Snowmobiling!

I had Friday off from work so my husband and I went snowmobiling. We haven't been in a couple years, but thanks to my dad who helped us get our two sleds back in riding condition, we headed to the mountains for some powder!

We left the house at 6:15am and the first stop was Sonic in Old Colorado City so Tim could get some breakfast burrito goodness. I had one of my metabolically efficient smoothies (though I will admit to snagging two tater tots).

Sonic good!

 We headed up the pass. My cell phone camera doesn't do this justice, nor does it compare to the Pikes Peak Guy's photos, but Pikes Peak looked phenomenal with the way it was highlighted by the sunrise.

Pikes Peak heading west on HWY 24

 The second stop was at my parents' house in Divide to get the snowmobiles! It was chilly - about 10 degrees F.

The sleds were waiting for some action!

 The sun finally came up and we had some great views. Those are snow-capped mountains in the background.

I think this was just over Wilkerson Pass.

 We made it to Buena Vista and got gasoline for the sleds.

Some of the collegiate peaks in the background

 We head west from Buena Vista up the hill towards Cottonwood Pass. We stop in the Avalanche parking lot (but hope for no avalanches today!)

Ski pants and some good boots are a must!

 I'm bundled up and we're just about ready to go!

Smile!

Tim's ready to go!

One of the amazing views over Cottonwood Pass.

The trail was nice and groomed and we headed over Cottonwood Pass, 12,126 feet. I've never been on this road in the summer.

the air is thin at 12,126ft!

That's me blocking the sign.

Once over the pass you have to go down the "chutes." It's pretty steep, but as it was nicely groomed I enjoyed the descent.

The 'chutes' just over the pass.

 We keep riding the trails and actually pass the groomer. But because the area had some recent snow, the riding was superb. We make it to Taylor Reservoir and stop at the general store for a quick pit stop. It was about 8 degrees down there. Makes you appreciate indoor plumbing when it is available!

Parked at Taylor Reservoir

Our lunch buffet

After leaving the Res, we turned around to head back and stopped on a wide section of trail for our lunch buffet. For those following me the last few weeks - this was not metabolically efficenct, but good! Turkey and cheese sandwich, some cheetos, and some pretzel M&Ms. Good snowmobiling food! Next time I'll plan ahead a little and bring some better food, not what we get at 7-11. But I did have some trail mix, so give me a few points for that.

Perfect day to be on the sleds!

Tim wanted to play in the powder and ended up getting stuck. My sled should really stay on the trails, but he wasn't able to dig himself out so I tried to follow the tracks. This section was a little too steep for my sled...stuck in the powder about 10 feet from the top of the little hill where Tim was.

Great views even when you're stuck!

And of course just when I got there to help, a trio with real powder sleds showed up and helped get us unstuck.

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Here are a few more shots from the day:

amazing views!

Nicely groomed trails today!

We made it back down to the truck, loaded up the sleds on the trailed, dropped them back off in Divide and got home in time for Christmas Eve dinner with Tim's family. And I made some cookies:

Like I mentioned in a metabolic efficiency post, if you are going to deviate - at least eat something really good, like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies!