February 2017	Steamboat Springs, 2017 Well, I seem to have misplace my notes from this trip, so let's see what I can recreate working on this a year after the fact... Monday, February 13 We drove from home to Steamboat Springs, CO. The drive was much better than last year. All the roads were clear and dry. We're at a different condo this year (Bear Claw). It's a true ski in/ski out place, which Carl and Kelly really like. We parked in the underground garage and started unloading the car. The car would remain in its parking spot for the rest of the week.... Good thing, as it's difficult to get in and out of this garage. It took all three of us to park the car safely... It's a nice condo and the view out over the valley is very nice. We took the shuttle down to the Village to pick up the lift tickets and snowboarding school pass and for dinner. That was our first experiece with Bear Claw's shuttle service. It's fantastic!!! Tuesday, February 14 Kelly had snowboarding school today and Carl went out skiing by himself. Can't remember much else about the day... Wednesday, February 15 I don't remember much of this day, except that I have some photos that were taken off our balcony of the lights in the trees below us. . . . . Thursday, February 16 While Carl and Kelly were up playing on the slopes, I took the shuttle into town to walk along the nice path they have along the river. Along the river walk, I took a short spur trail up to West Lincoln Park, where these three photos were taken. The photo on the left shows some playground equipment in the shape of a riverboat (steamboat???). The center photo shows another view of this playground with the main ski area in the background. The photo on the right shows the main ski area (Mt. Werner) as it appears from this park. Behind the play riverboat a statue of an elk was lurking. . . . . . At the westernmost point in my travels today, I found the former train station for Steamboat Springs. It's now an art school. The photos on the left and right above show two views of this station and the center photo shows the train tracks leading west out of town. These two photos were taken from the shores of the Yampa River. The path along the river is a very nice one. The photo on the left shows Soda Creek flowing into the Yampa River and the photo on the right shows some of the lovely reflections I saw in the snowy Yampa. These three photos show more of the snow and the rushing Yampa River. At one point, there was a bridge across the Yampa near the downtown ski area. The photo on the left above shows the view downstream from the middle of this bridge and the photo on the right shows the view upstream from the same point and includes the larger ski area (Mt. Werner). The center photo shows the bridge and the Howelsen Ski Jump area beyond. The Howelsen Ski area is one of the oldest ski areas in the country, having been in continuous operation since 1915. The photo on the left shows the landing portion of the ski jump with the ski area's chalet at the base of it. Part of one of the jump towers can be seen at the top of the photo. The photo on the right shows a statue at Howelsen Ski Area called Steamboat Spirit. It's modeled after and dedicated to a young ski competitor who died at age 13. She was well loved by the community. The photo on the left was taken as I crossed another bridge over the Yampa. If you look closely, you'll see a fisherman near the far shore. Lunch was at Carl's Tavern. I people watched as I ate my lunch. . After lunch, I wandered around town a while. . Some of the sights I saw around town. The photo on the left shows a statue of a kid on a paper airplane outside of a bookstore. The center photo shows the sign for a bicycle repair shop (with a ski run in the background). The photo on the right shows the door handles of the Chieftain Theater with the stores across Lincoln Avenue reflected in the glass. The photo on the left shows one of the many stained glass windows of the Holy Name Catholic Church. This one was a bit unusual as it incorporates the main ski area into the glass scene. The shuttle took me back to the condo. Friday, February 17 I think it was this evening that we took the gondola up to Four Points for dinner. The restaurant is located in the middle of some of the ski runs, so, after the gondola ride, we boarded a snow cat for a ride the rest of the way up. Gorgeous views from the balconies there. None of my photos came out, however.... After a delicious meal, it was back to the snow cats for a jolting ride back down to the top of the gondola and the gondola back to the square where we caught a shuttle back to the condo. It was a nice evening. Saturday, February 18 Thanks to the concierge, I connected with a local photographer who gave local photo tours. I met her at a snowshoe place and we drove up to Fish Creek Falls. We snowshoed out to the falls and back. It was a pleasant morning. The falls were a short hike from the parking lot. Along the way, we played with shadows on the snow. . . These four photos show some of the interesting shapes the snow and running water created along Fish Creek. Some of the bumps are boulders along the stream and the openings have been cut by the creek waters running under the snow banks. More photos of the snowy boulders and openings cut by running water. In the center photo, you can see some of the wild icicles left on the undersides of the snow banks caused by the running water refreezing. More photos of the snow covering Fish Creek with the running water and icicles. And two more... . . . The photo on the left shows another view of the snow covered boulders along Fish Creek with the creek cutting a path through them. The second photo shows the jumble of rocks at the base of the frozen waterfall. The other two photos show two views of a very frozen Fish Creek Falls. Two parting photos of the Fish Creek Falls area. Both of these are piles of snow on the boulders with the creek waters carving some interesting openings. . Sunday, February 19 Time to pack up and load the car for our return trip home, which was very uneventful. As we were driving away from the condo, we spotted a moose family relaxing in one of the yards as we passed by. Sometime during the week, the mountain photographers took some photos of Carl and Kelly. This is one of the ones we bought. We stopped at the Mountain Lyon Cafe in Silverthorne for brunch (they're only open for breakfast and lunch, both of which are served all day long). Nice spot! We'll have to remember it next year.