Winter Surf

I love the winter weather in San Diego. We are subtropical enough to be on the tail edge of most storm tracks. We may get a few heavy showers during the winter but for the most part the brunt of the storms stay to the north. As a result it is not uncommon to have glassy calm days with overhead surf in the middle of winter. This was exactly the conditions we had this January and February with consistent head high surf for two straight months. 

Winter Vacation Part 2

After a relaxing week in Colorado we hit the road again with the next destination at Yellowstone National Park. Driving through Utah and Wyoming took us through some beautiful terrain ranging from the red rocks canons, prairies, to forests. It took us two days to make it to Yellowstone because of all the detours we took to take in the spectacular views.

I was impressed with how well my car performed on the snow. After passing through Hurricane we were in the snow for the rest of the trip. When we hit the town of West Yellowstone the roads were no longer plowed and we started sharing the road with snowmobiles.

We spent a week in Yellowstone. Part of it was at a lodge in the town of West Yellowstone and the other was inside the park at a cabin at the famous Old Faithful Inn. We explored Yellowstone park on snowmobiles, cross country skis, snow shoes, and foot. Got to observes wildlife up close, walk among some inspirational geothermal feathers, and spend quality time with a special friend.

Winter Vacation Part 1

I took my long vacation this year after the Christmas holiday. My girlfriend and I started our 3 week long adventure driving out to my family's ranch near Durango, CO. We left San Diego on the 29th and drove for most of the day with a major winter storm baring down on us. The storm finally caught up with us in Hurricane, UT where we got a motel for the night. We woke up the following morning with a fresh dusting of snow, which made for a spectacular (and slow) drive through southern Utah. The contrast of white snow on red rocks was picturesque.

We got to my Uncle's ranch the following day around dark and just as another storm was hitting. We made the whole drive without getting stuck up to the last 100 feet from the uncle's driveway. That last bit of a hill combined with the fresh snow was too much for my matrix.

Julia and I hung around Colorado through the new year's holiday with my Dad who was also in town. We enjoyed the slow ranching lifestyle, a bit snowboarding at Purgatory, and lots of relaxing around the cast iron fireplace. We also had some exceptionally cold weather with temperatures in the -20s.