My planned winter vacation

I love winter. I cannot say that enough. I love, love, love winter. I love the crisp air, the blue skies that look as if they'll shatter, cloudy skies pregnant with snow, snow itself, the absence of bugs, and the absence of humidity. I love the admiration that cold-weather people get from warm-weather people. I love the accomplishment of having walked 15 minutes on campus in biting -20 below zero windchills. At the end of every day there's a proud little thought: "I survived!"

Last week's "cold snap" was a tease. It was foreplay that didn't lead to anything, as now we're looking at 80-85 degrees on the first day of fall. Still, that small taste of chill led me to Scheel's yesterday, where I bought an UnderArmour head wrap and a stocking cap.

I love playing outside in the winter. I love to snowshoe, to cross-country ski, and I run outside all winter. I will bike outdoors as long as ice and snow aren't covering the roads.

But I thought, "there have to be more ways to enjoy winter." First on my list this year is to try winter camping. Get a cold-weather sleeping bag, bundle up in two or three layers of long underwear, get a fire going and sleep in the chill. Can't wait!

However, most exciting to me is this:
http://www.dogsledding.com/lodge-to-lodge_trips/photo_workshop.html

I plan to combine dogsledding and photography at the end of January. This little nugget is keeping me going now while it's still too warm for September and as I slave away at work.