Let's Run Away

Escape. It's my favorite thing to do. Trea and I don't travel a ton, but we try to as much as possible. There's a great big world to see, and I can't get enough of it. I have a new place to log all of our vacation adventures, so stop on by, if you're so inclined. amtaylotravels.tumblr.com

Let's Run Away

White Christmas in Steamboat

I have Colorado fever. Trea and I spent an extra long Christmas week in Steamboat Springs, and it was hands down the best Christmas I've ever had. I'm usually a beach girl and like to go where there's sunshine. I've never actually gone toward snow on purpose before. But I'm so glad I did this year! I think Christmas ski trips will become an annual tradition!

I've never skied before, but I completely fell in love with it. Steamboat is the cutest little town, and they've gotten a TON of snow this year. We skied 8 days straight (whew!), and almost every day was a powder day. The conditions couldn't have been better. Once, Trea actually got stuck in waist-deep powder and had to go fishing for a lost ski. It was beautiful! 

We got to Steamboat the weekend before Christmas, and there weren't any crowds yet, so we had the slopes practically all to ourselves. We stayed at the Trailhead Lodge, and loved every minute of it. We had reserved a studio condo, but they upgraded us to a one bedroom condo when we got there. It felt just like home -- but better! We had a fireplace, balcony, full kitchen and washer/dryer, so we were able to continue being homebodies just like in Arkansas. We ate dinner most evenings at the condo and watched Christmas movies. Trea was so happy to be there that he sat through Love Actually without complaining one single time.  

The Trailhead also had its own private gondola right outside the front door, so even though we weren't at the base of the mountain, we could hop on the gondola and be taken right where we needed to go every morning without getting into the car. Cruising over town to get up the mountain was one of my favorite things!

We rented all our ski equipment (skis, poles, boots and helmets) from Black Tie Ski Rentals, run by the nicest guys in the world. Since I had never skied before, I had no clue what boots should feel like, so it took skiing in three different pairs before I finally found ones that I didn't want to hurl off the mountain.  {The Salomon Divine 550 in size 24.5 would make an excellent birthday present. Ahem.}

Skiing was a lot harder than I expected it to be. I'm fairly fit, I've been running 2-3 times a week and going to a personal trainer twice a week for the last month or two, so I felt like I was in pretty good shape. Um, NO. The first day out, we took a full day of ski school. Trea knows how to ski, so he was just there to hang out with me, but I needed to be taught all the basics. And it was our ski instructor's first time to ever teach a class. Boy, did he learn a lot with me!

Guess who was the first person to fall down in ski school? {*Raises hand*} Guess who got mad and took off her skis and marched in boots down the bunny slope? {*Raises hand*} The first few hours did not go well. Also, since new skiers are so new that they can't handle the ski lift, you have to side-step your way up the bunny slope every time you ski down. From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., THAT'S A LOT OF SIDE STEPPING. It was about 9 degrees outside, and I was burning up. Trea actually soaked through a base layer and two jackets. Ick. We worked super hard, and the next day, I swear I felt worse than the day after a marathon. I hurt in places that I didn't know could hurt. Thumb muscles! Who knew?!

I had trouble keeping up with the class because everyone else was catching on faster than me, so I was sent over to the Magic Carpet with Trea to practice with the little kids. Yes, I was reduced to skiing with first graders, but I learned so much with them! Adult ski classes are not taught the same as kid ski classes, and even though I wasn't actually involved in the kid classes, I was listening and paying close attention to the instructors around me. Just hearing the kids' instruction was so helpful, and I learned to pizza like a pro!

After a few days of pizza-ing my way all over the green trails, we moved up to blue runs the last couple of days we were there. It was amazing.

Whoosh!

After several hours of shredding the powder, we were always starving, so we hit up the apres ski scene every afternoon at either Slopeside, Bear River Grill or The Snowbird at the Ptarmigan -- our favorite.

I was surprised at how much fuel skiing requires. Luckily, restaurants take this into account when serving up portions. This was breakfast at The Paramount, another fav. Because who doesn't need chicken fried steak and biscuits covered in elk sausage gravy and eggs right before hitting the slopes?

