We were both up early, and neither of us slept well. I blame bad pillows and not cold enough, but that’ll be remedied with our own pillows and an open window tonight. After fighting being awake, I went to the living room, did my daily bible reading, worked on a post, and waited for the sun to rise. I would eventually nod off but still see the sun come up.
Amanda followed the sun shortly after its rise and made us some coffee. There’s a Keurig, but we brought our moka pot and milk frother. At home, we usually drink honey almond milk flat whites.
After getting ready, we headed downtown to our favorite local coffee shop. We took back roads to downtown. Though a longer drive, the views were worth it. Root House, the coffee shop, is a lovely little shop with some home goods, leather items, and apparel. Their house latte is made with oat milk and a house-made syrup, which is excellent. One of our friends that is coming up is in a power chair, and this shop is upstairs. They have a wheelchair lift, but it hasn’t worked as long as we’ve been coming. I guess they had it for code but don’t maintain it. This is a constant issue for our friends; They just had an issue with their hotel on the way up. Booking a wheelchair-accessible room far in advance, they were given a hearing-impaired room as their “accessible’ room with no other options. It was 1 a.m., so they had to make due. Amanda and I only experienced a small amount of this when she was in a wheelchair for a while. We can sympathize, but I can’t imagine how frustrating it is. Don’t even get me started on handicapped parking spots!
After coffee, we hit up a jewelry store we liked. It’s a cutesy tourist gift shop with a rock shop in the back and, finally, a native and turquoise jewelry shop down a few stairs in the very back. I don’t think we’ve ever left the place without buying something. We did make it out this time without anything, but Amanda has an eye on a couple of pieces. There’s a pawn shop next door that we always hit up as well. I usually end up with jewelry from there, but I didn’t come away with anything this time.
It was a grocery run for dinner afterward. Our friends showed up and grabbed lunch while we ran back to the house and prepped for dinner. There’s a French term for getting everything together for a meal. Mise en place means everything in its place, set up, or put in place. It’s part of my favorite time cooking when everything is out, lined up, and ready to be cooked. It’s a great philosophy in life: line everything up to make actual living easier.
Everyone arrived shortly after I finished my mise. I was working on a TikTok I’d seen from a travel couple I follow. We try to do the whole social media thing, but that’s work! Maybe we are just too old, trying to find the proper cut of a video and what song to pick; also, there are too many # to try and figure out! It’s work that we’re not good at.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8EoGcWe/
Everyone was in awe of the place when they arrived. It really is just a fantastic property. We were a little worried about the power chair and bathroom situation; I searched hundreds of places to find this one. Most around the area are 2 stories with small bathroom doors and stairs to even get in the home. This one was one level, and they said the doors were all big. We noticed when we arrived the master toilet ended up in a small water closet, which we weren’t expecting. It was a relief for us all when we found out it worked for the power chair. It wasn’t long before the kids grabbed sleds and headed up the hill next to the house. It wasn’t long before Nathan headed out to join the kids in the fun. It just looked too fun, and I followed suit shortly after. I was the only one prepared well for the snow and didn’t have to buy anything, a product of my time in Iowa. Although my gear was meant for a little colder temperatures, I was warm in my setup.
The sledding was an absolute blast, the most fun I’ve had in a while. We could convince the girls to make a run, but I’m trying to persuade Amanda to do a short downhill gaunt! They watched and videoed from the back porch, which is another reason this property is so great. I’m afraid of heights, so once I made it up, I had to psych myself up to go down. The kids all were going up as high as they could, some catching air on the way down and wiping out a few times. Nathan even made a few runs face-first. He regretted that decision right after lunch, as he hit some bumps on the way down!
After our sledding adventure, we all gathered on the porch by the fire pit. We were all worn out with the elevation and wading through knee-deep snow on the hill. The weather was great. I had a base layer Merino wool undershirt and a flannel on, which was perfectly comfortable. These 30 and 40-degree temperatures here are not the same as back home; we’d have been freezing back home. We sat overlooking the show-draped fields and hills, with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop. Kim asked what you want to do, and Nathan said, “I’m doing it.” That was my exact feeling; I’d be just fine hanging out here and taking the view.
Their truck was too loaded to stop for groceries, so the adults made a shopping run. When we left, the younger two kids, Holten and Kynley, were working on some tiny Lego-type puzzles we picked up at a national park somewhere on an adventure. They are too tedious for me; I helped Amanda with one on our Wyoming trip a couple of years ago. When we got back, they were still working on them, and Ryder said this was the quietest he’d see them!
It was dinner time, and I was up to bat. On the menu was queso fundido soup with quesadillas and a Mexican coleslaw. Amanda laid out a spread of chips, salsa, and guacamole while I put everything together. Amanda was on coleslaw duty, too. The open floor plan was excellent, with most everyone sitting at the island while I cooked. This is how I like it: everyone around talking and asking questions. After dinner, it was movie time, an adult favorite, the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite. It wasn’t long after that Amanda and I were in bed, with most following suit afterward.