Ellie and I cross country skied today through Slate Valley.  Quite possibly, all of Slate Valley.  Trail maps suck.  With less than two miles to go, so close we could see the end, we were faced with a trail closed sign.  Turning around meant maybe another two miles.  We didn’t turn around, we skied right past that sign.  A couple of hundred meters later, we were faced with a washed out bridge.  I thought we could have jumped it, Ellie is more cautious than me.  Failure to make the jump cleanly might have led to hypothermia.  We ended up skiing a good eight miles, but enjoyed every minute of it.  I love nordic skiing.  It’s like trail running but so smooth and graceful.

The Crested Butte Nordic Center is off 2nd Street in downtown, so afterward, Ellie I and strolled around Elk Street taking photos.  We met up with the gang later at Lil’s Sushi for dinner.  Incredibly good but the really special thing is their fantastic happy hour.  People queue up outside waiting for them to open.

This town has great dining.  The night before was super good Italian at Marchitelli’s.  And the night before that at Coal Creek Grill, where the lovelorn working girl Liz threw herself to her death in the icy street below the hotel back during the gold rush.  Hard to pick a favorite, it’s all good.