Points South

We're back from 3 weeks in sun and warmer climes. It was pretty sunny for most of our trip, although the temperatures weren't particularly hot. One exception was Death Valley where this picture was taken. We arrived there on April 4th and immediately changed into shorts. Had a couple of nice walks in the desert and enjoyed a huge variety of desert flowers, although this year was not a spectacular flower show. We did spend a couple of nights here close to the full moon and I rather like this picture, taken near Texas Springs in Death Valley. Clear skies allow lots of night sky viewing and we were fairly impressed with the number of people who climbed up steep hills to say goodbye to the day or to greet it as the sun was about to rise.

In With the New

We've been slowly accumulating some new dishes and now that my birthday is past I have a set of four dinner plates, bread and butter plates and bowls. I really like them. It's a particular joy to bring them out of the dishwasher, of course! We've been using the same dishes for the past 25 years and they are still in really good shape. I will continue to use them. However, it's spring and it's refreshingly wonderful to have something new and different to admire every day. Thanks, Scott, for the plates!

The High Alpine

We spent this past weekend going to the alpine cabin at Lost Ledge. Getting there requires a half-hour road trip to the ski-doo unloading area. The ski-doo trip takes about 45 minutes, and from there it's a 75 minute uphill and flat ski into the Hut. Dave and I skied in during fairly heavy snow - there'd been a least 8 cm of new snow the night before. I had my first chance to ski in really deep powder - knee deep and higher. It raises the confidence level because you can't ski fast in the deep, deep snow.

Today, I had a lovely x-country ski out with the Wednesday Walkers on the old Kaslo Wagon Road. The brilliant sunshine has lasted two full days (a first for this year!!) and we skied from Retallack to Bear Lake. Hopefully, this is our last blast of winter, but it's good to be out in the high alpine in its winter beauty.

The Toys: An Update

Yup, that's me driving a ski-doo, something I've said I would never do. This picture was taken last week, driving "home" from Empire Basin. Yesterday, we went up there again and there was lots of fresh snow. Dave drove and I must say driving a ski-doo is an extremely athletic endeavour in those conditions - the ski-doo always feels as if it will tip over and it requires constant leaning and hopping to the outside of the machine. The bruises on my knees are a testament to my position in the backseat as Dave jumps over the seat wearing his ski boots. I tried driving a few metres in the fresh snow - no, thanks! As we descended, the new snow was minimal and I drove 6 km - making 10 km my new total. I still have really mixed feelings about the machine - it remains noisy, smelly and cumbersome, but I love going to the blue skies.

We both LOVE the dishwasher. It seems to clean things pretty well (if we load it properly), it's quiet and it truly does seem to be a labour-saving device.

Skiing - Kootenay Style

We've had some sunshine in February and last week we took advantage of it. I actually spent two days on snowshoes and two days on skis - in the high country. In going to the high country it means that we have to drag our snowmobile to some spot or other, unload it and usually drive for about 30 - 40 minutes to the day's destination. Then it's necessary to apply the skins to the skis, hike up a cutblock (yes, let's hear it for the forest industry once again!) and ski down. The runs are fairly short - and then we repeat the process. It's good aerobic exercise on the uphill and for me, it's terrifying exercise on the downhill. Last Friday I began to feel that I was getting the hang of skiing in powdery snow with a backpack. The slopes were treeless and gentle. Well worth it to be out in the sunshine!

Walkin' A Mile In My Shoes

Today I finally had a chance to give my new "shoes" a real test - we headed up to Jackson Basin and climbed up some steep slopes to a viewpoint. This was the first time I'd used the "heel raisers" - see photo - and they actually work pretty well. I still have to learn to lift them up without taking off my mitts, however. We spent about 2 hours climbing up towards Texas Peak (see July, 2008) but ended up in pretty much a white-out. Occasionally, the sun peeked out and we'd get good views in one direction. Heading down some pretty steep slopes, I remained pleased with the performance of my "shoes" - so I guess spending the big bucks at REI in Missoula is having some benefits.

The Week the Woman Worked

I haven't been taking time to visit The Clothesline much lately and for the past 7.5 days I've been working (other than the weekend, of course). Generally, I found it pretty interesting and I finally got the opportunity to teach Senior English - something I'd always wanted to do in SK but was never given the chance. My "week" began on the afternoon of Feb. 4th where I encountered a lively bunch of rotten eighth graders for a half-day. The next day I began a 6-consecutive-days job for the Senior English, Social Studies and Drama teacher. For those of you who know about unions it means that I was "on grid"! Although the job had its challenges, I liked most of it and the Senior Acting class was a real hoot. There are a couple of very good improv type guys in that class who do very well considering their age is seventeen. My "teacher" went back to work today and I had a job "up the lake" doing some skipping with 'little 'uns' - always nice to get paid to do skipping. The variety provided in subbing is one thing I really like about it. Next week I look forward to remaining in bed until past 7 a.m.