My new obsession.

I already hinted about this in my recent post about our afternoon at Spidahls in December, so this really isn't going to come as a big surprise. I am in love with Cross-Country Skiing! In December, Steve (ever the supporter) did research on the cost of the equipment on-line and I about had a heart attack and said "No way!" I did think about maybe getting some used equipment from play it again sports in Fargo or from Craigs list. Mostly, I just tucked it away in the back of my mind.

On January 9th, I went x-country skiing with a girlfriend to Glendalough State Park. She had her own equipment while I used the rental equipment available at the park. This is where I found out that not all rental equipment is created equal. The equipment at Spidahls is top notch, the equipment at Glendalough is prehistoric. Seriously. The boots, bindings and skis are at least 30 years old, ill-fitting and could barely glide. Yet, the park itself was BEAUTIFUL, SERENE, with WILDLIFE and wonderful TRAILS. I felt the same lifting of my spirit just being outside, even through my feet were killing me by end of 1 1/2 hours. I badly blistered my left heal & bruised the middle toenail on my right foot and am in the process of losing it completely. The Equipment was a fail. And I began to reconsider Steve's idea of getting my own equipment.

I researched & researched & researched. I learned about waxed vs. non-waxed, the different binding types, ski widths & lengths. I priced high-end, moderate & low-end packages. I finally found this package from LLBean which had everything I wanted, except the price was high. Steve said, "Buy it." I didn't want to without trying on the boots after having such a bad experience with the boots not fitting at Glendalough, so I held off.

We made plans to go to Fargo on Saturday, January 15th to celebrate a belated Christmas with the Matherns. While we were there, we made a stop at Scheels so I could try on boots.

Um... well... lets just say it went beyond trying on boots. As it turned out, Scheels was offering a sale on their x-country ski packages, which were 25% cheaper than a comparable package from LLBean. The salesclerk said they didn't have many boot sizes available, but as luck would have it I wear a 6.5 & it fit perfectly. I was so excited about the cost savings, that I talked Steve into getting a ski package as well! Yup, I am a typical female... love a bargain, to the point that I spend MORE than I would have if it was regular priced.

On Monday, we all had Martin Luther King day off. Abby elected not to go skiing, so Steve, Kippy & I went to Spidahls in the beautiful 20 degree winter weather and had a spectacular time. I felt SO fast with these super light skis. I was lapping Steve & Kippy on Liz's Loop & Emma's trail. My heart was racing, my back was sweating, & my spirit was soaring.

Best of all, my feet were warm and comfortable. No blisters, no bruised toenails, no twisted ankles or sore shoulders. It was almost 2 hours of perfection.And as two of my friends separately pointed out to me, when I make up my mind about something, I make it happen, come hell or high water. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, but I will own the fact that I am an extremist... an all or nothing type-gal... and borrowing a quote from Marcel the Shell, "I like that about myself."



Kippy thinks it is a blast too.



And I love that this is another activity my hubby & I can enjoy together. Although, I think he will probably want to advance to carrying a rifle across his back and getting involved with the Skiing and Shooting Biathlon.

An afternoon at Spidahls

On Thursday, December 23rd, we were able to make the most of our afternoon by cross-country skiing at Spidahls. It was one of those perfect winter days with absolutely no wind and around 20 degrees. It has actually been two years since we have been to Spidahls and the difference between our first experience and this experience was amazing. The girls were both much more coordinated and we were able to spend a lot more time skiing.
I truly fell in love with Winter during this afternoon. The peaceful serenity and the beauty of the snowy woods touched my heart. I have to admit it may have been due to the fact that my heart was literally racing. I always get cold when I go downhill skiing, but the cardio work required to cross-country ski keeps me warm from the tip of my toes to my fingertips.
After 40 minutes, we were all sweating and had to go back to our vehicle and shed a layer of clothing & drink some water before we headed out for the more challenging intermediate trails.
We were able to go on several trails that we hadn't been on before and put in a solid 2 1/2 hours of skiing. Everyone was tired and happy when we left.
Only one small glitch... which ended up turning into a larger problem on day 2, was a silly little biff I did while cruising downhill. My left ski took a hard left as it came out of the groove, while the right leg tried to stay right and my body got confused and tumbled along twisting my left ankle and wrenching my right shoulder. It really didn't hurt at the time, but that evening the ankle swelled and the shoulder ached. Old age just isn't that fun!

