This morning, after looking out the windows, I expected it would be a day dominated by snow. Low snow clouds hung over the house. Our weatherman promised that the temperature will rise well above freezing so the snow should melt as it hits our driveway. Winter seemed to be slipping away without giving the dog and I a chance to ski across Mendenhall Glacier Lake. 

            I was more surprised than Aki when sunshine started flooding the neighborhood with light. We needed an open, skiable place to enjoy the light. By checking the ski club website, I learned that Mendenhall Lake was finally thick enough to set up a cross country ski trail on its ice.  Aki’s other human and I ate a quick breakfast and drove with the little dog out to the trail head. We slipped onto the lake ice under blue, sunny skies. There was beauty to digest any way we looked. I took a few photos and followed Aki and her other human across the lake. The sun disappeared when were almost to the other side of the lake. 

            A mixture of hail and snow soon cut off our views of mountains and glaciers. This didn’t disappoint Aki. She ran up to every dog she saw to say “hi” or sniff. Sometimes she would just stop to roll in the new snow.