FEBRUARY & MARCH IN CRESTED BUTTE

Now that winter is winding down in the Colorado mountains, I am finally getting back to my blog. It has been another dry winter with way below our normal snow fall. Blue Mesa which collects the water from the streams and snow run-off was the lowest last summer I have seen it since we moved to Crested Butte 17 years ago. I hate to see it this summer!!  

However we have had some beautiful sunsets and sunrises when the bright orange and red clouds reflecting the sun's rays, turned the landscape purple.  

And some mornings when a passing snowstorm left the ground and trees newly covered with a fresh blanket of white.

  The snowplows out early left interesting patterns on the snow banks on the side of the road.

And our winter visitors stopped by when they were hungry.

Our visiting foxes still arrived looking for a handout when they were hungry.  
The town of Crested Butte geared up for one of the main mid-winter skiing attractions , "The Alley Loop". Part of the American Ski Marathon Series and an American Birkebeiner qualifying race, the Alley Loop is also Crested Butte’s largest costume party and biggest Nordic event of the year. The Alley Loop’s unique course starts and finishes in the heart of downtown Crested Butte at Second and Elk. In between it meanders through snow-lined alleys, behind false-fronted stores and restaurants, over footbridges and alongside residences. The adult races, longer than 5k, head out to the expertly groomed Nordic trails on the pristine outskirts of Crested Butte. The 5k has a NEW route which stays in town and no longer tackles that big hill! In addition to the fun races for all ages and abilities, the event also features a Friday night pub-ski crawl, Saturday Taste of the Alley and New Belgium Beer Garden, and an awards ceremony with great prizes and a raffle.
 

  At the start of some of the races there was a variety of costumes, including one hardy sole with bare legs.

  One of my favorites was this team of 5 gnomes with the slogan "there is no place like gnomes".


Costumes are a big part of Winter in Crested Butte.  Mardi Gras his year was February 9th, and       started off with this Butte Beauties Party!!

       

Followed a few days later with the 4th annual "Cuatra Amigos" Birthday Bash.

There is little "Down Time" in this ski town

CHRISTMAS AND BEYOND

As I mentioned in my last post, we hurried back to Crested Butte to reach home before the storm - and we did. Though there was some snow in the mountains, the accumulation was not great. After last year's drought and seeing last summer, how low the water was in Blue Mesa, everyone was hoping for a good snow year. It didn't look promising.

However within a few days the view out our windows was very different. We had gotten our first big snowfall, just in time for the Holiday visitors.

The sunsets were again a treat,

As were the early mornings, with first light on the surrounding mountains. One of the problems of first coming to altitude is not being able to sleep - but that too has its advantages.

We readied the house for the Christmas Holidays. had some good friends in for Christmas dinner, and these beautiful roses arrived from our California son and daughter-in-law.

The weather turned bitter cold with the thermometer reading 15 to 33 degrees below zero. And we had the first of our winter visitors, this young red fox on our deck with his nose practically pushed against our glass slider. With the freezing temperatures and snow, supper was hard to find, so we helped him out with some left over cat food and meat balls.

He was most appreciative and stayed for awhile before continuing on his way.

Our 15 year old, heavy TV finally gave up the ghost, and a new one was our most welcome addition as father and son set it up and got it connected.

Now it is mid January, and we are well settled it. New snow has been scarce and the weather has remained cold, discouraging us old folks from skiing as yet. The Christmas decorations are put away, with the exception of the tree which has been adopted by our cat "Misty". We have decided to let her enjoy it a bit longer.

SNAPS FROM THE ROAD - TO COLORADO

Now that we have been back in Crested Butte for a month, and the Holidays are behind us, I decided to review my photo and get back to my blog.

GOOD BYE SANDY, GOOD BYE LBI

This will definitely be my last post on "Superstorm Sandy" and what she has done to Long Beach Island. We plan to head back to Colorado in about a week and are starting to organize and pack for the long drive. Though I am not looking forward to it, I must admit that I am anxious to see our family and friends in the mountains.

But first, we made another trip to see our friend, John in Harvey Cedars and find out how he was doing with his 5 feet of sand. He has made progress with the help of family, friends and the use of this back hoe though it took the cutting down of trees to get it in his back yard. Still his wonderful work shop beneath his home and the vintage Volvo in the garage were a total loss.

Leaving his home this pile of debris at the end of the street was a testament to the destruction of Sandy.

Returning to Beach Haven at the southern end of the island to help my husband with waxing his boat for the winter I was astounded to see the changes.

When I was last there, just after the storm, the destruction was obvious but now it looked much, much worse. Residents and shop owners have returned, salvaged what they could and dragged what they couldn't to curb sides. Looking down street after street, piles were everywhere,and this is after trucks have been collecting and removing piles almost non stop for weeks.

Thanks to my friend Ralph Berglund for this photo of the temporary collection site, where "two Star Wars creature grab bucket-fulls of the stuff and place it in other trucks which then head off to the landfill in Stafford Township". Check out his wonderful blog at: bergiesplace.wordpress.com

Having taken many photos in past years of the causeway clam shack, originally named "Happy Dayz", I went back to capture its memorial plaque. Not a board of the old structure remained, but some enterprising person had left this marker on one of the pilings. A very different picture than my flag adorned shot in this years calendar.

Back home in Surf City where most of the trash piles are gone, I returned to the beach for some perspective. The gulls were enjoying their new low tide island.

The surfers were crossing the "bar" on their way ashore.

And wading through the deeper water to the beach.

As the sun set, I again appreciated the peace and beauty of living near the ocean - when storms like Sandy are not on the horizon.