Adventures by Mom

Everything you need to know, but nobody tells you about when it comes to motherhood, marriage, and life in general.

Keystone

Keystone Adventure: Try not to Die, or Break Anything

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resort provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

After a day of private family lessons for skiing and snowboarding, you would think we would be set! Ready to hit the slopes solo! Well. . . two of the four of us were comfortable with that idea. The other two were going to try not to die, or break anything! Ready, or not – we were on our own!

Keystone Adventure: The Boys Perspective

After a day with a private instructor, both of the boys felt confident in his abilities to be on his own. There was a lift within walking distance of our hotel. The boys studied the map of the slopes determining which ones they wanted to take. They knew what signs to follow, and where to get back on the lift. They planned and mapped out their day! After making sure the boys knew to stay together, stay on green runs, and to check in at least once an hour, we turned them lose. Up they went for an adrenaline filled day of zipping down the mountain. Then, the hubby and I hopped on the next lift. We had a lot of guidance and practice yesterday. We were ready to do this!

Keystone Adventure: Schoolmarm, Here We Come!

Green Run in Keystone
From the top of Schoolmarm.

The plan was to ski the 3.5 mile run called Schoolmarm. The ride up was breathtakingly beautiful. It was early in the morning. The air was crisp and dry. At one point, it looked like there was glitter in the air. I love glittery things, so of course I was excited. “Look at the glitter in the air!” Remember when I said that sometimes you had other people on the lift with you? Well, there was a random man on the lift with hubby and me. He very calmly, and dryly (no pun intended) replied, “It isn’t glitter. It’s the reflection of the sunlight off the crystallizing moisture in the air.”

I knew it wasn’t really glitter. It was, however, stunningly beautiful and a little bit magical!

We made it to the top, and managed to exit the lift without incident. No one fell down. No one was run over. The lift did not have to stop. At this point, hubby and I realized. . . there was no turning around. You can’t take a lift down the mountain, only up. We had to ski down.

We had lessons.

We did okay yesterday.

We could do this. Easy peezy, lemon squeezy.

Keystone Adventure: Sticks of Death

Ski rescue
Not how you want to get to the bottom of the mountain.

Here were my thoughts:

Ok. Pizza stance to gain control before starting downhill. I got this. Next, slowly move the feet to French Fry. Point the toes in the direction you want to go. Doing ok. There are a lot more people up here, going really fast. Wow! Look at that snowboarder going up, almost crashing into the trees and flipping around! FOCUS on your FEET! PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!

Whew, I slowed down and managed to come to a stop. Try again. Pizza to French Fry. Again, trying to focus on my feet with so many other things around. Did I mention it’s three and a half MILES to the bottom. Skiers zipping past. More snowboarders. Skis are at French Fry. Speed is picking up. I keep trying to pizza, but it’s not making me slow down. Panic is setting in. Losing control of feet, arms, body. . . .skis cross in the front. I really don’t know if I face planted, or tumbled a bit. I know my head banged around in my helmet. The wind was knocked out of me, and I was face down in the snow.

Stunned, I realized my legs were a little tangled. My skis were still attached to my feet. A little girl, maybe 6 to 8 years old, stopped and asked, “Ma’am, do you need some help?”

“My legs are a bit tangled. I’m not sure how to get them untangled.”

“Let me take off your skis.” And she did. Just like that.

Once my skis were off, I could at least roll over and attempt to sit up.

Side note: I tend to be a control freak. And, when things get out of control I tend to have panic attacks. The thing about a panic attack is that you can end up hyperventilating. There wasn’t even enough oxygen for a panic attack!

Once I regained my composure, I put my skis back on, and started down again. Slowly, cautiously, attempting to control the sticks of death I had strapped to my feet. After a bit, hubby caught up to me. He crashed, too! He said he came flying past me and yelled, “Hey Babe!” I guess I was so busy trying not to die, I didn’t notice. His crash was so grand the ski patrol brought him his ski saying, “Sir, are you Harold? We found this about 80 yards back.”

And we still weren’t close to the bottom. We crept down the mountain at a turtle’s pace in full, power pizza mode. Once we were safely on a flat surface, we agreed – we were done. We are not brave and daring. We both had to be in one piece to go back to work after the holiday. No one wants to meet a medical deductible in December!

