Skate Skiing - Skate Ski with Sisu Friends - Lake Elmo Park Reserve

I had two options today: going with the boys to Lake Elmo Park Reserve or with the grrrls to Battle Creek. I knew Heather, Kitty, Margie and Battle Creek would have turned me into hamburger, so Lake Elmo it was. A nice, civilized outing with John, Tom, Dayton and Peter with lots of chatting. Like the other venues I visited thus far, I am impressed with coverage. There is no grass or dirt showing through the snow. And more snow was falling as we skied! My last ski at Lake Elmo last winter had been on March 19.

Dayton, Peter, Tom and John.

Summary

Name	Skate Ski with Sisu Friends
Location	Lake Elmo Park Reserve
Start Time	12/8/2013 9:19 AM (UTC-06:00)		Category	My Activities:Cross-country Skiing:Skate Skiing
Distance	13.65 km		Time	01:15:40.0
Time Moving	01:15:40.0		Stopped	00:00:00.0
Average pace	05:32 min/km		Max. pace	02:42 min/km
Average heart rate	146 bpm		Max. heart rate	165 bpm
Total Ascent	59 m +4 m/km		Total Descent	-45 m -3 m/km
Weather	Snow; -14.7 °C

Heart Rate

Splits: Recorded laps

Pace

Splits: Recorded laps

Elevation

Splits: Recorded laps

Created with Activity Documentation Plugin for SportTracks
(see http://www.sporttracks-plugins.com)

Skijoring 2 Laps - Highland 9-Hole

Downright balmy compared to yesterday although I did get cold fingers. Mellie had the dickens at the beginning, so excited. And she was dipping for snow throughout. Have to figure out how to get her to drink before training so she does not have quite that compulsion. Super conditions, in spite of the cold temps glide was very good and the wax seemed to hold on.

Summary

Name	Highland Skijoring 2 Laps
Location	Highland 9-Hole
Start Time	12/8/2013 8:12 AM (UTC-06:00)		Category	My Activities:Cross-country Skiing
Distance	7.23 km		Time	00:28:54.0
Time Moving	00:28:54.0		Stopped	00:00:00.0
Average pace	03:59 min/km		Max. pace	02:55 min/km
Average heart rate	148 bpm		Max. heart rate	160 bpm
Total Ascent	43 m +6 m/km		Total Descent	-41 m -6 m/km
Weather	Snow; -15.7 °C

Heart Rate

Splits: Recorded laps

Pace

Splits: Recorded laps

Elevation

Splits: Recorded laps

Created with Activity Documentation Plugin for SportTracks
(see http://www.sporttracks-plugins.com)

Skate Skiing - Como Park Skate Skiing

Two laps. What a glorious day. A little brisk but for 10 cm of snow, the coverage is awesome, no problem what soever on the skate portion of the trail, a little grass here and there in the classic tracks. My right thumb and a couple of my fingers got cold, but not painfully so, and it abated after a while. If anything, I was overdressed. Not many people out. I don't get why quite a few people seem crabby, so serious, not cracking a smile, while it's hard for me to wash a stupid grin off my face. I just feel like sharing the joy over good snow: AWESOME, get out there and ski, people!

Summary

Name	Como Park Skate Skiing
Location	Hamline Midway/Como Park to North St. Paul
Start Time	12/7/2013 11:47 AM (UTC-06:00)		Category	My Activities:Cross-country Skiing:Skate Skiing
Distance	10.83 km		Time	00:44:51.0
Time Moving	00:44:51.0		Stopped	00:00:00.0
Average pace	04:08 min/km		Max. pace	02:47 min/km
Average heart rate	164 bpm		Max. heart rate	171 bpm
Total Ascent	78 m +7 m/km		Total Descent	-64 m -6 m/km
Weather	Sunny; -17.3 °C

Heart Rate

Splits: Recorded laps

Pace

Splits: Recorded laps

Elevation

Splits: Recorded laps

Created with Activity Documentation Plugin for SportTracks
(see http://www.sporttracks-plugins.com)

Summary of Cross Country Skiing Season 2010-2011

Our trip to Breckenridge was a wonderful way to end this year's winter sport season. I had known by mid-January that this would be my best cross-country ski season to date, thanks to the fantastic snow cover. Like last year, I replaced my running routine entirely with skiing. Because of the low-impact nature of the sport, I was able to much more, a lot of it in the company of my faithful companion Mellie.

