Snowshoeing St. Louis: Part 2

I couldn't believe my ears.  The message on the weather hotline said the Courts were closed because of the snow. I am always surprised when the Courts close, and today was no exception. I was so distrustful of my ears that I called the weather hotline again just to make sure . . . and, sure enough, I got the same recorded message. It was true. The 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of the State of Missouri was closed for the day. Amazing. 

Sadly, Heather did not have a snow day, but at least we could begin our day together. We walked over to our breakfast place, the place we first met. 

This is the scene that greeted us as we left the condo.

Sadly, not everyone had a snow day. It looks like this person had to work.

She had her customary frozen mocha and I had my sesame bagel. After, too short of a time, Heather re-bundled herself up to head outside to the bus stop.

The temperature was in the 20F's, but there was no wind. It is supposed to get colder tonight, not Alaskan cold, but maybe as cold as Atlanta. 

The bus was only a couple of minutes late.

I waited around until Heather called to let me know she made it to work. Even though the bus was a little late, she was still able to make her connection with the train. She had a good commute. Tonight I think I'll go over to the Metro station and pick her up from the train so she doesn't have to catch the bus, or worse . . . walk. I figure this is the least I can do considering, through no fault of my own, I had a snow day . . . A SNOW DAY!

Snow Day = Snowshoeing

Bigfoot is back

There was more snow on the ground than Christmas Eve Day. It made for much better snowshoeing.

While I will admit that I am not much of a dog guy and am happy to have them on a leash, I do think there should be an exception to this ordinance  for the first twelve hours after a snowfall of more than 4". Is there anything more delightful than watching a dog play in new snow?

In the center of Francis Park is a lily pond. On my Christmas Eve Day walk I had passed this area up. Today walking to this area was the closest to a goal I was willing to set.

Cold heart?

What's this?

It's a mermaid. I wonder what she is reading. That blanket she's wearing doesn't look very warm.

Is this little fella' wearing a snow blindfold?

Of course, I had to go over to where the neighborhood kids go sledding.

Give a kid a decent snowfall and they will find a hill . . . even if it isn't much of one.

Ah yes, the dreaded climb back to the top.

This was the only scooter I saw out today.

I spent a little over two hours in the park just wandering here and there.

I spent more than a few moments under these pine trees. It was so quiet. It was a gentle place, a soul place.

When I got home Billie again was willing to hold my snowshoes until they dried.

If you look close you can see that not only did Billie get new tires, but last Monday I added another set  of hand guards to her existing hand guards. Hopefully this will give me more wind protection

.

I spent the rest of the day keeping the cat company, playing on the computer, and trying unsuccessfully to feel guilty for having a snow day when Heather didn't.

Alas, All Good Things Seem To Have To Come To An End

It started snowing early Christmas Eve Day.

This is what greeted us as we left the condo to walk over to the coffee shop.

The initial forecasts were for the snow to begin in the afternoon. This was a little after 9:00 am. Oops.

After breakfast Heather and I walked to the bank and then did some shopping. The roads were fine. We could have driven, but it was right around the freezing mark and it was just a delight to walk.

I seldom get to use my snowshoes and heaven knows I certainly didn't need them today, but after Heather and I finished our walk together I headed over to Francis Park with snowshoes in hand.

My, what big feet I have.

It was going to be one of those days where it snowed all day long.

The leaves on the ground are still visible poking up through the snow.

Bigfoot's tracks.

I meandered throughout the park stopping occasionally to take a photo.

Eventually I came upon an area where children were sliding down a small hill. As I was watching the children play a car came up and parked near where I was standing. A man and his daughter were got out of the car. She had a saucer to slide down the hill. The man and I chatted. Come to find out they were visiting from Sydney, Australia. They'd never been in snow before. I asked him if he'd take my picture. So there you have it: A man from Australia taking the picture of a man snowshoeing in St. Louis, Missouri on Christmas Eve Day. I wonder how often that has happened.

Proof of the existence of Bigfoot

Bob walking down the hill to join his daughter. She is admiring the rather large snowman.

I continued on my way, crisscrossing the park and taking more photos.

Notice that the leaves aren't showing anymore.

Darkness descended but I was reluctant to call it a day. Alas, all good things seem to have to come to an end. So one more picture.

Every year they set up a tree in Francis Park and decorate it with white lights. Eventually there will be a live tree that will have this honor, but it is not large enough yet. If you look closely you can see the candidate tree standing behind the tree of lights.

At the edge of the Park I took off my snowshoes and headed home. I was surprised to discover how much more difficult it was to walk on the snow covered sidewalk than it had been walking on the snow in the park. I guess the snowshoes ended up not being superfluous after all.

When I got home Billie volunteered to watch over my snowshoes and poles.

It is definitely going to be a White Christmas here in the Heartland. May all your blessings be obvious during this wondrous Season and may all your Christmases be merry!