The boys were having a marvelous time! They found our adventure hysterically funny. Truly, they were glad we were ok, but they did think it was comical. Hubby and I clomped back to the hotel. We changed into warm, comfy boots, and took our ski gear back to https://www.d2dskis.com/. There were very understanding when we explained that we didn’t wish to die, or break anything on this trip thus, we needed to return the gear.

We enjoyed the rest of our afternoon enjoying the Matterhorn nachos and beer from Go Big Burger at the Mountain House Food Court.

Nachos
That’s a giant pan of nachos!

One more day left for adventures!

Keystone Adventure: Ski Lessons

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resort provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

Keystone Adventure: Try not to break anything, or die.

If you’ve been following along with our adventure, then you know this is going to get a little crazy. If you’re new to our adventure let me fill you in. Long-story-short, we are a family of 4 from Houston, Texas. The climate and altitude vary greatly between Houston and Keystone. This is our first venture into snow and ice. My two boys, ages 13 and 16, are beyond thrilled and having a blast. Hubby and I are hoping to return home in the same condition in which we left. If you want to start at the beginning our adventure click the following link: http://keystone-ski-adventures

Ski and snowboard lessons are on the itinerary. Going into this trip, I knew my boys would pick up skiing, or snowboarding, pretty easily. I did have some concerns about strapping skis to my feet and hurtling this 40+ year old body down a mountain, but my hubby seems to think it isn’t going to be that difficult. So, after we get into the multiple layers of clothing, there is a brief discussion about what shoes to wear. The boys and hubby are wearing the ski/snowboard boots. I am wearing my warm, comfy, walk around in the snow boots. Hubby, “If you wear you ski boots, then you have one less thing to carry.”

The ski boots do not allow you to move your ankle very much. Given I am not the most graceful being to start with, yes – I am one of the lucky few who can trip on a flat surface, and I didn’t think tromping about in heavy, clunky, thick, plastic boots on stairs and ice was a good idea. Once the boys and hubby realized I was not going to be persuaded to wear the clunky boots all day, we gathered up all of the gear and headed out.

We had three sets of skis and ski poles, my boots, and a snowboard. Well, let me tell you when you see people walking around with their skis thrown over the shoulder like it’s so easy. . . NO IT’S NOT! My skis kept coming apart, slipping off my shoulder, bumping into things around me. Seriously, I can only imagine how much personal space people were giving me at this point. We finally made it to the bus stop without injuring, or maiming anyone.

Keystone Adventure: How to put on skis

ski school
Keystone Ski School

We find the ski school building pretty easily, get checked in, and get a locker. I needed to lock up my warm, comfy boots and our backpack of snacks and supplies. I manage, with hubby’s help, to get my ski boots on. Yep, still slightly uncomfortable, but I really didn’t have a choice if I was going to ski. We were given directions on where to meet our instructor. I clunked out of the ski school, walking like Herman Munster.

Ready to ski
Ready or not, here we come!

We met our instructor Trent and, since we were carrying our gear, we could take the gondola. Up the mountain we went. Once we exited the gondola, we clomped over to a little bunny hill. The first lesson was how to put on your skis. The directions sound simple enough: The toe of the boot goes in first, then put weight on the heel of the boot locking it in place. Got it – toe, heel. I managed to get one ski on! Then, I attempted the second ski. Now, Trent said to make sure you were standing so that your skis would be parallel to the mountain. You should be going across, not up, and not down. And, put on the downhill ski first. Well, I managed to get my second ski on, but then slid backward just enough to get the back of my skis crossed, and over I went. I should’ve taken that as a serious warning sign. If you can’t even get the skis on with the instructor helping you step-by-step, you might not be coordinated enough for this sport.

I tried again. This time I was more successful. I managed to get both skis on, not get tangled up, or fall down. YAY me! The hubby and boys had no issues at all and really didn’t seem impressed by my ski-putting-on ability. Now that we knew how to get our skis on, we had to learn how to take them off. There’s a lever in the back you push with your ski pole, or your boot, and it unlocks the boot from the ski. Easy enough! I managed to get both skis off. Next, we put one ski back on, and Trent had us practice going in a circle. Push, glide, repeat. Make your toes point in the direction you want to turn. Push, glide repeat.

Take that ski off, put the other ski on.

