Day 19. Skiing, Cowboys, and Horses. And meaningful quiet moments.

We started out early.  The plan: ski hard before the crowds converge on the mountain,  then head to a sports bar to watch the Cowboys and the Vikings, then finish the day with a horse-drawn sleigh ride and dinner at Gold Run Nordic Ski Center.   Except for the 'boys not showing up to play football,  all went ahead as planned!   The skiing was really good, in spite of the lack of snow here for the last 10 days or so.  The bar was full of very happy Viking fans, to say the least.  No, I didn't wear my Ullr Viking Helmut (see Day 10)  although by the 3rd quarter I would have been happy to don those horns and blend in with the crowd.  The Cowboys sucked.  And Favre was flawless.  The best team won for sure.

Dale and Jaqui invited the whole family to the sleigh ride, and it was a blast.  It started snowing pretty hard  as we climbed aboard the sleigh.  The horses were huge;  Black Persheron and Bay Belgian Draft horses, with a wrangler straight out of Hollywood (ok,  he was really from Greeley).

It was magical!  We laughed and sang and giggled like children as we glided through the meadows,  the hillsides dotted with homes in the twilight, the snow gently falling in the still night.

Sometimes,  I feel like I get close to a potential moment, something special,  something memorable. But I pull in my "horns" and decide to just skim along, and not go deep into an experience.  But close isn't good enough.  Precious moments like these  make our lives complete, sharing them with our family and friends make it meaningful.

Thank you, Dale and Jaqui,  for a creating this wonderful opportunity!

-Karl