Back From The Snow

Last December my siblings, cousins and their families took our annual trip up to Reno to play in the snow. We try to go right after school lets out because the rates at the hotel were unbeatable. How good were they? Well, let's just say my brother and his wife got a 2-night stay for free! Yep, two-nights for free and you stay a minimum of 2-nights. We paid $39 a night and got 2 nights free. Unbeatable I say! But the weather reports were saying to stay away.. too much snow.. you'll get stuck.. but did we listen? No.. and so glad we didn't because we had a smooth trip there and back!

Written on December 2010

We are back from Reno and had a great time! The food, fun and fellowship were perfect. Even the drive was really not bad at all. No bumper to bumper traffic and no delays.

As we headed to Reno on Saturday morning, the weather was fine (just light rain) until we passed Auburn and headed up the Summit. Then it started snowing. Chains were required so we had to stop so that my sister's van could get their chains on. (We didn't need them.. 4-wheel drive is GREAT!).  We got to the hotel by 2pm, rested and played in the arcade until my brother and his wife checked in later in the afternoon. We ate at an Italian restaurant at the hotel called Briscola and it was delicious!!

On Sunday we headed to the snow park but realized that there was a traffic jam up the mountain past Mt. Rose so we changed our plans and just went to Mt Rose to play in the snow. The weather conditions were not good for skiing but perfectly fine for playing in the snow. We parked, walked down to the lodge and settled right in front of the lodge to build, create and dig.

My brother immediately started creating his 'cave' with Daniel's help and they were very productive!

All of us almost fit into the cave!

My brother and his beautiful wife.

My whole family (minus my parents.. they are not good cold weather people).. relaxing in the Lodge. Going to Mt Rose today was a blessing in disguise. The kids were able to still play in the snow while some of us relaxed in the warm lodge with food and restroom availability. After lunch we headed back to the hotel and watched "Despicable Me" while my sister's family watched "The Secretariat". Both movies were pleasant surprises. After the movies we met up with my cousins and their families for a buffet dinner at the hotel. My brother and his wife went to the hotel fitness center, ate at Johnny Rockets and bowled at the hotel.

The next day, Monday, we headed to Mt Rose again for skiing this time and the weather was much better. The sun even tried to come out. The winds were light and the visibility was clear. And it was NOT crowded at all!

We made sure that the caves Daniel & his Uncle P. made were still intact. And they were!

Cousin Lauren and Hannah

Lauren and Hannah took lessons..

...along with my nephews and their Mama (My sister did really well and really enjoyed this ski resort ..
much better than Sugarbowl she says)

And Emily took lessons with cousin Jordan. There was so much fresh powder you can't even see their skiis

After their lesson the younger girls were done skiing so they helped me rebuild a fortress my nephew Joshua made.

As we were driving back to the hotel, we made our usual stops to put on and take off chains.. here is a picture of my sister's van, my cousin's van and my other cousin's truck. Let's just say both my cousins are contemplating getting all-wheel drive vehicles the next time they come up. My brother-in-law was good with putting on chains now.. he's an expert!!

As we headed back to the hotel, the sun was out and it was clear .
So clear that you can see the mountains on the right of me and...

on the left of me. What a difference huh? No snow and Tons of snow.. what a powerful heat conductor the sun is!

On our last day, we headed to the all-you-can-eat sushi place in Reno. We were all stuffed!

All in all, everyone enjoyed Mt Rose tremendously. It was close to the hotel, the kids lessons were very organized and had great instructors, the food in the cafe was great, there were rarely any lines anywhere (guess many people were scared off by the weather reports) that day. The kids liked the runs here better. We will definitely be back to Mt Rose next time!