	Time	km	mi	km/h	min/km	mi/h	min/mi
Skijoring	18:25:08	264.63	164.43	14.37	4:11	8.93	6:43
Skate Skiing	11:57:53	150.91	93.77	12.62	4:45	7.84	7:39
Classic Skiing	5:59:33	55.52	34.50	9.26	6:29	5.75	10:26
Totals	36:22:34	471.06	292.70

Some thoughts on those metrics:

• Initially, I thought that my dog Mellie was slowing me down. While this may be the case for long distances, it is clearly not the case for the shorter ones, those under 10 km. Especially during races, Mellie was pulling hard.
• More than half of my activities were with that faithful canine. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be able to ski with a dog at Highland 9-Hole. I hope we will continue to be able to do so.
• While there was some improvements in my performance without dog, it was by far not as remarkable. I do need to work on my technique.

Skiing Breckenridge and Gold Run Nordic Ski Centers

I wish I could build in a few runs on the slopes to get James out of bed before school: so easy to get him up, here. We had about 2-3 inches of fresh powder at the condo and it was still snowing. There were some glimpses of blue sky. Routine as had on the previous day, except more efficient: getting dressed and geared up, cereal for breakfast, sandwiches, courtesy of paps and off they went with great plans for the day.
I was not far behind, having Breckenridge Nordic Ski Center on my mind. I arrived and noticed the freshly groomed trail, pristine, undisturbed cordouroy and no other cars in the lot. I bought my three-day punch card, had one of the friendly staff give me the lay of the land and was off.

I skied Troll Woods, a green trail as a warm-up and Beaver Meadows, a blue as a follow up. Indeed, neither trail held any technical challenge, all inclines were rather gradual but the difference in altitude was a bit more than this flatlander is used to. That, combined with the effect of the thin air made me stop to catch my breath a few times. All in all an excellent outing. It would be great to come out here early in the season to get some high altitude training.

After being done, I went to the grocery to shop for a steak dinner. Then I broke for lunch and waited until 13:30, the end of the rest time at the Dog House, where I wanted to check out Mellie for some skijoring. They got her and she was happy to see me and the harness in my hand.

Once back in the car, we headed for Breckenridge's Gold Run Nordic Ski Area. Like the area in Breckenridge proper, they had set aside their most remote trails for skiers and their dogs. This area was not groomed but at least the lower reaches of the Peabody Placer trail had seen enough use to be somewhat packed. it was a two-way ski-in and ski-out, I decided not to do the Preston Loop which had portions marked as black and because of the distance. It turned out that the entire "in" portion of the Peabody Placer trail is uphill, gaining about 130 m (450 ft) in little more than 2 km (1.5 mi)  and the consequently, the return trip down. Hard work for my oxygen-deprived circulatory system. The higher I climbed the deeper the snow became, adding to the workout in spite of Mellies efforts helping me.

But the Jumbo Overlook at the end of the trail was a nice reward, the clouds had broken and everything was bathed in bright sunlight. Turning back I appreciated how steep the climb had been. To avoid any tangles, I untied Mellie, who was happy to roam and greet some of the dogs that came towards us. When I checked Mellie back in, she was happy to leave me and followed the staff unconcerned. She is such a good and easy-going pup. One thing that amazed me was the area around Gold Run. It looked to me like there were scores of million-dollar homes, all in a log-cabin style, and more going up. Makes you wonder what kind of a recession we were in. Certainly not one affecting people in a certain income category ...

The boys returned after 16:00. It sounded like they had had an outstanding day skiing all over the mountain, a lot off-trail, befriending Matt, a young man from Cleveland of similar disposition who introduced them to some areas that they might have had a more difficult time to find on their own. We concluded this fantastic day with some excellent steak.

Skiing University of Minnesota Golf Course Trail

Before the season is over I have to write to promote one of the Twin Cities Metro newest cross country skiing venues, the University of Minnesota's Nordic Ski Center, just north of the UMN St. Paul campus, on the university's golf course. I did not use it more than twice because it does not fall under the Great Minnesota Ski Pass, just like Minneapolis Park and Rec Trails, Three Rivers Parks, Dakota County Parks and others. I purchased the Department of Natural Resources Great Minnesota Ski Pass (GMSP) because City of St. Paul and Ramsey County trails are covered and because I like to ski in some of the state parks near and far from the Metro. Because St. Paul area trails are quite good Como and Battle Creek are great and Highland 9-Hole allows dogs for skijoring), I don't mind restricting myself to these as a matter of convenience.

