Crash and Burn Sledding

Recently, since we've had a major snow melt, the little snow that was left has turned into ice.  It has been very disappointing!  During the Christmas, break we had a chance to go sledding, and it was my one and only time so far this winter to go sledding!  We had plans to go back sledding the following weekend, but then our crazy spring melt weather showed up, and all that beautiful snow melted!  So sad!!!

We had a great hill to slide on out at our friend's place.  It was the driveway/road to their place, and the snow/ice mix was perfect for sledding.  It was like getting on a zip line, because once you were on the sled, you were off and away!  In fact, we couldn't even walk back up the road, because it was so slippery, we had to walk on the side of the road through the snow that wasn't packed down.

The hill was long with a few curves in it, which always makes sledding more challenging and fun!

Oh what fun we had!  Zipping down the hill at breakneck speeds...

You can't possibly have more homemade fun than this!

There were quite a few bumps in the road, and if you hit them just right, you got some added excitement, a nice spill!

The dogs had more fun than we did, I think!  They would chase after us down the hill, and then run all the way back up... I do wish I had some of their energy!  Going down the hill was a blast of cold air, but going back up was hard work!

Headed down the hill at break-neck speed... literally!

Until you hit the bump just right, and then.... crash and burn!

I can fly, I can fly, I can fly!!!

We just need to train these two dogs how to carry a sled and a rider back up the hill... with all the energy they have... you would think that they would be eager for such a task... lol!

Well, the driveway got too "tame" for us.  So, we had to move on to the next thrill for the day.  The kids called this hill the "adrenaline hill".  Rightly so.  First, you had to get up there.  That was tough.  The snow was icy, and trying to get a foothold just to get up the hill was excitement all in itself.

The dogs didn't have any problem getting up there... even this poor old dog that had shown up for all the fun.  I thought, if the dogs can make it, surely I can... Now the kids are a few years younger than me, but I was determined not to be outdone by them.  As we finally made our way to the top of the hill, and I stood at the top looking down, I suddenly began to get cold chills running up and down my spine.  Looking down that hill, straight down....  I felt a kind of incredible fear that I hadn't felt in a long time.  This hill was a total drop-off.  Your sled had to tip out over the edge to even begin.  There was no gradual decline.  Nope.  Basically, just a straight drop-off.  I didn't think I could do it.


I watched the girls do it, and they all wiped out at the bottom, except for my daughter.  So, I decided to use the sled my daughter used hoping maybe the sled would save me.

The sled that worked for my daughter, it didn't work for me. Nope! BUT... aren't you proud of me! I did it!  I chickened out at the top of the hill, prayed like my life was going to end, and then, I made the decision to JUST DO IT!  LOl... well, you can see what that did for me.  I called the above clip... CRASH AND BURN!   But you know what, at least I conquered my fear of that hill, and survived!

After all that excitement, we decided we would go back to sliding down the driveway.  I'm an adventurous soul at heart... but that adventure went above and beyond my limit! lol...

We were beginning to show wear for the tear...

But not the dogs... they had plenty of energy to spare, after running up and down the hills with us... the neighbor dog and Annie had a great time together, doing whatever it is that dogs do...

After a full day of sledding, the sun began to set.  The dark contrast of the horizon against the last colors of the day was something we had to stop and watch.  Sunsets only last about 15 minutes, and we all took a needed break from climbing the hill and zipping down at breakneck speed to watch the sun set.

ssh... don't tell anyone, but I had everyone come watch the sunset so I could catch my breath.  Going up and down the hill takes a toll on you until you really begin to feel your age!
 

And because I didn't want to miss out on any fun, it sounded like a good idea to watch the sun put on her show for the evening!

The kids didn't complain...  Maybe they wouldn't admit it... but they needed a short break from our intense workout too!

The last rays of sunshine sliding away from us, as our fun day drew to a close.

And while we didn't realize it then... that may have been our last sledding opportunity for the season! Our intentions were to hit the hill again that weekend, but Mother Nature had other plans in store... and she didn't ask us what we thought about it.

As the day was drawing to a close, and after we had watched the sun put herself to bed... in our world at least... our bellies began to talk to us, and we realized that the fun and games were ending, and it was time for dinner plans to materialize...

A last few glimpses of the light to darkness show...

The end!