mountains

skiing; sky; bears; John Denver; overlook; dry air

Skiing down a mountain brings you closer to the sky than flying.

The sun must stay longer in the sky before the bears will come out of hibernation.

Bears should have eaten John Denver, he deserved a mountain death.

John Denver's over-the-top songs never fail to come to mind at every mountain overlook.

At the overlook, I paused, and breathed deep the dry air.

Vacation's End: Skiing with the Family in Cortina D'Ampezzo

After the wet and rainy Venice, the family headed north to the Dolomites, an Italian mountain chain that is part of the Alps.  Specifically, we spent the last days of the trip skiing (snowboarding for me) in Cortina D'Ampezzo, a 3-hour train ride and 1-hour bus ride north of Venice.



My Mom and Dad with beautiful Dolomite peaks behind them.





My brother as we descended down the slopes through the clouds.


Sunny skiing can be found above the clouds.


Family picture shot!  I had a blast traveling with them around Italy.  As I type this, they are flying back to the U.S., Cody to Los Angeles and my parents back to Wisconsin.  Last night I said my goodbyes at the Venezia Mestre train station and caught a night train to Ljubljana, Slovenia, arriving at around 2 a.m.  My first gig of the tour is tonight in Ljubljana, and many more gigs and adventures to follow for the next few weeks as I make my way around Europe.  Stay tuned...