Ski Trip : Detroit Mountain

Is it really the last day of 2014? We just got back from a quick getaway, making the most out of our Christmas holiday. This last excursion of the year didn't take us far, but was still a fantastic send off to a year full of travel and adventure. We packed up our winter gear and drove down to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota to try out the newly re-opened Detroit Mountain recreational park. It was a seriously fun family trip!

Todd and I have driven through Minnesota many times over the years, but never stopped in Detroit Lakes. It's really a summer town, but now that the ski hill is open, I'm sure it'll become much more popular in the winter months. The lake was pretty, dotted with ice fishing shacks and skirted by big homes and old cottages.

So we're prairie dwellers, alright? This hill might not look very mountainous but it was the perfect size for me to work up the courage to try downhill skiing. I found the feeling of it comparable to skating, and remembered some of my past cross country skiing tricks. It wasn't very hard and I loved it! I'm glad everyone encouraged me to try. I love taking chances and trying new things when it comes to travel. Hey, I took a 25 ft free jump off the side of a waterfall this year! But when it comes to anything athletic I haven't tried before, I have very little confidence in myself. A loud voice inside my head shouts "You're gonna break something!" The last time I worked up the courage to try hurling myself downhill it was on a snowboard last winter, and I damn nearly broke my wrist. It was a terrible experience. This time around I felt much more comfortable, and pulled it off except for one embarrassing moment falling while getting off the chair lift. "I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Luke and his cousin Sydney barely came in to warm up both days we were on the hill. They took to the snow like fish to water. Him on the snowboard, her on skis. Even Eve got to put on tiny skis and boots for some time on the bunny hill with her uncle. The view of the sun setting over the lake from the top of the chairlift was perfect. Luke was so proud of me for trying out skiing. Riding the chair lift with him was my favourite part of the day. What an ideal way to close off a fantastic year.

Happy New Year! See you in 2015!

* All photos taken with an iPhone. Not all photos are taken by me. Some photos taken by others in our group or stills from videos. I found a good app for making easy work of getting photos from your iPhone videos. It's called SnapStill and it works great for catching action shots if you aren't all fancy and don't have a GoPro yet like me!