As y’all know, I spent a couple days up in Idaho after Outdoor Retailer, enjoying some snowshoeing and snowmobiling. GeigerRig, a new hydration company, decided to sponsor a small blogger get together and I was one of the fortunate writers who was invited along. Matt, the PR guy from GeigerRig, picked me up at my hotel early Sunday morning and our clown car of bloggers (8 people and lots o’ luggage!) braved the snow and icy roads to make the drive up to Island Park, Idaho.
The cabin we stayed in was beautiful, and I literally could not get over how much snow they had! Colorado has been experiencing *another* rough winter in regards to snow (as in we barely have any), so I was totally jealous of the mountains of fluffy powder. Regardless, it meant that we were in for a lot of fun!
Monday was a beautiful day with at least 6 new inches of fresh stuff on the ground. After mulling over the options, Kristie, Tim and Dave decided to take the snowmobiles out for the morning while Erika and I stayed with Matt to do a little snowshoeing. Then, we would all switch in the afternoon to make sure that Erika and I got to check out the sleds.
Y’all, Erika, Matt and I were not even to the trailhead when I saw one of the most beautiful sites I’ve ever seen: a couple of moose drinking in the sparkling, icy river while a massive storm rolled in behind them. And yes, this view was from the side of the road. Kinda gives you an idea of how beautiful the area is, no?
With a view like this from the road, I knew snowshoeing was going to be beautiful, and it definitely didn’t disappoint! We pulled over on the side of a minimally traveled road, strapped on our shoes, and started tromping directly along the river. We weren’t on a trail per se, so the snow was deep! Matt broke trail for most of the morning, and even in snowshoes, we were sinking into snow up to our knees.
Erika and Matt, getting used to the shoes!
We continued along the river, taking in the sights and enjoying the silence of nature. Y’all, this was seriously one of the most gorgeous areas I’ve ever visited, and I literally couldn’t stop snapping photos! Luckily for you, I won’t make you see them all….. just a few!
The river continued to twist and turn and in the end, we broke trail for over three hours! Naturally, the way back was like a super-speedy highway and we did the entire return trip in 45 minutes. Kinda crazy how much easier a broken, packed trail is when compared to knee-deep powder, huh?
The morning was beautiful and allowed me to feel at peace with the day. However, the afternoon took a turn for the crazy, and y’all are going to love reading about what mischief we got ourselves into! However, this post is long enough as it is, so that’s going to have to wait until tomorrow. I promise….you’re definitely going to want to hear about this adventure!
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I guess I should have made the “big” announcement yesterday but I guess I never thought about it! I’ve been toying with the idea of going self-hosted for quite awhile, but honestly, the thought terrified me. Remember when an icon disappeared from my blog and I had no idea why?! Sheer panic. How in the world would I be able to switch to self-hosted?!
Luckily, my wonderful friend Heidi from Runaroundaroo is far better with the interwebs than I am, so I paid her to do my transfer. I gave her some info last night, and voila! I woke up with a new blog this morning. Obviously, there are some tweaks and stylistic stuff that will be edited in the coming days, and I seriously am struggling with images, but I’m pretty darn happy with how it turned out. Heidi is my new hero in life!
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What do you think of the new blog? Any tips, hints, or plug-ins that I absolutely need to know about?
What is one of the most amazing shots you’ve captured outside?