Snowshoeing

We have been trying to get to the snow for a few weeks, but it just hasn't worked out for various reasons until yesterday. We finally had all the gear we needed, a free Saturday, and enough snow to walk on. We headed to the Santiam pass to see if we could find a good sno-park to park at that wasn't too busy. We had 2 sno-parks in mind. The first was very busy and we were pretty sure there would be no parking. The second sno-park was just as busy, but it's a bigger one so we thought we'd have a better chance at finding a space. Thankfully we did! We were beginning to get worried that we'd have to drive further or have to just go home without a snow adventure.

After we found a space it was lunchtime. We didn't get there as early as we'd hoped so our first order of business was eating lunch. We brought chili and tortilla chips. It was so good to have something warm to eat. We usually bring cold sandwiches, but I thought it'd be worth the effort to have something warm this time.

After lunch, the plan was to go for a hike with our snowshoes. Then we'd go sledding at the other sno-park across the way in hopes that it would be less busy by the time we were done with our hike. Our plan worked great because we were able to go over to the sledding park and found a parking spot there too.

The walk was so serene and pretty. 

There were so many smooth untouched mounds of snow that this kid (Alex) felt like he needed to walk on every single one of them.

There were so many beautiful trees all around. I just love how the snow looks on the branches. I also thought this stump was kinda cool. How did it form that way, and what happened to it? I don't know, but it almost looks like a piece of art!

There were many snowballs thrown as we walked.

There were boys who didn't want to be in pictures.

And a mom who just wanted to document the adventure.

One last picture of the gorgeous scenery.

After our walk we did go over and do some sledding and had some hot cocoa and snacks. My phone was at 1% by the end of our walk so I have no more pictures of the second half of our day. It was fun. Alex got some great speed on the sleds, and there were lots of people there.

That's about all for this family adventure!