The Adventures of Shoe & Bean: Mt. Everest and Hot Dog Boots

There is a snow storm a-cookin up in the mountains today. The Seminary is a buzz with warm winter thoughts, concerns (I've never driven in the snow before!) and advice about driving in the snow.
I. am. Excited!

I love playing in the snow. I love it. I love sledding, snowball fights, snow angels, snowmen, snowflakes…snow cones…I still have my snow pants! I have many memories with my sister and snow. Of course in Northern Minnesota one's childhood is filled with snow memories -- SIX MONTHS out of the year are covered in snow!

This most recent snow blizzard activity has got me thinking about another  cherished story in the ongoing saga of …

The Adventures of Jenna & Kristin!!

(cue theme song)

Mount Everest & Hot Dog Boots

Hot Dog Boots: My mom has this pair of moon boots that are literally shaped and look like hot dogs that you stick your legs in!! They are tall and roundish-squareish. Just enough round and just enough square -- like the shape of a HOT DOG! They are maroon and shiny -- like a cooked HOT DOG!  When we were little we'd put them on to be funny and walk around the house. The hot dog boots were stiff up the leg, made out of sturdy foam, so the boots went up passed our knees!

For YEARS my sister and I would call them "The Hot Dog Boots" and it wasn't until we were grown that my mom asked "What are you talking about?" We rolled into laughter just thinking about those crazy boots! And I hated to admit, when I was little, that in spite of the odd shape and color of The Hot Dog Boots, they were actually warm and comfy!

I think we were about 6 and 7. I know that at this point we still had our wonderful overall-type snow pants, you know, the ones with the buckles on the shoulders? And it took us about 15 minutes to suit up to brave the winter tundra.

Our house was, and is, located on the corner in a small, quiet neighborhood.

One year  there must have been a new plower assigned to our neighborhood because  this was the one and only year of Mount Everest.

This snow plower piled up all the snow in the outer edge of the corner where our house is located, across the corner. Pretty soon, after weeks and weeks of snowfall, there was a HUGE hump. And then, to these two little girls, there was a…MOUNTAIN!! And it was just begging us to climb it!

We were resourceful little creatures. We had a garage full of tools and equipment to dig through, rifle through, and repurpose. I, having grown up on MacGyver, quickly turned these random, forgotten items into prime mountaineering gear.

We threw the pink jump rope over our shoulders, tied a thin rope to the garden rake, grabbed a few short, thick sticks and made the long, treacherous, daunting hike to the edge of the yard, where the smooth, powder snow met the jagged wave of the plowed road.

With a single step onto the icy  road Kristin and I were transformed from little girls in snow covered purple snow pants carrying random junk into mountain climbing experts with their new, shiny equipment: our ropes and harnesses, our clips, and our grappling hook!!  

We…well, we looked both ways of course, and then...ran to the corner. We headed to the back of the snow mountain and formed our plan. I threw the grappling hook over the top and we tested the rope. When we deemed it safe, we began the climb. To ensure the safest of explorations, we tied the "jump rope" to each other, in case one of us slipped. Finally, after hours and hours of climbing (about 5 minutes and we probably pretended to fall a few times for effect) we reached the peak!

Lo and behold, this was the most perfect sledding hill ever created!  So we made the long dangerous trek back to the house, looking both ways again…to get the good, ol' Paris sled. 

After we climbed again, we set the sled on top of the peak. It literally teetered back and forth!! I climbed on as Kristin held it steady. We looked both ways again and then

"3…2…1…GO!!"

and the front of the sled dropped by 80 degrees! I screamed as my hat was thrown off and my butt SLAMMED on the road. I skidded across the street and almost passed the house!

…the BEST RIDE EVER!

About 20 years later and we are still hittin' the hills!

We spent hours and hours on that Mountain in the corner. I remember looking forward to it the next winter but, alas... the same plower must not have returned, or maybe we just never got so much magical snowfall?

I will always treasure that wonderful winter with the white mountain...

on Lake Bemidji, Yes. It's a lake and we are ON it.