Eddy County 4-H winter skills experience

A couple of weekends ago, several families from the Eddy County 4-H Shooting Sports and Outdoor Skills Club met near Lake Metigoshe to learn and practice some outdoor winter skills.

Most of us arrived on February 17. Leader Mike Brazil worked hard to plan affordable things for our member families to learn and do. We stayed in little wooden cabins that were nice and cozy. They were even more cozy and nice than I had pictured in my head. They had kitchens, bathrooms, couches and bunk beds. We brought our own food, bedding and most of our own bathroom and kitchen supplies. In my cabin, there was the perfect amount of room and beds for my family of five.

We slept the first night at the cabin, and in the morning, we met to learn about and go cross-country skiing. Our club rented the equipment at a warming house. We had a little chat about what we would be doing, and we had an instructor that went along with us to help guide and teach us. Mike walked alongside members as they skied to teach and offer help. Amy and Chad Wobbema also walked along to help and took lots of pictures. (Chad took the BEST picture of my dad flying through the air on a tricky, curvy slope that only a few of us stayed upright on!) I was also really excited to see that Macey Wobbema came with for the weekend! We had about 20 people in total.

Everyone split into small groups together based on their pace. On the trail back, we came together, and there was a seven-person pile up when one of the kids fell! It was pretty funny! I very much enjoyed cross-country skiing! Also, I learned that my great-grandma Marlyss's great uncle would cross-country ski from Crosby to Sheyenne every winter, and that makes it even more special to me!

After cross-country skiing, everyone went back to their cabins to eat and get some rest. Later that day, we met back at the warming house to rent snowshoes and went on a little adventure. It was different than what I thought it would be, and my favorite part was when we climbed straight up a big hill! Mike suggested that going sideways back and forth would really be the best way to get up the hill, but we sure had fun the way we did it! We snowshoed down a path, went across part of the frozen lake, up the hill, and then through another path back to the warming house.

When we were done snowshoeing, we returned our gear and then went right across the driveway to the sledding hill! Several of our families brought sleds and we all took turns. Most kids attempted to surf down the hill on a sled, but it was harder than we thought (AND a ton of fun)! Mike brought a bigger sled, and a whole bunch of us piled in at once and made it quite far out onto the frozen lake.

In the evening, we met at the Wobbemas' cabin where we grilled food, lit a bonfire and played games. One unique food that we had was moose steakfrom the Brazils. Most of us had never tried moose. My little sister, Lyla, was also pretty excited because Mike helped her to put her own hotdogs on the grill! We played and ate and then went sledding in the dark.

The next day, some of us went ice fishing and the rest of us went downhill skiing, which was my favorite part. This was a little more expensive, so each family covered their own costs. My sisters and I had never gone skiing before, and it was super cool to see little 5-year-old Lyla catch on so quickly and buzz down on her little skis! It was also really neat to ride the big ski lift with Jackson, Chaztin and Vinnie up to the top of the big hills!

Lora and Tillie had to head back to New Rockford earlier than the rest of us for basketball practice on Sunday. A few others left later that day, and the rest of us stayed at our cabins and left Monday morning.

This was a very fun and interesting experience, and I would definitely go to Lake Metigoshe again! I am hoping we can go there this summer! I am so happy and thankful that we were able to try new things and have so much fun!