BOW

Day 1: Traveling day

I got off work early-they closed the office due to the storm. It took me an hour to drive to my mom's; then another hour and 15 min to drive to Oakdale to pick up Margaret. We left the cities at 4:45. Through blinding snow, semi trucks that HAD to pass us even though you couldn't see the other lane, and once in a while Margaret would yell, "We're gonna die!" or my mom's version "woohoo"; we all made it to Rhinelander in one piece and it only took 5 1/2 hours. We hit the hot tub and chatted a bit before going to bed around 12:30am.

Day 2: Off to BOW

Left Rhinelander around 9:20. We stopped in Marquette at Gander Mountain for gear. They had some great sales - $10 pants and $20 jackets. I scored both, plus some socks that are advertised for hunters. We arrived at Bay Cliff Health Camp around 4:30. Registration went until 5 and dinner was at 5:30. One thing about the meals here - they feed you very well.

Day 3: Eating, Classes, Eating, Classes, Eating

Breakfast was at 8. First class for me was Reading Winter Woods. It should have been /Beginner Snowshoes also. My mom took the Beginner Snowshoe class with Margaret. Snowshoeing is really hard and you burn tons of calories. We didn't get to track much because of the storm that came through covered most of everything. Each class was 3 hours long and then we ate again. Second class was GPS. Had this one with my mom. I have never used a GPS before but there were only 4 buttons on the thing and one of them was the power button. It was really easy to use and I ended up finding our geocash (chocolate) and then helped the other team find theirs. Then we had dinner - lasagna! I was so tired after all day of being outside that I just went back to the room and took a shower and then we just gabbed for the rest of the night.

Day 4: Dog Sledding and trip home
Breakfast was at 8 again. Last class for me and my mom was dog sledding. I knew I was going to enjoy it, but I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. It was awesome!! It was such a thrill. I helped harness and hook up the dogs. The dogs are so strong that when you transport them from the truck to the sled you have to lift them by the collar so their front two feet are off the ground and even then they were pulling me, with only their back legs! Then I went on two runs - I did the steering, and called out the commands! The instructor sat in the sled (they call that person the biscuit). Then we helped put the dogs back in the truck kennels. They were a lot lighter than I thought. I watched Terri (instructor) lift a couple-she just grabbed the top of the collar, then put her arm under the groin area and heaved them right in. When the dogs saw the opening to the kennel, they did the rest.

The trip home was not as stressful. The weather was great. Margaret had to stay behind because she was flying out to DC for work. My mom and I did okay on the way home. Not too many arguments. We had fun going 25 through some of the towns (because that was the speed limit-not by choice). We did our best parade wave as we passed through.

Next BOW is June 5-7. I've requested it off-not guaranteed it will be approved, but it's early. I believe they have many of the same classes, plus kayaking, fly fishing, and gun shooting. Maybe you would like to join us next time! Let me know so we can get a room together!