OH!

I always thought cross country skiing was for people who had no sense of adventure, or for people who had become too tired for downhill skiing. I really had no interest in doing it yet; I'm not tired yet. Yet.....I agreed to try it in order to be agreeable. So now we've gone three times in the last week.

What a surprise to discover a whole new world of adventure up there on the same old continental divide. You can't imagine how beautiful it is right now with fresh, new,white snow piled up on tall old fir trees. Everything sparkles. Sheltered that deeply in the trees there is no wind, and the utter silence simply breathes peace.

And then there is the actual skiing - it is really like walking only you will be wearing long, skinny, very lightweight skis so you can stay up on the snow. It is as simple as that. It is SO fun!

Oh, there are moments when you lose your balance and encounter gravity on your way into piles of soft fluffy snow. Today we crested a steepish rise after careening wildly down it for the third time. I didn't make the transition to an upright posture quite soon enough and plopped straight forward, face down over my skiis into the snow. It was hilarious! The only vaguely dangerous thing about this sport is that you might die laughing.