As a matter of convenience, I would be very happy if the above mentioned park systems would join the GMSP system, and I would even be happy to pay more. 

That being said, some of the park systems that require their own ski passes seem to be a little quicker on the upkeep. Not sure if this has anything to do with the fees charged or the dilution of the take within the GMSP system. The UMN Nordic Ski Center has one of the best-maintained trails around, it can compete with the privately owned Green Acres, which is another gem when all the other seem to be marginal. In addition, like Como Park, it is only a couple of miles away from my home. Sorry, Green Acres, if you were 2 and not 16 miles, I'd be skiing there more frequently, I hate to drive far and I avoid it where I can.

It's after heavy snow, at the end of the season or during that January thaw when the extra grooming stretches the times a trail can be skied. So I decided to pay my dues and ski at UMN today. The challenging workout on its three short but varied finger loops was well worth the $3 I left in the pay box!

Spring Seems in the Air

Last week, I had been keeping a worried eye on the weather forecast. True, morning temps from Monday through Friday had been -18 C to -24 C, but for the weekend and the coming week, a major change had been announced. Temperatures up to 10 C and with that a major thaw, ending the near perfect skiing conditions.

I did my best to get some more skiing in. Mellie and I braved the cold on Tuesday afternoon. The week until Friday was too busy to squeeze in another session but we were out at Highland Golf course on Friday at around 16:30. The temperature had climbed from -19 C at 7:00 to +1 C when we started. The snow was perfect and we had a good two laps.

We were out there again on Saturday morning at 8:00. The temperature was still above freezing and like the evening before, conditions were near perfect for our three laps and we clocked close to our fastest pace for a practice run in spite of a couple of tangles and a fall due to a dog with spring fever.

I was glad to have been out that early for the remainder of Saturday saw a strong thaw. I cannot say that I did not enjoy the warm temps but I regretted the melt.

When James requested a ride to Afton Alps ski area I embraced the opportunity to get another ski in, certainly the last one before another shift in the weather, at the state park next door.

All uphill from here, NE corner of Afton State Park 

Afton State Park is classic only and has an extensive trail system. One of the challenges is that the park consists of a plateau delimited by the deep St. Croix Valley on its eastern flank and divided into a northern and a southern section by Trout Creek valley. The descents into these valleys are quite steep, fortunately the trails are wide and allow for breaking. From the trail head near the visitor center I descended into the valley of Trout Creek and skied north as far as I could along the St. Croix. Before the steep climb at the northern edge of the park, I applied some Swix Violet Extra, which provided the necessary kick.

I love the landscape at Afton SP, the ravines leading to river and creek valleys and the open prairies on top. I enjoyed the sun out in the open though I noticed that the snow conditions were deteriorating rapidly. Dark litter such as bark, scat and even leaves had started to sink into the snow. The difference in glide between shade and sun started to be very noticeable, there was hardly any glide left in sunny spots. At one point I fell head first into trail-side powder when I emerged from shade to sun on a downhill stretch and my skis stopped dead.

I returned to the St. Croix Valley via a long forestry road that challenged my snowplowing muscles. Here, I was glad for the slower snow. The steep climb back to the parking lot rounded out this challenging 14 km outing, likely the last one for a while. I will have to look for my running shoes if I plan outdoor exercise in the near future.

Wolverine Trails Outside Loop

I had to do this, since it is such a beautiful tradition. When we arrived, we found the parking lot nearest to the warming house nearly full, and a couple of pups frolicking in the snow. The corduroy on the trail looked great and the classic tracks were deeply set. Joel took off while I was struggling to get my stiff new pole straps over my cold weather mitts with the thumb brace on the right, but I have to start breaking them in. I forgot my Garmin so I needed to recycle one of my previous maps.


View Wolverine Outside Loop in a larger map

As usual, I started with Cliff Trail and Cliff Hanger. The trail seemed slow in spite of the lack of fresh snow cover and perfectly groomed firm surface. This time it was because the more intense cold and it didn't help that the trail climbed 110m over the first 2km.  I paused to take a picture at the old ski jump on top of Cliff Hanger, my only stop during this outing.

