Won't Make It To Mount Baker Ski Season Open Whilst in Texas

I saw that which you see here, this morning, via the online version of the Seattle Times. I had a multi-reaction. One was, well, this is yet one more thing I see in news from my old Washington home zone which I would never, could never, see in a Texas newspaper about a similar scene in Texas.

I think the Ruidoso zone of New Mexico is the closest location from my current location, where I would find a ski area. Maybe Colorado is closer, but, I suspect, without checking a map, that New Mexico's ski areas are closer.

Seeing mention made of Mount Baker, and ski season, also triggered that usually dormant homesick feeling. I used to look out my living room windows and see Mount Baker in the distance.

That actually is not Mount Baker you see in the photo. It is called the Mount Baker ski area, but Mount Shuksan is the mountain you are near whilst skiing the Mount Baker ski area. The actual Mount Baker volcano is a short distance to the south, or to the right, in the photo.

I do not remember when last I was at the Mount Baker ski area. It may have been the time, in the 1990s, when nephews Christopher and Jeremy took me hiking up Tabletop Mountain, a hiking venue south of the Mount Baker ski area, north of Mount Baker.

I brought my cross country skis with me to Texas. I recollect only skiing on them once, in Texas. A time when sufficient snow accumulated enabling skiing on the slopes in Arlington's Veterans Park. Doing such drew some attention from kids who had never seen skis skiing in person before.

I stored my cross country skis in an outdoor storage closet, which was not air-conditioned. At some point I discovered that the extreme heat of summer had caused the skis to delaminate, rendering them worthless.

Almost every winter since I have been in Wichita Falls there has been a short period with sufficient snow on the ground which would have made cross country skiing the Circle Trail a fun thing to do. Particularly the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area section, which has some good up and down grades.

I wonder if ever again I will slide on skis, roll on roller blades, or pedal a bike? I suspect, of those three, pedaling a bike is the most likely...