Winter Wandering

I was delighted when that storm system left a great accumulation of snow on the valley floor.  I drove Willow to preschool and was looking forward to doing some winter meandering with the dogs. The more north I drove, the deeper the snow depth became. At least 10 inches in some areas. Neat.
It was about 42 degrees and sunny. The extended forecast was once again going to be warm. Climbing up into the 50s. Gotta play in the snow while it's here! It's always fun to make the first tracks in the snow!

I returned to the same area I was last week.  I drove east of the large salt flat to climb the mini mountains.  Standing in the Utah desert, looking at the Nevada mountains (Wheeler Peak and Mt. Moriah). The large salt flat was covered with snow and blended in with the rest of the landscape.

Pano view from the top of the mountain:

Nature's art made from the elements; the snow swept in beautiful patterns.....

View peering north:

This is what a week difference makes. Same spot. Then and now:

The dogs have a love for the snow. Having it this deep makes their legs work harder pushing through the snow. I didn't take long for them to wear out haha.

By mid-morning, I was toasty in my snow pants. I may have over dressed. But, I got some nice sunshine on my face.  That makes me happy  ;)

Winter's Epic Arrival!

January 19th, we finally had the storm system we'd been waiting for.  It started snowing Friday night and stopped mid day through Saturday. Total accumulation at our house was 8 inches. Other parts of the valley had more. The mountains got well over a foot, maybe two? The point is, we got some precipitation on our thirsty landscape! 

This was Jupiter's first experience with snow. She was thrilled. But no one was more excited than Ava of course! She's been dreaming of a white landscape for months haha! One happy girl!

We had to go to Delta on Sunday for a family get-together. Driving through the passes and valleys through the winter wonderland was breathtaking. I enjoyed the views and had to stop and take some pictures.

Blue sky and white ground. Welcome Winter! 

New Pup!

We have a new family member; a Border Collie named Jupiter. She's Ava's pup and her responsibility. She's a really smart and sweet dog. I think she wants to keep us :)
Jupiter and Ava can keep up with each other's energy.

Willow loves anything to do with arts and crafts. Here she is painting life on dusty bones :)

I love how many colors she uses. Matches her colorful, sparkly personality :)

On days that Willow goes to preschool, I've been hiking around the mini-mountains with the dogs. We all get exercise and I get some quiet. I've been trying to go different places each time. I ran the dogs on the large and small salt flats. Mostly we hike up to tall places to see the views. I always enjoy the beauty of our valley.

The dogs on their perches feeling empowered....

As you can see, there's still hardly any snow on the mountain tops and it's mid January! I'll continue these desert wandering trips once a week unless the temps are frigid; snow or none.

Small Salt flat

Just when I think I've completely worn these two crazies out, they look at me like "What's next?"

It's supposed to snow (finally!) in a couple of days. The forecast looks epic ~  calling for 8-12 inches in the valleys and 12-24 inches in the mountains. You never know what materializes weather-wise in the Great Basin. I'm hoping we get a nice dump. I think Old Man Winter is finally going to arrive and give the dry landscape some relief! Bring it on!