Magical....

 

This is what it looked like when I went to the ridge to get the mail. Inches of snow had fallen and more was coming down hard. I stuck my hand into the driveway to measure. The snow went from my fingertips to my palm.

In my best guess-ta-mate, that would have been about 4 inches. According to the NOAA, we should have been done. However. We weren't. It didn't really bother me that much. It was a welcome change to the constant rain/warm/ice/sleet weather we had been having.

At the mailbox I ran into my neighbors. Lauren and family had been out with their cross country skis, so had their dog Basil!

Basil was going back to the house but had enjoyed her first x-country ski adventure.

Lauren said the snow was a bit sticky but it wasn't too bad. I ran home and got my skis and was greeted by Allie and Lauren. The guys had enough and had gone into the house also.

And off the gals went on a snowy New Year's Eve ski adventure.

Allie decided that she would like to lead and take me to *The Tunnel* in the trees.
I was game and told her to go ahead.

She cautioned me that when we got into the trees I would have to crouch down and get low. It was like a secret cool place and she and her brothers had 'discovered' it.
I knew where she was going. I'd been through there before on my own but since it was her discovery, I was not going to ruin it by telling her I knew this trail already.

Besides, the snow had turned the box elders into fairy tale trees and the hush of the falling snow left only the swish swish of our skis to be heard.
And indeed....
It 
was
very
magical...

Hands down, this was one of my most enjoyable ski adventures yet.