Independence Mine Ski

 I saw on the Mat-Su Ski Club site that Archangel Road was groomed this morning. So I packed up my skate skis and raced up there to get in some good practice on the nicely groomed trail. Unfortunately, everyone else in the area had the same idea. There was absolutely no place to park. Plus there were at least 4 large loose dogs running around the crowded parking lot. So I knew that even if I could squeeze in somewhere, I wouldn't dare try to get out of the car with Bella, who would be barking her head off. I gave up and went back up to the mine. It's such a steep slope, but at least it had some nice fresh snow and I could get some exercise and enjoy the nice views. I struggled to get all the way up to the mine buildings. I ended up needing to let Bella run off her leash. She had to stop and sniff every few feet and was dragging me all over the slope. The weather was also moving in so I didn't get as far as I had hoped. I turned off the main road into the parking area for the mine, but lost sight of the trail due to the low visibility. Bella ran all the way to the mine buildings but came running back when I called her. It was starting to snow a little now too. We turned back and I enjoyed a nice fast trip back down the steep road. Suddenly I saw the huge groomer vehicle heading up the road. I was glad Bella came running back when I frantically called her. I hooked her leash to her and we moved off the trail to let him by. I kept her on the leash after that and we had a really fast trip the rest of the way down. Except for one little mishap. The groomer had brought a few small twigs to the surface as he passed. One on my skis caught a tiny one and sent me flying to the ground. I landed on my right hip. I wasn't hurt but it took me a minute or two to drag myself back to standing. She had a very puzzled look on her face seeing me lying on the ground. Once standing up we once again were speeding straight down the road and back to the car. It was really fun on the freshly groomed trail.