More Hanging Out

Here are some more photos of Ellen and me at Fall Creek. Yes, that is me checking out a dead coyote.

Hangin' in the Heartland

Well, I have found myself hanging out in Quincy, Illinois. I hopped a train Christmas night and spent almost two days sleeping, looking out the window, and reading. It was pretty darn relaxing. I saw several large herds of prong horn antelope in North Dakota, some elk in Montana, and one of the largest herds of deer I have ever seen in my life in Minnesota. The train skirts the boundary of Glacier National Park and it is pretty incredible scenery. The train was late getting into Chicago so I only had to wait an hour to get on the next one.

My plans are to just hang out with my people. My mom has already started spoiling me. Gotta love it.

December 30: Last night I had a pretty cool adventure with my friends Kim and SuZann. We went around to some of our old haunts, but we realized a big difference. I was drinking hot herbal tea all night, no one was stoned, drinking alcohol, or smoking cigarettes. And we were all home and in bed by 10:00pm. We went down to this thing we call "The Wall" which is basically a retaining wall down by the Mississippi River. We used to sit down there on that wall and watch the barges go past late into the night. Then we went to the old Girl Scout camp where we all grew up. It has changed hands and none of us had been there in several years. We pulled up to "The Gate" where we also used to hang out and realized that some sort of structure had been built and there was a parking lot where there used to just be trees. We got out and took off through the woods into the heart of the camp. Even though it was pitch black out and we had no lights and a lot of changes have been made, we were able to find our way around easily. We are going back tomorrow in the light to check it out more and figure out what is up. From what I can gather now, the social service agency that bought it got some money from the Department of Natural Resources and now it is open to the public. It is a wonderful place that is very close to our hearts. After we left the camp, we headed off on some of the old gravel roads we used to drive around on. Eventually we ended up back down by the river and went to the dam and then down to one of the boat docks. I explained to both of them in detail what hot flashes feel like and we laughed about how old we are getting. It feels so good to have friends that I have had forever. And it might be three or four years between visits but we just slip right back to where we were before, even if we do end up going home earlier.

This afternoon I hung out with my sister and we went to visit our mom at her quilt thing (hell, they fed us lunch!!!) and we did a bunch of driving around looking at stuff. Then we went to Fall Creek for a little hike. Fall Creek is a narrow gorge cut through the limestone bedrock. A trail leads along and above the creek from one waterfall area to another and under an old stone bridge. Some of the pictures are on Ellen's camera and I will have to add them later. We walked back along the edge of the creek which was actually quite muddy.

After Fall Creek we headed back into town, stopping by the cemetary to say hello to the grandparents. Then we hung out at Ellen's for a bit and then hit the Maid Rite for a famous loose meat sandwich.

I am looking forward to my outing tomorrow with Kim and SuZann. Oh, and Ellen and I also went to this cook creek bed today that has tons of fossils in it. I picked up several good pieces to bring home with me.


Pictures: SuZann and Kim at the Wall, Fall Creek and pictures of my cute sister.

A Sunrise Kick and Glide

Wow, yesterday morning I went back up to Mt. Spokane for an early morning cross country ski. I thought the ski trails were open at 6:00am but it is really 8:00 am. I talked to a little ranger Rick guy in the lodge though and he said that on mornings when they do not have to plow it is no big deal, but if you are there before 8:00 on a plow morning it is like a $140 ticket. Whew!

I got up there just as the sun was coming up. I skied to the Nova Hut, lit a fire in the stove, drank some water, and was off for a few more kilometers of fun. The snow was really icy and I could not believe how many trees had fallen from our intense wind storm of a few days before. I had not been on my cross country skis in a couple of years and it took me a bit to get into the swing of it. After I skied on some other trails, I headed back to the Nova Hut for breakfast and to warm up a bit. Though it was cold, it was not nearly as cold as the previous snowshoe adventure. Walter of course did not get to go with me as the X-C trails are closed to dogs. In all, I did about 6 miles. I picked up a registration form for the Langlauf ski race in February which I am damned and determined to do this year. I was home by 2 and able to get a nap before our choir dress rehearsal. A reporter from the Spokesman Review was there and there was an article and picture in the paper today, with yours truly standing there with my mouth open. We had our performance tonight and it was amazing. I think the human voice is the most incredible instrument. I even wore make-up. Of course, I had to have a 17 year old fix it for me after I got there. Kudos, Sparky!

I am not planning on working for the next few days so I am going to head up to Lookout Pass on the Idaho-Montana border tomorrow for some downhill skiing. They have Boomer Fridays and anyone over the age of 40 can ski for $16. Can't beat that!!!!!

Pictures from top to bottom: Mt. Spokane in the early morning light, looking toward the sunrise by the Selkirk Lodge, a distant view of the Mountain from a trail, the tree that fell about 8 feet away from the Nova Hut. God, I love this part of the country!!!!

Walter on a Mountain and Mama's Frozen Bra

Walter and I had a most excellent day today. I woke up at 4:30 this morning and decided to go on a little hike in the snow. We were at the hairpin turn parking lot on Mt. Spokane by 7:30am and on the trail by 7:45. The sky was clear and beautiful but I have no idea how cold it was up there. All I know is that it was damn cold. We headed up trail 100 to 110 and up to the saddle between Beauty Mountain and Mt. Kit Carson. Then we went up 170 to the summit of Mt. Kit Carson. I had forgotten just how steep the last section of the trail is and my legs were hurting pretty bad by the time I got up to the top. For about half the way up on 110 I did not have to use my snow shoes because the snow was so icy and packed down that I did not sink. I planned on us having a wee picnic at the top and even brought something to sit on, but even though the sun was shining it was really cold and the wind was strong. My water bottle was frozen as were my nipples. A very big bit of advice...don't wear a cotton bra in the cold if you are going to sweat. Seriously, my bra was crunchy.

We hung out on top for a bit and took a few pictures, then headed back down trail 115. Unlike 110, this one does not switchback at all but goes straight up and down. There were a few spots where I thought I was going to end up flipping over, but my snow shoes are excellent and have really good grip. If anyone wants to know what kind to buy, I absolutely recommend the MSR Denali. I thought these snow shoes were a bit of a joke when I rented them at REI a few years ago, but was immediately won over. Unlike the typical aluminum ones with a big rubber deck, these are all hard plastic. Every time I use them I am more and more impressed. They have big sharp crampons on the toe and metal grippers that run the entire length to keep you from sliding on a side hill as well as more traction projections molded into the plastic. They have the best bindings of any snow shoes I have used. Each is independent so if one loosens, it will not affect the others, and they are totally easy to put on and take off. When we got back to the car I was watching a guy take off some aluminum ones and he had to basically almost sit on his butt to undo the laces. With these you just give them a yank and they are off. And they only cost around $100!!!! There are longer floatation tails that can be put on for walking in really deep dry powder, but these have been fine for my weight in our typically heavier snow. AND, a cool thing is that the crampons can be removed by undoing two cotter pins if you just need them for walking on ice. The only thing I don't like about them is if the snow is really hard or icy, they can be a bit on the noisy side. But I LOVE them. So, MSR is getting some free advertising!

We only saw a few people on the trails, probably because we started so early. We hooked up with the Loop Road to head back to the parking lot. When we got part way down 115 we stopped and had some lunch. It was then that I realized my trim athletic poodle has put on a few pounds this fall. He is still cute though. Though I froze my nipples off and realized that I have let my dog go to seed, it was a damn fine day.

Pictures from top to bottom: The sign for Mt. Kit Carson (we came down this trial, not up), Valley View, my snowshoes, the summit of Mt. Kit Carson, cute Walter, a view towards the Kettle Range, Mt. Spokane from Mt. K-C, a view on the way down.

Frolic in the Snow

My hiatus from the outdoors was too long!!! I believe in my last post over Thanksgiving I was planning on going to Montana for a day of snow shoeing, but I ended up having far too much guilt over studying. But today, I was able to get up to Mt. Spokane with my friend Stacia from school. It was a rather warm but very windy day and the clouds were really thick and wet. We strolled along the cross country ski trails and had lunch in the Nova Hut where we built a fire and dried out a bit. While we were there these two mature women showed up and we were talking and stuff. Cross country skiers are so friendly. The older of the two is 80 years old!!! Blew me away. She was so cute, too!!! A tiny little thing that came up to my shoulder. She took our picture on Stacia's camera. She and her friend were talking about coming up three days a week to ski. How cool is that?

I am currently back working at the nursing home during my school break. It has not been too bad. I am just working on call so never know when I am going to go in. There is just so much recreating that I want to do in life and I just don't have the time or the money to do it. I have not been downhill skiing yet but possibly next Friday I will go since I know for sure I will not be working Thursday night (the choir thing). My sister and I have already talked about a couple of outdoor things we would like to do together while I am in Illinois over the New Year's holiday. There is not a lot to do there as everything has generally been plowed into corn fields, but there are a couple of places we like.

So yeah, it was good to get out with Stacia and have some one-on-one time. I finally feel like I am emerging from my shell of hell and am starting to interact with more folks. I go to school with a really great group of people. It will be sad in June when our course classes are over and we all go our separate ways.