Christmas in Wyoming and New Year's in Utah

This was the year to spend Christmas with Rodney's family, so we flew to Salt Lake City on the Tuesday before and then drove with Rodney's brother Roger and his wife, Julia to Riverton, Wyoming on the the 24th. It was a relatively nice day with temperatures varying from the 20s F (-5 C) to the 40s F (+5 C). South Pass had its usual wind, but at least it wasn't blowing so much snow you couldn't see the highway. Rodney's brother Bob had car trouble and didn't make it until Sunday.

Rodney's Dad had made his usual spectacular cinnamon rolls and they were available for breakfast every day we were in Riverton (6 breakfasts). We entered right into the games, playing Mexican Train Dominos, Rummikub, Sequence, Cribbage, and Mille Bourne over the days.

Christmas was fun and we had a traditional turkey dinner. The day after Christmas, it snowed about 2-3" (5-8 cm). It had not snowed in Riverton since October 11! Rodney helped his Dad clear the snow from the walks for them and the neighbor on either side, so Ziwi would be able to walk to "take care of business."

Rodney's brother, Bob, and Bob's significant other, Jo, made it on Sunday and we had a mini Christmas that day. On Monday, we swam in the high school pool, since the exercise bike had become boring with the treadmill out of action. Monday it was in the 50s F (15+ C)! It was never that warm when Rodney was growing up. The coldest we saw was about -5 F (-20 C), so it wasn't bad at all (those temperatures were always just before dawn, which was 7:45 AM or so).

We went with Bob, Jo, Roger, and Julia to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the classic Acme Theater in Riverton.

We drove back to Salt Lake City on Tuesday and skiied Alta Ski Resort on Wednesday and Friday, and Snowbird Ski Resort on Thursday. I still had a card from last year, so I was able to save $5 on the first day at Alta, and the Lift House sells discount tickets, so we got a chairs only ticket for $54 for Snowbird. We spent New Year's eve staying up all the way to Midnight EST, which was 10 PM local time. What party animals!

It started raining Friday night in SLC while we watched Utah beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. That turned to snow, which was so slick Rodney fell while taking Ziwi out to pee before bed. He said "Darn, I wish I hadn't done that." or words like that only with 4 letters each. Saturday, we loaded up and Roger and Julia dropped us off at a madhouse SLC Airport, but we had 2 hours and 45 minutes before our flight. We arrived home about noon Saturday, which allowed us to watch the San Diego - Indianapolis game that night.