No Spring Chicken

The Prairie Daddy and I went on a great date. I love dating my husband. This date was in the making for FOUR YEARS! Yes, you read it right, FOUR YEARS! I will give you a brief history:

Christmas morning of 2004 The Prairie Daddy and I opened a fantastic gift from my family: a gift card for Red Lodge Ski Resort, a gift certificate for dinner in Red Lodge, and one night at a Red Lodge B&B.

Christmas morning of 2004 we announced that I was pregnant! Pregnancy and skiing are a "no-no." We did use our B&B and dinner out eventually but we saved the skiing part. Thankfully, after checking with the resort, there was not an expiration date on the gift card.

Finally, we used it up this weekend.

We drove up to Red Lodge, MT (about an hour and a half from home) Sunday after church. The Prairie Kid got to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We checked into the historic Pollard hotel downtown and our nice room overlooked main street from the second floor. It was great!
We decided to splurge for dinner and went to the Carbon County Steakhouse. Wow! I was super impressed. The service was impeccable. This place made you feel like you were the only ones there. The timing was perfect, the atmosphere was relaxing yet classy, and everything was great. The food was awesome too. We started out with a seared scallop in a forgotten liquor/broth of some sort with onions and fresh bread followed by a Caesar salad. We shared a New York that was prepared with sauteed Jack Daniels, onions, and mushrooms with wild rice and sauteed vegetables. And for dessert we had their own special version of mud pie. Yum!

Our hotel included a great breakfast in their dining room. As if we hadn't been spoiled enough at dinner! The Prairie Daddy ordered the Gran Marnier French Toast and I ordered The Pollard Benedict, a bagel toast with smoked salmon, brie, a poached egg and topped with a dill Hollandaise. Yummmy!

We headed off to the slopes with our satisfied palettes and full tummies. I had to rent equipment and The Prairie Daddy sported his 1990's ski team skis and gear. (I have to admit, he looks darn cute in that Univ. of Wyoming ski jacket!) Have I mentioned that my manly-man was on the ski team for the University of Wyoming? : )

It was my first experience with shape skis. I didn't mind them except they slowed me down way too much on the flat stretches.

We skied our hearts (and quads) out. I teased The Prairie Daddy that he skied like he had something to prove. I didn't stand a chance against him but I did really well on my technique. The weather was pretty good except for some late winds and snow. The slopes were a little icy but we stayed on some that weren't too bad. I had forgotten how long you have to sit on the lifts! For awhile we were on the "slow lifts" side of the mountain and we would ride lifts for almost 15 minutes to ski for 3-4! Finally we found a 4 minute high-speed quad for a 4 minute run.

When the lifts closed at 4 we were both pooped and I can tell that I am no longer a spring chicken when it comes to skiing! But I do hope it isn't another four years before we go again!