Like Totally Tubular, Man.....

We've actually had a winter this year with snow, storms and cold weather.

I am not a big fan of this.

Mild winters are happy!  Mild winters are sane!

Yesterday I was running around in a t shirt without a jacket.
Today, it is in the low 40's with wind to make it seem colder.  This winter does not want to go away.

Starting in January, when I realized that this winter was serious, I had to make a plan to keep my sanity.
I had to find activities to get me outside and actually enjoying the snow, instead of cursing it as I shoveled, shoveled and shoveled some more.  Seriously, at one point, I had to shovel paths in my backyard so the dogs could go outside.  The snow that fell around the middle of December and all of the snow that fell after did not leave my yard until this week!!!!  Three months of snow on the ground and a lot of it.

Snowshoeing was put on the agenda, including a full moon hike that went straight up a mountain and straight back down.

Then a LivingSocial deal showed up in my inbox......
2 hours of tubing at Soldier Hollow.

I seem to get one every year in late January.  :)  I've gone with the deal for the past three years.  The first year, the tracks were fast, not too fast and perfect.  Last year, there was very little snow and it was warm.  You would have to push off your tube 3 times to get down the hill.  This history lesson was to set up what occurred when I went this year.

I went up on February 27th.  It was cold and there had been fresh snow a couple of days before.  The tracks were packed down and ready to ride.

On the first ride up the tow line, I noticed a sign that I did not remember......

When you get to the cones, drag your feet to slow you down.

Ok... I took note and took off down the hill sitting in my tube.
Got to the cones and realized a problem, my feet really did not reach the ground.
I was flying!  Excessive speed was reached....
I met the safety fences.
And eventually stopped.

For the rest of the runs down the hill, I laid down on my belly on my tube and DUG my feet into the snow to stop before bonding with the safety fences again.

At one point, the staff drove a snowmobile up the runs with an attachment behind it to grind up the tracks to slow them down.  They were running that fast!!!

All in all it was a very fun day that made all of this snow bearable.

Being pulled up the hill!!! What a way to Tube.

 Still thawing out.
Melissa