A Nice Cross Country Ski Day

Today I took the time to enjoy a nice cross county ski at the Bethel Nordic Ski Center at the The Bethel Inn Resort.  It was sunny at the start but by the time I finished the clouds off to the north had reached me and a good snow squall had begun.  I took the Hedgehog Trail which has become my favorite because it is one of the longest trails at 4.5 kilometers yet one of the easiest trails.  I like to begin at the eastern side of the trail which means as you leave the Inn bear left and go by the pool.  It's pretty level for the first half of this trail and then on the back side you have a couple of nice  "downhill" runs followed by level again.  The only real uphill portion will be the last 300 yards as you head back up to the Inn and by then you know you're home.  

Clouds to the North......

 Mike Cooper at the Ski Center does a nice job of grooming the trails. He knows how to build and maintain a trail whether it is a cross country ski trail for winter or a hiking trail for summer.  It's what he does.  I'll see him often at early dawn in his machine preparing the trails so that we can all have a nice surface for skiing.

........meant snow not long after.

I like the solitude of cross country skiing. It's quiet, it's beautiful, it's healthy and everyone you meet on the trail is smiling.  If you're going to live in area where it snows it makes a difference when you live in an area where they rejoice snow.  Come up for ski.  

Feeling Cold

Feeling Cold?

These icicles hanging from the edge of my roof mean two things. 1) It's cold. 2) Heat is escaping through my roof.   My smart phone tells me it's minus 13 degrees in Fryeburg, ME which is 45 minutes south of here.  My cheapo thermometer hanging outside the kitchen window tells me it's 44 degrees above zero. I think the phone is closer to true.  I'm in Maine in January...what do I expect? 

Below is a photo of this year's Christmas tree. Eat your heart out Charlie Brown.  We actual bought a perfectly shaped and full tree last year and Lauren didn't like because it was too full and too perfect. She said it was hard to hang ornaments on it because it was so thick with branches.  So this year we went to the opposite extreme. This years tree was easier to put up and it saved us $40.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Our Christmas Tree