Push, glide, repeat. Keep those toes going in the right direction. Push, glide, repeat.

Keystone Adventure: Pizza, French Fry, and Ski Walking

Finally, we got to put both skis on and practice going in a circle. Trent talked to us about “Pizza” and “French Fry”. I put them in quotes because he wasn’t talking about lunch. You make your skis go in the shape of a slice of pizza, like a wedge, to slow down, or stop. You want the front of your skis to come together without crossing, or getting tangled. French Fry is when you want to go straight and fast, so your skis are parallel to each other. You also want your skis parallel when you are pointing your toes the way you want to turn. This is how you are supposed to control your speed and direction as you maneuver down the slope. The mountain was fairly flat where we were, so there wasn’t that much gravity working against us. Then, we had to learn to walk up-hill, in our skis.

This is not difficult, but awkward and tiring. You side step up the hill. Start with the uphill foot. Step, and use the edge of the ski to dig into the snow for traction. Now bring your downhill ski up. Repeat until you get where you want to go. Be cautious because if you don’t use your edge enough on either ski, you will end up doing the splits.

Keystone Adventure: Downhill skiing, finally

Once Trent felt like we had the basics down, we moved to a slightly longer, a little more steep bunny hill. We still weren’t ready for a full green run. Side note: if you’ve never been skiing, or don’t know much about it, the slopes are called runs, and they are labeled by color. Green is the easiest. Next is blue. Finally is black, and then you venture into diamonds. The more diamonds the steeper and more dangerous the run.

Now, back to skiing. We used a people mover sidewalk to take us to the top of the larger bunny hill, then we practiced skiing down. We had to make turns, going from one side of the hill to the other to help control our speed, and then stop at the bottom. Once Trent felt like we were comfortable at this level, he moved us to the next level.

Keystone Adventure: Ski lifts

ski lift
The view from the ski lift.

To get to the next level we had to take a ski lift. Again, this is one of those things that looks really easy. And, it can be…..it can also be scary, nerve-wracking, and panic attack inducing. You stand in an area with at least one other person, sometimes as many as three other people, to wait until the lift guy/girl tells you to go. Then, you all shuffle, shuffle, shuffle your skis as quickly as you can, watching over your shoulder so you see the lift coming. The lift seat will hit the back of your legs. When that happens, you have a seat. Both ski poles should be in one hand. Try not to whack the person next to you. Then, you ride up the mountain. Feet dangling, nothing but the open air around you. Try not to drop anything because it could land on someone skiing below, and can be difficult to get the object back.

When you get to the top, you have to have both poles ready. Your skis will hit the little bump,and you have to stand up right away. There’s just enough bump to help you get off, then an immediate downhill slide to help you get out of the way of the next group coming off the lift. Now is not the time to fall down. You will get ran over, and they will have to stop the lift while you get out of the way.

On one of our trips up, Harrison’s ski got tangled with mine. We managed to get seated, but in trying to get our skis untangled, he dropped one of his ski poles. Thankfully, it didn’t land on, or impale anyone, and someone was nice enough to grab it and bring it up to him.

Keystone Adventure: Trees and Cliffs

The next level involved a serious curve in the run. If you didn’t make the curve, there was a good chance you would run into the trees, or go over the edge of the cliff. I don’t know if the cliff had that far of a drop, because I wasn’t brave enough to ski over and take a look. Slowly and carefully, I readied my stance in the pizza formation. Then, began to move the feet facing forward to be more french fry-like. And off I went. I tried to make my toes point the direction I wanted to turn. I turned a little, but not enough. The trees were getting closer, and I was picking up speed. I went back to the pizza stance. I slowly came to a stop before hitting the trees.

I tried again, and again, and again. Each time I seemed to have a little more control over which direction my feet were going, and the speed at which I was moving. Instructor Trent said I seemed to have it down. Harrison was doing amazingly well. Hubby, well. . . . his comment was, “I didn’t think it would be this tough!” Trent spent some one on one time helping hubby get his stance and form correct. Then, things seemed to get a little easier for him.

Keystone Adventure: Snowboarding

Ready to snowboard!

My oldest son, Harley, wanted to learn to snowboard. He thought it would be easier to pick up because of his ability to ride a skateboard, ripstick, and longboard. Trent told us right away, he really didn’t know a lot about snowboarding, but would teach Harley everything he did know. So in between teaching us the beginner skills for skiing, he was giving Harley pointers and tips about how to use his toes and heels to turn and stop. Harley managed pretty well on his own.

