Afraid to try something new? Thinking is always easier than doing but doing is always much more fun! We've been thinking of taking up cross country skiing for years, but in Ohio? I don't think so. So on our last visit to the northern lower peninsula of Michigan, it was pretty obvious that this year's winter adventure would be just that! Let me start by sharing that, for us, we thought we had cross country skiing in the bag. I mean, how different could it be from downhill? Well, considering the first 4 mile loop we spent more time on the ground than actually skiing we were clearly wrong in our thinking. But fear not, we were far from discouraged. In fact, I think we laughed out loud more that day than we had the entire year. I'm taking this time to make formal apologies to everyone that day that passed us on the trail! After reminding ourselves that we were in shape and likely athletic enough to endure the challenges of this new skill, we forced each other into another 4 mile loop that was much more successful! I'm delighted to add that we have moved this hobby up on our list of favorite winter activities. To tolerate the muscle soreness from skiing, the next day we found ourselves on the top of Sleeping Bear Dunes. The picture posted here was my favorite, capturing sand, forest, and lake all in one. Hiking through sleet, snow, wind and freezing temperatures, we found bear tracks and convinced ourselves the bears were following us! Hiking always bring us so much appreciation for nature and the beautiful scenery clears the mind and pulls us back to simple pleasures. I'm so blessed to be part of this extraordinary world, to see it's colors and features. So the next time you are afraid to try something new, dive in anyway--you could get a whole lot more out of it than what you bargained for!
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