Old News

Ever look though an old newspaper or magazine to see what has changed.  I like to do that sometimes.  I like to watch old things taped of the television.  They are silly.  This post is gonna be like my blog version of that.  As I mentioned, I got a newspaper from 1968 recently.  So join me on this little walk through Christmas Eve 1968.

On Top Mt. Hood

So I was going through some of my posts and I realized I haven't given Mount Hood much love.  Granted I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I did spend one lovely afternoon in search of it.  I say it that way because it was a bit of an adventure, my travels usually are.  We left Portland probably around 11 and at times it was clear and sunshiny, but other times it was raining and foggy.  While you could see it at times; the mountain was hidden.

  

Once we got to the top, there it was the peak of Mt. Hood!  The fog had cleared and we could enjoy a gorgeous view!  Timberline Lodge is atop Mt. Hood.  As well as a ski area.  Were were there in October, and there was quite a bit of snow up there, but the hill was not open.  We walked through the guest areas for the ski hill.  There were some great pictures and drawings of the skiing process (about the only way I can describe them) and a great statue of Smokey the Bear with skis!

Then we had to enter the Timberline Lodge.  You might recognize it from the Shinning, they used it as the outside of the hotel.  It was an amazing building inside too.  Very classy, but rustic and very fun inside.  It kinda reminded me of much large much fancier Snow White and the 7 Dwarf house!  Odd I know, but it worked! 

On the way back down we stopped at several little streams and tiny cascading waterfalls.  I am sure they get much larger during the spring snow melt.  They were adorable!!!!

Fare the Well Winer!

Procrastination time!  I am having a hell of a time with my comprehensive accounting problem and I need to distract myself from it. So I figured I'd get a blog post done.  It is no longer winter, yet it has been lingering on here in Minnesota.  I love the snow, but let me tell you, I am not a fan of it this far into the spring.  I am a rain girl.  Weird I know!

But I figured I'd give it a bit of a homage or a goodbye if you will.  Snow!!!  I love the stuff, honestly I do.  I've been skiing literally my whole life.  My cross country skiing not as good as my downhill.  But I try.  I am sure I mentioned it previously.  The skiing is a lifelong love.  It will never go away, I hope.  I learned the sport in Michigan and have been lucky enough to get to ski in the western mountains, including a great spring skiing trip to New Mexico.  Exciting I know. 

The skiing is different in the Midwest.  For one thing the hills are a heck of a lot smaller! And it is a bit icier, not a lot of powder.  That's ok by me though, I grew up with it.  Honestly it was much harder for me to adjust to powder than I expected.  Kinda like moguls.  I know how to ski moguls, I just don't like it.  I feel like I don't have enough control.






So New Mexico, I went in the spring, I won the New Mexico fight! I didn't get sick!!!! Yay, I am not a New Mexico fan (for reasons I've previously mentioned).  But I put it aside for the joys of the snow!  We (my parents and I) had been up in the Colorado Mountains.  It was great fun!  Gorgeous weather! Gorgeous Mountains! Amazing skiing!  New Mexico was a different horse all together.  The weather was great, although much warmer.  This led to slicker skiing.  A bit more work and a lot more speed.  I have a need for speed, always have- always will.




Don't get me wrong as spoiled as I've gotten I still love Minnesota and Michigan skiing!  The problem is that the hills are so short in comparison and while you get a ton more runs in.  But they are short and quick!  Not always the most fun.  Oh and if you fall, the ice is a bit more painful!
 



I am not actually sure what this blog is about today.  It is kinda a rambling of my winter/skiing thoughts! Golly!

Lazy Days

waitin' for sunset- Lake Michigan

So yeah, I am horrible at this posting thing... I am gonna blame the holidays and school... It isn't that I don't want to blog, it is just I lacked the inspiration and what not.  I gotta get my bum out and start taking more pictures, but dang it! it is cold in Minnesota this time of year.  Yeah, yeah, I know not an excuse, it is not like I haven't spent most of my life in Minnesota... I am being lazy.  So what do I do, I come back and write a lazy blog post.  So I guess that is what this one is gonna be dedicated to... Lazy!

I guess you gotta start with the laziest dog that I know.  Koal, he is a Gordon Setter.  They are gorgeous animals.  Wickedly smart, and like most setters they hate listening to you.  Koal is, for the most part an, outside dog.  When we lived in the city he almost never wanted to be inside, cause we lived on a busy corner and everybody interacted with him.  But the older he gets, he doesn't mind being inside.  He is under the impression that he should get to go out and then come back in for a few hours... after all the feather comforter needs to be guarded.

We will pretend this is me being lazy...

The winter is a lazy time.  Don't get me wrong I love the winter, I love the snow, and snow sports rock!  But not much tops lazy afternoons, movies & hockey games to watch, cookies to eat and the like...  You know grand times.  The are much more common outside of Yellowstone!  And I am ok with that.  Sometimes you just don't want to do anything but laze about!

Grant Village (of the damned) YNP

So what else is lazy.  I think it depends.  Rocking on a porch gazing at a most beautiful lake... Probably.  Napping in overstuffed leather couches...yes!  Friends, drinks, late night chats... Coffee breaks and smoke breaks when you don't smoke... Sometimes lazy can be good.  Sometimes it seems like you need it in order to continue at a high pace... And maybe going places, where you can relax is lazy.  Not have to hike miles and miles just because.  But going somewhere that you can have as much fun, but don't have to always be movin'.  And it is not always a bad thing!

Ski, Little Speed Demon!

OK, so one of my favorite things in the whole entire world is downhill skiing.  Not to brag too much, but I have been doing it for 24.5 years, and my 27th birthday is later this month.  So, it is something I just know how to do.  This, coupled with the fact that I have no frame of reference of learning it, made it very hard for me to learn how to cross country ski (not that I am very good at that anyways).  I learned how to ski in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

big brother 'n me in Michigan

It was a small hill, I mean there are some good sized ones in Michigan, but compared to the west, they are small.  But it was a fun place, and when you don't know any better then it is great.  We went up to the cabin all the time.  Summer or winter, but it was always the most fun in the winter.

Montana

Especially when you know the hill backwards and forwards and there is nothing you can't ski there.  Don't get me wrong there is a hill or two I avoid now a days.  Otterslide for one because it always has the moguls and I hate moguls, at least pre-made ones, cause I haven't switched to the shorter more contoured skis yet. (I refuse to unless I have to). There are some others, for whatever reason, I just don't like skiiing on.  We were a little spoiled growing up, because our parents did have this cabin in the UP.  But we didn't go skiiing in the west until almost high school.  But like I said we didn't know any better.  But once we started going west, well it was a completely different world.  Loved it either way!

big brother 'n me in Montana

I love skiing fast, so fast my eyes water.  And I take a ridiculously large number of  short turns.  It helps, it really does.  When I was little I used to try to use my arms as propellers to get more speed.  Sometimes I like to tuck go, just long turns with my hands practically touching the snow.  A little speed demon, I was, and the boys (my brothers, friends, even my dad) always wanted to race me.  But they never told me until it was over-IF they beat me down the hill.  Silly boys, I always won then, and still do now!

My dad loved this, he claims they weren't laughing at me, but there are enough pictures for me to assume they were.  What I loved is that that I landed with my head downhill and the one ski stabbing into the snow, holding me to the mountain.