Despite the little set back, I went out cross-country skiing again last weekend and had a wonderful {injury free} time at Glendalough State Park with my friend Kelly. I think I am ready to purchase my own skis and make this a regular Winter-time activity in my life.

Winter fun at Buena Vista

We left early Saturday morning ("early" being relative because 7:45 AM is challenging for at lease 2 members of our family) to head to Buena Vista to meet the Mathern's for a day of skiing. We were right on time despite confusing directions from "Amy" (Steve's GPS) who tried to tell us to drive 6 miles out on frozen Lake Bemidji. We finally had to put her in time-out.
The weather was INCREDIBLE with absolutely no wind, clear sunny skies and temperatures up to 35 degrees.
The snow conditions were great and never got slushy at all. The ski area was smaller, but had 5 lifts and lots of nice runs. The chalet wasn't too crowded even though there were a lot of people there.
Lance had called us the week before and invited us to come up skiing with them and we are so grateful that it worked out. We got a great promotional discount, which allowed our family of 4 to get lift tickets and rentals for just under $100. Hoot-hoot!!
This picture was taken early in the day, because by mid-afternoon, we were hats free and I was actually sweating! On one lift ride I had with Kippy and another unknown skier, I noticed she wasn't even wearing her mittens! I asked where her mittens were and she said they were in her pocket because her hands were too hot. I said, "I would never go without my mittens!" and she glibly replied, "Well, mom, that is because you are cold-blooded." The man next to her busted out laughing.
It is true, I normally spend a lot of time warming up in the chalet. Not this time! I only went into the chalet because my legs were getting so darn tired and I needed to rehydrate.

Brac went to ski school for about an hour and did so great after that. Lance & Denise took turns guiding him down the slopes with his harness and reins.


Speaking of harness and reins... Denise and the three kids all got to go for a sleigh ride before we left.
They had about a 15 minute ride and Kippy was sharing all kinds of information that the owner/driver was sharing with them.
It was nearly dark when we got back to the Hampton Inn, on Lake Bemidji, but the kids quickly got into their swimming suits and headed to the pool.

The hot-tub was actually half inside the building and half outside the building. It was so refreshing to breath in the steamy air outside while experiencing the super hot water.

Brac was on-the-go at the water park. Abby watched the kids, while the adults had a wonderful meal at the attached Green Mill restaurant.
Lake Bemidji Pond Hockey Classic was also being held this weekend. We could see the 6 hockey rinks from the hotel window. As it turned out, the Hockey Classic was the reason for another great surprise... We were eating supper when a huge fireworks display started over the lake. We had a great view out out our booth window while the kids were still at the water park. When we picked the kids up, I asked Kippy if she got to see the fireworks and she said, "Mom, I had a front-row seat 'cause I was in the hot-tub outside!"

And this morning, after a huge breakfast, we spent another 2 hours in the water park and boy were Steve & I grateful to soak our sore muscles.

Lessons from Lutsen

True to our Lindgren Style, we didn't have a clear plan of what we wanted to do as we entered into our Christmas vacation. Steve and I had a vague idea that we would like to go skiing, but we never went any further to even clarify if we would go cross-country skiing or down-hill, much less figure out where we were going to go. As vacation began, we got more serious about trying to make some decisions. I threw out that I would just like to go somewhere we haven't been yet. As it turned out, my vacation time started before Steve's so I reluctantly became the person in charge of the plan. I did some Internet searching on Lutsen Mountain, because I had a few friends and family members who had been there and said it was great skiing. Luckily, just one week in advance, I found a two bedroom villa in Grand Marais available for Dec 29-30th, which included two days of skiing for the whole family at Lutsen Mountain. It was stressful committing to this vacation because it had a two-week notice for canceling, so this was a no-refund, the-$-is-gone type of commitment.

