Desert Botanical Gardens and Blue Point

The second Tuesday of each month is free entry into the gardens. It seemed like the perfect time to check it out. There were docent stationed throughout the gardens to educate us which added greatly to the experience.

Around the holiday, luminaries are placed along the paths and lit up at night.

We were shown how the Native Americans used the skeleton of the prickly pear cactus to make brushes and utensils.

What a nice sundial.

Rock fountain

Replicas of the homes of the Indians that lived in the desert. The mesquite seeds were ground to make flour high in protein and made into hard biscuits to be worn on a leather cord around their necks and eaten while out hunting.

The inside of an old saguaro

The woodpeckers make their nests in the saguaro and cause a scar to form. Then other owls and birds can use it for their nests once it is vacated.

It was a chilly morning with a high of 53 degrees with plenty of sunshine. It seemed like a good day for a walk along the Salt River and look for the wild horses.

We saw plenty of herons, cranes and hoof prints but no wild horses this time.

 The sky has been much clearer with the rain and cool breezes we have had. Often when it gets cooler, the air gets pretty dirty from the inversion. 



-3 degrees in Beaver Creek

Having good warm winter gear is greatly appreciated when it is this cold. We have boot heaters but for some reason my right toes were freezing. I checked to see what the problem was and turned out to be user error. I only turned on the left one.

 I like to go to Beaver Creek once when we are skiing in Vail. It seems like a good idea to check out nearby resorts. Why would we want to get ready in a nice warm condo and have the shuttle drive us to the gondola here in Vail? After dragging our equipment down to the truck and drive to Avon, we have to get our ski boots on in the parking lot, not an easy task on the ice. Then we walk to the bus stop and ride over to the lift. After an hour we are on the slopes but a rest is required before starting down the mountain.

Mike agrees with this sign.

Arrowhead and Bachelor's Gulch are at a lower elevation and have aspen trees instead of the pines. We had been staying on the intermediate runs because Mike's leg was not getting well as quickly as we hoped. He hit a ripple in the run, hurting his leg more and had to call it a day. Maybe if we had taken some time off to let him heal, it might be ok by now.

We hadn't felt the cold very much until we got on the lift that takes us to the top of Beaver Creek. The higher above the trees we got, the more we felt wind and cold on our faces. I guess we should have put our facemasks on before getting on the lift.

At the end of this day, he was ready to accept that he was hurt worse than he had realized.

I was glad when Mike finally decided it was time to call it a season and head back to Arizona instead of finishing our time here. No sense getting hurt worse and not able to ride bikes when we get back to the warmer temps.

The instructor kept the kids is line by having each one hold on to the rope.

When we get on the lifts, one of the first questions is "Where are you from?". We met people from all over the world including Argentina, Milan, Russia, Australia and Germany to name a few. The next question is "Where is a good place to eat that doesn't cost an arm and leg?" We had a few suggestions. But there aren't as many as a few years ago when the economy wasn't doing so well.

We had some nice morning walks to Betty Ford Park.

I bet getting to this 1922 school house was tough in the winter.

A first gondola from the 1960s.

We got back to AZ earlier than expected to 70 degree temps. AHHH!

Now to start planning our trip east this spring and summer to see Mike's grandkids, his class reunion and our time working at Camp Timanous in Maine. 



Vail, CO

A veteran of the 10th Mountain Division, Pete Seibert, returned to Colorado after the war to return to skiing. Pete and Earl Eaton began looking to develop ski area in the Rocky Mountain region. 

Earl Eaton grew up in Colorado and began skiing at a young age. By 1940, Eaton was working for the CCC in Glenwood Springs and ski racing in Aspen where he met Pete Seibert. Seibert and Eaton first climbed Vail Mountain during the winter of 1957. Both agreed that this would be the perfect ski area! To get the ski area rolling, Seibert and Eaton needed something that neither of them had, money. Seibert proved to be adept at securing investors, which was a good thing because in order to obtain a permit from the USFS Vail needed to have $1,000,000 in the bank. Initial investors paid $10,000 for a condo and lifetime season pass!

Vail’s opening day was set for December 15, 1962.

 The first year, ticket prices were set at five dollars for a skiing experience that consisted of one gondola, two chairs, eight ski instructors, and nine ski runs. They averaged 7 tickets sold a day.

During the 1960’s, Vail Village grew at an incredible rate. President Gerald Ford traveled to Vail and was so impressed that he began to make annual trips, purchasing property at Vail.


Bridge over Gore Creek

Ice bar sculptures 

Mike injured his leg and back in an accident in Breckenridge and needed more time off the slopes. We spent several days walking through the Village and along Gore Creek. No sense rushing things. Usually, we head to the gondola so we can get down to the business of skiing.

Arabella

Cool bird houses

It is fun to watch the kids in ski school. 

The temperature was 6 degrees as we headed out the door. It was snowing pretty heavy and wind blowing causing blizzard like conditions that made it difficult to tell how fast we were moving as we traversed the top of Mid Vail.  I felt like I am standing still but when I put my pole into the ground to give a little push, it snapped back. I was moving along at a pretty good pace. The flat light can give a person vertigo. I find focusing on a person or tree helps until we can get into the treed area which helps dramatically.

Mike skied a few blue intermediate runs after several days of rest. But his right leg started hurting from compensating for his injured left leg.

Plenty of fur blankets to keep a person warm while waiting for lunch.

We haven't tried it, but I found myself breathing hard at times.

Pepi's was one of the first businesses when Vail was developed. He was a Austrian ski instructor when he and his wife arrived and decided to stay.  

10th Mountain Division sculpture

When World War II began, the United States Army created a training

center south of the Gore Valley called Camp Hale.  The 10th

Mountain Division trained for alpine combat here.  The 10th Mountain

troops fought in northern Italy and upon return, they became major

players in the quickly growing ski industry.

The bells were chiming at noon as we walked by.

Alpine Rose has great goulash and apple strudel.

Walking along Gore Creek is so peaceful. We stayed out of the back country for our hiking since the avalanche danger is significantly higher due to the amount of snow falling in the high country.

The Special Olympic athletes were practicing for their competition next month in Glenwood Springs.  

Yeow! We have a season pass. In my mind, it is a ploy to encourage people to purchase the season pass and avoid going to other resorts that do not participate with Vail Resorts, keeping the hotel and dining dollars here. It seems to be working.