This used to be a working ski jump. Pretty stiff climb
to get there.

I continued down the serpentines off Cliff Hanger, rejoining Cliff and eventually Powderhorn Trail. From there, it was north, towards the ski area, including a couple of good climbs and the eventual downhill on along a stretch of Big Powderhorn Mountain. The most notable on the stretch south towards the hospital parking lot was the fact that I did not have to take of my skis to cross the two roads, there was enough white, clean snow.

After joining up with Wolverine Trail, I caught and passed a group of tree and was closing in on a skier with a black lab, making me regret the absence of Mellie. We arrived at the warming cabin at about the same time. Inside was Joe, already waiting for me. He had had a mishap with his antique 1980s vintage ski boots: the sole on one of them cleanly separated from one of them, probably when he attempted to escape from one of the local wolverines.

25 years and counting. time to replace those boots, Joel!

Without the Garmin it's hard to give an exact data report but I did the 12km in about an hour.

Heikki Lunta Half-Marathon

I was debating on whether or not to carry water and decided against it. For one, the half-marathon distance seemed at the limit of when dehydration would become an issue and I also read about the four aid stations having water and snacks.

Did have some butterflies in my stomach before this event. It didn't help when ten minutes after leaving I realized that I had left my skis behind and getting stuck in deep snow when attempting to turn around. With plenty of time, I did not worry too much, though.

The race was exceedingly well organized, from shuttles for skiers and gear in both directions to aid stations, road closures directions and parking.

Pre-race picture courtesy of Liz and Peggy

The 42k waves had left already and when I tested the waters I found the skating surface soft and deep, even more so than during my last two practice runs at Highland. The organizers combined the elite and first wave for the 21k freestyle and a very short 5 minutes later, the second wave, including me, was sent on its way, too.

21k Classic Start (Photo: Linda Slining at skinnyski.com)

Because I am new to racing, I like to start at the back of the pack. and I found myself bogged down by others slower than myself, with little room to pass. As expected, the 6km ABR portion of the race held some major physical challenges, including the climb on the Peltonen Pass Out loop. It was followed by a major downhill with many falls. There was a backup with skiers descending one by one in the order of their arrival. I was glad that the folks in front of me did not fall and even gladder that I stayed on my skis. One annoyance was the fogged-up and iced-over glasses, in spite of the CatCrap.

Getting out of ABR, the terrain became much more gentle. However, there was more exposure and consequently more snow, making the going tougher even without the hills. I fell into a routine of making my way up to a slower skier or group and then waiting for a flat stretch to pass double-poling in the classic lane. I took a swig of water at every aid station, barely slowing and didn't miss not having brought my own water. A brisk northerly breeze started to blow and every time I turned into the wind, my hood started crackling with frozen sweat. At one point I passed a guy carrying one of his pole. "Broken pole?" I yelled in passing, the reply was "Wrecked my shoulder." The snow on parts of his ski outfit attested to a spill, possibly at the tricky Peltonen Pass Out.

Hot pursuit. I am in fourth position. (Photo: Linda Slining)

Keeping at the heels of 1644, who passed me earlier and whom I eventually
passed again (Photo: Linda Slining. Thank you for sharing, Linda!)

Only one skier passed me, at a pretty good clip. I was able to match his speed and followed him diligently for 7-8km. After a short uphill I had to pass him because it seemed that he was getting slower. I lost sight of him and he ended up finishing 2 minutes after me.

The soft snow made itself noticed on a long straight line out in the open. It just seemed to take for ever. Fortunately, it was possible to see many skiers ahead which was motivating, and, at this time skiing by myself, I was able to work my way up to the back of the next group.

All of a sudden the end was within reach. At 18km I spotted the first buildings in the outskirts of Ironwood. Within the city limits, with 2km to go, the trail descended into a deep valley, I understood very well that we would have to climb back out before the finish. It was a pretty steep climb, fortunately I did not hit the wall at this wall. I accelerated when passing the tall Indian in fiberglass and--was done.

Done!

