Salida way

Did ya get to see the eclipse?
We spent one last night on the backside of Crested Butte and skied in the morning up a beautiful valley before heading east. (The shutes on this photo aren't a ski area, they are from avalanches.) Quite unexpectedly we came on a sign for Waunita hot spring 9 miles off the highway so we took the plunge and it really paid off. We were the only ones there for hours. Michael made an expressive snow angel in between mellow laps in the 100 degree pool.
After that we stopped at the Monarch Ski Area. It was starting to snow hard by the pass so we didn’t stay, just headed on down out of the mountains in hopes of getting some clear sky. In the last of dusk we found a small road into a wildlife management area. We hardly saw the surroundings but knew to level off and stay the night.
The eclipse at first seemed like a wash as the full moon rose through clouds but then the sky overhead cleared and we were able to see it. The best part, when it was all over and the moon was blasting like day on the snow patches, a traveling coyote band let out their appreciation song, much more expressive than our own.Today the storm continues in the mountains.
We are delighted that the pump and water drain have unfrozen and we are in Salida, (pronounced like saliva,) a really eclectic high plateau town with a Laundromat and other delights. Once we’ve regrouped we’ll head up again but it’s nice to be relatively warm.