It had been a good winter so far. Work has been steady. And after a
slow start, the snow has been quite plentiful, but not to the point of being debilitating...
at least, not in our immediate area. A couple of miles North of us, people
couldn't get out of their driveways or down some of the county roads due to snow
drifts. Apparently, blown snow forms drifts which are far more difficult to
remove than the freshly fallen stuff. Some folks were stuck for a week or
longer. However, here in Salida, especially in our subdivision, it can snow
far less versus the surrounding countryside. We never had any problems, making
us extremely thankful that we made the choice to be near this little town.
There have been so many days when we look up at the mountains, encased in snow showers
while we enjoy sunshine here in our rain-shadow, desert paradise... or other times,
I drive out of a raging snow storm at Ski Monarch into sunshine on my way home.
I've really come to enjoy our local ski resort. When I skied my first few
runs there last season, I was kinda down on the place due to the slow lifts and
short runs, but you know what? Monarch has got a lot of fun runs, ne'er a
lift line, and there's almost always powder around if you look hard enough. And
after some skiing at
Ski Cooper, where I literally skied a black (advanced) run which could have
been a green (easy) anywhere else, I'm even more thankful. (Ski Cooper would
be a great place to learn though!) This season I made it up to Monarch at
least once a week for about 7-8 weeks because I signed up for Town Challenge, a
locals' race league. I suck at racing... It's a totally different technique
compared the skiing I learned. My skis are short and soft, so they aren't
really designed for racing. There are people twice my age blowing my doors
off, which, if you think of it, is actually pretty cool! There aren't many
physical sports where an 80 year old can beat a 34 year old sheerly on technique!
In any case, I figure it gets me up there for the day, skiing with friends, and it keeps me active, which is the important
thing. My ski season, however, just came to an abrupt end (or, at least I'm
experiencing an extended interruption) due to an unwelcome visitor.
Epstein-Barr has paid me a visit, and unfortunately it it will likely be an extended
visit. Come Wednesday (a week and a half ago), Teresa and I headed up to Monarch
for her first lesson this season, and I wandered off with a friend to explore some
of the steeper runs. The lesson went well, and I had a good time, but on the
way back, I started feeling like total crap. It just went downhill from there.
I kept telling Teresa that something just felt "different" about this. It
wasn't a typical flu virus. I couldn't sleep it off, or at least, sleep didn't make
me fell any better. It kept getting worse. I didn't want to eat, and I felt
nauseous. I had a fever and visibly swollen glands. Over the next 5-6 days, it just
got progressively worse. The sore throat so intense, I went on a liquid diet
for 2-3 days. Finally, after multiple discussions with my dad (a doctor),
I went in to the local doctor and asked him to run a culture test to rule out strep,
some blood tests to check for the Epstein-Barr virus, and what do you know... my
dad was right. I came up with a positive test for mononucleosis (cause: Epstein-Barr
virus).
It's so weird... according to everything I've read, I should have contracted Mono years ago... 95% of Americans have already had this virus by my age. Also known as "the Kissing Disease", the virus
is mostly transmitted via saliva, so maybe this says something about my teenage
love life... (hah.. who am I kidding... what teenage love life? I was a GEEK!
) What's also interesting, is that Mono virus stays in your blood
and can become active at any time. But since 95% of the population has had it and are immune, it's no big deal. Unless you've never had it... Lucky ME! I may have very well caught this from
Teresa, or anyone. And like chicken pox, it is worse to get as an adult. Anyhow, it's not fun, and there's no vaccine, just lots of acetaminophen... and I could have up to
six months recovery time! I'll probably have a full recovery six weeks (2
down, 4 to go), but that's still a very long time. I'm definitely on the mend
now, so that's good news.
Enough of my whining! To wrap up our winter fun, here are some photo highlights...
In mid January, we hosted a post-holiday house warming:
Nice winter shots:
Check out ther herd of antelope which decided to call Salida home this winter.
Trip to Rocky Mountain National Park...
And Lyons, CO (home of Oskar Blues brewery)
Yes folks, good beer can be canned!
Engineering at KHEN
I've been volunteering at our local community radio station a bit recently, trying
to get their computers straightened out. Here you see me manning the computer at
the "underwriting recording party!"
Leadville
We took a trip up to Leadville with the Arkansas Valley Brewing Club. I skiied a day
at Ski Cooper, and Teresa hit a snowshoe trails with friends. Check out this car!
More Photos of
Leadville,
Rosie's Brewpub, and
Teresa's snowshoe hike.
And a little soapbox rant: In case you hadn't heard, we are in danger
here in the Arkansas Valley. It is thought that nearly one BILLION gallons of water contaminated with heavy metals is backing up in a mining tunnel in Leadville, and the fear is that this water
could "blow out," destroy a nearby neighborhood, and surge down the Arkansas River
destroying water quality and wildlife habitat. This is all thanks to Leadville's
dirty mining past and Federal Government inaction. More info:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8266153. Let's hope Leadville's
mining future is monitored more closely!
An era has ended. The Holiday Ramber rambles on (sold!)...
