Some people might think it's crazy to
drive four hours one way just to play in the snow for an hour and a half. Not
us. The day after Christmas, John and I awoke early and hit the road in search
of snow for sledding.
We already knew that we were going to have to go east to find snow because it
had been a very quiet winter. The only ski resort in the state that was open
was Apache-Sunrise. Everywhere else, there wasn't even enough snow for
sledding (which John had had his heart set on doing).
Upon arriving in Show Low, we stopped at the K-Mart to buy a sled -- a cheap
$7 blue plastic sled -- with which we could go sliding down a hill...that is,
if we could find a good "sledding hill". Snow was scarce in Show Low and in
Pinetop-Lakeside, so we began to worry that there wasn't any snow to be found.
The longer we drove, the more snow we found, but it wasn't until we reached SR
273 that we found the perfect sledding hill.
Okay, it wasn't a perfect sledding hill. If it had been perfect, it probably
would have had a bit more snow and it would have been higher. However, it was
perfect for us. Dressed like "Nanook of the North", I grabbed the throw-away
camera (which we bought in Superior that morning because we had forgotten to
take our camera!) and John and I pulled the sled up the hill. We took turns
going solo in the sled; and every now and then we went down together, with me
in the front to steer us around obstacles. Faster and faster we would go
careening down the hill, laughing out loud all the way. To me, it was quite
the rush; of course, John was quick to tell me, "Wait until Thursday." (I
would be making my first skydive on New Year's Eve day, which was the
following Thursday.)
We played for about an hour and a half with only one slight injury: John had a
good wipe out and landed on his shoulder. He didn't move for a while, and I
thought that we'd be going to the emergency room for sure because I was
convinced that he had landed on his bad shoulder. However, he landed on the
left shoulder -- not the right, which is the bad one -- and he eventually
pulled himself out of the snow. Hours later, his shoulder ached a little bit,
but he insisted that it wasn't from the wipe-out.
We finished sledding at lunchtime. Since we had failed to bring sandwich
fixings, we decided to stop at the Wagon Wheel in Pinetop for lunch. The Wagon
Wheel is a bar that serves delicious char-broiled burgers and onion rings; we
loved the food so much that we will definitely stop there the next time we're
in town.
In order for me to practice my mountain driving, I insisted on driving us
home. I chose to take the "scenic route" (which is normal for us). Instead of
returning to Phoenix via US 60, I took SR 260 west to Payson then SR 87 south
to Phoenix. That would give us a chance to drive along the Mogollon Rim. I was
curious to see how much snow was up there, and John thought that maybe we
could find another hill for sledding while we were there. Although we didn't
find much snow, we did find another chance to be naked in the woods...or at
least in the car. |
