Today, Irene and I decided to take advantage of the fact that there was finally some snow in the country Rumour had it that Cypress had received a foot of snow in the past few weeks, so there was actually a chance of some decent cross-country skiing.So we packed a lunch and headed off. We arrived at the park just before noon and skied until 1:00 before we stopped for lunch. The snow was all right where it hadn’t been disturbed, but there is a lot of logging activity in the park right now, so a number of roads and trails had been plowed to allow access. (The logging is part of a new “forest management” policy; the park is full of old-growth lodgepole pine which are overdue for a burn-off.)

[Editor’s note: picture lost in computer “incident”]
Shortly after lunch, we encountered this girl just a few metres off the trail. She had been bedded down, but she managed to stand up as we slowly skied past her. But she wasn’t going anywhere, and we probably took close to five minutes to ski by and take 16 pictures, most of which were of her hind end.
The Moose Checks Us Out

After we were done skiing, we had coffee at the resort and watched the birds and the squirrels at the feeders (chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, red crossbills, and a downy woodpecker). The pictures of those didn’t turn out so well, as I had to take them through the window, so you’ll just have to trust me.

We finished off the day by having supper at Fred and Barney’s in Maple Creek. taking advantage of a gift certificate some of my karate students had bought for me.