Walk(s) in the Woods

Saturday night was perfect for our annual moonlight walk through the woods over Christmas break. We had spent a good portion of the day in the car - so fresh air sounded great. It was a lovely night out with just the perfect amount of snow flurries. And, mostly important, there was snow on the ground! We had definitely upgraded from the frozen brown ground of the Cities to the lovely white ground up north.

After dinner, eight people pulled all the snow gear on. You guys, this is no small feat. In the midst of getting ready, I always question whether the outing will be worth it. And it never fails to be more than worth it!!! We sadly left Yogs at Gma and Gpa's house. His legs are not what they used to be and that walk would have been really hard on him. Grandpa made him a fire to lay by when we got back to make up for it. He seemed to forgive us.

We had a full moon and barely needed the head lamps. Grandma and Grandpa had been packing and clearing the trail for a few weeks and it was just perfect. We pulled the kids on sleds and savored the peacefulness of the woods. The sledding hill was ideal and all three enjoyed several trips down the hill. Even though we had an adult guard at the bottom, as usual, Dec's sled ended up in a tree. Luckily, Gpa grabbed D as the sled whizzed by so it was only a sled and not a sled plus rider in the tree.

Instead of turning around and taking the trail back, we continued down the hill, cut across the frozen swamp by following a deer trail, and ended up on the lake. We were able to walk the full length of the lake and came out where we swim at the beach in the summer. The kids's minds were blown. With just a few inches of snow (on top of a lot of inches of ice), the sled pullers were able to send our riders on a few shriek-inducing spins. [Although I may or may not have dumped Q off the sled nose-first onto the ice ... ]

When we got off the lake, we decided to check out the park as well. We remembered how fast the slides were a few years ago and wondered if they were as fast. Yep. Sure were! And the ground at the bottom was packed and very icy. The tall, straight slide was incredibly fast and was very difficult to land gracefully. Unless you were Dec. Dude sailed off the slide, hit his landing, slid on both feet, and made it look so easy. It was not. Quinn was also a master lander. Anyone taller than the short Vs had a bit more gravity to deal with.

Bugs hit a slick spot and smacked her head on the side of a slide, so we decided to head up the hill and back home. Gma made hot chocolate, Gpa made a fire, and bedtime was pretty quiet. We had the most wonderful time - and a few of us even repeated the trek the next night. 

However, it was colder on Sunday night, so we didn't stay out as long. Just enough for a few more runs down the slide so Dec could continue to perfect his landing form. As always, our moonlight walk was a highlight of the trip. You simply cannot beat the crisp air, the peace of the woods, and the time together.