Best of both worlds

     I love to cross country ski and I enjoy bicycle rides along the river pathway. Living in Wyoming, with its unique, everchanging weather, I can do both in the same day!

In just twenty minutes, I can be up on our mountain a mile high, which offers 

some of the best cross country ski trails in the state. Ponderosa pines drenched and drooping in snow. The swishing sound of skis. The occasional stop to wonder what animal made those tracks? It's cold and quiet but the sun is warm and there's not a cloud in the robin egg blue sky. I didn't even fall down this ski season. Not one time.

      The bicycle path I ride follows a river. I pass the whitewater park, where in the summer, kayakers ride the waves that roll over boulders. But, it's still winter, and the only one's playing are the seagulls and egrets and geese who stayed all winter. Just a trace of snow here and there, underneath the wild prairie grasses that grow along the banks. I pedal past the Osprey nest, where every summer, I observe a baby or two, learning how to flap their wings and take that first leap. If I stay too long with my binoculars and huge grin, Mama Osprey let's me know. I look forward to seeing her again in the spring.
                                                            

        
                                               Tell me, do you have a favorite bike route?
                                                         What kinds of things do you see?