Christmas

On the 24th we had freezing fog, which had everything looking as if it had been dusted in snow



We went for a run on the "M" trail, which would have been maybe a 4-mile round trip with 650' of elevation gain - but we didn't exactly make it







Hudson with his presents Christmas Eve





On Christmas we went back up to Bohart Ranch for more cross-country skiing. This time we made it up to the blue runs - which always seem to be much prettier, probably because they're higher up the mountain









Great sunrise this morning

Bohart Ranch

Moonrise over the Bridgers



Today we went cross country skiing at the Bohart Ranch, an easy 20 minute drive. We were greeted by a horse in the parking lot



Bohart is cool - not crowded at all. We did 4.7kms





One short stretch - probably for the kids - has trinkets hidden in the trees





It was a nice day - maybe 29 with occasional sun

677 Miles to Bozeman

After a few stressful weeks of work and a few great nights of drinking, we headed off to Bozeman for our second straight Christmas there. Last year was fun but another reason is so many cities were booked. We had hoped Boulder or Santa Fe but nothing pet-friendly for three weeks. I was off from work the first two weeks

Garmin started off by taking us the long way through Fall City



We left early, maybe 7:15am



The Cascades are as beautiful a range as I've seen





I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass was clear



Of course Grumpus didn't care



The sun made driving difficult and sometimes it got foggy (or steamy)







Random shots through Washington









Spokane. Spokane has a lot of cool old buildings







Entering Idaho. I couldn't get a good shot of Coure D'Alene because of the sun. Plenty of snow closer to Montana







And entering Montana







The last 4 hours was in the dark - after an amazing dinner at Cracker Barrel in Missoula. We went over two mountain passes, one of which was rather horrifying

This is out the front door of our house...



...and out the back door



Maureen and Hudson...

Snoqualmie Valley Trail

One of the best runs I did this time back in Redmond - before I became a slacker - was the Snoqualmie Valley Trail (SVT). The SVT is 31 miles and goes from Duvall through Carnation, Fall City and Snoqualmie before ending in North Bend

http://www.duvallwa.gov/appsformspubs/SnoqValleyTrailMap.pdf

I went from Carnation to Duvall, an 8-mile stretch. Here is where I started:





Much of this area is farmland of some sorts



It was chilly - this marsh is frozen. Probably not enough for skating











Storm clouds that stayed far enough away



No beavers this day but plenty of ducks





At the end in Duvall



Afterwards we went up to Snoqualmie and North Bend. Trains seem to be a big deal in Snoqualmie - I think this train does a short loop and there were long lines



Mt Si totally covered in clouds



Funny - lived in the area off-and-on over 12 years and I never had any idea we had elk