I was very happy that Lynn showed up within a couple of minutes of my arrival, I would not have liked to wait around for ride after the exertion. On the way to the car, I hit on yet another lightly built mustachioed man, asking "are you Duane?" David had suggested I should try to locate him, a good old friend of his. My attempts at finding him before the race had been unsuccessful, but the one after the race was it, sporting a good-sized icicle hanging from his mustache. I hope I will still be as fit when I am 10+ years older!

I was very happy with my result, 19th of 69 starters in the men's freestyle 21k, 5th out of 19 in my age group. Also, I am always amazed with the low impact nature of this sport. A foot race at only half this distance takes a much bigger toll on me.

Getting Ready For Sisu Ski Fest 21k

Every year, almost as long as I have lived in the US, we have gone Up North on Martin Luther King weekend to enjoy cross country skiing and the company of good friends. The early years we went to Cable, WI, dividing our time pretty much equally between Lakewoods Resort and Valhalla Townhouses at  Telemark Resort. Snow permitting, there were great opportunities for cross country skiing. Telelmark, tying into the ... trails and having its own network of superb trails was a special treat, as was Rock Island SP, literally across the street from Lakewoods. Unfortunately, snow was a rare commodity from the mid-90s into the latter part of the first decade of the new millennium. The tots, who had been always happy to participate in any activity grew into moody teens who had only downhill skiing on their mind. So we moved operations to Big Powderhorn, near Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Here, we had it all, downhill for the kids, gorgeous trails at Wolverine and ABR for the adults and no worries about snow for all of us.

On a whim I decided to sign up for the Heikki Lunta Ski Half-Marathon. Last year I missed the activities of the Sisu Ski Fest by a week. This year it happened to fall on MLK weekend. This year I skied significantly more than previous years and had done a couple of longer runs (for me), a couple of 15ks and the 25k on the north shore. After the decision to do the race was made, I added another couple of long workouts, four laps at Highland 9-hole with Mellie and four laps at Come by myself. I also worked on technique and by the week before the race I felt in reasonably good shape.

My concern when planning my last long workout, the four Como laps, I was a little worried about a sore thumb that I had contracted during a fall, but the brace I had bought to protect it worked well.  My last two runs in that week were outings with Mellie and both times I skied in 2-3 inches of fresh snow. Little did I know that these would be close to the conditions I'd encounter.

Beginning Cross Country Skiing Season 2010-2011

If previous winter had wonderful conditions for all manner of snow sports, this year is even better. E.g last year just like this, we had an early start to the season. Unlike last year, we did not have a pre-holiday thaw and freezing rain, thus there were a few more skiable days (though it sounds like we will be hit with some rain over the last couple days of 2010).

Overall, I got almost twice as much skiing and skijoring in when compared to last year.

2008 2009 2010 Skate Skiing 0 44.64 61.64 Skijoring 0 21.57 60.9 Classic Skiing 14.77 0 13.02 14.77 66.21 135.57 ( (Distances in km)

I skied mostly on the home courts, i.e. Highland 9-Hole for skijoring and Como for skate skiing. Like last year, I participated in the Como Park Champion ships where my performance showed my improvement in the sport. I had a wonderful interlude at Sugarbush, at Tofte, MN (Lynn had planned this as a family outing but sadly she wasn't able to come along due to a bout of the stomach flu).

On the equipment front, I replaced my damaged '08 Atomic Race Skate. Finn Sisu exchanged them free of charge for a pair of the 2010 model. So far, they have been working great.

Due to some ups and downs in the temps, I have been changing wax before every other session, it seems. My investment in the Toko Ski Vise Nordic and the T14 electronic iron paid off. James appreciates the iron  to wax his skis, I am only afraid that he will scrap up the bottom of the iron with the skis' metal edges.

Classic Skiing Homestead Loop, Sugarbush Trails, Tofte, MN

I decided after yesterday's 25 km to make today an easy one and also to use my classic skis, which I have ruefully neglected. After dropping James and Joe at Lutsen, I headed for Sugarbush where I did the Homestead Loop.

Parking to I, right to J, turn back at K, right at J, right at H,
left at G, right at F, left at E, right at C, B and A

Since today's outing was not as remote, I saw many more skiers. All were taking advantage of the unusually mild weather. At J intersection I chatted with some skiers who had come from the Onion River parking lot. They alerted me to some wolf tracks and scat on the trail.

