Now for the Unusual...Poker & Skiing?

Today we woke to a few more inches of fresh snow and quite a bit more in the forecast. We decided that we'd rather ski/board tomorrow in a foot of snow so we took off for the Snowy Range just to drive around. The road out of Laramie wasn't so bad...snow blew across & you could tell that 'whiteout conditions' would not be too hard to imagine. As we drove we realized that we weren't the only ones heading out of town. An whole group of cars, SUV's & trucks were all lined up behind us...most unusual.

It would seem as if today was the day for the infamous "Murf the Surf’s Cross Country Ski Poker Run Benefit". The town of Centennial's population of 100 rose by 500 more people and untold numbers of dogs. What a sight! People in various outfits from standard ski wear, tutus, even a guy sporting buffalo hide. The dogs came prepared in their own outfits right down to their doggie booties. We're pretty sure that alcohol was the drink of choice. Why else would these people load themselves, their dogs and equipment into various shuttles that consisted of an old pickup truck and an enclosed box truck. We passed one such truck heavily laden as it weaved back & forth up the snow covered mountain road. Scary. Not sure the box truck was such a good choice for the ride up the mountain either.

Overall it looked like a fun way to spend a snowy Saturday in Laramie...should have broken out the snowshoes and given it a go. On second thought riding in those trucks looked kind of scary.

*truck photo by Andy Carpenean/Boomerang photographer from last year's event.