Winter is Here

One day we were on the beach in New Jersey basking in the sun on an unseasonably warm fall day and the next day our plane touched down in snowy Minnesota.  We were only away for four days, but in that time, fall slipped away.  Which was sad, because it was the most beautiful fall I've experienced in the eleven years I've lived here and suddenly it was gone. Although it is usually quite cold here in November, it's still rare for us to have snow at this time of year.  Regardless of the date on the calendar, we had several inches of snow on the ground and a forecast of sub-freezing temperatures for the foreseeable future.  Whether we liked it or not, winter had officially arrived.

In support of my children who are thrilled about the snow, (and our au pair who is curious about whether a Minnesota winter will live up to the legend) I'm trying to embrace winter.  I feel like I shouldn't complain since winter used to be my favorite season.  But as an adult and parent with real responsibilities, like getting to work on time and dressing uncooperative kids in multiple layers of clothing, winter can be cumbersome. Nonetheless, although yesterday's temperature topped out at about 25 degrees, it was sunny and the few inches of snow we had received on Saturday had refreshed the beauty of our white landscape.  And I began to feel guilty about wasting a perfectly good Sunday afternoon indoors.  So I announced we were going for a walk in the woods.  (It helped that I had run into a friend at Target that morning who agreed to embrace winter alongside me.)

We met at Fort Snelling State Park, which is an overlooked state park wedged between Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the border of St. Paul where we live.  Except for the planes flying overhead (which we didn't see many of despite our proximity to the airport) and a view of a highway bridge in the distance, I found it otherwise unbelievable that we were in a forest practically in the middle of the city.  

At the park we pulled the sleds out of the car and loaded them up with blankets and the kids and set out on foot towards Pine Island, which has a couple of loop trails and views of the river.  Other than the occasional hikers, a couple walking five little dogs in brightly colored sweaters and dog booties and two cross country skiers undeterred by the ungroomed trails, it felt like we had the park to ourselves. 

We hiked for quite a ways with the kids happily gliding along behind us in the sleds.  Although it was hard work pulling almost 70 pounds, I appreciated both the workout and staying warm despite the temperatures in the high teens.  The sleds were a good idea because I wonder if we would have even made it to the trail head before one the kids started complaining.

Oliver and Noelle had a blast being pulled in the sled.

We stopped the sleds so the kids could move around and we slid down the bluff to explore the river's edge. It was the perfect afternoon and I was reluctant to turn back until my hiking partner, Dawn, reminded me that we should quit while we're ahead.  In her experience, the kids go from happy to FINISHED with the whole experience with no warning.  

Dawn and her daughter Noelle

 Either she jinxed us or she was right on, because Soren started crying as I was trying to get he and Oliver situated in the sled.  Dawn let Oliver ride in Noelle's sled so that I could zip Soren in the stroller cover I had brought to double as a sled blanket.  He didn't like riding flat on his back, (and let us know with more hysterical crying) so I wedged my backpack behind him so he'd be resting on an incline. 

 

With Soren finally semi-comfortable, we pulled the sleds quickly back to the visitors center where we noshed on the snacks we had brought.  The warm building and some food definitely lifted everyone's mood.   

A simple walk in the woods was surely more complicated accounting for the kids, but it was worth it to be able to spend a frosty early winter afternoon with them under a canopy of trees covered with snow.