Do you remember that scene in White Christmas

Transcription

1 86 Spokan CDA Dcmbr - January 2013

2 photo by IT S A WINTER by Blyth ThimsnWONDERLAND d Do you rmmbr that scn in Whit Christmas whn Bing Crosby and his castmats sing a song ntitld Snow? Snow!...Whr it s snowing, all wintr through, that s whr I want to b. Snowball throwing, that s what I ll do. How I m longing to ski through th snow-ohoh-oh-oh! Thy smd downright giddy at th arrival of th whit stuff. For som of us, th fling is mutual. Onc th tmpratur drops, th clouds roll in and th flaks start flying, w gt an antsy fling that can only b qunchd by a run down th slop, a walk through th powdr, or a spiritd snowball fight. For othrs, th onslaught of wintr is somthing to b ndurd; th ticking of tim until th sun and warmth yt again appar. Whthr you lov it or loath it, wintr in ths parts most oftn mans loads of snow (and it absolutly mans coldr tmpraturs). Wondring what to do during ths days o wintr? How about having a littl fun, Spokan Cour d Aln Living styl? 87

3 Olympic Gam Farm On th Olympic Pninsula Com S th Waving Bars! Olympic Gam Farm 1423 Ward Rd. Squim, WA SNOW PATROL Skiing Spokan is prfctly locatd in th hart of ski country. With ski rsorts aplnty, som within an hour and a half driv, and vn mor accssibl within a half day s driv, thr ar no shortag of mountaintops from which to dscnd. Loyal to our local hills though, w suggst a day at on of th Fab Four - four mountains within two hours of Spokan: Mt. Spokan Ski & Snowboard Park (mtspokan.com) has a soft spot in our harts bcaus of its location and lss than a gallon of gas proximity to town. It has 45 dsignatd runs, 1,425 acrs of skiabl trrain, and 16 night skiing runs. Th ol bunny hill is on of th bst on which to larn to ski. 49 North Mountain Rsort (ski49n. com) is a bit longr of a driv, locatd 42 mils north of town in Chwlah, but, as thy say, 49 is blssd with wid opn groomd runs, moguls, dsrt drid powdr, and hundrds of acrs of lgndary tr skiing. Schwitzr Mountain (schwitzr. com) is offring up fun all sason long. This yar, bfor h hits th skis with his sligh and rindr, Santa will b hitting th slops. On Dcmbr 24th, Santa will b skiing on th hill and passing trats with Mrs. Claus. Aftr passing out trats thy will lad a balloon parad from th top of th Basin Exprss chair down to th villag. Follow him into th Slkirk Lodg for Nstl hot chocolat, cookis and to dlivr your last minut wishs. Th othr Idaho hot spot for skiing is Silvr Mountain Rsort (silvrmt. com), which is a mr 75 mils from Spokan, and 35 mils from Cour d Aln. Sur, w lov to swoosh down th mountain, but w don t car for fishtailing up th road to th mountain. That s why w lov Silvr so much; locatd in th Idaho panhandl, just a quartr mil from I-90 with no curvy, whit-knuckl roads to dal with. Silvr Mountain Rsort is asily on of th most accssibl skiing vacation rsorts you will vr visit. 88 Spokan CDA Dcmbr - January 2013

4 photo by Thrsa Putoff and Larry Davr photo courtsy of Schwitzr Mountain Rsort 89

