Shirley Meadows

 

Another day trip today. This time to a nearby Ski resort. The road led through the oil fields on the northern outskirts of the city via,an aptly named, Granite Road that passes through rolling hills accentuated by large granite boulders. The hills were remarkably green after recent rains. The bare silhouettes of the tall oaks spread across the landscape made it even more charming. The skies were clear and blue and there was just a perfect chill in the air outside. Hawks and eagles glided happily in the skies. Cows literally were having a feast on those hills and meadows. Some had gathered and were seated on the top of the hills as if having a spiritual retreat. I realized these creatures enjoyed much precious real estate than any humans and suspected they must consider us as trespassers on their territory.

Passing between sprawling fenced ranches, sparse hilltop homes, barns and creeks we entered the Greenhorn Mountains. Nestled in these mountains is the small town of Glenville, famous for its rodeos. Glenville is at an elevation of over 3100 feet. The road climbs further from this point. When we started from home we weren’t sure how far we could go before we would need to turn back due to snow closures. Around 4000 feet elevation sparse snow began to make an appearance by the sides of the road. Above 5000 feet there was more snow visible on the surrounding mountains but the road was mostly dry and open. We kept going and also felt reassured because we saw many other vehicles pass both ways on the route. Lo and behold we actually made it to the summit where the ski resort is. Lots of families with young kids were making most of the snow fields there. We had not come prepared for snow. Yet it was a pleasant surprise to see so much snow up close and watch people snow boarding and skiing. 

We had left home around 10:30 am and it was around 2 pm when we were still at the summit. Both of us were famished. A pizza place in Glenville was a huge relief. Having made the most out of the day we were back home by 5:30 pm. Tomorrow off to sin city for a conference. 

Today’s saree was a Bhujodi in pastel green highlighted by threadwork in off-white, brown and black on the pallu and thin vertical threadwork spaces out stripes on the body. The yarn is a very soft, finest of cottons. There is no border. The blouse is off-white with matching threadwork border on the sleeves. It wasn’t like any other Bhujodi I had seen before. A very understated beauty that appealed to me at first glance. I just had not thought I would be flaunting it in snow when I draped it this morning. But it served well despite that.