, February 8, 2013 at 3:03:00 PM MST
More snow coming to the Rockies, more skiing,
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TaborFriday, February 8, 2013 at 3:28:00 PM MST
I envy your world and your willingness to get out in that cold weather!
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Karen @ away for the weekendFriday, February 8, 2013 at 3:42:00 PM MST
That looks so wonderful. I'm glad you had a great time - and moguls? Sheesh I'm impressed!
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CarolFriday, February 8, 2013 at 3:42:00 PM MST
Great photos, Barb, and this looks like so much fun! Your wintery scenes are beautiful. You live in a gorgeous State...
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Arkansas PattiFriday, February 8, 2013 at 4:28:00 PM MST
I have never tried skiing except on water and you make it look like such fun and it sure seems to keep a body young. Happy belated Birthday to your friend. Never hurts to have the sentiments spelled out in chocolate.
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HildredFriday, February 8, 2013 at 5:42:00 PM MST
Wonderful, - so glad you are having such a happy and satisfying time, Barb. Love the first picture of you, - really love it!
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GeorgeFriday, February 8, 2013 at 6:31:00 PM MST
What great photos, Barb, and you've brought back wonderful memories of Sweet Basil, which was there when I was skiing a great deal in Vail some years ago.
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AnnieFriday, February 8, 2013 at 6:34:00 PM MST
It all looks so wonderful Barb.
How lovely, that you can get together and celebrate a birthday in the snow!
The Labrador in the previous post was definitely a very cute dog!
Can't wait til I can get another one!
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Cathy H.Friday, February 8, 2013 at 6:47:00 PM MST
Gorgeous images! What a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday! My favorite shot is the early morning sun on the trees! So beautiful!
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Red Rose.Friday, February 8, 2013 at 7:29:00 PM MST
So nice to see your post! I have to make a big smile on my face too, Barb. Looks fun.　
Those photos are amazing! Both of you are beautiful ladies.
Enjoy your day with skiing!

Tomoko

PS…I had to give up a concert but my sprain is gradually healing! I am happy.
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JeanieFriday, February 8, 2013 at 7:37:00 PM MST
A big smile indeed....your pictures and descriptions put a big smile on my face. Kudos to you and your friends for skiing the moguls and yea for new snow.
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RajeshFriday, February 8, 2013 at 9:45:00 PM MST
Beautiful place to ski. Wonderful shots of the place.
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ladyfiFriday, February 8, 2013 at 11:43:00 PM MST
Astounding shots - that last one is magical! I admire you all skiing and getting out there no matter what the age!
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Grandma Barb's This and ThatFriday, February 8, 2013 at 11:48:00 PM MST
I love the photo of the early morning light on the evergreens. It reminds me of a vintage postcard.
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HOOTIN ANNISaturday, February 9, 2013 at 3:23:00 AM MST
Winter wonderland indeed. Those last two photos are phenomenal. Hope the birthday gal enjoyed her special day. Today is mine. LOL

Happy weekend.
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JuneSaturday, February 9, 2013 at 7:27:00 AM MST
Beautiful, beautiful! You just live to play and play to live, don't you! :-)
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susanvgSaturday, February 9, 2013 at 10:51:00 AM MST
Such magnificent scenery. So beautiful to be able to just walk out your door and ski. Happy trails :-)
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JimSaturday, February 9, 2013 at 1:31:00 PM MST
And I can understand why you would smile, Barb! Simply beautiful! And I am very impressed that you 'do the moguls'!!
Wonderful photos!
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Filip and KristelSaturday, February 9, 2013 at 2:53:00 PM MST
You must be an excellent skier with so many decades experiences. :-)

Greetings,
Filip
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Yogi♪♪♪Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 6:29:00 AM MST
What an adventure!!
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Leslie D.Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 9:10:00 AM MST
You guys are my new heroes!
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Optimistic ExistentialistSunday, February 10, 2013 at 9:27:00 AM MST
I wanna go skiing!! :)
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Sallie (FullTime-Life)Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 11:36:00 AM MST
How wonderful! The whole day. It is so neat that you can ski to the hill from your backyard! Amazing.
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georgia little peaSunday, February 10, 2013 at 1:23:00 PM MST
I saw a lot of blizzard footage on the news yesterday. It's nice to see an area where residents are still having fun in the snow!
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DeannaSunday, February 10, 2013 at 4:18:00 PM MST
Oh you look so happy to be in your element...beautiful pictures, beautiful area, beautiful snow!!
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EbieSunday, February 10, 2013 at 6:29:00 PM MST
Its nice to see, for me, for a change in what we have here. The fresh powder is so pretty! Nice poses, young ladies! The glow on the trees is a heavenly treat! Can;t wait to see snow in Yosemite, this weekend already!
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CedarMonday, February 11, 2013 at 1:11:00 AM MST
These are just beautiful! Lovely snow captures!
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Rocky Mountain WomanMonday, February 11, 2013 at 1:07:00 PM MST
great shots! we've had quite a bit of snow here also. i went with my son for my littlest grandson's first day of skiing on Sat. we put him in a group lesson and he loved it!

