We await yet another storm of the century here in the Twin Cites of Minneapolis and St Paul. The papers, radio, and TV are absolutely breathless about the possibility. We were supposed to get a few inches on Sunday but it hardly managed to even get cloudy. I've had my low slung, two wheel drive VW Passat since 2003 and never once have I had a problem getting around in the numerous "blizzards" that we've had in the past six years. It's supposed to hit this afternoon but I'm not holding my breath. If they track the trails after this 100% certain storm I can get in a bit more skiing..........
.........at Elm Creek Park Reserve. I went over there last night and it was kind of pathetic. The artificial snow is still piled high on the 2.5k loop that they maintain, but the rest of the area is pretty much brown. Its just a ribbon of white snaking through the landscape and there weren't many folks still interested in skiing. Normally if I arrive late I need to use the auxiliary parking but I pulled right up to the building. Even my normally loyal SKOAC Renegade compadre's all seemed to have something to do other than ski last night. I will see a couple of them tonite at Grumpy's, including RonO, as we need to plan our weekend assault on Madison for..........
.......Canoecopia! As much as my brain needs a bit more skiing before it can shift to paddling, the pressure is there to get the boat out. On my way to Elm Creek last night, reveling in the daylight savings time 6pm sunshine, I noticed that the Mississippi River was wide open. I also got an email from GalwayGuy in St Louis, who says he can't pass an open lake without thinking about rolling in it and breaking in the new tuliq. Maybe Canoecopia with its paddle saturated ambiance, including some interaction with the yahoos in the above picture, will switch my mind from snow to open water. Still the official start of the paddle season for me is when the waters of Gitchee Gumee first slosh around the bottom of my boat..............
........and, as you saw from yesterday's post, its gonna be awhile before anyone paddles out to Sand or Oak Island. Still, the NOAA nearshore forecast begins around St Patricks Day again and by that time I'll be fantasizing about blue water, sandy beaches, and getting the tuliq wet. For now, I think I'll just savor the transition.
3 comments:
Nice picture. They're a singing group from the 70's, aren't they?
I guess the Monkees might be an appropriate name. Will you and JB be manning the Door County booth once again? And think Crystal Corner for Saturday happy hour. A man needs to wash that kayak dust from the throat in a convivial neighborhood setting.
I will be at the booth Saturday fro 3-6 pm. Otherwise, I am in rooms introducing speakers. JB is at the booth a lot.
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