Ski Trip '10: Warning it's LONG!

So I've felt like I haven't had anything "blog worthy" to write about for a long time. There are things going on, but I'm just not quite ready to release them to the whole wide world. But even as this trip was unfolding I was thinking...BLOG POST!
I'll start from the beginning... About a month ago a family from our church invited us to go skiing with them in Pagosa Springs, CO at Wolf Creek. We went back and forth about going or not because we've been trying to save as much money as possible for some other goals. But in the end we decided we'd go. It's hard to turn down a ski trip where all you have to pay for is gas, rentals & lift tickets. The plan was we'd leave as soon as church was over last Sunday, but Chris was sick so we didn't leave until Tuesday morning. Again after much deliberation.
We skied half a day Wednesday and things were going well. That night we went to the natural hot springs and soaked our sore muscles, it was wonderful! Thursday was going to be everyone's last day to ski so we got up and at it early. Chris and I both decided to get different boots because ours were hurting the day before. After a little while we got our skis on and up on the lift. As we started to get off the lift I heard Chris smack against the icy ramp. I thought to myself, "Great way to start the day!" I'm not so sympathetic, especially with my husband, until I realized he couldn't talk. The ski patrol and lift operators rushed over to him and were asking all kinds of questions and he couldn't answer. That scared me! But as they continued to check him out he came around and we thought was going to still be able to ski. But Chris ended up getting a free ride to the bottom of the hill curtsey of Steve with Wolf Creek ski patrol.

We both spent the rest of the day at the lodge because I was worried about my little husband. The next day was Friday. We knew a storm was supposed to hit Oklahoma so we decided to come home early. We left Pagosa around 2 p.m. and thought we'd be at least an hour or two ahead of all nasty weather. We made it about four hours to Clines Corners, New Mexico.

About three miles north of the gas station that is that town we slid off into the ditch. Chris handled things wonderfully and I really wasn't too worried. A very nice man saw us go off the road and turned around to pull us out. We decided to stop at Clines Corners and go to the bathroom and fill up before heading east on I-40. Much to our dismay the interstate was closed right before we arrived. So we debated our options: wait it out in our car, try to drive 30-ish miles west and try to find a hotel, or navigate around I-40. All the while the storm getting worse. We opted for option #1. A night in our car. Neither of us had ever slept in our car before so we knew we were in for an adventure!

After a lovely dinner from Subway, compliments of the gas station we got settled in for the night. It was funny to watch the hysteria that people were feeling. I mean buying bags of sandwiches just in case we were there for days or something! I've never seen Subway be such a hot commodity before! It really could've been a lot worse! We could've had our youth with us, been left on the side of the road, or I could've been by myself. We made some serious memories! We read a book, we laughed and I self medicated. I soon realized sleep wasn't going to come on it's own so I took a tylenol PM and slept well till about 4 am. We slept in our coats with the car running and a window cracked. The Element really wasn't too bad! I mean it wouldn't be my first choice, but we definitely got a much earlier start on Saturday then we would've otherwise. We got on I-40 about 6:30 Saturday morning. We drove several hours to Santa Rosa, NM and stopped here for breakfast.

I just wanted to be out of the car! Plus this place is the kind of place that my husband LOVES! He wishes he could host Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, I think that is his dream job. We also used this stop as an opportunity to "freshen-up."

We were able to make the rest of the trip without incident. It was a super LONG trip but definitely a memory we won't soon forget. After only 26 hours we arrived back in Sayre. (It should've only taken 10 hours) We picked up our dog, showered, and got to sleep in OUR bed. Never underestimate the power of your own bed! It works wonders! Here we are all clean & ready for bed in our bed. A happy family once again!