Snow! We had a light dusting on the ground this morning and by this evening there was 4-5 inches in many places. It is the second snow fall we have gotten here at the resort but the first only lasted overnight. It might be a little pre-mature for actual snow shoeing but we were anxious to start cross country skiing so I was out packing the trail today, and Liz actually made it out on skis just before dark. I included a few extra photos, taken from the lodge deck, during the morning snowfall.
Sunday wasn’t the warmest day we have had this spring, but it felt great to get out and spend some time outside as a family. We packed up a quick tin foil dinner and headed over to my parents “farm” that is about 15 minutes away. The farm isn’t a working farm anymore, but is an old farmstead that my parents own about 75 acres on. It’s a unique piece of property that contains fields and several different types of woods, including the dense pines that you see in the picture. Our family enjoys hiking and hunting on the land when we get the chance. Notice that Liz is getting prepped for summer with her s’more!
Having a never-ending project list is one of my favorite parts of resort life! We have jumped headfirst into several of them, and I recently took full advantage of my brother Nate being home for the weekend. We worked on replacing the water heater for the three lodge units and installed a new water softening system for the lodge. There has been more than one occurrence that Liz has asked, “do you have any idea what time it is?” Time flies when you’re having fun!
The cracked corn was piled high in the squirrel feeder this morning and Mabel paused during her play to watch the squirrels fill their cheeks with the feed. We have a slew of squirrels that skitter around the yard and up and down the trees that we enjoy watching. It is especially entertaining when they try to eat out of the squirrel-proof feeder which has perches that collapse under their weight.
Ryan enjoyed a brisk morning ski on fresh snow! The couple inches of hard-packed snow on the lake have been great for skate skiing, but there haven’t been many opportunities for traditional skiing this winter with the lack of fresh snow. It was a welcome sight yesterday when the flakes stared coming down. It was below zero this morning, but the wind whipped snow on the lake was beautiful, especially with a couple of sun dogs to top it all off.
Hello from the new owners of Half Moon Trail! Our first week started out with frozen septic lines, and leaky water heaters, followed by two days of a flu bug for our little family. Despite the exciting start, we are happy to be settling in and are enjoying our daily Resorting 101 classes with Professor Dave Ahrendt. We are hopeful for a passing grade and our graduation into Resorting 202…
Here are a few highlights of our week:
Mabel enjoyed her first chore of taking out the trash with daddy in the golf cart.
Liz got a taste of small town living when she had to go inside the country store to pay for her gas. She enjoyed a nice chat with the locals.
Ryan is excited that his new office view includes bird feeders and frosty mornings.
It has been a busy fall and early winter. We apologize for the longer than normal gap between posts, however, we have been busy working on a transition. We are excited to announce that our son Ryan and his wife, Liz, (and Mabel) are in the process of taking over the resort. We look forward to continued involvement in many aspects of the resort, but are confident that Ryan and Liz have the drive and skill set to continue to improve the resort and serve our guests. We have had 18 great years here at Half Moon Trail and now have the pleasure of watching some of our grandkids grow up here! Congratulations Ryan and Liz! Welcome aboard!
It looks like Mabel is ready for summer. Our recent warm weather inspired this classic shot. Other recent quotable quotes from our guests: a recent text from one of our kid’s resort friends, “we are coming to HMT in 52 days, 6 hours, and 14 minutes. We are just that excited!” And this from a 5 year old grandson, overhearing an adult conversation about Half Moon Trail and evidently feeling flush with some recent Easter $: “This year we have to stay 3 days …. And I’ll pay for it …. 3 cents for 3 nights.” Thanks Liz for this great photo!
I know it is cold everywhere right now, but here is our version of North Country cold weather entertainment: Nate throwing hot water into minus 20 something air. Stay warm everybody!
My sister’s family from Norway spent Christmas week here in Park Rapids. My two nephews are amazing athletes and love to push the limits, especially when Nate is here to add to their craziness. After using the bobcat to build a rather large ramp, Ryan, using the truck and a ski rope, pulled them down the driveway launching them up and over the ramp. The above photo shows Ole Christian doing a back flip which he landed. Below it looks like Nate is doing a flip too, but when I commented on the photo he said the steep ramp just shot him straight up and he landed “pretty-much” the way he looks in the photo…spread-eagle on his back. They had a lot of fun and everyone is still in one piece! Many thanks to Thomas for these great photos. Getting these photos in focus and stopping the action at night with limited lighting shows that you know what you are doing with a camera!
On a recent snowshoe hike, Nate kept teasing the girls by shaking the snow down on their heads. As you can see, once in a while this trick backfired.
One of our family activities for this Christmas Eve day…snowshoeing. Merry Christmas everyone! From Half Moon Trail Resort…..Dave and Mary, Ryan, Liz, and Mabel, Sarah, Nate, and Michaela
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