Skiing That Requires Work

While Paige went and donated some blood at the local blood drive in town, Cody & Ty took off into the mountains again this weekend to take in some cross-country skiing. They rented some skis in Durango and then headed north into the mountains just above Durango Mountain Resort (Purgatory ski area).  From there they took off up Cascade Creek enjoying the quiet solitude that can only come through cross-country skiing. However, someone forgot to tell Ty that cross-country skiing meant skiing uphill (read: "work").  Thus, he didn't have a great time, until they turned around and headed downhill (and back to the truck). Makes us wonder how he'd do with some downhill skiing ... where there's less "work" and more "thrill."

A Drive to Rico

Cody and Ty took advantage of a sunny Saturday and drove up to the small town of Rico, CO located just an hour to the north of Mancos.  During the summer months there's a whopping 500 people in Rico but that number dwindles to around 200 during the winter time. Those folks that do stick out the winter months seemed to be hunkered down and ready for the cold. There were a number of photo opportunities along the way ... our favorites posted below. If Rico and the Dolores River looked that beautiful in the winter, we can only imagine how pretty it will look this summer. This is why we moved here.

Beautiful Mancos, CO

It's hard to believe that we've been out here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado for a month now. Our lungs have acclimated. We know which way is north. And we can even tell you where to find a good place to eat (the local pizza joint by the way).  We thought we'd post some pictures of the area we now call home ... Mancos (pronounced "MAIN-cuss") in beautiful southwest Colorado.  The first few were gathered off the Internet, while the last half we took since we've been out here.

Thanksgiving with Family

One of the reasons we moved back West was to be closer to family ... and what better holiday to do so than Thanksgiving! We made the 7 hour trek up to Utah and Idaho where we enjoyed Thanksgiving with both Cody and Paige's side of the family. Good food and great times ... we'll do it again for Christmas.

Hiking to Point Lookout

The weather on Saturday was beautiful ... a perfect day for a family hike! We bought an annual pass to nearby Mesa Verde National Park (7 miles from our house) knowing that we'd be back time and time again over the course of the next year. So our first hike was to the top of prominent Point Lookout which can be seen from both Mancos and Cortez.  If you look close enough, you could see our house.  With one switchback after another heading up the mountain, it was fair to say that at 8000' feet our lungs still haven't acclimated from the 800' feet that they were used to in Kansas City. Well ... Tyson's may have. He scampered up the trial like a mountain goat. Paige and Cody took a little longer ... but everyone made it and the view was spectacular.  Best of all, it was family time well spent.

A Place to Call Home

We felt that it was in our best interest to rent a home for the first year while we explore the area and get our feet under us so to speak.  We found the perfect home for our family located near the crossroads of Hwy 184 and 160 in Mancos, CO.  We love the Mancos Valley and will look for a house to buy in the area sometime next year.  In the meantime, we love this newly remodeled home ... especially the abundant sunshine and hot tub out back. Now if the dog can just get used to using a dog door again ...

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

As Dorothy once said in the Wizard of Oz, "We're not in Kansas anymore!" After 6 1/2 years of living in the Midwest, we felt it was time to move back to Colorado. There was an outdoor/mountain/family itch that wasn't getting scratched often enough. So about a year ago, the plan was put in place to move our family to Colorado. It wasn't easy but in time God saw that the timing was right for our house to sell and make the move. On Friday, November 4 ... Cody, Paige, Ty, the dog and 2 cats ... made the 17 hour drive from Kansas to Colorado to start the next chapter in their lives.