Once we progressed to the bigger bunny hill, with the curve in it, Trent called one of the other instructors, Jonny, to help Harley. Now Harley had a snowboarding expert as a private instructor. The two of them took off. The next time we saw them, it was lunch time and Harley was having a blast. Jonny was complimentary about how quickly Harley was picking up the skills and advancing through the maneuvers. By the end of the day Harley was zipping down green runs doing spins, jumps, and ollies.

Keystone Adventure: Time to turn us loose

A huge debt of gratitude Trent and Jonny. Our skills would not have advanced at the rate they did without the guidance of these two instructors. They were kind, patient, and non-judgmental. At no point did I feel awkward, or self-conscious in attempting to learn something new. I absolutely would use the Keystone Ski School for another lesson.

To read the adventure of skiing without instructors check out: https://adventuresbymom.com/keystone-adventure-novice-skier/

To read more about ski wear, check out https://theeducationaltourist.com/

Keystone Adventure: Pond Hockey and Ski Gear

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resorts provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

After a morning of snow tubing and exploring the snow fort, we were ready for lunch! 9280 Tap House in River Run Village was the perfect choice. The boys enjoyed root beers, while hubby and I enjoyed the beer of the day. French Dip sandwiches, french fries,and hot wings filled the table! The food and service were good! After our late lunch, we hopped the free bus back to the Hyatt Place.

You can imagine after a morning of playing in the snow, tubing, and fort exploring – while still trying to get used to the thinner air….we needed a break. I think even the boys took a short nap!

Pond hockey
Harrison playing pond hockey

Keystone Adventure: Get your Gear!

One of the priority activities for Harrison was to play pond hockey. He has only played on indoor rinks in Houston. (Yes, we have ice hockey in Houston.) He brought his skates, stick, helmet, and gloves. We were set to go skating that night. We dressed in our multiple layers, hopped on the free shuttle, and off we went. We were one stop away from the 5 acre lake, when Harold’s phone rang. It was https://www.d2dskis.com/ calling to see if we wanted to get our ski gear early. We were scheduled for 8:00 PM delivery, but they could bring it early if we’d like. So…..we stayed on the bus. Back to the hotel. The guys who delivered our gear were friendly, knowledgeable, and patient. They explained how all the levers worked, how to put the boots on, what to turn to tighten things, or loosen things.

Keystone Adventure: Can we just skate?

We stored our gear in the bathroom, because, well that’s where it would fit and not get knocked over and tripped on. We later found out the hotel had lockers for gear storage! Then, we headed back out to ice skate. Grabbed the skates, stick, helmets, and gloves. Back on the bus we went. Off at Keystone’s Lakeside Village where the lake is located. Into the activity center. And came to a sudden, screeching halt at the end of a v-e-r-y long line. As we made our way to the front of the line, we once again signed the waiver that we wouldn’t sue anyone if we were maimed, injured, or killed while ice skating. Apparently, recreational winter sports require lots of waivers. Once the waivers were signed – off we went to put on skates. Well, three of us had skates. Hubby decided he would let Harley use his pair since Harley had long since outgrown his. Somehow, one of the bolts that holds the blade in place had come loose and was missing. You can’t skate with your skate blade slipping, and sliding out of place. So, now we have two frustrated people. Harley because he doesn’t want to wear rental skates, “they aren’t as comfortable and they never fit right!” Hubby because, “what the hell happened to my skate? It wasn’t like this when we left Houston!” Maybe because we’d watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation just a few too many times, I kept hearing Todd and Margo having this argument: “Where’s the bolt to my skate Todd? I don’t know Margo!”

Keystone Adventure: Now, we can skate!

In the meantime, my hockey player is getting his skates on – and heading out. I put on hand-me down skates that no longer fit Harrison. I skate over to where there is a thick plastic wall put up to form a make shift hockey rink. I’m a little anxious because, well one – I can skate, but I don’t stop that well until I run into something. No fancy, snow-flying, hockey stops for me! And, two. . . there a quite a few older guys on the rink. And by older, I mean probably between 20 and 30 years old – but older than my 13 year old son. I watched for a while. Harrison was hesitant at first, but once someone passed him the puck he was good to go. After about thirty minutes they all threw their hockey sticks in a pile on the ice. Then, one guy started sorting the sticks. Whatever side your stick ended up on was the team you were on. So, here was my 13 year old son, playing a pick up game of pond hockey with a bunch of slightly inebriated locals. He held his own and had a blast.