We officially had a plan. Of course, we needed to shore up a few things, like what were we going to do with Bella while we were gone. Luckily, Russ & Kristy said they would doggie-sit her, so we dropped her off in Esko early Tuesday afternoon and headed up the North Shore drive.
Although Steve had taken a summer-time motorcycle trip two years ago, the winter version of the north shore was a first-time experience for all of us. We stopped a few times along the way to enjoy our surroundings.
Gooseberry Falls was amazing, although it was rather scary navigating the icy trail especially after Kippy slipped and fell just 5 feet from the edge of the frozen Upper Falls. Both Steve & I yelled at her to be careful which made her cry. My heart may never be the same again after that experience.We also stopped at a scenic vista to take a few pictures of the split rock lighthouse, but with time getting tight, we didn't actually go into the park. I was anxious about our accommodations in Grand Marais, because I had committed the family and spent the cha-ching and really, really wanted this vacation to turn out well. I'll cut to the punchline, it was SO worth it! This was one of the nicest places we have ever stayed. It was a two bedroom, three bathroom condo right on the shore of Superior. The living-room had a hide-a-bed sofa, so Abby made that her bedroom, thus allowing the girls to sleep separately and reducing the inevitable squabbles.
Lessons learned:
1. Steve & I found out we are not as skilled as we thought we were on the slopes. Conquering Andes Tower Hills did not make us experts.

2. Chemical foot and hand warmers are a necessity for Abby and I to be able to tolerate the cold, even though it was a balmy 20 degrees the first day and 10 degrees the second day. Warmers are the bomb!!

3. Steve needs to brush up on his map reading skills. He navigated us up Moose Mountain and down some blue squares and black diamonds on our first run. Poor Kippy took the brunt of that lesson.

4. We operated best by pairing Kippy with Steve and Renae with Abby. By the end of our second day we all felt better about our skiing abilities.

5. When you have a bad wreck and you are 40+ years old, expect to need some ibuprofen to be able to sleep that night. Wrecks for Renae over two days: 3; Wrecks for Steve: 2; Wrecks for Abby: 2; Wrecks for Kippy: numerous. Funny thing is that Kippy was the one who never wanted to stop at the end of the day!

6. It was a complete blessing that the sub-zero weather blew in the day after we left Lutsen.

It was a great experience and we all want to go back again!

Keep On Trying

A few weeks ago, Kip wanted to try to water ski while we were at Maple Lake. The only skis available for our 8-year-old to try skiing with was adult sized skis. Denise did some land instruction with Kippy before she tried it in the water.

Keep your body in the straight back chair position.

Let the boat pull you out of the water and keep your straight-back-chair position until you are all the way out of the water.
Hold your skis about shoulder width apart and don't let them wobble back and forth.

First, Kippy tried about 5 or 6 times with Denise giving her instructions in the water, but her legs were not strong enough to keep the large skis together. She kept a great attitude and after everyone warmed up, she wanted to try again.
This time, Steve and Lance went in the water with her and they tied the two skis together to help stabilize her.

Oh, here she goes....

Despite numerous attempts, she was only able to get up for a few seconds, but kept trying until she was just too tired. Lance and Denise were so patient with her. After each attempt, the boat would have to be circled around; the tow rope pulled in; throw the tow rope back out; get Kippy lined up again and give it another try. Hopefully, by next year she will have enough leg strength to get up on the skis.

Kippy, don't ever lose your willingness to persevere and keep on trying!