Trail between J and K intersections

I had hoped to take the spur to the overlook above Chateau Leveaux, but my impression from the previous day had been correct, the trail leading south from K intersection was not groomed and looked overgrown. Snowshoes or BC skis might have been the correct mode for this excursion. So I returned to J to continue the Homestead Loop.

Venturing out to K had not at all been in vain as I got to more closely view the mess of wolf and deer tracks which suggested some drama that had very recently unfolded in the middle of the trail.

Dogs on the trail? Nope, it's wolf tracks ...

... and scat. 

After Picnic Loop, today's effort seemed slight to moderate. With the temperature hovering just above freezing, waxing was somewhat tricky. I re-waxed with Swix Purple Extra which came off thick and unwieldy. It was very slow and grippy but eventually brought acceptable performance.

Pre-Storm Skijor

The augurs of the elements had been unanimous on this one: around midnight on Friday we were to get a good dumping of snow, lasting through at least the entire Saturday. This made me think that Saturday skiing might be challenging, if not impossible, certainly no fun. I was excited about the prospect of solidifying the until now fairly skimpy snow foundation with something more substantial but I did not want to miss out on a day of skiing. So I decided to to take advantage of a beautiful late Friday afternoon and do a couple of laps at Highland.

Mellie, pulling hard!

After work, I changed into more appropriate clothing, grabbed Mellie and the GoPro Hero HD and headed for Highland. Mellie was giddy with excitement and I have to admit, so was I. Much busier during daylight hours than very early mornings or late nights. Highland HS XC Ski team was out and various other skiers, too. After the arduous task of strapping on my skis with an hyper-excited dog tethered to me, I got moving. Some skiers were really hogging the skating lane, two and three abreast; fortunately they scrammed when they saw the Black-Lab-Express bear down on them. One group had another black lab, this one on the lose. He ran over to be friendly with the Mellster, it barely slowed us down. This first lap was likely our fastest at Highland, and the combined two laps was too.

The video was not ideal, because of the sea-sickness inducing motion of my head, and even more so because of a slight mis-orientation of the camera, showing rather more sky than necessary, and not enough dog action. I take it more as a proof-of-concept and will try experimenting.

Hickory Ridge Ski Area, Bloomer, WI--Last outing of the season

At 8:30 in the morning, I headed for Hickory Ridge outside of Bloomer. Traffic was non-existent but I paid attention while crossing Chippewa Falls because on the previous morning I was almost hit by someone running a stop sign. A family from the Edgecumbe team had their car totaled by a drunk driver. The result of living in the town with a famous brewery? Hard to tell ...

The landscape north of Chippewa Falls was rather flat, infact the wide and shallow valley of O'Neill Creek with low hills on either side. All along 124, I noticed many homesteads with abandoned farmhouses. Often, the barns were still in use but there were some spectaculare ruins, testimony to decades of consolidation, away from small family farms to larger scale operations.

Directions were good, there were even signs pointing to Hickory Ridge Ski Area. That did not prevent me from overshooting the intersection with 226th, even though I clearly read the street sign.

When I arrived at Hickory Ridge, only one other car was in the parking lot. I did not waste any time and got going after taking a quick look at the map. I decided to do the outside loop, crossing Hickory Trail and abstain from adding the Tram Lake loop. I stopped to take a photo at Paws Lake and continued. The description on the Hickory Ridge warns that "the trail system consists of three loops, all loops are challenging to the skier, with rolling to steep grades." This is correct, though I found that there were sufficient level areas to recuperate a bit between climbs.


View Hickory Ridge Ski Area, Bloomer, WI in a larger map

When I got to the Tram Lake Loop, I could not resist and had to take the scenic route. I am glad I did, the landscape was pretty, the snow was a grade above what I found on the remainder of the trail and it was only about an extra 3.5 km. Speaking of trail conditions: except for the Tram Lake Loop, the trail was about 50/50 good snow and glazed over, the latter especially on exposed south and west facing slopes. Debris on the trail was minimal. The only times the snow conditions were bothersome was on steep, twisty slopes with glazing.

I caught up with the folks from the car in the lot on the Tram Lake Loop. At the rate they wer going they would have a long day on the trail. When I was almost back at the parking lot, I met another couple heading out and at the parking lot, two more cars had jst arrived with three skiers. Very light use. 14+ km in an hour, a good workout in a beautiful environment.