I think we only went out for dinner one night -- Christmas Eve. We took a sleigh ride up the mountain to Ragnar's for some fine mountaintop dining and live music. Unfortunately, the sleigh ride was during a bit of a blizzard, so it wasn't the postcard moment I had anticipated. It was more like a hunker-down-in-your-coat, emerge-as-a-lump-of-snow type of evening. Oh well. The music was really good.

We literally spent as much time as possible on the mountain because we both became completely addicted. But we had to take time for recovery. After our apres ski drinks and snacks, we would moan and groan our way back to the hotel where we kept a buffet of Advil, Salonpas patches, Icy Hot and Aspercreme. Trea's favorite thing was to soak in one of the three hot tubs at the hotel...which were outside...where the snow is. It was nice while you were in, but slightly less fun on the way out. Minus-2 is super cold.

Yes, that's a pile of snow behind my head.

We had tons of fun in the Tetons and Yellowstone, but I think this might be the best vacation yet. I have never been so sad to leave a place. I got sick almost as soon as we got home and have been stuck in bed all week with an actual fever, not of the Colorado variety. I think it's because I need more fresh mountain air! I cannot wait until next year!

2012 in pictures

2012 wasn't what I expected, but as I've looked back on all my iPhone pics from this year, as all good bloggers do on New Year's Eve, I am filled with gratitude for the happiness that I've found. It started rough, but 2012 might just be my favorite year ever. 

I had to stop running for a {long} while for a slow-healing stress fracture.

I learned to embrace cross-training. And goggle eyes. 

I cheered my face off at the Bentonville Half.

And in a desperate attempt to fill my weekends that had previously been spent running and recovering, I found my inner decorator. {Photos before, during and after}

I traveled far and often.

I fell in love with the Windy City. 

Primarily, because of the pizza.

I hung out with the Lincolns. 

Found peace in the mountains,

Witnessed otherworldly wonders, 

And became mildly obsessed with moose.

I rediscovered my love for running 

And ran a 5K on Thanksgiving Day -- my only race of the year.

I learned how to paint at Painting with a Twist!

And I spent the most fun Christmas of my life skiing through a Bob Ross painting with my best friend. {Full story on that coming soon!}

2012 has been filled with adventure and new experiences, and I can't wait to see what 2013 holds. 

Happy New Year!

Wild West Part 3: Yellowstone

The last half of our trip was in Yellowstone Park. The Tetons are beautiful, but Yellowstone is otherworldly. Some of the things we saw were so weird, it truly seemed like we should've been on another planet. I think we pulled over to see a waterfall every five minutes.

You know the scenery has reached a ridiculous level of gorgeous when you have conversations like this:

Trea: Do you want to stop and see what everyone's looking at?

Me: Nah, it's just another waterfall.

We never got tired of the geysers and hot springs though. We walked around the boardwalks in West Thumb and the Old Faithful area geyser basins, and I took about a zillion pictures because everything we saw was so crazy.

We went to see Old Faithful, got a seat right in front and only had to wait about 10 minutes for the show. In the distance, we could see other geysers, much larger than Old Faithful, erupting like crazy. Castle Geyser spewed for probably over an hour. We lucked out with all the action! Catching rainbows in the steamy mist was the best part.

Castle Geyser

We spent one entire day driving the north loop of Yellowstone and got to see Mammoth Hot Springs and Lower Falls. Mammoth Hot Springs were insane, but most of the springs were actually dry while we were there -- not like the pictures you see in travel books. 

Elk have completely taken over Mammoth Village. They were literally strolling all over town, grazing in front yards and peeking in windows. 

Being in Yellowstone was so remote, and it was nice to completely unplug and get away. We hardly ever had cell service, and it was tough to plan meals around the few restaurants in the park because we never knew how long it would take to get somewhere. So we had picnics! (And yes, all I could think about was pic-a-nic baskets in Jellystone Park.) It never occurred to me how rarely we share a meal without the TV on, a cell phone in hand or some other distraction. This was the time we truly stopped each day to enjoy where we were. 