After I was comfortable with him being out there, I ventured into the bar area where hubby and Harley were hanging out. I ordered a lovely glass of red wine, served in a small plastic cup. Fancy, I know! It was then Harley noticed they had a Wii game. The challenge was issued. Of course he beat me at Wii Tennis. I beat him in bowling. He beat me at golf. By the time we were done with our game of golf, Harrison had come off the ice and was ready to go.
He skated for at least two and a half hours! And, a sixteen year old boy played Wii with his mom. Memories made!

Keystone Adventure: I didn’t fall down!

ice skating
ice skating on a frozen pond

We were happy to get back to the hotel. The next day was going to be very busy and a good night’s rest is needed. Ski and snowboard lessons commence first thing in the morning! Check back for more Keystone Adventures. We haven’t even been skiing yet!

Keystone Adventure: We made it, now what?

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resorts provided some complimentary activities for us to enjoy during our stay.

Keystone Adventure: Let the adventure begin

We drove for two solid days to arrive in Keystone, Colorado Christmas Eve. The Keystone Hyatt Place was easy to find, and conveniently located. We were very pleased with our choice. I coordinated with https://www.keystoneresort.com/ for some activities. Knowing we were going to need a chance to acclimate to the altitude and climate, I requested our planned activities begin after the 25th. Seriously, I don’t know if you’ve experienced a much higher altitude, but the air is so much thinner! This Southeast Texas girl, who is accustomed to humidity. . . could. not. breathe. Every few feet, my boys were asking, “Mom, are you ok?” And, I’m really not that out of shape!

Upon entering our room, we found a backpack full of Keystone goodies. . . ear warmers, baseball hats, an insulated travel cup, a water bottle, a travel journal, and an itinerary. The boys thought the hats were the coolest! You can tell from the photos I was grateful to have something extra to keep my ears warm!

After everyone had a chance to unwind, we bundled up and used the complimentary bus service to head over to Keystone Lodge and Spa. They have a chocolate village in the lobby. Yes, you read that correctly – an actual chocolate village. According the the literature the resort provided, the chef, Gabriel Geers, uses more than 7,000 pounds of chocolate. A hand-crafted tradition that started more than 20 years ago. The Christmas tree was at least 4 feet tall, and the chocolate train was an actual working train! I highly suggest checking it out. Best part, it’s free for everyone! Surprisingly, you really can’t smell the chocolate. And, no one ever eats it. They just store it away in a special climate controlled display case to use next year. We did venture down stairs to the Big Horn Bar and Grill for snacks and beverages. There was a nice wine selection, and plenty of happy hour offerings to keep everyone happy. The boys enjoyed hot apple cider, while hubby and I relaxed with a lovely glass of Cabernet!

  • Chocolate Village
    The Chocolate Village at Keystone Lodge and Spa.
  • Chocolate Train
    The working chocolate train.
  • details about chocolate nutcrackers
    All about the chocolate nutcrackers in the village.
  • chocolate characters
    A storm trooper, Captain America, Darth Vader and BB8 all made of chocolate!
  • Chocolate characters
    The Flash, Chewbaca, Thomas the Tank Engine, a minion and a football – all of chocolate!
  • White chocolate tree
    Check out the white chocolate Christmas Tree!

After a long day of travel, the excitement of seeing “real” snow for the first time, and taking in the awesome Chocolate Village, we were ready to call it a day! We were expected at the top of the mountain in the morning for snow tubing.

Keystone Adventure: Getting to the top of the mountain

Waking up in a hotel on Christmas morning was a new experience for all of us. Even though we were away from home, Santa did bring a few small gifts for the boys to open. Presents opened, breakfast eaten, we were ready to put on the warm clothes! Layers and layers of warm clothes. Going out in the snow, well, it really is cold! You will want multiple layers to keep toasty warm. We had reservations for Snow Tubing at 11:15 AM. While we are familiar with tubing on the Frio River, this was a little different.

