Time in the Mountains

We headed up to the cottage after having left it in October. This was our first trip in since the winter snows started. The road was plowed so we could get to the bottom of the driveway, but that is still a long walk to the front door.

The snow was about two feet deep with some drifts to three feet. Our snow shoes don't do so well with powder and we sank pretty deep in breaking a trail. Getting to the front door was was better than a gym workout.

Beautiful snow covering the drive.

The dog made it about 1/4th of the way and gave up jumping between our foot prints and wanted to be carried.

Slogging along

View from the deck

The snowmobile trailer with lots of snow - 22 inches was putting a big strain on the roof structure.

Snow sliding off the porch roof lands on the deck

This electric 18" snow blower does a great job of clearing the deck. It has  rubber impellers which protect the deck wood.

Roof snow melts and refreezes into grand icicles

The cold temps allow us to expand our freezer space onto the deck

View of the West Elk Mountains

Driveway opened up

Wood pile for the wood stove

We dug out the trailer to get to the snowmobiles

Julie waiting for me to get ready to ride

Ready to ride

Trails in the mountain

If you have a weak stomach you might not wish to scroll down further. A mountain lion killed a deer next to the road and feasted on the carcass. Then all of the other critters did the same and within just a few days have eaten almost all of the animal.

Interesting being this close to the food chain at work