Aspen

Last night we arrived at the Aspen Nordic Center around 6:45 pm, which meant we were about 45 minutes late from the start of The Nordic Bonfire Dinner fundraiser, which benefits the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club. They've been around since 1938, so clearly fundraising helps! We were happy to support the cause.

Our friends and their daughters were attending / working the event, so we joined them at the Center. We didn't have any nordic skis, so we put on our snow boots and walked the course.

It was a cool scene — numerous mini bonfires set throughout the nordic track; people skiing and walking to each food station. Even though we were late, you would think there would be food left, especially since the event ended at 8 pm. Unfortunately such was not the case. Our dinner consisted of two small cups of soup each, and yogurt for dessert. For anyone who plans on attending the event in the future, get. there. early.

We hung out and enjoyed listening to some local musicians. These guys were very "hearty stock" — strumming their guitars in the cold without any gloves!  I think this would be painful.

Do you think they look like they're in pain?

In front of them was a snow pit with a fire burning inside. I've never seen anything like that, and I thought it was pretty cool, I mean warm / kept my toes warm (heehee).

Our friends so graciously invited us to plug into / camp at their driveway. We really enjoy spending time with this fantastic family, and we are particularly excited about their upcoming visit to the Bay Area next month for spring break. It will be a blast having them visit / stay in our home!

We went skiing with them today at Ajax, and it was so fun to just follow them and ski all over the place. And for the record, their daughters totally rip it and slay the mountain.

The family left around noon (Sunday homework), and that left us on our own. We hopped back on the Gondola, and Rich, one of the guys on the ride, lives in San Francisco but spends a chunk of the winter in Aspen. He was skiing with his buddy Scott, who lives in Boulder. We tagged along with them, and it was awesome! Rich is an animal / the Energizer Bunny; that guys goes and goes and goes. Luckily he also knows the mountain really well, so we had another tour guide who took us to all the great bump runs and pitches.

We had such a great day with them, and we look forward to connecting with Scott when we're in Boulder and Rich upon our return.

In addition to seeing old friends, one of the things 1der and I really enjoy / relish is the chance meetings with people while on our "tour." We've met some really great people skiing, and Rich and Scott are just two more examples.

In addition to super fun terrain, Aspen Mountain / Ajax has a spectacular "backdrop". No, we weren't photoshopp-ed into the image.