On Christmas morning, Brent and I woke up to see several inches of snow on the ground and more still coming down! It was gorgeous. After spending the morning playing with the kids, we decided to go to Monte Sano State Park and hike in the snow. Brent was very excited because he has never hiked in snow like this. It was at least 4-5 inches deep in most places. Brent's mother, Shareen, watched the kids for us as we headed out in Brent's jeep. The roads were fine until we reached the bottom of the mountain. The road was closed off, but we were able to drive around the barrier to creep up the mountain side. We only hit one small patch of ice in a shadowed curve; the rest of the road was in great shape. As we rounded a corner near the top, we saw two parallel lines in the snow in several places. Brent thought it was tracks from a baby stroller, but I recognized the sled tracks. As we turned the corner, we saw the families who were using the closed road as their sledding slope. We received some nasty looks from parents as slowly passed them. Sheesh...don't they know a Jeep is an
off-road vehicle?
Once we reached the top, we parked near the trail head of the Sinks trail. There were no tracks anywhere. We were obviously the only idiots who wanted to hike in the snow on Christmas Day. I warned Brent that we had better not get lost because I didn't even think the park rangers were out on that day!
A picture of Brent next to his snow covered Jeep.
After grabbing our hiking sticks and zipping up our coats, we headed out down the Sinks trail. There were no footprints anywhere in the snow except for the occasional deer track. We had to blaze our own way through the trails, trying to step through 4-5 inches of snow. Though it was starting to melt in the valley, it was not melting on the mountain.
Brent, admiring the view from the trail.
Posing for a picture on the snow covered trail.
Brent, stopping for a moment before we descended to the Stone Cuts.
Shortly after taking this picture, I had to stop for a bathroom break. Yes, I know. Why would I even mention that on my blog? Well, I just wanted to say that I trail tested the Go Girl and it worked with flying colors. Trail tested and approved in 30 degree weather over snow covered ground. As Brent pointed out to me, why would a female want to squat on the ground when the snow is about squatting height? He is so charming, isn't he? Charming, only sometimes, but practical, always. I fully recommend the Go Girl to all women out there. The best $9.99 purchase you can buy if your restroom options are severely limited.
A shot of me climbing some rocks to get to the cave.
The pictures above are of me and Brent in the "cave" of the Stone Cuts. It was very warm and dry in there. It was darker in there than it appears to be in the photographs. I was having fun with my camera and showing Brent the low light feature that allows me to take some awesome no-flash photos in places...such as a cave!
After leaving the "cave," Brent and I stopped for another picture. I wanted a picture of the two of us. Brent, brilliant as he always is, suggested that we wedge the camera into a fork in a tree. It worked fantastically. However, when he asked me if I wanted the self-timer set on 10 seconds, I responded positively. Isn't it always set on 10 seconds, I wondered. The answer, yes. The "10" that my husband set the self-timer on actually set the number of photographs for the camera to take. We had to stand there smiling while it snapped 10 pictures in a row! On the bright side, if you quickly flip through the pictures you can see the tree limbs behind us blowing in the breeze.
