Holiday Whirlwind

Usually, the family meets in North Dakota for the holidays. This year, I thought I was going to be on-call, so my parents drove out to spend almost an entire week. That's an incredible amount of time for my dad! He gets very restless, so we tried to keep him busy. In between long moments of cooking and eating (the highlights were homemade stuffing and caramel rolls), I took my parents to all my favorite trail spots. We had a beautiful white Christmas just for mom. Here are a few pictures from the first two days of hiking.

Mom and Dad on the Archery Range Trail

Refueling at the Pita Pit
View from MacDonald Pass Overlook

Isn't my mom adorable?

Where's Dad?

Trying not to slide down

View from parking lot in between hikes

Saturday morning, I got up and ran with the group. Even though I only planned to run a few miles, I ended up doing a loop of eight with Rebecca and Tammy while the men tacked on a few more. It was fun chatting with two very cool women, especially with the much warmer temperatures, and the time flew by.

Rebecca and Tammy on the way up

Looks a lot colder in this picture

Afterwards, my dad and I hiked Mt. Helena. It was the first time I'd been up there since the big snowfall and it was spectacular. Lots of powdery snow, clear skies and amazing views. Time well spent.

Dad on the Road to Mars - Mt. Helena

On Sunday, it warmed up to 45 degrees with a lot of rain. Much of the snow melted or washed away and now everything is ice. It's raining again now, but I'm hoping the weather cooperates for the planned New Year's Day adventure. More on that later - Happy New Year!