January Mis-Adventures

Two Januarys in a row we've goofed in the outdoor nice weather adventure category. Last year about this time we had a gloriously sunny warm day, and we went out for a hike, but chose to take a trail through a narrow valley eternally in shadow and a repository for dense, cold air. It was below zero at our destination without a speck of sun! Oops! So much for thawing out in the middle of January!

This year we've been plagued with bitterly cold temperatures (down to almost -30 at our house), followed by vicious tropical storms, including driving rain, 100 mph winds, and glassy ice on all flat surfaces. On Saturday we finally got a reprieve! The sun came out, the winds calmed down, and the temperatures stayed in the 40s throughout the day. It literally felt like early May - what joy! So we went out to experience the beautiful day! Well, we got the sun, but we once again goofed in our choice of location, because we chose one of the windiest spots in the city, McHugh Creek. We were battered around violently by the gusts, which sucked all the warmth out of the air with dramatic windchills. Good grief. Maybe we'll get it right when we have our mid-winter thaw NEXT January!

Tallis expressed his opinion of the wind very appropriately, with his now-classic tongue stuck out, bottom lip protruding look:

We'll miss you, spring weather! Please come back soon!