X-C Ski

With the fresh snowfall we received on Thursday I decided to take a vacation day today so I could get out and enjoy some cross-country skiing. There is a large regional park about 8 miles west of my house called Carver Park Reserve that has a large complex of long and nicely groomed ski trails. When I got there mid afternoon, the sky was the kind of clear blue you only get on days that are too cold to hold any moisture in the air. As I put on my ski's the temperature was 10 above with a strong breeze dropping the wind chill to around zero. Judging from the condition of the track only two other skiers had been there before me. The track was so clean and crisp it looked like something from the Olympics. The loop I did was 7.6 K over rolling hills and alternating between prairie and woods. The temperature varied greatly between sun, shade and wind so I ended up stopping several times to add or remove layers, but overall I was comfortable the whole time. I also stopped along the way to take a some pictures. I've posted a few of them here and will add more to the Family web site and to my Facebook account. It's going to be cold again today so hopefully the snow will be around a few more days so I can get out again.

The track was gorgeous!

Enjoying the light during Happy Hour