Grey Cliffs Cross Country Ski

 The kids didn't have school on Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the temperatures were in the low to mid-20s, so we headed up the Baker Creek road in Great Basin National Park to where it was closed. We pulled out the skis and headed up the road in ideal conditions.

Some snowshoers had been out, but we were the first skiers.

We headed down the incline towards Grey Cliffs campground. There was just enough of a hill to give us some glide.

We did pause to look at some of the numerous rodent tracks. We also saw deer tracks and maybe mountain lion.

Desert Boy really wanted to take a rest at the gate. He wasn't feeling so well, so he didn't continue.

But Desert Girl was ready to make some fresh tracks and broke trail for a bit.

This was about the only non-smiling photo I got of her. She was usually singing as we went skiing along. But she did ask several times when we were taking a break.

When we got up to Loop C, it was time for a break. We cleared off part of a picnic table and got out some snacks and our new JetBoil to try it out. The fuel canister was kind of empty, so we didn't get water to boil in two minutes, but we did get warm water...

...to make hot chocolate! Yum!
After a rest, I asked Desert Girl if she wanted to go on up to Baker Creek Campground and make the loop back down the road or if she wanted to turn around here. She chose to turn around.

She was immediately delighted with her decision, as it was so easy going downhill! In fact, she couldn't believe how fast we got back to the vehicle.

We did have to stop for another sit-on-the-gate photo. Then she followed me up the hill at a good clip. She will be ready for the Ely Birkebeiner's ski race this weekend!

It was so nice to have a perfect skiing day, with no wind, great snow, and beautiful vistas. We're already looking forward to the next ski!

First Mural in Eureka, Nevada

 Just before Christmas we made the journey to Eureka, Nevada, to visit the Eureka Restoration Enterprise's (ERE) newly restored building. They are making it into an art gallery and were selling local arts and crafts for the holidays. They had asked me to include some of my works, so I thought it was only fair if I helped for a day.

From the shop we could see the newly completed mural. ERE made money for it during an Art and Wine Walk earlier in the year.

It was done by Erik Burke and Nick D'Auria. They managed to get it done despite the cold weather.

It starts on the left with a lone pinyon pine tree.


Next is the pinyon pine cut up in pieces and being burned...


...in the charcoal oven.


Then there's the silver ore (Eureka, as you might have guessed, is a mining town).


It's made into a silver bar.


And then the train transports it. This is specifically the E&P engine that hauled it from Eureka to Palisade.

The bricks on the building were really rough, so it was quite impressive how they made everything look so clear.

ERE also had one other mural done in town, a profile of a cowboy, but I didn't get a photo of it. However, you can check it out, plus there other efforts, on their Facebook page. I have a feeling Eureka is going to become a much more interesting and beautiful town in the upcoming years!

Christmas Eve Nativity Play

 One of our Christmas traditions when we're in town is to go to a neighboring community and attend the Christmas Eve Nativity Play. Children are the actors, and our kids have participated several years. This year we were wondering if little Lily would be willing to be one of the sheep. You can see what she thinks about that!

Desert Boy was cast as Gabriel and Desert Girl as Mary. They started the play with quite a few lines.

They both did well. They really like the costumes!

Usually the play has more younger kids, but there weren't enough in town, so some of the older kids were gracious enough to fill in.

The role of the guard is always a favorite, with "Hark ye, hark ye" as the opening words. You can hear the kids pretending they're the guard before the play and saying those words!

The play has several songs, so the kids learn the basic Christmas carols.

Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus in the stable. Mary got a little lesson on how to pick up baby Jesus so she wouldn't cause him whiplash.

The angels head out to shepherd hill to make their proclamation about the newborn King.

Then the three wise men go and visit King Herod. He is obviously thrilled with the visit. The guard thinks it's pretty cool to hang out, too. Even the angels on their heavenly cloud are amused.

The three wise men then visit the newborn King.

Angel Gabriel tells Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt. Joseph made sure none of the gifts were left behind. It was quite cute.

The king and guard hang out at the palace until King Herod dies. These two are both kindergarteners and were so fun to watch!

Then at the end is a rousing rendition of Joy to the World. And in twenty minutes, it's a wrap!

Mary is ready to hold on to baby Jesus and do the final bow holding hands with the actors next to her. (Mom taught her that move!)

Next it was time to change out of costumes and participate in a beautiful candlelight service. I thought Desert Boy would resist going, but he said he found the service relaxing. A dessert potluck followed, so that was extra incentive to stay!

The whole evening really put us in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Eve Fun in the Snow

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we decided to go see how much snow was up in Great Basin National Park. Down in Snake Valley it was mostly rain with a few flakes mixed in, but up at Upper Lehman Creek Campground, there was over 10 inches, and it was still coming down. It's neat how the elevation changes conditions so quickly--and how we can reach a totally different climate in a fifteen minute drive! We were dressed in our snow gear and had some snow toys with us, so we went to play. Desert Girl couldn't wait to sled. We decided to give the beginning of the connector trail to Lower Lehman Creek Campground a try.

It worked pretty well. After a few runs, I was ready to walk around and see what caught my eye. There wasn't any wind, so the snow was balanced even on small things, like rose hips.

I walked over to check out the newly renovated picnic area. The whole campground was redone this past summer with Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) money.

But first I got pulled into the massive ponderosa pines that grace the campground. Snow outlined the branches and pine needles.

A new campfire ring is quite cute.

The amphitheater seating has been redone.

New restrooms have been installed.

This perfect white fir, next to a campsite, caught my eye. The snow looks like frosting on it.

This old road will be restored next year, as part of it goes through a wetland area. A new road was made in the campground to access the higher sites.

The upper part of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is closed to automobiles.

The snow plow was busy pushing snow as we watched.

Desert Boy made use of some of the snow piles to build a snow fort.

There's not a lot of color in the campground, but the shapes are beautiful.

Desert Girl was decked out in hot pink, and she had found a new sledding spot when I walked back.

It wasn't working quite how she wanted.

I took a couple runs to smooth things out and then she gave it a try.

Then she led me for a long hike in the woods, over the ice, across a bridge I had never seen before, and to several picnic tables where we snacked on snow. We figured it was time to go when we got back, but then she asked if she could ski. Sure, why not? We pulled out the cross country skis and she happily started down the road.

Desert Boy watched from the sled as she passed.

Then he decided he wanted to go too.

Last year the kids participated in their first cross country ski race, the Ely Birkebeiner. Desert Girl came in fourth and was quite upset, because only the top three finishers got medals. She came in fourth because she got passed when she had fallen down. So her goal was to learn how to get up faster so she wouldn't get passed again. She wants to come in third this year. She fell several times and did get up quickly. We'll try to get in some more practices before the January 21 event.

It was a nice, gentle ski going down the road on a thin layer of snow.

Desert Boy was so happy to be moving along.

He passed Desert Girl and kept going. And going, and going.

The turkeys had been out on the road.

I thought the kids would stop at Lower Lehman Campground, but they kept going. Eventually we had to get them to stop so we could go do the Nativity Play. It was a great afternoon outside with snow falling the whole time.

We're hoping to get lots more outside time, even though it's winter!