Snow tubing check in
Adventure Point Hut – Tubing Check-in

We took the free bus to River Run Gondola Plaza and checked in at Adventure Point Hut. Ski lift passes were attached to our jackets and off we went! We took the Gondola up the mountain. Once at the top, we all had to stop and take it all in, and catch our breath. The light, fluffy, powdery snow – the extra bright sunshine (take sunscreen) – and the view of the surrounding mountains. You know when teenage boys comment on the view. . . it’s really awe inspiring.

Top of the Mountain photo
Family photo on top of Dercrum Mountain.

Keystone Adventure: a Snow Fort

We’d made it to the top of the mountain, caught our breath, and figured out where to go to for tubing. We took a few minutes to explore the snow fort in an area known as Kidtopia. If my boys were between 2 and 12, they would have L-O-V-E-D it! There was a slide, and a tunnel. There were parts where you had to use a rope to help yourself climb up the ramp. The snow fort was really impressive! They also give out free hot cider near the fort.

Keystone Adventure: Snow Tubing

We went to a little hut called a “yurt.” I learned a yurt is basically a well constructed round tent. Once in the yurt, we signed waivers stating we would not sue anyone if we were injured, maimed, or killed while tubing. A short informational video was shown on how to sit on your tube to ride as a single, with one friend, two friends, or three friends. There was a part about how to cross the lanes at the bottom of the tubing hill so as not to be slammed into by other downhill tubers. Along with how to get yourself and your tube onto the moving sidewalk that takes you back up the hill. Basically, watch where you are going, try not to get ran over, fall out, or die. Got it.

Once we understood the expectations, we went to pick up our tubes. Thankfully, they were plenty to choose from in all the color choices (red, blue, yellow and green), and there were only two sizes to choose from. So we avoided the, “he got the one I wanted….I had that one first; His is bigger than mine” argument.

Tubes selected. Now to get seated. The boys agreed to go down with mom and dad as a foursome for the first run. So. . . first, you put your tube on the ground. You make sure the inserted flat panel is on the bottom. This will keep your butt out of the snow. Make sure the handles are facing the correct direction for the people near you to be able to hold on to. Now for the tricky part. You have to kind of straddle your tube, and try to gracefully lower your behind into the middle. When snow gets packed down, it can be a little icy and slippery. This does not make getting into the tube a graceful, or easy event. Think one leg on one side of the tube, the other leg on the other side. Hold on to the handle in the middle. Try not to do the splits. And….plop down. That’s about as graceful as it’s going to get.

Now that we are all seated, we have to hold onto each others tubes, and our own. One hand on a handle on my tube, and one hand on a handle on Harold’s. . . and so on until all four of us are connected. We are at the top of the hill. There is a person at the start of each run. His/her job is to give you, or your group a shove to get you going down the hill. Gravity takes it from there. Our person asked, “Would you like to spin, or go straight?”

“Spin!” yelled the boys. And away we went. Two teen boys, two 40 something parents, all holding on to each other’s tubes for dear life, screaming and laughing our way down a snow hill. Memory made! Once we made it to the end of the run, you have to exit your tube, grab hold of it, and walk over to the moving sidewalk that will transport you back to the top for another run. Getting out of the tube is a little easier than getting in. You just roll yourself right out. I didn’t say it was pretty, or graceful. I said it was easier.

The moving sidewalk took some getting used to. You get in line with our tube standing on it’s edge in front of you. When the light turns green, you put your tube on, still standing on it’s side edge, and step on behind it. You have to lean forward to keep your balance. A word of warning: try to knock some of the snow off your boots before you step on the conveyor belt. At one point I looked similar to Buddy, the Elf, as he attempted to get on the escalator. One foot WAY in front of the other. The back foot continuing to slide on back.

  • snow tubing
    The view from the top of the snow tubing runs

Snow tubing was a ton of fun! We went up and down the hill for an hour and loved every minute of it! We saw grandparents, moms, dads, teens, tweens, and toddlers all having a blast as they swooshed down the hill! I did learn that you still have to lift your butt. Failure to do so in the river will result in bumping the rocks in shallow areas. Failure to do so in the snow will result in bumping rough areas of the hard packed snow. Regardless of river, or snow tubing, failure to lift the butt, will result in bruises.

