In an effort to combat cabin fever this past weekend, I headed over to Julie's house to go sledding with her. As I've mentioned previously, there just aren't any hills around me. That certainly doesn't make for prime sledding conditions.
I didn't have a sled, and neither did Julie, so I stopped in the town near where she lives to pick up a couple for us to use.
Do you know the definition of the word extortion? Apparently Pamida (the store) does.
Extortion would be charging $20 for a PLASTIC MOLD SLED. Not even one with a handle!! Just a flimsy plastic toboggan! Maybe I'm out of touch with sled prices, but this really seemed outrageously overpriced. I think they can get away with that kind of pricing because the nearest competitor is at least 15 miles away if not more. They were correct in surmising that I had no plans to venture far out of the way to find a sled.
Later, I checked on Amazon.com and found 3 sturdier looking sleds for $35 (sold as a pack). Still steep but not as bad. Shipping would be a bitch, though.
I settled for the "cheap" plastic runner-type sled with two holes for your hands. They were too short, only a couple of feet long, but we would make do. They were $4 each (still a rip-off in my opinion). I just can't spare $40 to buy a couple of crummy toboggans!
Julie's pasture has seen a lot more snow this winter than most of my yard. The trek up the hill proved difficult. Neither of us is in the best of shape. We took turns forging a path through the sometimes waist-high drifts, taking several breaks to catch our breath. The person following had it easier. Julie's little Mini Schnauzer, Tyler, cheerfully bounced along behind us. He looked like he was swimming, with powdery snow fleeing beneath his woolly feet.
At the apex of the hill, Julie and I stood in knee deep snow and viewed the slope below us. We had no point of reference, and so we couldn't judge the depth of the white blanket. We positioned our plastic runners and sat back, using our hands to shove ourselves downward.
The first trip, I only made it about twenty feet or so before a burgeoning mound of snow plowed up by the sled halted my progress. Julie had similar luck. I pushed myself down a few more feet, then decided I should climb back up the hill and build momentum to blast a little further through the fluffy, cold blockade a little more.
Climbing back up through virgin snow sapped away more energy. I could feel my heart rate increase with the effort. The experience certainly was proving to be an excellent form of aerobic exercise! Sliding down again, my track increased by a few more feet.
I glanced back up the hill to see Julie roaring down. Her legs were bent at the knee, her flailing feet in the air, and the plastic sheet was held by gloved hands between her thighs like a giant blue diaper. Tyler flew after her as fast as his furry legs could move, slinging snow along the way.
I collapsed on the ground, holding my sides and shaking with laughter at the sight. Gasping for breath, I inhaled a large mouthful of powdery snow. "You look like you're wearing a diaper!" I wailed at Julie between fits of hilarity.
Julie found it just as funny, and the rest of the afternoon we joked about wearing our "Depends" on the slope.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but we had to work hard for every foot of ground gained down the hill. After awhile, we had laid the start of a decent sledding path, but my feet were soaked and nearly frozen. I still need decent winter boots.
Before heading into the house to thaw, Julie and I spent some time with her herd of five.
I stayed for dinner and watched a couple of episodes of Moonlight with my wonderful friend. In case you haven't seen Moonlight, it is a television series about a vampire who is a private detective. The actor who plays the vampire is very, very sexy. Most of the acting was horrible, but I personally wasn't watching it for the acting ;-)
Provided we aren't snowed in this weekend, Julie and I hope to go out again and expand our sledding range.
Tyler, incognito
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