Up to the Snow

 I'm taking fire training this weekend, so I took Friday off so I could spend more time with the kids. We decided to go up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive at Great Basin National Park, as the road had recently opened and I was eager to look at the high country. Anna and Evan joined us, and on the ride up I thought the trees looked funny. We took a second look and found that they had icicles on them! We pulled over to take a closer look.

 Apparently the weather had been just right after our recent snow to make these wonderful decorations on nearly all the trees. It was spectacular.

 We had thought about walking the quarter-mile nature trail, but we weren't the best equipped for snow, so opted instead for the recently plowed but still closed Wheeler Peak Campground.

 The kids liked finding their very own icicles.

 The walking was easy until we  got to a shaded, icy patch.

 We found that it was so icy because the creek had jumped its banks and was making a new channel through the snow. The kids threw snowballs into the water and watched them float downstream.

 The water had carved a two-foot canyon through the snow and ice. It was moving fast and sure looked cold!

 Around on the other side of the meadow we found a bit of color.

 The snow might have only melted in this spot a few days ago, but the plantainleaf buttercup (Ranunculus alismifolius) couldn't wait to catch some rays.

 The aspens didn't look like they were even thinking about leafing out. Even so, this spring is so different from last year! We had so much more snow and cold all the way into June last year, and this year the campground is already plowed out before May.

 On the way back (amid complaints from Desert Boy that he was starving--I think he's going through a growth spurt!), we wrote our names in the snow and made footprints. Desert Girl and Evan had their shoes on the wrong feet, so their footprints were a little strange looking.

 Finding the biggest icicle was a fun diversion.

Then we made it back for a big snack break. Afterwards we weren't quite ready to leave. We still had to take out the sled.

 The boys nearly crashed on their first run together.

 Evan doesn't look too sure of this bigger hill. It's slightly higher than the picnic table behind them that's mostly covered with snow.

 Then Desert Girl decided she wanted to get in on the fun.

 Their expressions are priceless!

 I'm not sure if these kids know how lucky they are! I grew up in such a flat spot that I called a three-foot high rock on the other side of the block my mountain. These kids have such an awesome backyard!

It's cooled off this weekend, but I don't think the snow will be around for much longer. This could be the last sledding trip for awhile. It was great to have one more winter adventure and then descend 5,000 feet in elevation and enjoy the warm spring weather.

Hope you're having a good weekend!

Desert Boy's First Skiing Adventure

 Last weekend I found myself dangling in the air. Fortunately I was sitting on a seat, in a chair, on a ski lift. It's been about six years since I've been on a ski lift, and it was fun to get back.

 We went to Brian Head, Utah. Even though it was a Sunday, we had the slopes mostly to ourselves. My husband said when he used to go as a teenager, there were ten times as many people there. We spent a fair bit of time on the lift discussing why people might not ski anymore (and feel free to leave a comment so we can see if we were right!)

 The views were outstanding, much better than my husband's point-and-shoot reveal. The weather was great--it actually felt a little too warm in the afternoon.

 The main reason we went was to get Desert Boy skiing. I wanted to take him last year to the three-year old class, but we never made it. So this year I was determined that we would find a day to go. He was in the Tiny Tracks class for 4- and 5-year olds. There were four kids in the class and two very patient instructors (although Desert Boy later said he thought they were bossy-ha!).

 I tried to spy on the class a little without Desert Boy knowing I was there (he's on the far left). The little skis were adorable. The kids were learning how to make their skis into pizza wedges or french fries.

 We bought new sunglasses for both the kids, and Desert Girl was really styling with hers. She wouldn't let us touch them at all. She knew how to put them on. Obviously.

 After lunch we spied on the class again and saw Desert Boy falling down numerous times on a tiny little hill that we wouldn't really have even called a hill. Uh oh. Maybe this wasn't money well spent.

My husband and I left and skied awhile and then came back to the beginner hill. We were riding up the lift when I spotted some little tykes. I looked hard, and sure enough, that was Desert Boy and his class!

 That meant they had taken the ski lift and were going down the "big" hill. I was so excited to see this progress.

 The kids snowplowed down the whole way. It was really cute.