More Keystone Adventures http://keystone-adventure-hockey-ski-gear

Keystone Adventure Here We Come

Keystone Adventure – the Road Trip

The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resorts provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

Keystone Adventure: Day 1

For years, the boys have begged for a “cold vacation.” They wanted snow, skiing, snowboarding, pond hockey, and sledding. They wanted hot coco, and apple cider! So, after a little research and planning, we chose Keystone, Colorado for our first venture into the world of winter vacations. Being on a budget means flying at Christmas is out of the picture. Road trip it is! Mapping out our route we realized 16 hours in a car, longer with stops for gas and food, was not a good plan. I don’t know about you, but I can only handle so many, “Are we there yet? He’s on my side! He’s looking at me. He’s touching me!” If we were to do all 16 hours, longer with stops, I don’t know for sure that we all would survive the trip. The half way point was Amarillo, Texas.

We left before sunrise. The boys slept in the car for a large part of the morning. We stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch at Whataburger. We ventured into the local Wal-Mart to purchase spray paint to take to the Cadillac Ranch. Each boy got to choose a color to take out to spray paint the old cars that are part of a public art installation. It’s totally allowed and encouraged. You just don’t want to have to get your paint at the gas station nearest the Ranch. We paid about $4.00 a can at Wal-Mart for our Poppy Red, and Fluorescent Green paint. Also, it’s a good thing we went into the store with them. The boys aren’t old enough to purchase spray paint by themselves. I didn’t know you had to show ID to buy spray paint.
Coming soon – Check out my guest post on The Educational Tourist about cool stuff to do in Amarillo, Texas!

By the time we made it to Amarillo, we were all ready to be out of the car! And, boy had the temperature dropped! Between Houston and Amarillo we went from being in the upper 50’s to the upper 30’s!

Boys in front of big Texan Steak house
Everything’s bigger in Texas!

After we checked into the hotel, we had dinner at https://www.bigtexan.com/. The menu is huge with options for even the pickiest eater. They had a robust beer list, as well. We thought the “Whoop your Donkey” was the funniest name for a beer. Our steak was amazing! And, while we didn’t attempt the 72 oz. free steak challenge, we did see a guy giving it a try. You have one hour to eat a 72 oz. steak, 3 fried shrimp, a baked potato, a roll, and a small salad. My hubby watched for a bit. Apparently, you need a strategy. The guy divided all the food into four parts. If he ate one part every 15 minutes, he’d complete the challenge in the allotted hour and get it all for FREE! After we ate, and took in some of the Big Texan sights, we headed out to check out the Cadillac Ranch. The boys were most excited to spray paint cars and not get in trouble! After such a long day in the car, Amarillo provided a nice evening.

Keystone Adventure: Day 2

Up and going the next morning, we drove through a ton of little towns. Realizing gas stations can be few and far between we opted to get gas if we were at half a tank, and came across a gas station. I can tell you when a community is known for cattle, or chicken processing – you do not want to get stuck there! Wow! That was a smell like no other. We crossed into New Mexico, and watched the sunrise behind us over the Rita Blanca Grasslands.

Sunrise over the grasslands in New Mexico.

After hours of boys watching downloaded videos on their phones, a few games of Uno, a round of pop-culture trivia, we were ready for a break. By lunch, we were almost to Denver. We managed to to get the boys to hold out until the Mile High City. We all needed to stretch our legs, and the Denver Diner provided the perfect opportunity. We had a great lunch and got to see the Mile High Stadium. My hubby gets excited about seeing football stadiums. He was bound and determined to get a photo. I realize the photo isn’t the best, but when the husband is doing 70 mph on a freeway in Denver while insisting, “Take a picture! Take a picture!” It’s the best I could do. It’s the same with the frozen waterfall. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Look at that! Did you get a picture!?!” And….”Don’t forget to watch for the Air Force Stadium. I really want a picture! It should be coming up. Do you have the camera ready? Boys – get your phones ready! Harley, I think it’s on your side. Did you get one?” Does anyone else practice photography this way?

  • Denver’s Mile High Stadium
  • Denver Diner’s Club Sandwich!
  • Frozen waterfall & wagon wheel
  • Air Force Stadium

Keystone Adventure: SNOW!!!!

