Sunday, February 15, 2009

Valentine's Day = Snow Shoeing?


I know most of my readers would be shocked to learn that my husband and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day. (Gasp!) OK...really take a deep breathe. I can certainly attest that we are totally in love after almost eleven years of marriage, but we just "choose" not to celebrate this "Hallmark holiday". Instead, we try to focus on celebrating our love daily in various ways.

However, when Drew's mom told us that she wanted to take the kids so we could enjoy Valentine's Day we didn't hesitate for a minute. (OK, not even a second.) We had been eager to try out snow shoeing and this was our "golden" opportunity.

So...as our friends and family were enjoying great movies, meals, flowers and chocolate we drove up to Stevens Pass to met our guide for the Snow Shoe Trek with a Ranger Program. (So Pacific Northwest...I know...I know...stop thinking it.)

The three-hour program was led by Forest Service ranger, Nan, who began the program with a historic slide show of the area including the 1920 Wellington avalanche disaster. From there, we strapped on our snow shoes for a mile trek on the Pacific Crest Trail stopping along the way for historic and ecology lessons.

Honestly, it was a blissful experience and a great memory for me to share with my my honey on Valentine's Day. The snow level at Stevens Pass was currently around six feet making it so fascinating to hike this trail. This new "height" advantage gave us the opportunity to see the forest in a new light and enjoy a snowy Saturday afternoon together as a couple.

Since this was such a great experience for us I wanted to make sure to pass on this information to my local blogging readers whom might be interested in a snow shoeing adventure. The Snow Shoe Trek with a Ranger program runs each Saturday and Sunday, once a day at noon through March 29th. Reservations are encouraged, just call the Skykomish Ranger Station, Wednesday - Friday 8 AM-4:30 PM, 360-677-2414. The meeting place is at the Forest Service Guard Station, in Stevens Pass Ski Area Parking Lot A, on the south side of Hwy 2. A $10 per person donation is suggested to help defray program costs and believe me is worth every penny!

I'm sure this won't be the last time you see us with snow shoes in hand...it was a experience worth repeating!

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean


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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

AWESOME! Good for you! Rick and I tried snowshoeing for the first time while dating, and we have been in love ever since (with each other and the sport!... lol)! We do an annual event to raise money for breast cancer research (coming up in March), and have even taken Henry with us, from the time he was in-utero, to being 3 months old on the trail in a backpack. This year we're getting a sled to pull and hopefully by next year, he'll have his own monster feet! We LOVE it. So peaceful, beautiful... perfect. :)

To many more adventures! Enjoy!

Skinny and Sober said...

how wonderful : )
looks sooooo fun!
you have a cute hubby too!
kisses and cupcakes,
amy
*

Becky said...

That looks like so much fun!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing Katie Jean!! I am making plans for myself to go.!! I am so excited. My husband has been wanting to go for years!