xxoo,

RMW
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EG CameraGirlMonday, February 11, 2013 at 4:53:00 PM MST
I think it's wonderful you've found something that makes you so happy in winter! I feel bad so many people dislike winter so much. It's a joy to visit your blog!
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Retired English TeacherMonday, February 11, 2013 at 8:31:00 PM MST
And you should have a smile on your face! I love your photos. You have such a gift of photography. Thanks for sharing this gift with us.
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Martha ZMonday, February 11, 2013 at 10:08:00 PM MST
Postcard perfect images, Barb. I wonder if there will be any snow when we visit Yosemite latter this month.
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Splendid Little StarsTuesday, February 12, 2013 at 11:33:00 AM MST
What wonderful photos!
I've skied only once.
I've been to Breckenridge and Vail, but only in Summer. which is lovely, too.
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missing momentsFriday, February 15, 2013 at 9:17:00 PM MST
Those photos are absolutely gorgeous! Especially that National Forest one.
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JeanieSaturday, February 16, 2013 at 6:47:00 AM MST
More postcard perfect photos! I think that happy birthday dessert photo should be printed on a card to send all your celebrating friends! Nice presentation!
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beckyFriday, February 22, 2013 at 7:56:00 AM MST
Just stunning photography as always, Barb!
Boy, you two make me feel like a skiing wimp.... which I am :)
Moguls at 76? Your friend is a rockstar... I won't even ski them at 45!
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Quotes for Living

The dangers of life are infinite, & safety is among them. Goethe

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

This above all: to thine own self be true, / And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man. -William Shakespeare, poet and dramatist (1564-1616)

We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. -William Somerset Maugham, writer (1874-1965)

Society is like a lawn, where every roughness is smoothed, every bramble eradicated, and where the eye is delighted by the smiling verdure of a velvet surface; he, however, who would study nature in its wildness and variety, must plunge into the forest, must explore the glen, must stem the torrent, and dare the precipice. -Washington Irving, writer (1783-1859)

"Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: 'Is this the condition that I feared?'" -Seneca (1 BC - AD 65)

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. - Albert Einstein

You get your intuition back when you make space for it, when you stop the chattering of the rational mind. The rational mind doesn’t nourish you. You assume that it gives you the truth, because the rational mind is the golden calf that this culture worships, but this is not true. Rationality squeezes out much that is rich and juicy and fascinating. - Anne Lamott, (Bird by Bird)

Lingering in Happiness by Mary Oliver

After rain after many days without rain, it stays cool, private and cleansed, under the trees, and the dampness there, married now to gravity, falls branch to branch, leaf to leaf, down to the ground where it will disappear--but not, of course, vanish except to our eyes. The roots of the oaks will have their share, and the white threads of the grasses, and the cushion of moss; a few drops, round as pearls, will enter the mole's tunnel; and soon so many small stones, buried for a thousand years, will feel themselves being touched.

Wisdom from Others:

The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or a new thing in an old way. -Richard Harding Davis, journalist and author (1864-1916)

Words are the small change of thought.
-Jules Renard, writer (1864-1910)

The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
-Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.
-John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914)

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.
~John Muir, 1913, in L.M. Wolfe, ed., John Muir, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, 1938

On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.
-Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)

THE THING IS by Ellen Bass

to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you've held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.

"The Thing Is" by Ellen Bass, from Mules of Love.

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Mindful

Every day

I see or hear

something

that more or less

kills me

with delight,

that leaves me

like a needle

in the haystack

of light.

It was what I was born for -

to look, to listen,

to lose myself

inside this soft world -

to instruct myself

over and over

in joy,

and acclamation.

Nor am I talking

about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,

the very extravagant -

but of the ordinary,

the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.

Oh, good scholar,

I say to myself,

how can you help

but grow wise

with such teachings

as these -

the untrimmable light

of the world,

the ocean's shine,

the prayers that are made

out of grass?

~ Mary Oliver ~

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LIfe at High Altitude in Colorado

Friday, February 8, 2013

Ski Days, Vail and Breckenridge - Skywatch

37 comments: