Winter came back and we made the most of it!

That flash freeze delivered for me, with temperatures all over Wisconsin getting back down below freezing and more snow back on the ground. My obsession with cross country skiing was stoked, and it was back to the internet to find a place and a time to get back on the trails!

In my googling, I stumbled across exactly what I'd been looking for - an introductory class to help us learn the basics and some groomed trails to make it easier to get comfortable on skis. I signed up and Saturday morning, Caroline, John and I headed north about an hour to Shiocton and the Navarino Nature Center to embrace the season and spend some fun time together!

We got some classroom instruction first, learning a little about our equipment and then the basics in push-glide, push-glide. The instructor also covered techniques for going up and down hills which was great, since the only other time we'd been out on our skis had been on the flat loop in our backyard.

Finally it was time to get outside, and what a beautiful day to be on skis! Sunny and temperatures well above freezing which had it's good and bad - the warmer weather made it so enjoyable to be outdoors, but of course, that also made the snow conditions a little sketchy. Still, we were going to make the most of it while we were there, so off we went!
I love the enthusiasm the kids have for the sport - they took a few practice steps and then they were off, using the short practice loop to get comfortable in the tracks and improve their technique with every pass.
It didn't take long until we were all warmed up enough to shed some layers, and confident enough to try a "real" trail! Blue loop, here we come - time for almost a mile of skiing in groomed tracks!
For the most part, all three of us loved this new challenge, though we did find several very thing spots and even a couple of places where the ground was bare. Disappointing, but we persevered, and the payoff of some of the climbing/side stepping up hills came at the end with a gentle downhill that was exhilarating without being overwhelming, giving us a taste of what could be.

Despite the fun around the trail, though, the kids were ready to be off skis - it's both fun and exercise, and the kids were pooped at that point. On to the second plan for fun, because we had brought the kids' sleds!
The laughter, the smiles, the unbridled joy from the kids - winter is wonderful in Wisconsin!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, Part 4 - the climb out (Bright Angel Trail)

Image
the GRCA GRLS after crossing the Colorado River - Sunday, September 16th, 2018 Sunday morning, the alarm went off... and it was a simultaneous chorus of HOLY MONKEYS MY LEGS AND FEET ARE KILLING ME!! I honestly am not sure how we actually got out of the beds... all of the body was screaming. All of it. Shannon had us all supplied with Motrin, thank goodness, so we rucked up and headed out. NATURALLY! What else would West Point Women do?! First stop was the canteen, where a full, hot and delicious breakfast was ready for us to sit down family style. A little throw back to our cadet days, eating with strangers and shoveling in the food as fast as we could! coffee for energy! Thank goodness Melissa kept pushing us to get going early both days to avoid the heat as much as possible - in fact, we had to use our headlamps on Sunday morning for the first 15-20 minutes or so. Our headlamps had the side benefit of illuminating not just our path but the wildlife, to
Read more

Living the Wisconsin Life

Image
Much to my surprise, I live in Wisconsin. This isn't a place I would've put on a list of likely destinations or homesteads, if pressed to do so at some point in my life. Even more to the point, when originally presented with the career opportunity that would eventually bring us here, I spent a few months emphatically stating that "it sounds great, but I'm never moving to Wisconsin." Ahhh, the quintessential Famous Last Words. Our timing might have been better; we moved here right as the seasons were turning to fall and now winter, so we have yet to experience the moderate nature of the climate up north. In fact, the arctic blast of the last few weeks has had me say on several occasions, why do people live here? Why in the world did the original settlers stay? My favorite answer yet to that question - because it's A Sunnier Version of Sweden. You see, the heritage of this area is quite Scandinavian. The hardy folks of the countries close to the top of t
Read more

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, Part 1 - what it takes to get there

Image
We visited Grand Canyon National Park as a family about a year and a half ago, spending Spring Break 2017 in Arizona including several days marveling at a true natural wonder of the worl d. As just one stop on the family vacation, we did some day hiking, heading down the South Kaibab trail to an overlook with a spectacular view. As much as I love our family photo, there isn't a camera in the world that can capture the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. As with many of my vacations and experiences, when I came home I wanted to know more, so I checked out books from the library. I read about the geology and the formation of this incredible part of the United States, but I also read about the hiking and backpacking in the area. The small spark of an idea that had begun on this trip, when I snuck in one more short walk down the Bright Angel trail so that I could hike a bit more of the Canyon, began to grow into a flame, then eventually into a fire in my heart: I wanted to try to hike R
Read more