monday, april 7, 2008 day three
another woman joined us at the hostel last night, but in another room...jodee's from evergreen colorado. she's a sales rep and is combining a couple of sales calls with a day on the mountain skiiing. we visited for a little while and I enjoyed our conversation
It was still snowing, really steady when everyone turned in for the night. and it only picked up as the night went on. by about 7am it had snowed more than 12"....up on the mountain they broke the 400" mark for a total of 406". It didn't look like it was going to let up, so I bundled up and headed to elk street to find coffee and breakfast. I was just going to take the bus, but it didn't come and instead of just standing there getting covered in snow, I decided to walk...and it was slow going. the snow on the sidewalk was calf-deep. the snow plows were out everywhere...the most noise you heard was the "beep beep beep" when they would back up. don't get me wrong, there were lots of people out too...most of them heading to the mountain to ski
some of the sights of downtown
I'd asked one of the locals where their favorite place to eat breakfast was and she said "izzy's". They were known for the potato latkes. I ordered the basic...latke topped with cooked egg and pepper jack cheese and coffee. It was very good, although kind of heavy, but I managed to eat the whole thing. The worst part of the meal was the 4 city council members (at least I think that's who they were...I didn't ask, but they seemed to think they were important) conducting a meeting at one of the 10 or so tables. It's a really small place and their voices boomed throughout; particularly because there were several times, a lot of times, at least three of the four were talking at the same time! UGH! I needed quiet, and the snow had picked up some, so I asked where the library was and headed for it
During the walk to the library, I took more photos of the houses, buildings and sights I passed
I arrived at the library, but it wasn't set to open for another 20 minutes. I think the building is really beautiful; it was built in the 1880's
there was a part of the town i'd yet to visit on this trip....granted there isn't that much to see there, but I wanted to see if anything had changed in the last 9 months
this part of the town contains one of two markets, a movie theatre, and some offices. I'm sort of sickly-fascinated with these "roof-avalanches" that I keep seeing and hearing (but thank goodness not feeling) around town. I photographed this one on the roof of the market...right above the entrance....I forced myself to leave and not wait for the moment it fell; I hope no one is below when it does. (As I sit here back at the hostel and write this, I've seen and heard two such slabs fall off the roof above the door to the hostel)
the block that sits behind elk street where all the cute little shops are, is mostly construction type businesses; a vet hospital, a radio shack, an electrical company and a lumber yard. the street I took to walk back over to the library passes by the coffee shop I've been to everyday and sat out in front of...this is what it looked like today (and probably had already been cleared off at least once)
when I got back to the library, it was open, warm and snow -free. I asked where the books were located on crested butte history and spent the next couple of hours reading about the subject. It's fascinating. I love colorado history anyway, but this was a wonderful way pass the morning. And, I feed my most recent interest..4wd roads...I'm a you-tube addict when it comes to colorado's 4wd roads.
by the time I put my coat, hat and gloves back on and headed outside...wait...where did everything go? and what happened to the shoveled sidewalk in front of the library? it was a full-fledged blizzard! I couldn't even look forward without getting my face plastered in snow. holy-moly! Knowing for certain now, there would be no hiking today, thoughts of tucking myself into the warm & dry hostel came to mind, but to make it perfect, I would need a mocha from the coffee house. I wished it wasn't 4 blocks in the opposite direction, but I went anyway. I didn't look like I would sit on the porch and visit with anyone today....the only one on the porch was this pooch
the walk back was wild. I missed the bus by about a minute, so trudged back through the deep, deep snow; not looking up so as to be smacked in the face by hundreds of tiny flakes and clutching my hard-earned mocha
The sun has just popped out, however the snow is still coming down hard. I'm sure it's snowed several more inches since this morning. so, for now, I'm going to nuke my mocha, open my book, sit back and read awhile
wait....wait....in the 10 minutes or so since I finished writing the last sentence...it quit snowing and the sun is still out. yeah! I'm still going to finish my mocha, but think I'll bundle back up, catch the bus, and head up to the mountain, sit outside and watch the skiers. sounds good, huh?
I jumped on the bus and headed up the mountain. the talk of the day was how "perfect" the skiing was. I thought there was a brew pub on the mountain, but it was just a bar. well the day was just too nice to not sit on the deck and watch the skiiers and catch the sun, so I cleared the snow off a stool and part of the table, sat back and enjoyed the moment
what timing! about the time I'd finished my beer, the big clouds moved in front of the sun and the snow began...again. I caught the bus back to the hostel. I shot this photo as the evening began; a faint pink glow of the sunset behind the mountains...perfect.
haven't you ever wondered what to do with all of your old snowboards?
