The 1987 Ski Trip

When the Mickey Mouse Gang ( see previous blog post) was running together, we had more fun than a bull in a field of heifers.. Our trips were always well planned and well organized by various members of the group, but we all relied on Dale to be our leader. Here’s an example of one of our fun trips together.

The 1987 Ski Trip

 

In February of 1987, The Mickey Mouse Gang planned a ski trip to Breckenridge. We were staying in Jean and Paul’s Condo and space was limited so we drove to Borger and dropped off Tamara and Kristi at MaMo and PoPo’s house for the 5 days. We flew to Denver from Amarillo and Dale picked us up at the airport there. We drove to a Motel about 20 miles from Breckenridge and spent the first night there as the occupants of the condo would not be out until the following day. It was mine and Paul’s birthday so they had a party for us at the Motel. Paul and I got some real presents but the rest of the guys got some rather risqué gifts that hinged on being embarrassing.

 

Paul and I opening presents and getting a big kick out of the risqué gifts for John and Dale.

 

Pam and Sandy enjoying Dale opening his risqué gift.

 

I don’t remember what Johns risqué gift was, but it must have been good because Jeans mother is licking her lips and she stuck close to John the rest of the trip.

 

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It snowed all night, so we had eight inches of new powder for the first days skiing. The skiing was really fantastic and we had a great time on the slopes that first day. Pam and I pretty much stuck to the green slopes but Dale and some of the others did all the black slopes. By that evening we were very tired so we all went out for Mexican food, then came back and hit the Sauna at the Condo. There were not enough beds for everyone so about 5 of us slept on the floor and Sue slept on the couch. John snored all night but we were all so tired it didn’t bother us much. Jeans mother kind of had a crush on John, so she followed him around a lot.

 

John cleaning off the van. It snowed all night the first night so we had 8 inches of new powder to ski on the first day. Great skiing.

 

Sandy and Sue heading for the slopes at Breckenridge for a fun day of skiing.

 

Having dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Breckenridge after a hard day on the slopes.

 

The whole crew in the steamy sauna room after dinner trying to soothe our aching bodies.

 

Sue exhausted in her long handles on her bed on the couch.

 

That’s John on the floor snoring. I’m not sure but that could be Jeans Mom that moved in beside him with her elbow sticking out.

 

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The third day we drove over to Copper Mountain and skied all day over there. They had a lot of gentle green slopes that Pam and I liked a lot. We spent the whole day there. That evening we all signed up for a sleigh ride up the mountain in a sleigh drawn by about 6 horses. At the top of the mountain, they had a tent set up and they fixed us steaks, potatos, and salad which were served at tables set up in the tents. It was below zero that evening so the trip up the mountain was very brisk. We all had rosy cheeks. About half was up, they stopped to rest the horses and Dale got out of the sleigh and laid down in the snow and made a snow angel. On the way up Dale was talking to a group of Cajuns that were making the trip too. When we got there, they put our group and the group of Cajuns in the back of the tent in an isolated room. I guess they knew what was coming. Dale and the Cajuns started exchanging dirty jokes in loud and boisterous voices. These were pretty raw jokes and soon the management came in and said the Baptists in the adjacent tent were complaining. They just got louder. Soon the steaks came and things calmed down a little. On the way out, they made sure they were still telling jokes when they passed through the other tents. Overall it was a very fun evening. We went home and sacked out and I was so tired, I’m not sure whether John snored or not.

 

The sleigh we rode on up the mountain to get to the steak tent for dinner. That’s Kim, Sandy, and Pam on the near side.

 

The snow angel Dale made on the way up the mountain when they stopped to rest the horses.

 

We are inside the tent waiting on our steaks while Dale and the Cajuns told dirty jokes. The Cajuns are to the right of us in the same room and the Baptists are behind the tent flap to the rear of the picture.

 

Pam and Kim ( Dale and Sandy’s daughter) flying pretty high after drinks with the dinner. Heading for the Sleigh to ride back down the mountain.

 

The next day, we packed up and said goodby to everyone and traveled to Borger to pick up the girls. Our Mickey Mouse Gang had many many adventures together like this one. You can tell which one our leader Dale is by simply observing. He’s the one sitting or standing at the head of the table talking. He took good care of us over the years. He is one of the finest men I’ve ever known.

Thanks for reading The 1987 Ski Trip,

Hawg Jaw Bill