Deer and snow work, otherwise called winter sports

Warm temps (at least for here- mid 30's) make for lots of fun in the snow and some slushy muddy roads. Oh, well. Our white car will not be white again for some time. Lots of people around for the holiday weekend. Mark went up the mountain for a couple hours of skiing and surprise, shuttle buses jammed with people like sardines and long lift lines, but he zoomed into the singles line bypassing all. We are both going up the mountain skiing tomorrow as I was opting to wait until the crowds went away. I'm definitely a fair weather downhill skier wanting perfect for my not so expert technique.

Deer in town (Gunnison) as we drove in for errands. Acting a bit like pets there.

Crossing over the Slate River - looks just a tad different

Yes, apparently people snowshoe here too

Ended up cross country skiing two days in yet another new area that was beautiful, requiring a map again. These trails are all complicated. We happily made a right turn away from the black run (yes cross country has black) called Mordor. Any Lord of the Rings fan should recognize this. I'm thinking it will be quite awhile before we'll be ready for that. Nice long run for us anyway - 3.5 miles. Did try Middle Earth (yes, get that name reference again) today - a little more challenging with some hills for practice. To be honest not so much hill practice, this herringbone step up and edgeless snow plow down is not easy - at all. A great workout this sport!

Word of warning, when it is sunny and 15 degrees, do not wear too much clothing as in jacket, hat, or long underwear for cross country. BIG MISTAKE. Today was such a day, gorgeous, but the amount of sweat equity in this equals wear less clothing. Mark was sweating and heat stroke seemed imminent, so we chose a shorter run. Phew...

Never had seen the machines that actually groom these trails for classic and skate. Quite the thing. Remember there are 56 miles of cross country trails in CB alone.

summer exit to the back patio

back patio

After cross country ate at Sunflower Deli today. Mark's idea (surprise since he's not really a sandwich guy) but I never think of it in winter. They've either remodeled or it just looks different in the cold.  Good food.

Started with deer and ending with them. Deer out and about on our way home. There were 20 more behind this group. Our car pause for photos hopefully caused them to go the other way - they were heading to cross hwy135, a very bad idea in the middle of the day...