On the first weekend of February my husband and I were treated to a weekend away at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville. A Christmas gift from our family.

While the drive up was long and somewhat stressful with lots of snow, a closed highway (the one we would have taken), we made it after a long and late drive. Our driver and navigator handled the situation well and we arrived safely. The temperature dropped to -30 that evening by the time we arrived at the resort. And there was plenty of snow at the resort, that much further north.

We settled in after having something to eat. We were all pretty tired after the long day and a long drive.

Next morning we looked out to a clear cold morning with plenty of snow for winter activities. We took our time that morning and planned for an afternoon hike, a swim and the Eclipse Walk that evening.

          

From our suite

 

We gathered our gear, dressed in our warmest layers, hats and mittens and headed for the Outlook Trail high above the resort. We stopped plenty of times for hiking on the snowy path took energy. The girls, though, took it with ease.

And in time we made it to the top. I was glad to have my walking poles. I believe they helped me keep upright. Only went down once. The girls flopped in the snow every chance they got.

 

 

Both girls made the most of all that snow on the top of the path.

 

We took time at the top for a break and talked about which way we’d go back down. There were two options, the way we came and an exit route that may have had a steep incline to the road. We decided it was probably safer to go back the way we came.

The next plan was to go back to the suite, relax and then go swimming. I opted to skip swimming, at least for that time, and save energy for the Eclipse Walk in the evening.

We racked up a lot of steps that day but I didn’t quite make 10,000 although it was a good workout.

I didn’t take photos inside our suite at Deerhurst, but a look at their website gives some idea. We had a kitchen where we could prepare our own food ( which we did), and large comfortable beds, and a sitting area. In the resort area there’s a gym, swimming pool and other amenities apart from the obvious outdoor activities like ski runs and hiking trails.

 

At the Eclipse Walk that evening, we were invited to make lots of noise so that the lights in the area came on brighter. The girls helped me pull the rope to ring the bell. It worked, once I figured out how hard to pull the rope.

 

Here one of the guides took our photo.

 

I felt like Edith Ann in the Big Red Chair. I may be dating myself but it was a children’s program on television.

And the girls on either side. We do look small in that gigantic chair.

It seemed like a pioneer village where we walked with historic places and it likely was. Must look that up.

 

On our walk out of the area. See how bright the lights are!

It was cold again that night. I didn’t check the temperature. As my daughter said, “Dad was the smart one to stay in where it was warm.”

That evening we ate snacks and played Yahtzee to close off the day and enjoyed each other’s company again.

On the last morning I went with the girls to the swimming pool while my daughter gathered items for packing up to go home. The girls had a good swim in the pool, we spent a short time in the hot tub, then back in the pool before getting ready to head back to the suite.

Our drive home happened in clear weather in a usual amount of time to drive that distance, with one stop at On Route for snacks.

At the end of the weekend, I think we were all ready for home, having enjoyed the time away together.

In the next few days I looked up the altitude of the path we took. The information only told me the highest point was above 9,000 feet. Explains why we could see over the resort and the lakes and see the ski hills beyond.

If you go to Deerhurst in winter, prepare well for the cold.