Colorado March Blizzard of 2009

March 26th.

Our weather channel has been forecasting a major snow storm for March 26th and 27th for about a week now but when we left for work at 8:15 our driveway had only a little snow and the sun was shinning brightly. I really kept thinking, "No snow today, they've missed the forecast."

As we head to Colorado Springs our street is just a little wet with snow only on the edges. But, we are in the truck "just in case".

About three hours later we are getting high winds and snow at the office. The office is about 20 miles from our house and about 1000 feet lower in elevation so if Colorado Springs looks like this the snow is probably piling up at our house.

We decide to leave the office around 2 p.m. and head north. I am really glad that Jerry is driving and that we are in the truck. 4-wheel drive is wonderful on days like this! Our only stop is at the grocery store to stock up on chips and the ingredients to make chili our favorite "snow food". It is a long 20 miles to our house.
Our driveway is not so bad but it is still snowing.
Our street is not so bad either but a big change from the morning. Because of the high winds, we have a lot of ice under the snow.
Our porches and walks are covered and we settle in with a pot of chili. Just perfect for a snowy spring night.
This morning, March 27,2009.

One of the best things about living in Monument and the Colorado Springs area is that the milkman delivers in rain, shine, sleet, hail and even in a March blizzard. Today's order was waiting in my milk box at 6 a.m. It included chocolate chip peanut butter cookie dough and a carton of green chili dip "just in case" the snow keeps on falling.

The milkman had to trudge through this snow to find the milk box. I'm really glad he did!

Jerry suiting up to snow blow.

The snow blower is one of the GREAT inventions of all time. For the first few years we would shovel our drive just enough to get the truck out or we would hire a snowplow to come and dig us out but since we bought a snow blower the clearing of snow has been much easier and faster.

Snow blowing the driveSome areas still have to be shoveled.

Believe it or not we will have some flowers in this courtyard after the Mother's Day and the last spring snowfall.

Our courtyard is a nice ski run today.
Clearing the driveway.
It takes about 1 hour.

Click on the > arrow, bottom left to see the videos

Duffy's Cherry Cricket

We love watching shows about good food and really enjoy searching out and eating at the restaurants, diners and drive-ins. Jerry's bother Scott told us about Duffy's Cherry Cricket located in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver. It was featured on the Travel Channel show " Man Verses Food" a few weeks ago.



Duffy's Cherry Cricket has been around for a long time and from what we hear the lines have always been long.

We had to wait about 25 minutes to get in and don't I look like a woman ready for food!! The menu includes burgers with 1/2 pound of meat and tons of toppings to choose from. In addition to burgers they serve corn dogs, fries and almost anything that can be found in a "burger joint".

YUM-YUM!!! I am happy to say that we each had a wonderful burger, ate the whole thing along with french fries. WE WERE STUFFED but it was worth it. After lunch we walked around the neighborhood and did a little window shopping. We concluded our food splurge by stopping at the Bonnie Brae Ice Cream shop for a little dessert. Scott made a great call, we really enjoyed the Cherry Cricket!

Chicago, A Place We Like To Go!

Jerry is a member of an insurance group called Quantum Club and for several years he has gone to meetings in Chicago. I like to tag along because Chicago is a busy, interesting city filled with history, art and amazing architecture. And the food is yummy! He's Jerry eating a famous

"Chicago Dog"!

If you have never ridden mass transit Chicago is worth the trip to ride the "L" train. Elevated above the city you can take it anywhere. We drove our rental car twice in five days.

A look at downtown.

We walked the Millennium Mile several times and kept navigating back to this large shinny piece of art the reminds us of a large mushroom cap. The skyline reflection is incredible from every angle.

Another view

All of the reflections that you see are of Jerry and me. We are standing in the middle and taking our own picture. Is this cool or what??

Aah yes, everywhere we go we find the best coffee and Chicago has a coffee shop on every corner. We had a lot of fun in the "windy" city and hope to visit again this fall.

Hannah's Birthday

We enjoyed watching Hannah open presents at her birthday party. She got on her little tricycle and was ready to go outside.


Papaw, Grammy and Hannah

Hannah really got the hang of ripping the paper open.

So many presents!

Hannah's First Birthday Hat

Making Hannah's 1st birthday hat was so much fun. I started with a basic cone pattern taken off the Internet and a 14 x 14 sheet of craft paper.

I had to try about 15 different designs and I had a table full of supplies. Anyone need a hat? I am sure that I can make about a dozen with all the ribbon, paper and letters that I bought.

After about 3 days of changing this and adjusting that... we have a party hat. I packed it up and Papaw Jerry mailed it to arrive before March 3rd, her 1st birthday. Jerry and I flew to Maryland on March 5th to the best party ever! (More to come!)

Hannah really looked cute in her "party hat" but was not so sure about

wearing it. "What is this on my head??"

Hannah is so big!

This hat is a fashion statement!!

"OK! Can I take it off now?? "

We have always enjoyed the driveup Highway 24 from Colorado Springs to the mountains. On one of our first trips a friend told us to look for Frog Rock and every time that we rounded a corner and saw large rocks we would slow down to see if this was the spot to see "Frog Rock". I'm sure the traffic behind us loved it! Finally we spotted the rock and sure enough... it looks just like a giant frog. Our kids have had fun pointing it out to friends and we still drive a little slower in that area just to make sure that Frog Rock is still as cool as it has ever been.

The last weekend in January we headed for the mountains and stayed at the River Mountain Lodge right in the heart of Breckenridge. It was a winter wonderland as usual and we had a great time.

The hot spot at night was "Crepes Ala Cart". We really wanted to try it but the lines were just too long! We will go back!!

The Ice Sculpture competition was the weekend before our visit so we got to enjoy the amazing sculptures. We did not count the number of sculptures but would guess at least twenty.

This was a fun piece leading into the rest of the exhibit.

Look at the detail and balance!

One of our favorites.

As you can see a lot of fine artist were at work here. We're so glad that they were all still just as beautiful for our visit! Next year maybe we can see them in action.

Saturday we took a snowmobile tour between Breckenridge and Leadville. The weather was nice and the ride was a blast! We rode a 2 seater with Jerry being driver. This was our first time out for a 2 hour tour. We started out slow but soon built up speed. We went over small hills, large hills and a few jumps.

See the caution sign? Yes, we turned the machine over! We were the second couple in our group to bite the snow. The snow was so powdery and soft, no one was hurt but it did take three guys to pull us out. WE LAUGHED SO HARD!!

The weekend ended way to soon and we had to
head back down to our side of the mountain with
lots of wonderful memories.

A few of our favorite spots in Breck:
Breckenridge Brewery for the Brew Burger
Starbucks -always takes the chill off

Columbine Cafe for a hearty, not so healthy
breakfast ...YUM!

The Whales Tail for Seafood- we are always amazed at the seafood so far away from water!

In nearby Frisco try the Back Country Brewery for a good bowl of Chili and catch the dogsled
ride if you they are going on. I did, mush puppies!!