March 1, 2009 Henderson Mine

Got up around 7:30. Steven got up shortly after I did; Andrea have we all ate David’s yummy omelet’s. None of us are moving too fast—well at least not getting ready to go skiing.

I, as planned, talked with Rachel about her FAFSA. Steven, Andrea, and David all played with the Nerf guns. I got off the phone and played Nerf Racquetball—Mom would have had a fit. But it was great fun—all of us playing, enjoying ourselves. What every family should be doing—enjoying themselves together.

We left Denver around 11:00 and its off to Henderson Mine. Temperature 47 with a slight breeze. Got to the mine about 11:45. Snow mobilers are there. So we decide we will go off to Butler Gulch—where snowmobiles are not allowed. First part easier. We soon start shedding our clothing. I get down to my silk tops and liner gloves.

The trail starts at 10,500’ at least according to the GPS. With the first few kicks, I can tell my lungs are in for some difficulties. The first quarter mile has bumps—will be fun coming down.

We decided to go mostly straight up the trail. It has been well traveled by snow shoers and skiers. But the grip is good. We rise up pretty well—500’ in a mile and a half. I have to stop every couple hundred feet to take in some O2. This is getting wearing on me. My skiing showed the wear. Going up I was not attacking the slopes.

Around 2pm, I asked for a break—needed energy, water and O2. So we stopped at the one and half mile mark. A bit of misunderstanding about intention. I stopped to take a breath—the kids came back thinking that was the place to have our break. In reality, we wanted to go further—about 40 yards. Oh well—had a good lunch break. David played.

We decided to turn back. I think most of us were getting low on energy—I know I was. I probably was the one hurting the most. It showed as I was coming down. Took a couple of spills and was very tentative. Had to do some self talk to even do the simplest of down hills.

But at one point, I looked up—it’s amazing what a proper mind set will do. I saw how beautiful the surroundings are. The mountains towering over us, bare crowned with snow. The words which came out of my mouth was, “God, you do good work.” After that I made it down some pretty steep places—albeit a bit tentatively. It was not a bad ski down. We got to the quarter mile of the road and hit the snowmobile bumps. Couple of times came out of my stance and almost lost my balance.

Got back to the car around 3:00. Went to Idaho Springs for dinner. Beau Jo’s it is. We had a Skier Mike’s pizza—a meat pizza. Tasted good. Filling. Felt comfortable. Great end to the day.

David drove us back. The kids packed for tomorrow. We watched the pictures from today—fun. After taking a shower, we went down and played with David’s pool table. None of us should grace our local pool halls. We then played Fuzz Ball. David and Steven definitely are competitive. Andrea holds her own. Me? Well I did score some points but was mostly a filler player.

We talked with Mom and Dad, then went to bed. Called Sherri and got to bed after 11.

	Lat	Long	Altitude (Feet)	Point to Point (miles)	Total Distance(Miles)		Point to Point (feet)	Total Distance (feet)	Altitude Gain (feet)	Incline
Start	39.7712	-105.8544	10,492	0.000	0.000
Jct w/ Jones Pass Trail	39.7716	-105.8560	10,528	0.097	0.097		510.0	510.0	36	7%
Leave Road	39.7718	-105.8576	10,549	0.104	0.200		546.5	1,056.5	21	4%
Meadow	39.7684	-105.8573	10,697	0.408	0.608		2,154.2	3,210.8	148	7%
End of Meadow	39.7632	-105.8588	10,801	0.442	1.050		2,335.3	5,546.1	104	4%
Lunch and return	39.7594	-105.8609	10,952	0.422	1.472		2,226.6	7,772.7	151	7%
End of Meadow	39.7631	-105.8588	10,814	0.384	1.856		2,025.4	9,798.1	-139	-7%
Start of Meadow	39.7687	-105.8576	10,713	0.462	2.318		2,439.4	12,237.5	-101	-4%
Return to Road	39.7717	-105.8575	10,571	0.380	2.697		2,004.3	14,241.7	-142	-7%
Jct w/ Jones Pass Trail	39.7715	-105.8559	10,538	0.100	2.797		525.4	14,767.1	-33	-6%
End	39.7712	-105.8544	10,505	0.091	2.888		483.1	15,250.2	-33	-7%