Brainard Lake

Jo and I thought we'd follow the crowd and head on up to Brainard Lake, which is a very popular destination for hikers, snowshoers and cross-country skiers. Jo and I aren't used to uber-busy trailheads; we target the less-used trails whenever we can. We were planning on using the snowshoes, but it turned out that the trail was so well trodden, hiking boots were perfectley sufficient.

We actually decided to head away from Brainard Lake itself and picked on of the many paths that crisscrossed through the forests. The start of the trail was actually a road that we had to follow for about a mile or so before getting on the actual trail. Luckily, it was only a service road, so we didn't have to worry about cars, which kinda' spoils the experience a bit. LOTS of cross-country skiers, and we could see why. The road and trails were perfect for it.

I was hiking along, enjoying the day, when I came across a bridge. I heard a funny rumbling noise coming out from underneath it, so I stopped to take a look. Lo and behold, I saw a nasty, ill-tempered Jo Troll when I looked down. I hastily snapped this pic...

I've always heard that Jo Trolls are not nearly as mean as they make themselves out to be, so I decided to try to get a little closer to the rare creature. I cautiously inched a bit closer to the beastie. He looked very aggressive to me, but I decided to risk his anger to get a nice clear picture. As soon as he saw my camera, something very strange happened...

The Jo Troll's demeanor totally changed, and he quickly stopped snarling to strike me a sexy pose. It turns out that the only reason Jo Trolls are so angry all the time is because they don't feel people give them time to make love to the camera. Usually people snap a hasty picture and run away, not giving them any warning whatsoever that a photo is coming. If you ask it to "say cheese," a Jo Troll is actually quite amiable and willing to strike some pretty provocative poses.

After the Jo Troll, the road branched off into the woods, and the trail got narrower.

This was an interesting trail because it went waaaaaay back into the woods, so it would take quite a bit of time to actually get to an end destination. We weren't planning on getting to an end-point; we just wanted to get as far as we could, then turn around and loop back to the car.

One of the best things about a well-populated trail such as this one is all the dogs that come out to hike with their masters. Trail dogs are some of the happiest dogs in the world, in my opinion, and it is so fun to watch such a happy dog as it runs around in the snow, sniffing everything with a wagging tail, just as dogs should do.

We eventually did turn around, then hit a trail that would loop us back around to the car. I liked the trail well enough, but both of us definitely prefer a trail which isn't as populated. More trees and less people is a good thing.

On the way back, we couldn't resist snapping some pics of the dilapidated old mountain town of Ward. Not much going on here, for sure.

And there were more abandoned cars along the side of the road than I've ever seen in a town. A few parting shots of just a sampling of some of the ol' rust buckets...

Snow Falls

Jo and I were trying to decide where we wanted to go for this snowshoe trip, and I really really really wanted to see a frozen waterfall, so we decided to head up to Wild Basin to see what we could find in the way of ice falls. Jo warned me not to get too excited, as the falls would most likely just be covered in snow...Still, I was excited anyway.

It was a snowy, grey day; no clear, blue skies in the forecast for us. The sun tried its best to fight its way through the misty snow, but without much luck.

The good thing about snowshoing is that it's hard physical work that keeps you moving, making it a great way to stay warm, even when it is snowy and cold. We were following a river (off to the left of the picture,) but it was completely iced over.

One thing most people don't know about Jo is how strong he is. This boulder had fallen across the path, but sweet Jo was nice enough to move it out of the way for me, so I didn't have to go all the way around. Thanks, babe.

My boyfriend is such a good sport. Here we are, out in the cold and snow, and I want him to stick his face in a snowbank for me...

And, of course he does...

Thanks, babe. I know your nose was black for weeks because of the frostbite you got, but, on the bright side, I got the pictures I wanted!

This is shot looking out on the river from a bridge. We could here hints of the gurgling water below, but the snow definitely muffled the sound to almost nothing. I love knowing that there is water under all that snow that refuses to stop, even for the winter.

These next few shots are very exciting for me. Jo and I were playing around with the camera, trying to get a cute couple shot (that will come later,) when I spotted something that I've been wanting to see for a long time now. Drumroll please... Can you see it? Right in the middle of the picture, next to the small tree...a snowshoe hare!

We were both excited and grabbed the camera to try to get some more shots. It was during this process that we noticed something a bit odd about the hare's face. At first I thought it was just a spot of brown fur around the hare's left eye. Then we realized the awful truth: this poor little guy had sustained some horrible injury, which had left some pretty severe scar tissue behind as a testament to how close to death this hare had come. It seemed to be healed over and he appeared to be in otherwise good health, but I sure hope the injury hasn't affected his chance of survival too much. That's nature for you, "red in tooth and claw," as Darwin so eloquently put it.

Wherever you are, little snowshoe hare, we both hope you are happy in your little bunny world and doing well.

A little while later, I couldn't help serving up Jo a nice fat snowball to the head...

But then we went back to the CCS we were trying to get before the hare showed up. Super excited about finally finding the B&W button on the camera!!!

Shortly after, we reached the falls. I'm honestly not sure why we didn't take pictures of the falls, except that maybe it looked pretty much like the river scene earlier: logs and boulders covered in snow. We decided to keep going to Ouzel falls, which I hadn't seen yet, so we pressed on. The trail was much less packed down after leaving the falls, so the going was a bit slower. We couldn't resist stopping to take pics of these amazing snow formations that had formed on a bridge.

A trail shot, of course. It was simply lovely, as always, being out in the snow-covered woods.

And here's my boy, with snowflakes on his eyelashes, looking adorable sprinkled all over with white powder.

We finally made it to Ouzel falls. It was completely iced over, so we hiked right up to it in order to get a better look.

Solid. Ice.

At this point, we decided to stop and eat lunch. The problem was that we were both getting chilly at this point, so after a quick slide down the trail and a quick PBandJ sandwich, we headed back.

Happy New Years!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!

Jo and I decided to laugh in the New Year at our favorite local comedy club: Wits End. We were both excited to see the comedians, and, of course, to drink some champagne;-)

The MC was named Dimitri. I thought he did a great job. He made a lot of racists jokes, which can go both ways, but he pulled if off just fine.

The first act was comedian Lori Callahan. I thought she was alright, but not the best comedian I've ever seen.

The headliner, Russ Rivas, was hilarious. He had a dirty sense of humor, which I loved, and kept both of us in stitches throughout his act. The skit he did at the end, with a girl who acted out his hand motions for him, was one of the funniest things I've ever seen and I was literally crying by the end of it. By the sound of it, Jo had a mighty fine time, as well.

There was a balloon drop along with free champagne at midnight.

The comedians helped to count down, then joined everyone on floor as the clock struck 12.

This picture's in here because of the creepy ghost-man in the front. Freaky, right?

There was a buffet at the end, so after snacking a bit we drove home, ready to start 2010.

And, as a parting shot, here's a pic of my friend TJ's cat. It cracks me up and I have no where else to put it, so here's to the new year and cats with squished-in faces!!