Friday, October 7, 2011

It's Not Snowing Yet!

I arrived home last night after having been up for almost 22 hours and in the air for 10 or those. I was happy to see that the roads were still dry and not a trace of snow or ice to be seen. This morning, I dug my bike out of the back of the garage and it felt great to ride in. Temperatures were in the low to mid-20's (°F) and my visor kept fogging up. I ended up riding with it mostly open. I need to try out that anti-fogging stuff I picked up.

This afternoon, I went for a walk through the woods behind the university. The "official" reason was to check on one of the geocaches we set out for the students and staff to find as part of a technology day. So far, 16 people have found the cache and picked up a token. Collect all the tokens and exchange them for a prize and be entered in a drawing for a better prize. As usual, I sort of stretched out the walk as it was a pretty nice afternoon. This is one of the ski trails called bicycle bumps and it is a lot of fun to ski on as long as you can avoid the trees.

Smith Lake is at the end of the bicycle bumps trail. As you can see, ice is just starting to form and soon, you will be able to ski right across the lake to the T-Field on the other side. My walk continued around the T-Field and at the southern end, there were two foxes watching me from the safety of the woods. One of these days, I'm going to remember to bring the camera with the telephoto lens. On the way back up the hill towards campus, I saw one more large fox sitting in the middle of the trail watching me trudge up the hill.

Along the trail, there are some plastic flowers "planted" next to a utility pole. They are about the only bright color in the area. I believe that they were brought out by a runner to mark distances. The ski team had already been out and marked the trail around the field every 200k.

If it's still nice out, I'll take the scenic route home and the weather guessers are saying that we are going to get snow and/or freezing rain this weekend.

9 comments:

  1. Oh Richard, I don't know if I like headlines with the word 'snow' in it, and I shudder at the thought of freezing rain, but I certainly do like your melancholic pictures (even though there is ice in it).

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  2. Great pictures of the trees from your walk.

    Your temperatures sound downright chilly compared to ours. We have had rain for a week but were lucky to get up to 70 today with some sunshine.

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  3. I just finished reading "If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name". Between your pics and stories and the book, I am really beginning to want to see and explore Alaska.

    Here is hoping the snow and freezing holds off a little longer so you can enjoy riding.

    -Peace

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  4. Richard, what's a T-Field?

    Glad you didn't have snow on the ground, ours is all gone as well. The mountains are looking quite lovely in their fall snow coat though.

    dom


    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

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  5. SonjaM:
    It seems to be that time of year. Since the roads were dry again today, another day of riding even with the below freezing temperatures.

    Trobairitz:
    To me, the trees won't look good again until after a couple of good snowfalls. Then I can get out and ski!

    Our high temperatures are still in the upper 30's (°F) so the roads are still rideable.

    Allen Madding:
    That's how it starts. There are a significant number of people who come up to visit then end up moving. One family came up on vacation, then the dad called his brother and told him to sell his house and all the stuff because they were staying.

    Dom:
    The T-Field is an former agricultural field north of the university that is shaped like a "T". No snow that is sticking except up in the hills.

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  6. Dear Richard:

    It is my fervent hope for you that the snow stays away until it reaches the point where it is critical to maintain gound insulation properties... Then I hope you getwhatever amount it takes for have a fun and reasonable winter.

    Interesting pictures of the trees.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack/reep
    Twisted Roads

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  7. Jack:
    They are predicting a really dry winter which, as you note, is going to be bad for buried water and sewer lines. I haven't had to deal with frozen pipes for quite a while. So far, the snow has been staying away. There are little flakes coming down right now but I'm still in denial.

    Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

    Richard

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  8. The walk is wonderful. Are you looking forward to any cross country skiing this winter?

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  9. Lori:
    Yes! Looking forward to x-country skiing again. Though not as enthused by those with wheel-skis or whatever they're called. Short skis with wheels for use on the bike paths.

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