Expedition 225, 30th January 2010
Snow Men

 


It wasn’t a very promising day, for one thing the roads were snow-covered and we took great care. However, we had a reasonable turnout: three stalwart regular explorers, Fern, Robbie L. and Rowan, with Irene, John Dove, Nikki, Richard, Sharon and Thomas, plus Ellie to find the path.

We took a bit of time to get to Strontian, which was just as well since our arrival at Ariundle coincided with that of Thomas and Irene, who were able to join us. The expedition was much enlivened by the thick snow, possibly the most snow of any expedition, and we took full advantage of it with the use of a sledge, not to mention a great deal of snowball-throwing by explorers and parents.

We followed the river walk route and at one point found a place where a certain amount of toboganning was possible. In spite of the enthusiastic snowballing, there was also a keen interest in animal tracks and we saw those of roe deer and red deer, a small dog walking on its own, a mouse crossing the path and a strange tiny tunnel which I think could have been made by a pygmy shrew.

All of which paled into insignificance when we got back to the main path and started building snowmen. We were all amazed to find that Richard is a champion snowman-constructor, turning out two fantastic snowmen, complete with leafy hair and upraised arms.

After the expedition we all retired to the Ariundle Centre for a warm-up with soup and rolls. The explorers managed a few drawings, I picked out Rowan’s view of the sledge and a passenger.


John Dye





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