Le Petit Melt (Allegany State Park)

7:48

7:49

Well, it's warming up, alas, turning the beauty of winter into something that resembles the drizzle and mud of Spring.  Gray, almost blue skies, and a sad 39º out, the cause of the thaw.  A wintry mix is predicted, meaning rain and some snow, not the kind of weather for hiking or skiing.  So, it looks like yoga and working out at the YMCA for the two of us today.  Surprisingly, there are a few fishermen out on the lake, which has lost it's whiteness, is now a slick, wet gray.  The only plus of the melt...it's getting cold again tomorrow, perhaps refreezing the lake, making it good for ice skating.

Yesterday began with Evie getting up late, around 8:30, just in time to pick out the photos and edit the blog before I drove off to Eight Limbs Yoga.  It was surprisingly warm, not that bitter 10º morning air that I have been used to.  Lots of ladies in class and I was the only guy for the first time this month.  After class, one of the ladies asked me if THE LIFE CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP, a book I had mentioned in class last winter, had really changed my life.  I had to say no but perhaps it had changed my wife's and my grandchildrens' lives because Evie had helped them to rearranged and tidy up their rooms.  I think she was disappointed, hoping it had changed my life.  I guess I am too lazy to fold my boxers and tee shirts properly.

When I returned home, Evie was still sitting on the couch, having spent most of the morning on the phone talking with our daughter Jill and my sister Ellen, about the snowfall that had basically blockaded the Washington and Northern Virginia areas.  Neither family could get out of their driveways and the streets in Herndon were still not plowed (even as of last night) because the two and a half feet of snow.  It made me wonder what would happen with our private road if we ever got a storm like that.  We could be locked in for a week or more.  Better stock up on chips and dip and beer.

We had an idea yesterday of joining a snowshoeing group on a moonlit hike,  led by a naturalist from the Allegany State Park.  So, before lunch, I called and got all the information, so we decided to participate. We then had lunch, read some, then starting getting ready for our excursion.  Because the group was leaving at 4:30 to start the trek, we had to leave here around 3:15 because it was close to an hour drive to the park, to the Summit's warming hut.  When we arrived, we were surprised by the number of cars and lots of people.  All told we had a group of twenty, plus two naturalists. Everyone was very friendly, introduced themselves, and made us feel welcome.  Most of the group were either from Bradford, PA or the Ellicottvile area and seemed to know each other or had been on the hike the week before.

Ready To Snowshoe

Most of the trails do not allow snowshoeing because they are for cross country skiers, so the naturalists had put together a new trail, following what they said was an old horse trail, called Bear Paw.  It was a two and a half mile loop, with various stations where we would stop to look at something, a tree, or bush, whatever, and the naturalist would talk about it.

Listening To Our Naturalist

It was a fairly easy hike, nothing too hard although a couple of people did slip and fall.  We walked out in the dimming sunlight and home in utter darkness, illuminated only by the headlamps of a number of the hikers.

Hikers From Texas And Pennsylvania

Hiking Out As Sunsets

Hiking Back In Darkness

It was really a great hike, the walk out, the sun setting illuminating the sky off to the West, then the hike home in dark, spooky and yet welcoming, as the stars started to appear.  When we got back to the lodge, the group from Bradford had brought a cooler with food and drinks, so they stayed on to enjoy the end of the walk.

View From Stone Tower

We decided to head to the Horseshoe Inn, our new favorite restaurant/bar in the area but to our great and I emphasize great, disappointment, it was closed for some reason.  So, we had to head home, hungry and thirsty, and a bit put out since I had checked their website and they were supposedly open for business.

We got home around 8:30, and Evie quickly made a salad, heated up some pumpkin rolls and  got out the soup so we had a quick, easy but good dinner.  We watched the new series, BILLIONS, a bit disappointing this week but we will stick with it.  We then watched Bernie Sanders answer questions from the audience and both of us were impressed with him.  He's definitely a good man, with a great heart, and would dramatically change things if elected President, moving us closer to a European style of government, where many of the needs of the people, like health care and retirement are taken care of by government.  I don't think it will fly here in the capitalistic, individualistic world of the United States.