HOLIDAY BREAKS. Ahhhh... the proverbial Spring Break. Indeed, Team Leslie just wrapped up an amazing week of playing the heck out of our local Alaska backcountry, spending two nights at our beloved Manitoba yurts just 45 minutes from home and then three nights at the Hatcher Pass Lodge about 4 hours away. Sunshine, lots of new snow (we just learned that one of the peaks up in Hatcher had a significant slide the day after we left, covering and blocking the road, and stranding families up there... now that we're back at school, we can't decide if we were lucky, or unlucky!), and great friends, all added up to some spectacular moments.
Indigo and friend hoofing it into Manitoba - a familiar trek!
Picking out her line... (and yes, Indigo now has her own set of climbing binding inserts and skins - hard core!)
Indigo wasn't the only American girl hitting the freshy pow pow!
The view a short skin up from the lodge at Hatcher Pass.
Coolest thing about this pic? That's Indigo and a friend, leading the way on a skin up at Hatcher.
Learning the ropes.
Staying on top of 2 feet of back country powder (a bit different than a groomer at the resort!)
We don't just make her ski... we let her run around in a swimsuit in the snow too (tee hee).
And eat fondue -"You dip the bread IN to the cheese, like so..."
Yeeeeeessss... The cook shared that they import the blocks of cheese from France for about $250 a wedge... and who says Alaskans don't eat fancy-like?
You've likely seen it before, but come on... does it get more idyllic than this? Hatcher Pass Lodge A-frame cabins.
This year they even let us share their kitchen to make our own meals (when we weren't scarfing their fondue).
And J got in some big boy lines (left) in an amazing window of snow stability one morning.
Just in case you wondered what it looked like from the top, before J made those sweet squiggles...
And Indigo shows that skiing isn't the only way to go fast down a mountain:
And while some of you might be thinking, "if I lived in Alaska, I'd get the hell outta dodge in those snowy winter months - those people are crazy," fear not - we aren't as crazy as we may seem! Indeed, we got our tropical groove on this winter - just a little earlier in the year...
Dorothy, we're not in Alaska anymore...
PURA VIDA. The pure life. The simple life. The good life. Costa Ricans are known as being some of the happiest people on our planet... and we decided to join them at it! From the white sand of the Caribbean coast to the cloud forest mists of Monteverde to the laid back surf scene of the Pacific beaches, we took time over the winter holiday break back in December and January to soak in some Southern warmth. Hopefully this slideshow shares some of our adventures:
HISTORY IN THE MAKING. So while we were playing in Hatcher Pass last week, we caught up with a family friend that works for the Seavey Family. The Seaveys have all sorts of claims to fame these days, the most prominent of which is being the reigning Ididarod champs in recent years, with both the father Mitch and the son Dallas racking up wins. Our friend shared a fun story about the grand-patriarch of them all, Dan Seavey Sr., Mitch's dad.
Apparently Dan Sr., now in his 80's, ran in the first ever modern day Ididarod Race back in the 1970's. He continues to support and promote the race, and as evidenced above, has bred a family who does the same! Close to my heart, Dan Sr. was also a teacher at Seward High School - a history teacher to be exact. According to our friend, Dan Sr. warned him early on in his employment that, "you might find older folks in this town who don't like me... it's likely because I taught their history class and they failed." Indeed, our friend met a long-time Seward area fellow recently who shared that sentiment. When our friend asked the reason, he replied:
"Dan Seavey Sr. failed me. I got the last question wrong on his final history exam. And the damn question wasn't even about history!"
"Wow, that was a long time ago! Do you remember the question?"
"Well in fact, I do! It was, 'what were the names of my two lead dogs in the first Ididarod Race?'"
Thanks to his time with Dan Sr, our friend knew the answer.
"It's Genghis and Kahn... it wasn't history then, but it is now."
It makes you wonder. What people (or dogs?) or events happening in our lives right now will be considered significant history in 50 years? And more importantly, will we or our children or our grandchildren be proud of the role we played? (Now that sounds like a good question on a final history exam!)
P.S. - Andy Roof, damn you for skipping AK Spring Break this year! It was a good one... and you were missed. :)
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