Deep Snow

The reason for going out to Manila (besides the previously mentioned pros) was to get a Christmas tree! 

My family always had a fake tree growing up, and I never had any problem with that.  It was easy, looked the same every year, and looked a whole lot more full than most of my friend's sparse but real trees.

But when my cousins invited me out to get a tree with them in Manila, I couldn’t miss the chance to go out to the grand old town or get a tree in the middle of nowhere, as opposed to a Christmas tree farm, where I actually have been.

We drove probably twenty minutes outside of town.  Here are some views on the way to the “middle of nowhere”

Momma moose and baby moose

Big horn sheep
 

The Catron’s love animal spotting, so it was a pretty big deal to see these animals.  We saw a ton of elk too.  Who knew people could get so excited every single time they see an elk?  Since I can’t really tell the difference between the elk and deer, I rarely got excited and forgot to take hundreds of pictures for your viewing pleasure.

About 20 minutes outside “town” we just chose a random place to stop, parking practically on the highway.

The snow was so deep.  No one really saw it coming until we parked.  Jeremy and Duke led the way most of the time. 

The snow was as tall as Duke was, so he looked like a fish jumping out of water. 

The snow was about as tall as Austin and Ava.  These pictures were taken near the road.  It was even deeper later on, but it also got colder, and the kids got sadder, so there are less pictures later.

Thanks to Jeremy for leading the way most of the time because I struggled when I took a turn.  I was glad that Teresa let me borrow her boots, because mine would have been pretty useless in this snow.

 

The worst idea of the night was when I tried to make a snow angel to make Austin and Ava laugh.  I got so much snow down my back and pants.

After the kids got more tired, Jer and John were nice enough to carry them on their shoulders.

As we went on, and as it got darker and colder, the trees started to look much better.  The ones at the beginning suddenly seemed so full and beautiful!  John and his family found a really pretty one near the end of our trek.

John dragged the huge tree back through the deep snow to the truck.  I tried to help the most I could by lifting up the back so it would drag along the snow better, but I’m not sure I was much help.

They were nice enough to take a picture though, so it seemed like I did a ton.

The kids were happy to back in the warm truck.

Jeremy and Duke.  These two love each other.  Since the trees were in the back, Jeremy, Duke, Ross and I all got to share the front.  Poor Duke had to curl up in a ball on the floor for the whole drive.

    

What a pretty sunset.