Our Mont Du Lac experience

Mont Du Lac is a small ski resort in Wisconsin, just 20 minutes from Russ & Kristy's home in Esko. We had several choices of ski resorts to go to, but decided on Mont Du Lac because it is generally less crowded. Since this was going to be both my nephews first skiing experience, we wanted to have some breathing room on the slopes. Not only did we luck out on not having to deal with crowds, but the weather was cooperative too. "Cooperative" to me means no wind and the temperature a balmy 5 degrees. I am not a fan of skiing in sub-zero weather. I know, call me a pansy.
Here is Nixin (age 3) getting his ski boots put on by his dad (I thought I would point out who that headless person is in the picture.) Although Nixin gave it a good try, skiing didn't work out for him. Nixin didn't like the sensation and wanted to sit down in the harness instead of stand up on the skiis. In retrospect, we think sledding or tubing would have been better.
Here is Noah (age 9) and Kippy getting ready to go out on the slopes. Noah was so eager to try out skiing. Abby & Angelique already knew what they were doing so they quickly headed to the lift. While Russ & Kristy were struggling to get Nixin geared up and harnessed, I worked with Noah. After successfully navigating Noah over to the Pancake Run (aka "the bunny hill"), Noah and I struggled a bit to get him back to the top using the tow rope. I think it would have made a funny video. After getting Noah's skis put back on several times, I turned to Steve and said, "I don't think I can teach someone to ski." Thankfully, Noah had low expectations and was patient, because he did catch on.
About an hour after Noah started practicing, I took him on the lift for the first time. He was a little apprehensive about it but he hung in there. He listened carefully and had no problems getting on or getting off! I took this picture of his beaming face as he road the lift for the first time. When we took a break for lunch, Noah exclaimed, "Auntie, you said you couldn't teach anyone to ski, but you can!" Truthfully, it was 90% Noah and only 10% me.

Abby and Kippy at the top of the hill - it was a beautiful view...

Abby and I squinting in the sun in a self portrait while riding the lift. Did I mention that I dropped my glove while doing this? I had a cold trip down with one bare hand to retrieve it. As I tell my kids, "That was not my best idea!"

Russ & Steve after exiting the lift.

"I'm king of the world!"

Our Spidahl experience...

Yesterday afternoon, we bundled up and headed to Spidahl's to go cross-country skiing. It is funny that there are these wonderful opportunities near Fergus Falls and we are still discovering them!
We are a fairly inexperienced at cross-country skiing, even though we can all downhill ski. Steve & I had tried crossing-country one-time before in Breckenridge, CO almost 4 years ago. Abby had tried it out about 9 months ago at Long Lake, MN. Kippy was giving it a shot for the first time.
Gearing up took us a while. Getting our boots to click onto the skis was not very easy. I'll have to say that the boots for cross-country are WAY more comfortable than the boots for downhill. Check out how "Bob" the black lab is supervising everyone. I think he sensed our inexperience. Perhaps we were entertaining to him as we tried to figure everything out.
We had many different trails to choose from, but we stuck with a beginner trail that was 1.1 miles long. Notice the grooves that Abby's skis are in? Those are there to help a beginner out.
The trail wound through some beautiful natural forest. It was so serene and quiet. We all shuffled along trying to get a rhythm going. Abby just scooted on past all of us.Did I mention that it was pretty cold? I think it was 5 degrees or so. I was freezing my fingers off at this point because I had to take my gloves off to work my camera. I figured I would need to go back to the lodge and warm up.
Don't I look like I should be cozy warm? I was wearing insulated snow pants, on top of insulated sweat pants, which was on top of winter cuddle duds, one sweatshirt, two pairs of socks, a Columbia coat, insulated mitten/gloves, turtle fur and a headband. I am surprised I could move at all!
Kippy had a hard time staying in the "grooves" and fell countless times. Steve ended up skiing with Kippy so he could help her, while Abby and I went off on our own. Once I got some momentum going, I got toasty warm.

I loved how everyone of us had frost in our eyelashes (Steve's was in his beard). Some of my hair had actually gotten frozen to my turtle fur! I can't wait to go back again!

Today my shoulders and quads are sore, so I guess that means I either got a good workout, or am really out of shape. Either way, I finally found one winter activity where I wasn't freezing to death the whole time!