While there were waterfalls around every corner, none was so beautiful as Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We went to Artist Point to see it from the vantage point of Thomas Moran, but I thought our hike to Red Rock Point brought the best views. It was a STEEP, hard climb back up, but it was more than worth it. 

See the little tiny specks on the ledge at the top right of the waterfall? Those are people! This thing is enormous.

Lower Falls from Artist Point

On our last day, we went for a 5 mile hike on Fairy Falls trail. Fairy Falls were also pretty, but the best part of this hike was scrambling to the top of a VERY steep hill to get a bird's eye view of Grand Prismatic Spring. Wow.

There is no better reward at the end of a hike than to be greeted by a waterfall. 

Fairy Falls

We saw just a fraction of Yellowstone, and we can't wait to go back for more. Hopefully, we'll be able to stay at the same bed & breakfast again -- A River Runs By It Lodge in Island Park, Idaho.

It's owned by a sweet couple, Tom and Judy, and they took such good care of us. The views from the lodge are gorgeous, and breakfast each morning was amazing. We loved waking up to the sunrise over the river. 

And after three days in our mountain paradise, we headed back to Salt Lake for home. 

Wild West Adventures: Part 2

Our most fun day in Jackson Hole was Trea's birthday. We got up early and headed into Grand Teton National Park for a three-hour scenic float trip down the Snake River. We didn't expect that driving to the river would be half the fun, but on the way, we spotted a black bear up in a tree having a snack (which I didn't get a good photo of) and we saw a mama and baby moose!

They were so pretty, trotting in the early morning sunshine. This is my favorite shot -- a moose silhouette through the aspens.

The weather there was chilly in the morning and warm in the afternoon, so we were bundled up for our river ride.

The views were unbelievable. (Have I mentioned Wyoming is pretty?) Some of my favorite memories from our trip are ones that were so gorgeous that I couldn't pick up my camera to snap a photo because I was too taken aback by the perfection of it all. When we were drifting down the river under a clear blue sky, aiming directly at the highest Teton peak and a bald eagle took flight very close to us and soared down the river in front of the mountains, everyone in the boat sighed quietly, "Wow..." Trea said, "Take a picture!" But I was too busy just taking it all in.

Later, we drove down Teton Park Road -- a winding highway through the park that brings you about as close as you can get by car to the Tetons. I wish I had a dollar for every time we said, "Wow, look at that!"

We had lunch at Jenny Lake Lodge, and this is the ultimate destination for us to stay someday. The lodge is surrounded by little cabins, and you're about a stone's throw away from the Tetons. This place is peaceful and remote, and the views are so lovely that you feel like you should whisper... maybe so you don't break the spell or disturb the perfection. I don't know why, but as we walked the grounds of the lodge while we waited for our reservation time, I noticed we were not using our outside voices, even though I have never felt more outside.

We got a table for two right by the window looking out onto the mountains. It took us forever to order because we couldn't stop staring outside.

I couldn't capture the whole scene because of the lighting and window screen and I'm not a photographer, but it looked pretty much like this.

Borrowed from the kind folks at Jenny Lake Lodge

After a delicious lunch, we of course had to see Jenny Lake. Man, it does not disappoint. I cannot wait to go back so we can hike here! We didn't have time for the famous Jenny Lake waterfall hike on this trip, but we definitely will next time.

We headed back to Teton Village, and just about every time we drove anywhere, we saw bison. Lots of them! They were so fun to watch.

Next, we rode the (free!) Bridger Gondola up Rendezvous Mountain for happy hour on The Deck. It's more than 9,000 feet up, and the ride was as much fun as the destination. At one point, I looked down below us and saw a moose on the side of the mountain!

We were some of the first to arrive when The Deck opened, so we got a table right on the edge of the cliff. So. Gorgeous.

For dinner, we ate at Couloir, a fabulous restaurant above The Deck. We had some fantastic food and got to keep admiring the view until the sun went down.

Next stop -- Yellowstone!