Jodee and I had made plans to have dinner together and it was great. we walked to town and ate a little place called "the secret stash". (On an earlier trip to cb, danny and I had tried to eat here but it was closed). we split a salad of greens, veggies, pine nuts and dried cranberries and then a pizza with garlic, tomatoes, jalapenos, cheese and jodee's side included pepperoni. um! um! super good food and great company!
after dinner, we walked down the street to the wooden nickel...an old saloon ...and enjoyed a glass of wine and more conversation. (I heard a loud yell from the small crowd and glanced up at the tv...the jayhawks had just tied the game, and then went on to win....somehow I don't think I was among jayhawk fans)
the walk back to the hostel was wonderful. the little old fashioned street lamps lit our way, and the light sparkled in the snow. It was quiet, not too cold....it had been a really good, amazing, cold/warm, snow/blizzard/no snow, cloudy/clear day in crested butte...what a lucky girl I am!
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tuesday, april 8, 2008 day four
the sun came up so bright and shiny this morning...this has been the most clear day since I arrived....so, so beautiful! what a difference from yesterday morning. it was cold as i headed to the coffee house, but the sky was so perfect, it didn't matter what the temp was
jodee had an appointment at a ski shop up on the mountain. I ended up going with her and getting a little taste of a "manufacturer rep" job....lugging in the sample clothes, hats, mittens, etc. that she sells to the retailers (it's all really, neat stuff). Now you may think that doesn't sound so cool, but remember, she works from her home office with a view of the mountains, visits her magnificent territory...utah, new mexico, and colorado... she enjoyed a fantastic day of skiing yesterday, and can take time off when she wants...hence...she leaves for mexico this thursday. she loves her job and I always get a charge out of knowing people whose jobs and lifestyles melt together in pretty-near perfect harmony....sounds zen....but that's what I want! (and this is her super-cool jeep)
while she was at her appointment, I took the opportunity to walk up gothic road for about 30 minutes. the sky was so clear. those of you who followed one of my colorado trips last year, remember the jeep road that scared the $&^#* out of me? this is the same road, only the dirt/scary part is several miles farther down the road. I was just strolling along the paved part...but the views are still so neat...just breathtaking!
(what is that black thing on my camera lens?)
jodee dropped me back in town, with gifts of a hat for danny, a super cool scarf for me, sunscreen and lip balm. I was headed for some food; she for salida, then home to evergreen. we parted with a hug, and said we'd keep in touch. she's offered to go on a hike with me this summer during my extended visit to colorado and a stay at her place whenever I'm coming through evergreen.
I'm back at the hostel, now, to pick up my backpack and computer and wait for the shuttle. I'm excited for the beauty I'll see on the drive down to gunnison, and over the mountains in the little plane
I have a couple hour layover in denver and will visit my favorite photographers gallery, images of nature. I arrive back really late tonight...and tomorrow, back to the job and real life. however, not without some last thoughts of my winter visit to crested butte
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this is part of my "real life" and I'm fortunate to get to travel as much as I do and don't want to stop
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wow! snow, snow, snow everywhere
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I really wished I could ski or snowboard....I'm so envious of everyone having a great time, and the views you get to see from high up on the mountain
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sometimes dreams come true...those of you who know me well, know I've said on many occasions I wished I could meet a friend that lived here in colorado...to maybe go hiking with once or twice a year. jodee and I became fast friends and I look forward to hopefully someday hiking with her. and it was just by happenstance we were both staying at this hostel for the first time...karma or what?
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sometimes dreams change...I had a big-aha!-oh-my-god-moment....i know that crested butte is not the place I can live. It's way to expensive, difficult to make a living here, too secluded and far from any major airport to take off and see my kids or go anywhere else with any frequency, and i'm not sure how my mental state would be with this much snow for so long...and the rest of my thoughts and feelings on this subject, I will keep to myself
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I love the "active-ness" and energy of the people from this state and, most of all, I feel so joyful when I'm in the mountains and surrounded by all this magnificence. I still want to move out of kansas; that's not changed
but I think it means .....that I will just need to keep searching for that perfect place...
and I look forward to it
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I'm so very glad I was able to visit this beautiful place in the winter
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check back in early may...I'll be on another plane....on another trip
"find the magic in everyday"
vicki