 We picked up Desert Girl from the day care and my husband and I took turns watching her.

 She was thinking she wanted to give skiing a try!

 Maybe next year, Desert Girl!

Desert Boy thought it was great fun taking turns going up the ski lift with his parents and skiing down. We were delighted with how much he had learned in his first day of skiing. When I asked him if he liked his ski lesson, he said, "I didn't like it; I loved it!"

Here are a couple videos:

Snow Survey

 Yesterday I helped do a snow survey up in the mountains. The snow survey measures the amount of snow at three snow courses. It's been done since the 1940s so there's a nice, long dataset to see how the years compare.

The snow survey is done twice each year, at the end of February and the end of March. Last year I went up to the first site in February and did the whole course in March. In March we could drive a couple miles up the road, which made for a shorter course that we all appreciated.

 The forecast was for 90% chance of precipitation and windy. We hoped that it would snow enough to cover up the crusty snow on the road and we would have some fresh powder for the ski down.

Five of us headed up to the first site.

 We made it off the road, knowing we weren't far from the first course. The snow wasn't all that deep, so we had to negotiate around bushes.

 Here's our group (except for me). It's still early in the day so we're looking strong!

 Jennie is fairly new to skiing, but she did an awesome job.

 We finished the first site and set off for the next site just before noon. We were able to travel fairly quickly because there wasn't too much snow. We took turns breaking trail and trying to figure out where the trail was.

This is an avalanche chute that had a major avalanche in 2005. The young aspen are now a few feet tall. As you can see by the lack of snow at the top of the chute, we didn't have any avalanche concerns on this trip!

My fancy skis. Like the duct tape? The skins just wouldn't stay on without them, and skins were critical to add extra friction to go up hill and slow me down going down hill.

Here I am with the snow tube on the third snow course. We use the tube to measure the depth of the snow and the water content. The snow wasn't super deep at any of the sites, but we'll have to wait for the numbers to see what percentage of normal we are.

We left the uppermost site at 4 p.m., which meant that we finished our ski in the moonlight. Yep, moonlight. That 90% chance of snow gave us a few flakes, but nothing measurable, and the snow clouds blew right over us.

We were all whooped by the time we got back to the vehicles. I think that's the longest ski trip I've ever been on, and my body felt it in many places! Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable day and I'd do it again.

Winter Bike Riding

 It's been such a mild winter that we've gotten in a fair bit of bike riding. Desert Boy can really roll.

 Since the only paved roads in town are state highways and we don't have any sidewalks, it's nice to have an option where we don't have to worry about traffic so much. (I really think a sidewalk/bike path from one end of town to the other would be awesome!)

 Desert Boy is often off-kilter and I wonder if he's going to manage to stay upright, but somehow he manages to pull it off. He's got a really good sense of balance.

 Even the mountains don't have much snow on them! I'm supposed to help with a snow survey tomorrow, and we'll measure just how much snow there is.

Desert Boy's learned that one extra item is useful for winter riding: gloves. It might not be too cold, but it's cold enough to want a little protection!

Fun in the Snow

 Winter has finally come! We sure were excited to see some snow on the ground. Henry enjoyed munching on some big bones. What do you think they were from?

 From a dinosaur, of course!

 Desert Girl and Desert Boy got to try out the snow shoes. The footprint ones were a lot more fun than the regular ones.






Then it was time to go sledding down the pile of gravel in our driveway. Some day it may be spread around so we don't track so much dirt and mud into our house, but I'm guessing that day may still be months away. In the meantime, we might as well make the best of it!

Desert Boy really wanted to make a snowman, but the snow had gotten a little crusty and we had to settle for a miniature snow man.

It was small, but cute!

Henry kept chomping on the bones. Then the kids decided they had to chomp on something, too.

Fortunately they didn't need bones--snow did the trick.

Yum, what a treat.

Finally it was time to go inside and get some hot chocolate. But first we had to find a suitable spot for the snowman--on top of Henry's doghouse.

We're hoping we have some more time to play in the snow before the warm days melt it all away. We might have to head to higher ground. And keep our fingers crossed that we really do get another snow storm this weekend!