It's a Miracle!

What does "A Christmas Carol," the picture below, any agreement across the isle in Washington D.C., and me refinishing the hardwood floors upstairs have in common?  They all would involve a miracle.  The miracle I want to bring to your attention on this bonus posting from Walliebloggin' has to do with the Blizzard (how appropriate with the weather in K.C. recently).

The Blizzard I am referencing in this photo comes to you via Dairy Queen.  Not just any Dairy Queen, but the one in Ellis, Kansas.  My new shrine to miracles on the plains is in the form of a Dairy Queen/Subway/gas station.  At approximately 12:21 P.M. this afternoon, on the way home from Colorado, we stopped for a treat break (to Miki that would mean me stopping for a pee break).  After ordering the usual...a Snickers Blizzard for me and a Butterfinger for Miki... the prophet behind the counter handed us two of the most spectacularly concocted dairy delights EVER.  To be specific, all Blizzards are created almost equally the same, but these were (to use a recently popular term) GINORMOUS.  Both of ours extended towards the heavens an extra two inches above the rim of the Chalice from which it was served (I am not squeezing on the cup to make this happen).

Those of you that frequent DQ know it is quite the coup if your server puts in a tad too much dairy delight, which ends up overflowing its container after the mixing of the preferred candy.  And it is almost a sin if your server slights you by not getting the cup full to the brim, but to get divinely waylaid like this in the middle of Kansas, wreaks of miracle-ness.

A miracle is the absence of explanation or from a highly respected source, Wikipedia... an event attributed to divine intervention.  I would get all Biblical on you, but I don't want to spotlight my knowledge on the subject and take away from the importance of the event itself.  

After sitting in awe for the first few miles down the road, I spent the rest of our 4 hours on the road contemplating what happened after ingesting my miracle and I came up with no explanation, which coincides with the first definition of a miracle at the start of the previous paragraph, other than DQ-vine intervention.  I thought maybe this should be brought to the attention of the Vatican, but no one is in charge at the moment.  So after admiring its appearance, we enjoyed it's calories, and it will be with us for the rest of our lives.

My Zen from the Road:  Miracles...you never know when they will happen, where they will come from, or what form they will take.  But when your miracle finds you, appreciate it for what it is.

Fun Was Had By All

Our day today began like we left off yesterday.  We have the pictures to prove it.  The picture on the left was yesterday afternoon as the lifts were getting ready to shut down for the day.  The picture on the right was this morning shortly before the lifts opened.  Deja what?

Just when I thought I had seen it all (on a ski slope), after yesterdays skier in shorts sighting, just minutes ago (about 6:00 mtn. time) we saw from our condo window, two young men in swimming trunks running about 50 yards through the snow, up towards the ski slope and back to what we can only assume was their hot tub.  I believe this marks the official beginning of Spring Break.  It can only get better from here!

Some of you know about a sickness I have, that involves the enjoyment of cutting grass (as long as I am riding).  I found myself attracted to the snow machines here that come out at 5:00 sharp like robots, every evening to groom the ski trails.  At a younger age, I could have thrown it all away to come be a snowcat operator or "groomer".  Driving back and forth (or up and down the mountain in this case), but instead of cutting grass you are driving your machine that pulls something akin to a rototiller over the snow to smooth it out and leaving these nice little grooves in the snow, as if someone had just combed it.  These are the runs that Miki and I like to ski on.  The one with the moguls...suicide bumps...no!  The groomers work all night.  And from a distance, driving down the road, all you see are these lights in the darkness...very "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"-ish.

My dream machine at work.

What caught my attention the most today was not the constant flurries that kept us company all day or the more than normal "stretchers" being slid down the mountain by the ski patrol.  It was the large number of little kids on the mountain.  Mostly in ski school.  They were so entertaining to watch for a number of reasons.  First, they are so close to the ground, they look like Weebles.  The littlest ones you will see with harnesses on them and reins leading back to mom or dad.  But the funniest thing we saw today was a little one in a group of about 5, with their instructor.  The first little one was turning to start down the slope, when out of nowhere he face plants right into the snow for no apparent reason.  It was like those fainting goats on YouTube.  Seconds later, the kid rolled over and popped up looking like a snowman, ready to go.

As we get ready to head home tomorrow, I will miss looking out the window each morning to see what the weather has brought for us.  I will miss the beauty of the mountains from high above and the snowflakes falling gently to the ground.  I will miss the occasional freak show on the slopes and off.  And finally, I will miss the fireplace that remained unused during our stay, due to Miki and her hot flashes.  I was lucky not to have come down with pneumonia.  Raise your glasses and toast with me until next time...Here's to the cold outside and to the heat within... Miki.



My Zen from the Road:  We met many people on the lifts this week both young and old and in between.  All here for the same reason.  The young lady from Louisiana visiting her boyfriend, the young man taking a year off of school taking pictures of skiers for a local photography store, a couple of retired buddies giving each other shit all the way up the lift putting Miki in tears of laughter, and a pair of older ladies (older meaning older than us) that talked nonstop up the lift of all the adventures they have coming up.  From mountain biking in Moab, to overseas travel, they were some busy women.  Being active and having fun while an occasional face plant in the snow is priceless.  Well you can put a price on getting and staying here, but the priceless part is the active fun.  Be Active (and try to have fun doing it)!