Ho, hum, another -14

Yep, it's COOOOLD again!  The overnbight low has been -14 but it's rallied to -9 now.  Help is on the way and we're looking for a nice bump up to the +teens tonight and for the next few days.  When it gets this cold, you can actually feel its power in our unheated rooms--they kind of have a "cold aura."  Cold seems to pulse through the room.  Luckily, we have a heated mattress pad--one of mankind's great inventions.  Electric blanets are worthless because they are on top of you and heat goes up.  Duh.  Meanwhile, a mattress pad is BELOW you and, well, heat still goes up.  Meanwhile, there's the down comforter to keep the heat contained INSIDE the bedding.  The trick is to remember to turn on the mattress pad long before you go to bed--it takes them forever to get up to speed--maybe an hour or more.  If you've turned it on early enough, it's delightful joy to crawl under the comforter into a totally warm bed.  WOW--one of the delights of living in Cold Country.

We had a discussion a couple of days ago about what's really necessary to enjoy Cold Country.  The heated mattress pad is one of the top ingredients.  Consequently, I bought a "spare" yesterday.  They are normally $100 but were on sale for $70.  Yep, they ain't cheap.  They are worth every penny.

Today, I am going to look for Nacho Libre pants.  Do you remember those pants that Jack Black wore in his movie about Mexican wrestlers?  You see them on bicyclists, speed racers, skaters and so forth.  They are probably lycra.  Anyway, I need some form fitting pants for our snowcapades.  I am tired of wearing baggy denim.  Yeah, I know I will look goofy as all get out.  Who cares?  Nobody pays any attention to what anybody else wears 'round these parts, especially in the winter time.  I suppose fashion and style are important on Jackson Hole's ski slopes and in the after-ski restaurants and bars.  Over here, you can look like the garbage man after a long day flipping cans in the alleys and nobody cares.  Heck, even my employer has "casual dress day" every Friday.  That's Open Season for dressing down.  Nobody cares about color matching and style points on a Friday.

It looks like the "base" at Harriman Park has settled down to 27 inches as of this morning.  Judging from the daily gubmint SNOTEL reports, I'd say that's a genuine base, well compacted and near perfect for early January snow shoeing.  We hope to leave a little before mid-morning and return a little after mid-afternoon.
Even though it's "free" ski day, we will be buying our annual State Parks passes.  At $30 for two vehicles, that is a smokin' deal.