When I moved to Denver I started a new friendship with an awesome guy-Hadi Morrow. I never would have expected to find a great friend when moving out west, but I am so glad I have! Since September, we have spent the weekends together exploring new places, making new friends, eating new food, and just getting to know each other and Colorado together. He is a great snowboarder and has been using his Epic Pass to explore the slopes all over the state. I am not the strongest skier, but decided to give it a try this weekend at Keystone! I was very nervous, anxious, and excited to ski out west for the first time! After 2 hours, I made it down the mountain (3.5 mile run!) with no falls. It was the best feeling- made me want to go again and try to go faster! I had a great feeling of accomplishment when arriving at the base of the mountain because the green slope I went down would have been considered a double black diamond at home. I am so excited for my skiing skills to grow the more I go! After skiing, we checked into the hotel and got settled. The desk informed us that our room had been upgraded, they gave me a free night ski pass, and told us about fireworks! What an awesome surprise! I was a little bummed that I literally just turned in my rental skis because I would have used the pass they gave me. It wasn't a big deal though, because we had the chance to go to the summit and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate right after the sunset. Being a little over 13,000 feet and surrounded by Rocky Mountain peaks was an experience like no other! After riding the Gondola down the mountain, we spiffed up and had a very nice dinner. Followed by a couple of near beers at the hot tub, we had a great night spending time together. The next morning, we woke up to a flurry! The mountain was producing some beautiful powder and we were pumped to tube! I definitely had a lot of fun tubing. It is like going down a frozen waterslide a ton of times! We went so fast I felt like a little kid- reminded me of the times I used to sled with my family. After all of our fun, Hadi got a couple of runs in on the snowboard and we wrapped up our time in Keystone. It was a magical place and I cant wait to visit again! I think one of my favorite parts of the trip; however, was the ride home. We had the opportunity to take a drive through the mountains on the way back to Denver. The drive reminded me of the scenic drives through the Rockies with TCTW, but better because I was with someone I really care about. It was so wonderful seeing the peaks with Hadi! This weekend is a trip that I will remember for a long time.
