One Weekend's Quest to Find the Perfect Sledding Hill

Living in Iowa was wonderful. We had our own personal sledding hill in our backyard that was easily accessible and frequently covered in snow. Oregon has not allotted the same luxuries. So we decided if the sledding hill was not coming to us, we were going to have to go to it. And we did. Friday's stop was Page Mountain. All of Jonathan's chums at work swore this was the all time best place to sled and were certain it would be covered with snow this time of year. We trusted these long timers and packed up snow gear for the whole family, sleds, snacks and the dog and headed for the hills. We found Page Mountain, but we didn't find the mounds of snow we had anticipated. Disregarding the fact that the mountain had brambles and branches poking out of the snow we decided to give the hill a few good runs and made fun with what snow we could find. I had managed to layer 4 small children in snow clothes, underclothes, hats, gloves, and boots and wasn't about to let the 45 minute dress up session go to waste. So here we are:

Page Mountain

Page in all of its splendor. Where I come from we call this bare-nekked.

Matthew didn't have enough snow where he needed it to make his snow men and forts so he decided to load up the chunks he could on his sled and take them where he needed them. Not what I intended to do on our sledding trip, but he had fun.

Michael rode on Dad, and the dog.

Adam trekked up over and over again. He is by far our biggest die-hard.
Matthew ate wild blackberry bushes, and dirt
Andrew and the blue sky
Mr. Jenson eatn' a little snow...
and a bit of bush.
Jonathan is great to take the boys for rides down the hill. On he and Andrew's first ride it was a bit more chilly than Andrew had anticipated it would be with snow whipping in his face all the way down. He was sweet enough to take the brunt of it for his dad.

So Page was fun, but I think we found something a little bit better...

Union Creek

(Saturday, day two of the quest for a sledding hill)

This hill was so slick that Andrew had to hold onto the pole at the top of the hill so he didn't sled off without his dad. Well, he TRIED to hold on, but didn't quite make it until Dad was ready to roll and did a nice backwards slide all ALONE.

It was pretty funny watching this little kid slide down the mountainside, wish I could have read his little mind.

Matthew and Dad,

and their crash landing.

Mom and Andrew

Adam

Dad and Andrew

Oh, you noticed the red patches on Matthew's head and cheek. Well, he decided to leave a piece of himself at Union Creek. While we were unloading the truck he and Adam ran on ahead to start their sledding. Being the incorrigible age of 5, and possessing the mindset of my little Matthew, you think you can take on any mountain. Well, there are a few factors that not every 5 year old considers when choosing their first run of the day. Matthew sized up the mountain, climbed up and took it on, head first. He left blood stains on the snow, a legacy to be had by future sledders until sun or snow erased his indelible red mark. Being that his crash occurred on the first run down the hill we decided to make him tough it out and stay for the afternoon. He was a trooper. Jonathan and I didn't see the crash, we just heard about what a remarkable dive the kid took from all of the responsible parents that were attending their children on the hill while he and I were hanging out in the parking lot. I guess it was a doosy to watch. Poor kid has a scar.