Skiing and "In Other News"

I had a meeting out of town yesterday morning, so I threw a pair of wool pants and my skis in my truck (my skis stay in the back this time of the year) and took the afternoon off, skiing at a nature preserve a little south of here. This is one of my favorite places to ski and I hadn’t yet been there this winter. It was a cold afternoon, with light wind, but at least the sun peeked out for a few minutes. I don’t think anyone had been on the trails with skis since the weekend and I often found myself breaking trail, which was quite a workout as we haven’t had any fresh snow of any significant amount in the past week. The snow was crusty and quickly cut the wax off the bottom of my skis. I also found myself having to break into a herringbone stride earlier when climbing hills, which was more difficult than normal as the skis would break through the icy snow and required more effort to lift out. But it was a good day to ski and I needed the time alone. I saw a number of deer, some ground squirrels as well as a couple gray squirrels and evidence that some over-ambitious beavers have a dam planned for Cedar Creek. This has been a hard winter on the animals. The deer have been gouging on the low branches of cedars and even some pines (not only in the woods, but also my yard). Ice covered much of Cedar Creek and I especially enjoyed the sections of trail that ran along its banks. I spent nearly three hours out and by the time I got back to the truck, I was sweaty. Enjoy the photos.

Cedar Creek

The work of nature's civil engineers.

In Other News…
Politically Incorrect Reporting by Nevada Jack

It’s been five years since Sage hauled my butt out of Utah and to the relatively flatlands of Michigan. I woke up from hibernation, having dreamed of Utah and wanted to see what was going on in that great theocracy that we once called home. Here in Michigan, the news is always boring or, when it’s about the economy, down right depressing. In Utah, there was always something entertaining going on, especially when the state legislature was in session. I wasn’t disappointed. This year, some right-brained legislator is proposing that places which serve alcohol make copies of folk’s driver’s licenses and share them with the police (who will probably then share them with the local Mormon bishops). In a state where many suffer from a form of dyslexia and reverse certain provisions of the constitution, such as presumption of innocence, this idea is rather disturbing. Of course, maybe this legislator has been brought by the Nevada Chamber of Commerce who’s looking to give Utahans another reason to spend their money across the border. Click here for the real story.