Beaver Creek -- Avon, Colorado

Ellyn would say this is her favorite place on Earth. 
It's easy to see why--this is my view out the back door of our condo.  If I would get out of my slippers and pj's, I could give you even more spectacular views. 

The only thing that could make it better would be if our dog Mandie was with us.  We miss her terribly when we come here (some of us more than others), but we leave her in good hands.  (Thanks, Mitch and Lindsey!) 

Did you know her ears feel like velvet?

The drive here is very long. We leave at 5:00 am or before, depending on the weather.  Everyone is in good spirits, since we are on an adventure.  We watch movies, eat, take turns driving, play tons of music from our ipods, read books, and sleep. 

This kid barely makes a peep for most of the drive.  He's always been a great traveler.

This kid asks "how much longer" over and over.  She's always been a terrible traveler.  (This is Meggan with our friends' dog Bear.  She dresses him like a girl whenever she gets a chance.  Sorry Jeff and Travis.)

Then in the afternoon, after hours and hours in the van, someone notices something on the horizon:

Within minutes everyone gets very excited, because we have reached the mountains.

From this point, we still have about 2 hours to drive before we reach Avon, CO.  The rest of the drive is strikingly beautiful as we drive through the Rockies.  It seems to go fast, unless it's snowing and the driving conditions are slow and stressful.  This year our drive was uneventful.  The weather was great, so Byron had Brandon drive through the mountains.  He did a great job.  (Better than I would have done, because I would have been a nervous wreck.  All that down shifting so you don't burn out your brakes...  yikes.)  I took the stretch in western Nebraska.  Talk about uneventful.  The only excitement is if you get stopped for speeding.  (I didn't this year.)

Before long, we pull into Ellyn's favorite place on Earth--Beaver Creek.  It is a favorite for the whole family.

(Ryan would say not true for him. He's too much of a homebody.) 

I'm still not sure which family member loves skiing most--Byron, Brandon or Meggan. 

They are all crazy for skiing; and Ellyn just loves the entire package of this trip.

And me...I like to go almost anywhere with the whole family.

And I love to take pictures of beautiful places, especially while in my slippers and pj's.

 More tomorrow...