March 28, 2010
How about a perfect blue bird day for our final day of ski testing! Actually I didn’t test too many skis today as I helped Drew’s girlfriend Michelle ski. It was really fun to hang out with her. She snowboards so she picked up skiing pretty quickly and we had some great giggles on the chair lift.
Bill decided to change up lunch a bit today as we had been serving sandwiches all week. He decided to bring the barbeque and do up some hotdogs. I think everyone really enjoyed the treat.
Most of the skiers left today and there were only about 12 of us left for dinner so we all went out.
It was kind of sad to say good-bye as I felt like I was just getting to know everyone (which usually takes me a couple days as I am shy) and having so much fun….I really hated for it to end.

March 27, 2010
Wow that was a late night….I woke up with a very painful calf cramp during the night…gee I wonder why. I have skied non-stop for over a month and went for a not recommended insane hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Tough decision, but I decided to stay back today and maybe soak in the hot tub, stretch and treat myself to a much deserved massage.
It was a beautiful sunny day and I enjoyed a nice walk, little shop, long hot tub and an evening massage. The massage therapist couldn’t meet me until dinner time, but I felt so much better after she worked on me. She said “damn girl what have you been up to your legs are so tight!” We have pretty much done something active every day since we left Mid-December besides the days we have been driving.
I enjoyed the “me” day very much! I should be good to go again tomorrow.
Nite.
D

March 26, 2010
I had a really great day today. I skied with Bill in the morning and then skied with my new friend Christine and her 2 little girls Anna and Maria. I met up with them in the lunch area. I saw Maria cuddled up to her mom and could tell she did not want to go back out in the snow and wind (I wasn’t too sure I wanted to either), but Anna did want to go, so her and I were going to go for a couple of runs. All of a sudden Maria decided Anna wasn’t going to meet a new friend to ski with without her joining in…too cute. I was completely blown away with the way these girls could rip. They are 7 and 9 and were not afraid of anything. Anna liked going fast and the bumps that made her tummy feel funny and Maria was a little dare devil and wanted to go down the black diamond run under the lift. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when I see the way their mom and dad can ski. It was so great to see them enjoy the sport together as a family. They live in Bozeman Montana and the girls were very proud to tell me they own 3 pair of skis each..one for resort skiing, one for cross-country and of course their backcountry skis which they even have skins for! Dad does some work for backcountry magazine, teaches avi courses and they own their own business. It was pure joy to ski with them. Every once in awhile we would lose track of mom and Anna would look at me and say “I guess she is gone tree skiing again…she likes the trees .“
We did quite a few runs together and checked out both sides of Powder Mountain and the next thing we knew it was time to head back to the ski lodge or miss the bus! What a great day! Thank you girls!
We caught the bus back down to the lodge, had dinner and prepped for the big progression party that Mindy had organized. Don’t know if any of you have been to a progression party before , but you move from room to room and each person serves a different kind of drink (or food for some progression parties).
Let me tell you this crowd can ski hard and they party hard. In Mindy’s room you had to compete against someone by drinking a beer through the beak of a pink flamingo??? It was around this time that someone decided the mullet should make a comeback and started cutting hair….yikes….
I think we made a pretty good first year impression by co- hosting our party with Shaggy and Cookie outside at the trailer by setting up a bar on Bills stand-up paddle board and served white Russians while the Big Lebowski played on our computer. The only down fall was we had the last stop of the progression party so I had to stay up way, way past my bedtime….good thing I don’t drink huh…Anna and Maria set up a hydration stand serving water and squirt drinks (with a tip jar for their college education).
Another fantastic day!
I have to say even though we had a buck list when we left home…it is all the things we didn’t plan and things that have just happened like Jon inviting us here at the last minute that have left us with such incredible memories and the gift of new friendships.
Deb