Winter Wonderland

First, I encourage you to read this post from Griper Blade, who is fast becoming one of my favorite area political bloggers. This particular piece deals with the delusion that is supply-side economics, and how Bush has been wrong about pretty much everything. It goes into detail and backs up those claims, though, so it's not just another "Blarrrr I hate Bu$h!" rant, I promise.

Now that that's out of the way, though, did anyone else head downtown this weekend to enjoy the Winter Festival/Capitol Sprints? I love that we do this. For those of you reading who might be unfamiliar with this new-ish tradition, what happens is a bunch of snow is trucked in and used to line the streets of the square around the capitol. A series of cross country skiing races and events are then held there. Several events are held nearby, too, including snowshoeing, ice and snow sculpting, and snowboard "rail jam" contests held on a giant ramp built in the middle of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It's good times all around, and a nice way to add some color to the winter months. We finally had great weather for it this year, too, with temperatures in the high 20's, some snow flurries, and plenty of preexisting snow on the ground. I was also happy to see that a few dedicated kite fliers threw their own, mini "Kites On Ice" event out on Lake Monona.
A few friends of mine were in from out of town, so I took them down to check out some of the action. Along the way, we saw some high schoolers from around the state participating in a cross country relay race (only in Wisconsin do high schools have cross country skiing teams, I swear), and I also stumbled across a puffed up hawk perched in a low branch on the capitol grounds. Seemed like an odd place for it, but the bird looked rather content watching the goings-on.
We then wandered over to the snowboarding ramp, where a group of under-15's were trying their hands at the course. Our favorite contender was a young blond girl in a bright pink, furry coat, who was pretty damn good and confident amidst the sea of boys who dominated her age group.

I saw a lot of people out enjoying the festivities, including quite a few of my fellow Madison Flickr types. My only regret is that I didn't get out onto the lake to check out the kites, and that I don't ski (yet). It would have been fun to have taken a spin around the capitol.

Snowshoeing Indian Lake

One of my favorite county parks is Indian Lake, located just off Highway 19 near the town of Marxville and just north and west of Madison. It's a short drive (or longer bike ride) to get there, and it's a decent sized space with a lovely little lake, forested slopes and plenty of trails. During warmer months, the hiking is great. Come winter and a decent amount of snowfall, like we had this December, and it's a fantastic place to cross country ski or snowshoe.

A couple of weeks ago, we chose the latter activity and, with some borrowed shoes, headed out for an afternoon of hiking through the beautiful, powdery snow.

The trails are relatively well-mapped, but be sure to bring your own color print-out of it, as the posted maps along the trails at the park tend to be washed out and hard to read. There are several difficulty levels available, as well as trails marked specifically for snowshoeing (in addition to skiing, usually). Tip for those of you not wanting to be jerks: don't walk/snowshoe in the middle of the groomed ski paths. Stick to the sides or blaze your own trails.

Heck, half the fun of snowshoeing is being able to wander off wherever you want to go, unfettered by the beaten path or thigh-high snow drifts. I'd never been snowshoeing before and discovered that it was great fun to be able to set off into the woods, high above the tangle of the forest floor and surrounded by the snow-silent woods. The other nice thing about Indian Lake is that, unlike the UW Arboretum, it's not usually packed with fellow travelers. We passed on average of one or two skiers (and no other snowshoers) every ten or fifteen minutes, all of whom were very friendly and polite. Everyone just seemed happy to be out and enjoying the great conditions.

The real jewel of Indian Lake in wintertime, however, is the warming house: a small, one-room log cabin built at the very end of the yellow loop (or very beginning, depending) and at the top of the park's modestly sized sledding hill. Inside the warming house are two long tables and a wood-fired stove that's kept roaring all day long. Without a doubt, one of the best feelings in the world is coming in from activity in the cold and sitting down in front of a warm fire with a thermos of hot chocolate (which we'd brilliantly thought to have brought along). The only things we didn't think to bring were sleds, which would have been a nice way to end our trek. A group of children were having a grand ol' time bombing down the hill on everything from the usual plastic discs or planks, to at least one traditional toboggan and a few inner tubes.

So I found that I really enjoyed snowshoeing, and am now on the hunt for a pair of my own. And I think that, as soon as the snow builds back up again (knock on wood), another trip out to Indian Lake is definitely in order.