My Kind of Research

This has been a great weather week. It finally feels like winter here! It has snowed twice and stuck! One of my friends gave me his old bindings for my snowboard and I waxed it all up. I am so stoked because some of my students told me about some great back-country snowboarding trails! I also just learned of some great cross-country ski trails that I need to try out. I forgot how much I enjoy winter sports. It just kind of stinks that I have to drive so far to get into the good snow. I miss Logan.

The branch is planning to go snowshoeing at the end of the month, hoping that there will actually be some snow to use. The girl who is in charge of the activities doesn't know any good snowshoeing spots and has never been snowshoeing so she asked me if I could show her the ropes. I don't really know of any good snowshoeing spots either since I have never been snowshoeing in Nevada. We decided that we needed to do some research-field research.

We went after work on Monday but were sorely disappointed because there wasn't actually enough snow to put on our shoes. We just hiked in our boots through a couple of inches; there wasn't even enough snow to do a proper flip. Since our first field research attempt was less than successful (altough it was a good work out), we decided we needed to make another attempt.

Wednesday after work we drove about fifty miles to a spot I was certain would have enough snow. Sure enough. There was about a foot of fresh powder on top of three feet that had been crusted over. It was awesome. There was more than enough snow to do flips and falls from trees. We found a little meadow and cut a trail around and through it for the branch activity. It was snowing most of the time we were up there and it got dark too. I absolutely love snowshoeing in the dark, it is one of the most ethereal experiences I have ever had.

We are going to take the branch to that spot at the end of the month. I love doing free things that are fun! In fact, I am always looking for more fun free things to do, so if you have any suggestions just let me know.