Labor Day Labor Pains

So we were out in Winter Park, Colorado today trying to relax and spend some time with family. We are at a family reunion all week with family in from all over the map. We decided to go to the Alpine slide today as they were closing it down for the season. If you've never been on one an "alpine slide" they come in many flavors. In Park City, Utah the 'slide' is a long and slow experience with a few bursts of speed. Up at Snowbird the slide is 1/3 the length but is a much faster track. Here in Winter Park the slide is almost double the length of Park City and twice the speed of Snowbird's. I'm not kidding, I can't believe how fast you can go on this crazy ride! (See me on the track)

Well, the reality is you can only go as fast as the person in front of you. So my son, Joshua and I tended to wait for a long time at the top waiting for the person in front of us to get a long head start. Now remember we have all sorts of family in from out of town and some have never been on a slide before. My niece, Tiffany is one of these. She is 9 years old and loves to go FAST! I think you know were this is going so I'll get to the point. On her second time down (the first time she bumped into Bri gently) she hit full speed into a lady on the track who had almost stopped. Upon hitting the lady she few up out of her sled and struck the lady with her head and then fell backwards striking her head on the back of the sled. She got the 1-2 wammy on the front and back of her head! Ouch.

For the next couple hours she nursed two big bumps on her head until it became apparent that the bumps were possible more than bumps. The staff on hand at the first-aid station was great. They soon sent Tiffany over to the clinic which had more medical equipment. After another hour or so of observation the clinic decided that Tiffany should go to Denver for observation at the Children's Hospital. Tiffany was air-lifted to Denver and after a few hours they determined that she had nothing serious but she did have a minor concusion.

With all this being said, I wanted to share how great the staff and managers were at the Winter Park Resort. They organized all of the transportation. They provided an additional car and driver to drive 3 family members back to our resort which was 20 miles away free of charge. And they helped a little girl who's only desire was to have fun with he family. While it was terrible that Tiffany had the crash on the slide, it was quite heartening to see how great people can be.

Thanks Winter Park Resort for helping us get through a crazy day! We'll be back.