The Things You Learn While Snowshoeing!
Last Friday I enjoyed a great excursion to a local outdoor recreation spot and I learned:
- THAT a winter stay in the yurts at Fundy National Park is awesome
- THAT mystery novels by Canadian author Louise Penny, set in Quebec are worth checking out
- THAT pileated woodpeckers create sizable holes in the trunks of trees to seek out insects for dinner
- THAT studying the philosophy of Stoicism might help you with the challenges of life
- THAT Gaspe Cake is absolutely delicious!
A group in our community called, "KV Walkers" organized a snowshoeing trip to a place called Elmhurst Outdoors that guided us through snow-packed wooded trails and provided lunch afterward. There were about twenty of us altogether and we met at a local parking lot to carpool and continue the short drive to our destination. I was offered a ride with three other ladies that I just met.
After introducing ourselves we continued our car ride, chatting all the way, and eventually found ourselves plodding through snowy woodlands. The wintery trail gave us a great workout, lots of fresh air and, of course, the opportunity to chat some more!
An Educational Moment
Dave, our guide, gives us a "talk" about the pileated woodpecker who created the hole in the tree second from the right.
After our snowy trek we enjoyed delicious homemade soup, biscuits, and a "to die for" cake called "Gaspe Cake".... a moist white cake covered with a warm butterscotch sauce! I've Googled the heck out of the name but could not find a recipe. Apparently it is a well guarded secret! The lodge was warm and inviting and conducive, of course, to more conversation.
I loved this snowshoeing adventure and the chance to embrace winter. But what I enjoyed even more was the opportunity to connect with people and learn new things. Our conversations covered past travel experiences like staying in a yurt in Fundy Park, walking the Camino, volunteering, book titles and authors (like Louise Penny), book clubs at the library, and interesting topics like Stoicism that one of the ladies caught on CBC!
I'm inspired!
….. to continue snowshoeing - for sure. But also to check out Louise Penny's books and CBC interviews.
In my "research" I found the podcast for the Stoicism interview, on Ideas, plus lots more! One of "my new friends" mentioned that The New Yorker also offers podcasts and I actually am enjoying an interesting one today!
So my new passion is knitting and listening to podcasts!
(very interesting …. how reducing our expectations and keeping a "stiff upper lip" might be a good thing!)
(A very interesting podcast about clothing - the rise of casual wear, why womenswear doesn't have pockets, the environmental impact of the textile industry, the history of plaid etc.)
I just hope the number of knitting projects match the number of podcasts!
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