Christmas in the Rocky Mountains

My Aunt hit a homerun this year by suggesting that we do something different for the holidays to lighten the spirit of the family after the tragedy of this fall. She stumbled upon Trail Creek Ranch, about 20 miles Northwest of Red Feathers, CO. (Or 60 miles south of Laramie, WY). During the summer Trail Creek hosts a working dude ranch and trout fishing from the Poudre River that runs through the property. During the winter, it is a beautiful winter wonderland.

The main ranch house, originally built in the late 1800's, used to be a main stop on the trail from Denver to Laramie before the highways were built. With 8 bedrooms, it was the perfect place to host the Brunmeier Christmas Retreat. There was even a "house horse" that hung out near the main house and quickly became friends with the entire family.

The whole family had a great time and I was surprised that everyone really got into the Brunmeier Christmas Olympics. My cousin, Elisabeth, and I split the family into three teams and put together a series of competitions. Winner took home the title and the losers had to be the kitchen work crew for the Christmas dinner. I have to say congrats to the "Red Necks" who took the crown and the title of the "Winter Retreat Elite" and I send my regrets to the "Lean Mean Fighting Green Bean Dream Team" who were the Kitchen Work Crew. As for the Blue Jackets, better luck next year! It was a close race! I will never forget the scene the family made while playing the game "Bundle Up," which involved covering a person in as many extra items of clothing as physically possible in a certain amount of time. I laughed so hard watching everyone scramble for clothes and winter gear that I thought I forget how to breathe.

Hopefully, I will have all the photos up after the New Year... (as well as other photos from this past year.) In the meantime, I hope everyone has a merry holiday season and I send all the best to you this new year!