It was time for our one outing over the winter break. We loaded up the kids and our snow gear and headed northeast to find some snow. Good news, it was raining at our house so it should be snowing at higher elevations.
We drove out to the Sacramento Temple first and did some baptisms with the older three kids. Adell and Colter babysat themselves in the van with a cellular internet connection (thanks YouTube). Clare turned 12 in March and was finally able to go to the temple but it took us a while to get our act together to take her. The temple was pretty packed so we only did 10 names for each kid and got out as soon as we could. I think Will has one picture of him and me with Clare outside the temple. It was pouring rain in Sacramento too and the big kids made a dash for the van before we could get a group shot.
The temple was nice and the little kids were safely entertained so we considered that our first success of the day. We got some soda and gas at a filling station and headed further east to South Lake Tahoe in the hunt for snow. About an hour into our continued drive, the rain started to turn to snow. We were all so excited! It was forecasted to snow/rain all day!
We found a sno-park lot at Echo Lake near South Lake Tahoe and got our gear on. It was spitting cold snow, the wind was whipping and it was SO COLD! We layered up in every article of snow clothing we had. Truly, it was the coldest outside day we've all been in in a really long time. Kids were doubting their love of snow, it was serious.
Layers donned, we walked out to find some sledding hills. We didn't have a lot of success there. It has been cold and dry for the last couple of weeks and the snow currently on the ground was frozen pretty solidly. We gave our best efforts, broke two cheap sleds and tried to make snowballs. It was so cold! The wind was picking up and more snow was falling.
Right after the picture above my phone died. It always seems to plunk out earlier than expected when I am in a cold place. I think iphones are more effective in temperate climates (like me). So I have no pictures of our best and grandest adventure of the day. After about an hour of trying to sled and play in the frozen snow with new snow falling quickly, the kids were ready to call it a day. Will was not ready to quit. He turned to me and asked, "Do you want to go on an adventure?" I was game but thought we should bring the children along. He was planning on their attendance anyway, win!
We hiked up the little hill we had been sledding down and came to the end of the Earth. Seriously, we had driven up a mountain and been sledding at the top here we had found the steep side of the mountain. It was well covered with feet of snow and Will's adventure was to sled on our butts down the face of the mountain. Will, Lorien, Wyatt, and Colter got started first leaving me at the top with the little girls. They were not keen on this adventure. Adell was pretty scared of the whole idea and Clare was already too cold to go on. I talked them into going down by making Clare go first with a shove and pulling Adell down with me as I hopped after Clare.
It was so much fun! Our bodies made little avalanches of snow all around us and we slid down the nearly 90-degree slope lickety-split! I kept calling to Clare, "Here comes a cloud!" as an avalanche of snow built around me and Adell and tumbled down to Clare.
We slid down the first slope to a road and found another mountain face waiting for us. We slid down that one and yet another after that. Three nearly 90-degree slopes and three personal avalanches down. It was exhilarating and fun! We all loved it. Clare declined to slide down the last slope, knowing we'd have to hike back up them to get back to the van.
We made it down three slopes and to the main road that leads into South Lake Tahoe. Traffic was backed up going into South Lake, thankfully we needed to go in the other direction to get home. We popped out of the snow like daisies and Will walked over to one of the cars stuck in traffic to ask what the road was. I'm sure we made quite the sight, two adults and five children popping out of the snow then turning right around to go back in the snow in the middle of the South Lake wilderness. We like to keep things interesting.
We did have quite a hike, thankfully we only had to hike up the first mountain face before coming to the road that separated all three in a switch-back. So we took the unplowed road the rest of the way to the car. When we were almost to the sno-park the storm winds and snow started to blow in earnest. It was whiteout conditions and we couldn't keep walking with our faces in the wind and stinging snow. Will had carried Colter for part of the hike and Lorien took over for the last bit. Wyatt was way ahead and when he turned around to check on our progress we were lost to his sight in the whiteout. It was wild. Thankfully, we just had to stay on the road and it led us right to the car. We were so happy to peel off our cold clothes and get in the warming car!
Once we were all safe and warm in the van we started the slow crawl out of South Lake Tahoe in blizzard conditions. We were so thankful for a working van and heater. It felt great to eat our snacks and watch the snow fly outside our windows.
We drove back to Sacramento and stopped at an Applebees for dinner. Lots of laughs and food helped sustain us for the remainder of our drive home. It was a great adventure. I'm so glad I said yes to Will's first offer of adventure nineteen years ago when we got engaged. It sure has been an adventure and I look forward to many more. I sure love you William James (and all these kids we get to bring along on our adventures).
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