So, if you know anyone from Houston, or the Southeast Gulf Coast area, you know they don’t see snow. Even if it “snows” it usually turns to light tan sludge pretty quickly. It isn’t light, fluffy, deep, powdery snow. And, while we are experienced at driving through torrential, hurricane wind and rain; we shut down everything at the first sign of snow or ice. Before leaving, we did make sure I had all weather tires. Side note: I didn’t know they made different tires for different seasons. A friend from Denver asked what kind of tires I had. My response, “Round, rubber, black ones.” Also, we (meaning the hubby) made sure to add antifreeze to wherever that goes. The one thing we forgot…..the water for cleaning your windshield. Evidently, there is a chemical you can add to it to prevent freezing. We forgot to add that part. So. . . . this was the view from our front windshield once it really started snowing:

View from a dirty windshield.

At first we could see snow capped mountains. Before too long, snow was everywhere. It was snowing!

  • Snowing!

Not being familiar with the area, or the various routes, we followed along with the navigation system. We ended up on the Loveland Pass. If there were guard rails, they were covered in snow, or maybe there were no guard rails. There were ominous warning signs about falling rocks, and avalanches! The road was icy, and the route was a series of zigzag, hair pin turns around and up the side of the mountain. Even at 15 mph, we still slid a few times. If we had gone off the road, we either would land in the snow covered trees, or plummet to our death. For a while we had a slow moving snowplow in front of us. You can see it in the photo through our filthy front windshield. We were thankful for the sand he was putting down on the road. But eventually, he pulled off to the side to help a tanker truck. We were left to continue our perilous journey at a turtle’s pace. I can only imagine what the local drivers thought of this crazy Texas family moving along at 10 to 15 mph. We survived the heart pounding, white-knuckle gripping, treacherous ride through the pass. After about 30 minutes to get through the pass, praying the whole entire time , our hotel was a welcome sight! Of course my husband had to quote the movie “The Hangover” with, “But, did you die?”

Thankfully, we didn’t plummet to our death, or land in the snow covered trees because our true adventures were just getting started!

More adventures found @ https://adventuresbymom.com/keystone-adventure-we-made-it-now-what/

Adventure Awaits: Skiing in Keystone, Colorado

This is the first of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resorts provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

My boys have begged for years to take a “cold vacation.” They want to go where it snows. Harley wants to snowboard, and Harrison wants to ski, snowboard, and play pond hockey. Reading about and seeing all the photos from my sister and cousin’s travels inspired me to venture outside my comfort zone; to see the world beyond the house of the mouse (aka Disney); to try new things.

My sister, Julie- the self-proclaimed slacker mom, went to Keystone, Colorado last year. My niece and nephew had a blast! The photos were beautiful. There were no major catastrophes. She said they had everything you could want or need in a small area, and plenty of resident experts to help newbies. Snow – check; skiing – check; snowboarding – check; pond hockey – check. Looks like this could work. We decided to give it a go.

The 5 acre lake at Keystone Resort and Spa.
A frozen 5 acre lake is perfect for a pick up game of pond hockey!

I reached out to https://www.keystoneresort.com/ for information about ski vacations. They were super helpful, and incredibly knowledgeable. Once we had our dates narrowed down, they provided recommendations of places to stay, along with information about ski lessons, snow tubing, and other activities. I was grateful for the suggestions!

I knew skiing, like other sports, requires specific equipment. Pants/ski bibs, jackets, boots, hats, helmets, goggles, gloves, multiple layers with moisture wicking, and special socks that are thin and stay dry. I had no idea how much it would be to outfit a family of 4. We were going to need a small loan! Thank goodness for friends with children about the same size who are willing to loan out their gear. With the exception of a few odds and ends, I think we have everything for everyone covered.

We’ve mapped out our route, so we have a general idea of where we are going. We plan to drive from Houston to Amarillo. Take in some local Amarillo sights such as the Cadillac Ranch, and the Big Tex. The next morning we’ll head to Keystone. Google shows the drive to be sixteen hours without stops. Hopefully breaking it into two days will help. I’ll be sharing our adventures, along with what I learned on three different blogs – all from a different point of view and for a different purpose. You can follow along with me at https://adventuresbymom.com/ , https://theeducationaltourist.com/, and  https://pixiedustqueen.com/.

Our adventure begins now! http://keystone-adventure-road-trip