What a perfect winter if you like winter - snow, snow, and more snow, and continued c0ld temperatures. Just what we northerners think Christmas should look like.We drove to Talkeetna on Saturday the 23rd for the Christmas weekend. After getting a fire going at the cabin. we walked farther down our driveway to our friends' Doug and Ellen to see if they had time for a walk before heading to the airport. We caught them at a good time so after sharing a holiday brew, we headed out. Several new inches of snow had fallen in Talkeetna in the previous two days, but D & E had been walking often on the route we wanted to take. Doug led in snowshoes to pack the trail a little more and the rest of us came behind with our Sorel boots. One of the best things about our property in Talkeetna are wonderful neighbors at the end of the driveway and the mile-long trail they had tracked to nearby lake #4.
That evening we went to Michele's Cafe to wish our friend Michele a Merry Christmas and to get a good dinner. Michele's son had sent her home, but we still got to enjoy a delicious meal. Back at the cabin, Paul beat me at several games of Pitch and then I trounced him at Gin Rummy.
After a leisurely Christmas Eve morning, we headed out for a ski. We planned to tour at least five of the six small lakes within a mile-and-a-half of our cabin. These lakes are numbered, not named, and are about to be designated as the Numbered Lakes Natural Area by the Mat-Su Borough, the landowner. The lakes and connecting creeks are unique because they're fed by springs. The creeks stay open most of the winter, providing habitat for over-wintering birds and fish. This area is rich because of the springs, creeks, lakes and connecting wetlands. All of this water makes the area difficult to traverse in the warm months, but, except for watching for open leads, it's a non-motorized winter recreation paradise.
The last foot of snow had fallen in the past week. With Christmas preparations and the shortest days of the year, no one had been skiing on the lakes. Paul broke trail the entire way -- from Lake 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 and the long haul back to Lake 5 -- and we wished we had chosen snowshoes over skis. But the day was beautiful, not too cold, and we were earning a Christmas Eve feast with our friends Pam and Roger and ten other guests.
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