Though we got a bit of a late start, we did manage to spend most of Q's spring break in the mountains.

 It was an unusual March in New York, and it is an unusual spring in the Vail Valley as well, with daytime temps near 60.

 The mountain is still open, but it's funny to see skis in the racks as we peel off our jackets to lounge in the warm spring sun.

 The snow is hanging on, but only just!

 And this was first thing in the morning!

 Q loves her time in Arrowhead so much that she is reluctant to sleep, and wakes every day before dawn.

 

Morning light mid-valley.

She found a ball to bring for the dogs.

 I am still trying (in Vain) to wade through half a summer's worth of photos...so I present you with a hike I took on my favorite Lionshead Trail while we were up in Vail. 

The runoff was particularly high this year, so that the stream crossing was a bit more dramatic than usual!

 Dogs in the dappled sun.

 Along with increased runoff come intensified wildflowers. It's like an Easter egg hunt!

 Overlooking Minturn.

 View of Holy Cross, one of the area's famed 14ers.

 Dogs cooling off in a patch of lingering snow.

 This hike was my retreat, my solace, my meditation, my constant companion when I lived in the valley, and it always does my heart good to set foot to this familiar and beautiful trail.

The pups got bold with the makeshift bridge on the way back. Go, Mathilda, go!

 During our holiday weekend in Vail, breakfasts at the Alpine club became a cozy family ritual for us with Mike's parents. Whether we went our separate ways during the day, or ventured out together, we rose every morning to breakfast en famille and greet friends at the club.

 While snapping photos, I noticed that the "theme" around the club has an emphasis on deer. It's funny, because although I have seen plenty of bears, a few foxes, some elk, and even a couple of ermine, I can't remember ever seeing a deer in Arrowhead. Certainly they are there, but interestingly deer are among the most skittish residents of the valley, and seldom seen unless they leap across the roadways at dusk. Still, the deer theme around the alpine club is so sweet that I thought I'd sketch this little mule deer to go with this post.

 3-D tick-tack-toe.

 Steel-cut oatmeal with dried cranberries and brown sugar.

 I love the spotted deer cushion on the leather sofa.

 First afternoon in Vail - a quick hike with the dogs on a lovely mountain afternoon!

Our trip to the mountains included six children, five adults (more or less), a trip over the Continental Divide, snowcapped peaks, miniature goats, twilight fishing expeditions, homecooked feasts, chickens with mohawks, raging rivers, a lesson in pony-grooming, extravagant wildflowers, and a high-altitude bacon festival...but I have over 500 photos to edit, and a week full of work ahead of me, so for the time being I'll leave you with this image that pretty much epitomizes a lazy summer's weekend with the family. 

More soon...

 Apologies for our absence, but we took a rare free moment to scramble up to the Vail Valley for a few days of R&R.

This is Arrowhead, where we stay while in town.

As you can see, there is quite a lot of snow in the Valley this winter. An  aspect much different from Denver this year!

A couple of iPhone snapshots of my hike with the dogs up Arrowhead mountain the first evening. During the day in winter, these slopes are filled with skiers, but in the evening one can hike or snowshoe or skate-ski directly up the slopes, and many people (and their dogs) do, especially when the moon is bright.

 The snowdrifts in Minturn (where we go to visit our favorite fabulous retail store, Holy Toledo) were several feet above Q's head...quite impressive considering she is very tall!

I lived in the Vail Valley for upwards of 16 years, and during those years I lived a very fortunate life. I love hiking, and while in the mountains I hiked, on an average, three or four hours a day every day of the week. 

I loved these mountains and trails deeply, and counted on my hiking time for sanity in both body and mind.  So when my husband and I finally decided to move Denver (with the intention of starting a family) my greatest misgivings lay in the idea of leaving behind my backyard hiking trails, my instant and easy access to so many miles of wilderness backcountry.

So I am very, very lucky that my husband understands, and is generous with my hiking time when we (more and more rarely) escape to the mountains where we first met. He always lets me take off for a couple of hours during Q's naptime to revisit the wilderness that I loved so deeply.

It does my heart good to set foot to these trails, and spend a couple of hours burning my muscles and sweating into my parka on these high-altitude climbs.

These days, I spend so much time in my studio, fighting the urge to go out and absorb the sun and test my legs on a mountain trail, and at times I feel that my peace of mind suffers for the lack of this daily ritual that I enjoyed for almost two decades.

 These are stunning mountains, some of the most amazing terrain in all of our varied and spectacular country. I feel lucky that we still live close enough to enjoy this splendor, if only just occasionally.

But these views are still what I miss most, having moved down from the mountains. It's always a tradeoff, we make our decisions in life as we need to. But it is sometimes difficult to know that you can't always have it all.

 The stunning road home, from the Vail Valley up the passes, through Summit County and up the big pass toward the Continental Divide, and down the great slide of highway toward the high plains of the Front Range that we now call home. 

But as much as our little Q loves her "other home" in the mountains, all the deep snow and the hot tubs, she always breaths a sigh of comfort when we return to our "QQ home", with her room and her bed and all her books and toys, all the comforts of home.