Sledding and Skiing after the Storm

We were so excited by our one big snowstorm of this winter. So the day after the Ely Birkebeiner, we grabbed our sleds and headed up into the mountains to join some friends.

Maggie, our red heeler mix, was loving the snow. She was pretty-well behaved with Boomer, the golden lab.

The dogs weren't too savvy about sledding, though, frequently getting in the way!

We have a favorite sledding hill, a two-track road down a north-facing slope, so the snow doesn't melt so fast. We had to make some runs to pack down the snow.

It was beautiful where we were, but we could see the snow blowing off the peak over 12,500 feet high.

A friend was out cross-country skiing.

That inspired Desert Girl and me to get out our skis again. Desert Girl got all dressed up (who doesn't?) and we set off from the yard.

It is so incredibly fun to be able to ski right from your house.

We found it a little easier to ski in tire tracks. It warmed up fast, so by the next day we didn't have the right conditions. You just have to do it while you can!

We did get back to the sledding hill one day after school. You can see the bushes poking through the snow a lot more, but the sledding track was still in good shape. I even went down a few times, even though it terrorizes me (I keep envisioning broken bones). But there was still enough snow to crash and not hurt, so that was good!

We're back to a dry, warm period, which has its pluses. But we'd sure like some more snow this winter!

2018 Snowy Birkebeiner Race in Ely, Nevada

 Saturday was the date for the annual Birkebeiner race sponsored by the Ely Outdoor Enthusiasts. We've had a lot of fun at the race in past years and planned to go, snow or not. It was looking like it might be a trail run rather than a cross-country ski race, but Friday night the big storm finally came! We woke up to about eight inches at our house, with reports of over a foot in the mountains.

Our close-knit community reported that a plow had been over the nearest mountain pass, so we decided to see if we could make it. The nearby roads had not been plowed at all, so I was glad we had four-wheel drive. When we got out to US Highway 6 & 50, and it had one lane plowed. Good enough. There wasn't any other traffic. At the pass, the road was plowed both directions. Here's the view at the top of the pass:

The roads were slick and snow was still falling, so even though we left early, we got to the race a little late. Fortunately they started it a little late because others were also having difficulties.

I signed up for the long course, 6.6 km (about 4 miles). Six of us braved the trail. The BLM was going to groom the trail that morning, but because of the government shutdown, didn't. So we took turns breaking trail.

When the front person in our group (one guy went way ahead and stayed ahead the rest of the race), got tired, they moved to the side and everyone continued on.

I was so winded from my turn I got pretty far behind the group. Here they are disappearing into the snow.

But it was fun having the trail all to myself for awhile. it was so beautiful with all the fresh snow. And I wasn't alone. I heard Clark's nutcrackers and mountain chickadees.

I even took a selfie. (I obviously wasn't too concerned about winning the race!)

When I finished, the kids had already started. Fortunately these independent kids were able to get their skis on, practice, and get themselves to the finish line. It helped that there were only three in the race. I skied on their route, waiting to see a skier. And Desert Girl was the first one I saw! She passed me, heading towards the finish line.

Then came Desert Boy. He wasn't in the best mood as his sister was in front of him.

But he persevered, grumbling.

The kids got to go down a hill at the end to the finish line.

Then it was time for awards. Desert Girl was so happy to have come in first. Desert Boy was grumpy.

But then we went and ate the lunch buffet at Twin Wok and he felt better.

It was so much fun doing the course with all the new snow! Ward Mountain Loop D should have a good ski trail on it if anyone wants a little exercise. And the other loops have fresh powder--a lot of it!

Thanks, Ely Outdoor Enthusiasts, for the great excuse to get outside!

February Roundup

So, similar to January, I have a mish mash of photos, many from my phone. I have trouble downloading my phone photos to my computer, so it can take awhile.

One of the highlights of February was the winter carnival, where we made up a booth called Cinderella's closet. The idea was the kids started with all the clothes, shoes, hats, and jewelry in the laundry basket and then had to hang them up as fast as they could. The winning time was 41 seconds.

The top of Bald Mountain looked especially snowy one day, when the moon happened to be setting.

We spent time working on trails for our community. We're crossing our fingers that the proposal will get funded and soon we'll have safer places to go recreate. Most of our bike rides are on the highway now, as there just aren't many places to go.

One morning I went for a snowshoe hike on the Upper Lehman trail. I had it all to myself and it was so peaceful!

The lighting was great one day as I came back from Ely, so I pulled over to the side of the road and took some photos of the windmills.

I had never seen that some of them are painted grey. They really do fade into the background a lot better!

One afternoon I went to the elementary school and we experimented with invisible ink--aka orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar, and milk. Vinegar wasn't so good, but the other three did well when the paper was heated.

The kids thought it was kind of fun.

The sandhills crane came back! I love seeing them.

Desert Boy had a piano recital. He is doing quite well on piano.

The kids had science fair, and there were all sorts of interesting experiments and demonstrations.

Here's Desert Boy explaining his project to a community member.

I got to do some caving. This is a harvestman, Sclerobunus ungulatus, only found in caves in the Snake Range.

Although January was cold and snowy, February was warm and dry. We spent a lot of time at the post office parking lot riding bikes, scooters, and more.

And we spend time there because the concrete slab that serves as the tennis court/basketball court in town is 40 years old and not in good shape. When the school board came out for a meeting, we asked to have it replaced. We've been in contact with them since then and are crossing our fingers that this ten-year priority might actually happen this summer.

Then it was time for the annual snow survey. Snow conditions ranged from 100% to 150% of average.

My husband has been taking an Emergency Medical Responder class and I've gone to a few of the classes to get continuing education hours for my EMT certification. We take the kids along, and one evening they got to be patients and enjoyed that very much (since no pain was involved!).

Well, that's it for February!

January Roundup

 Oh my, the year is going by fast! Here are some random photos of events in January. First off, ice skating in Salt Lake City. The kids really wanted to do this and had a fun time. Desert Boy thought it was harder than he was expecting, but Desert Girl easier.

It was cool watching the Zamboni

The kindergarteners and first graders waiting at the bus stop, trying to catch snowflakes with their mouths. This was the start of a big storm.

In fact, the storm was so big that we had enough snow that the kids could ski to school! I bet they'll remember that for a long time.

We played in the snow a lot. Desert Boy wanted to be buried.

I like the frosted eyebrow look.

We had tree trimmers work on the trees in our yard. We're hoping that will prevent them from falling over in big windstorms and crushing vehicles and buildings (which others have done in the past). It might also be easier to spot birds! (We're up to 17 species for our backyard bird list for 2017--we'll update the list in a couple weeks.)

I went to Texas and at an absolutely amazing Cajun meal that my friend Cassi suggested--jalapeno stuffed shrimp wrapped with bacon and paired with purple cauliflower. There are not words to describe how scrumptious this was.

It was so good to see Cassi! We usually get to see each other about once a year, and this year it's twice, so especially nice.

We had Desert Girl's birthday party a little early, and she performed magic tricks.

Some of the spellbound audience (at least some of them!)

Some day I'll catch up on getting my blog books printed out. And then some day, when the kids have grown up and left the house, I look forward to reading them and remembering all these wonderful times!