Wide Open Spaces make me happy! I love the photos, Kath... esp the POV shot of your boot and ski. ( I wanna cross country ski!) (Is that a cross country ski?!) (It's been high school since I've seen one, you need to learn me!)
Yeah. . . those are cross country, or Nordic skis. . . the kind that belong in machine groomed tracks. . . doing a thing called the Diagonal Stride:
These days you hear it called "Classic" skiing. . . personally I hate that. . . it's the diagonal stride. . . plain and simple. . .
:-)
. . . as opposed to skating. . . also done on machine groomed snow - without the deep grooves:
That was a pretty simple comparison. . . I could go on and on and on about the differences, but I'll save that for when you come to Montana and we spend a WEEK learning it all ON SNOW!
My dad loved trains too and one of my great but simple pleasures in life was to take him and my mom, with their grandkids, to play at the Sacramento train museum :-)
Been in there a dozen or more times myself. Bet I could give you a run for your tour guide money, Lisa Mae.
I hopped a freight one time, in Dunsmuir and got off in Roseville. . . hell, had I seen that aerial shot of the yard, before hand, I mighta shined it! I was too ScareDeeCatted to jump off the sucker while it was still moving (had on a huge pack full of climbing gear) and ended up having to walk through that whole yard. . . you wanna talk ScareDeeCat?
WHAT A PLACE!
Plus, it was 110F.
YIKES!
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeechin' hot. . .all that steel . . .the smell of rust was overwhelming.
Train tracks. . . ski tracks. . . they're all the same. . . check these out. This is Stillwater Mountain Lodge down by Whitefish. It's a really nice Nordic Center that runs out from their beautiful lodge into the Stillwater State Park.
Get this. . . 2/3 of the kilometers that they groom are open for you to take your doggies!
AND. . . on special nights, they light part of the trail system with luminarias.
My dad loved trains too and one of my great but simple pleasures in life was to take him and my mom, with their grandkids, to play at the Sacramento train museum :-)
Been in there a dozen or more times myself. Bet I could give you a run for your tour guide money, Lisa Mae.
DMT
Hmphf. Born and raised in California, Craig ... I don't think so. ;)
Train tracks. . . ski tracks. . . they're all the same. . . check these out. This is Stillwater Mountain Lodge down by Whitefish. It's a really nice Nordic Center that runs out from their beautiful lodge into the Stillwater State Park.
Get this. . . 2/3 of the kilometers that they groom are open for you to take your doggies!
AND. . . on special nights, they light part of the trail system with luminarias.
HOW AWESOME IS THAT!
Speechless, writing from the desert...
that's pretty soothing, serene, and beautiful...
It's raining here in Tucson now... and it's lovely. The smell of Creosote is amazing ... the sound of fat rain drops
tumbling down...
Perhaps in some ways, it's why I stay.
Under the same moon... ~xx
Edit: Kath, I think there may be a good chance we are Hobo Sisters, separated at birth.
THAT is beautiful and so peaceful, Kath. Thank you.
The house I'm watching has 360 degree views of Tucson and the surrounding mountains. It was wonderful to watch the soft, airy, clouds of the morning slowly turn pink at sunrise. And as I drove from the West Side to the South Side for work, the smallest pocket of blue presented itself, making my already huge smile even bigger.
Not to mention some kickass songs played on our community station, KXCI, on my drive in... Lovely start to my work day... AND, I think I get off work by early, instead of late ...as I have 4 days this week.
10b. . . the place is really nice. The owners are serious Nordic skiers and dedicated to grooming it beautifully. . . and their lodge (resort accomodations) is remarkable!
Let us know!