afternoon of snowshoeing

At Christmas, Chad and I received snowshoes as one of our gifts. We had never thought about owning snowshoes before that, but we were super excited about the idea as soon as we opened them up! We've always enjoyed being outside... and living in the northern midwest means snow is on the ground for much of the year.

On Saturday, we gave them a try at one of our favorite places in Kenosha: Petrifying Springs Park. Perfect area to take them for a spin—frozen rivers, hilly areas, tons of trails and open space as well.

The snowshoes really only took a minute to get the hang of—it's really just like walking. You don't glide like you would with skis, but instead have traction with wider surface area and metal "teeth" under your feet. They are super light and keep you above the snow enough that you're not burying your feet every time you take a step. We found they worked better in the deeper snow and drifts rather than snow that had already been packed down—there it just felt sort of like dragging something around from your feet.

We hiked around for a couple hours enjoying the snowy scenery, getting in a good workout and enjoying each other's company. Can't wait to do it again sometime soon. I'm thinking the timing will be perfect with the blizzard we are currently under...