January 12, 2025 to January 14, 2025
Family time in Keystone
A heads up - I'm catching up here on a few days with the family. While we're getting closer to bike nirvana in Tucson, this leg of the trip doesn't have any bike news to speak of, not even a weak connection like the last one. Never fear, there's a bike ride coming up in the next one.
Sunday morning starts with a panicky moment on the drive to the Portland airport when I can’t find my wallet. Thankfully it shows up in the wrong pocket and we breeze through check-in and security.
With over an hour free before the flight to Denver we find our way to the C concourse and kill some time in the shops. Barry has less of an appetite than I do for the hunt and wanders off in the general direction of our gate.
Yesterday at the Timberline Lodge Barry misplaced his Up North Wisconsin ball cap. Knowing he wanted a souvenir of the Timberline, I checked out the gift shop at the lodge hoping to find a hat but came up dry. So I'm delighted to stumble upon the Timberline PDX store which has a whole collection of ball caps.
We still have 15 minutes before our flight starts boarding. I walk over to gate C17 to find Barry in case he'd like to pick something out. Confusion ensues when I see that the gate is closed, with an American Airlines sign instead of Southwest, and no Barry. The light dawns as I check my boarding pass and realize that the big C17 with a box around it is my boarding place in line, not our gate. We're supposed to be at E11, a good long hike from here.
I call Barry who is in the loo and unaware of our situation. Minutes pass before he appears and we start jogging back up the C concourse. The jog escalates to a full-on run until we reach the E concourse and get close enough to E11 to see the boarding signs. They are halfway through the A group. There's no need to panic, and time to peel as many layers as I decently can to cool off. Hopefully the exercise of writing up this little episode will help me recall and avoid my mistake in the future.
It's a good thing we made the flight because 15 minutes after we get to Denver, our son Luke's plane from St. Louis lands right on schedule and taxies up to the same concourse. I love it when a plan comes together.
Retrieving the car, I'm happy to find the pan of Chicken Fajita Pasta I left in an ice-packed cooler bag is still mostly frozen. We are all set for tonight's dinner.
The three of us drive to Silverthorne to catch up with our older son Daniel. He went snowboarding today with a friend at Breckenridge and will meet us at our condo rental for a few days. It's been several years since we all skied together. This is the year, and Keystone - Daniel's favorite Summit County ski resort, is the place.
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Back at Mt Hood at 6,000 feet I didn't really notice the altitude. Silverthorne is another story at 8,800 feet. The condo is three miles further up the road and 900 feet higher than the town. As we drive up the long hill to get there my ears pop and a headache starts to bloom. At the summit of Keystone tomorrow we'll be even higher at 12,000 feet. Time to chug some water and dig out the Tylenol.
Our rental is spacious and well-equipped with games, videos and a fireplace. Looks like a fun spot to hang out with the boys for a few days.
Monday starts off sunny and very cold with fresh snow on the ground. At Keystone it's in the single digits, surely the coldest weather I've skied in. I guess January isn't the ideal time to be here if you really don't like the cold.
The five layers I'm wearing on top and three on the bottom get the job done. It's a weekday and the cold has kept the crowds down so lift lines are short to non-existent. The snow is mostly good, a bit icy in spots. I can see why Daniel likes this place. The runs are long with plenty of middle-of-the-road terrain. I have just a few photos from our two days on the slopes.
We pass the time in the evenings playing cards and watching a very funny movie on Netflix called Wicked Little Letters. It stars Olivia Colman who was so good as Elizabeth in The Crown, and Jessie Buckley, a terrific actor I hadn't seen before. Recommend.
On our last night here Daniel volunteers to fix dinner. He whips up a hearty pot of Caldo Verde, a Portuguese soup made with potatoes, onions, garlic, sausage and kale. Delicious.
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