5 Sldding Lss xpnsiv, lss skill rquird, and lss quipmnt ndd. Such ar th bnfits of sldding vrsus skiing. Th dscnts may not b as stp, but for any kids who hav grown up in th Northwst, and any adults who ar in touch with thir innr kid, sldding is th way to go. Manito Park sms to b th go-to sldding location in Spokan, and w know why. With plnty of hills, and a Norman Rockwll stting, this is on of our favorit spots to hit in th wintr. Ic Skating Who hasn t wantd to lt thir innr Kristi Yamaguchi or Evan Lysack shin forth, by showcasing your tripl Salchow, doubl axl combination spin? A trip to Rivrfront Park s Ic Palac is just th plac to do it. Tru, most of us won t b doing combination spins, much lss actually ltting go of th walls of th rink, but it s still fun to try (try to stay upright that is!) This sason brings with it a nw Olympia ic rsurfacr, xpandd food srvic and nw skats. Cross Country Skiing For thos who prfr thir skiing to b a gntl glid, rathr than a trrifying zoom downhill, cross country skiing is th prfct choic. You still gt th outdoor bauty of a wintr wondrland and an incrdibl workout, but with a quitr, mor rlaxd nvironmnt. Spokan Parks & Rcration (spokanparks.org) has a varity of intrsting cross-country outings plannd for this wintr. Join th fun! photo courtsy of Silvr Mountain Shovling Wait a minut, you may b saying, isn t this supposd to b wintr fun? Shovling can b fun, spcially whn you considr th bnfits of it. First of all, it clars your sidwalks and drivways, which is just plain nic for all thos travrsing by, but mor important, you can burn 288 caloris, or mor, pr hour moving that whit stuff! Think of it as payoff for drinking that xtra hot buttrd rum! As w mntiond arlir, not vryon is such a hug fan of th snow that thy want to spnd th day frolicking in it. Somtims, it is bttr to stay snug as a bug, and tak in th wintr scnry through th window a wll insulatd window that kps th chill out and lts you stay cozy insid. So for thos of you who ar looking for som wintr fun that is a littl lss snow-ncrustd, don t worry, thr is still plnty to do in th wintr months. CULINARY ESCAPADES Rolling out cooki dough or xprimnting with a nw rcip is nvr so much fun as whn a cold wind is blowing outsid. Stock up with kitchn gadgts from Th Kitchn Engin, and try on nw rcip ach wk this wintr. Grab a group of frinds to gt in on th challng, and shar your rsults at a potluck styl dinnr. If your co-workrs ar frindly and you trust thm not to poison you, thn put th phons on voicmail for an aftrnoon and gathr round th tabl togthr! Plan a work party or dinnr whr ach prson must incorporat a particular lmnt, such as pumpkin, into this dish. It s challnging and crativ, and lts you spnd tim with your offic mats in a lss strssful stting. Somtims it s bttr to lav th baking to th xprts, though. Rlax and try mad from scratch chocolat croissants at Ptit Chat Bakry. This bakry also slls frshly bakd assortd brads, chss, and othr bakd goods, and is th prfct spot to spnd a cold aftrnoon catching up with a frind, or a good book! Try an xotic dish at a rstaurant you v nvr bn to. Tast of India offrs chickn curris ranging from mild to spicy, sur to plas anyon s paltt and to spic up th wintr wathr. Bangkok Thai also offrs diffrnt combos for mild to spicy dishs. Go chocolat tasting with a group of frinds and xplor th diffrnt combos of chocolat availabl. Somtims you ar abl to snag dals (lik from Dal Plant Spokan) on tasting classs around Spokan. Down load th Happy Hour app and visit nw spots for tasty trats and drinks, at half th cost. Bowlz Bitz and Spiritz is convnintly locatd down town and offrs $5 mnu itms during thir happy hour and from 10-2 a.m. Win tasting classs can b a prfct holiday gift or just a fun outing with th girls. Starting at just $5 pr prson, Knipprath Cllars offrs privat tastings for groups of popl. Thy ar also planning to opn a nw room ddicatd to chocolat and win pairings. 90 Spokan CDA Dcmbr - January 2013 photo by Blak Sommrs

6 photo by Rob Knndy 91

7 COUCH POTATO 101 Thr ar som movis that can only b watchd at Christmas. So no, you ar not bing lazy by curling up on th couch undr a cozy blankt and snuggling th rmot as you sttl in for a marathon movi day; you ar gtting into th spirit! Som of our top picks includ National Lampoon s Christmas Vacation, It s A Wondrful Lif, Th Muppts Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story and Whit Christmas. GETAWAYS Nd to gt out of th hous, but can t afford to go too far from hom? Northrn Qust Rsort & Casino offrs holiday packags for a singl prson gtaway - or your whol family. W r most drawn to th ida of a gtaway at thir La Riv spa, which boasts xprintial showrs, which allow you to slct your choic of music, light and sound. For somthing furthr down th road, visit Lavnworth, Washington, with its hundrds of thousands of twinkling lights, carolrs, cocoa, kids sldding, th hors-drawn carriag... it is nough to put any snow glob to sham. Who could rsist a dscription lik that? With A Bavarian Villag thm, Lavnworth coms to lif in th wintr, and it offrs an affordabl scap just whn you nd it. Locatd 178 mils from Spokan, it is roughly a thr and a half hour driv, but you ll fl lik you ar a million mils away. W suggst th Cirqu du Nol on Ic, on Dcmbr 21st for som grat ntrtainmnt. W v alrady gushd about Sandpoint s most wll known attraction, Schwitzr Mountain, but thr is mor to this town than just th ski rsort. For familis that want to divid and conqur, som mmbrs can hit th slops whil othrs hit th shops and rstaurants. W snt our Food Editor, Kvin Finch, to scout out th bst rstaurants. Turn to pag 185 for a Local Cuisin pic ddicatd to Sandpoint and all it has to offr. Somthing a littl closr to hom, yt still far nough away to mak you fl you ar on vacation, is th Blackwll Hous, a luxury boutiqu hotl in a 92 Spokan CDA Dcmbr - January 2013 historic hom in downtown Cour d Aln. Built in 1906, th hom onc blongd to an army gnral, but you ll b commanding your tim whn you ar hr. Each of th svn gust bdrooms has its own luxury bathroom. Hotl amnitis includ billiards tabl, mdia room, shufflboard tabl, and bautiful grounds for rlaxing. This is th prfct spot for a wknd gtaway to njoy Cour d Aln s holiday lights, or simply to gt out of town! GOOD FOR THE SOUL Voluntr your spar tim. Local Charitis, such as th Union Gospl Mission (UGM), can always us a hlping hand during th holiday sason. Strssd out this sason? Spokan Rflxology Manual Cntr just opnd up and offrs a uniqu twist to th avrag massag. Focusing on prssur points in th body, th ownr says most of hr clints slip into a swt slumbr on hr rflxology tabl. Tak up a hobby that will kp your mind and body sound. South Prry Yoga offrs a wid rang of class tims and tachs bginning to xprincd classs. RANDOM FUN Grab a group of frinds and nighbors and rnt a limo in which to driv around, looking at Christmas lights. For th brav in th group, brak out into som Christmas caroling. Visit th Pintrst wbsit to gathr idas for fun and inxpnsiv craftrnoons! On of our favorit idas is to fill up balloons with watr and color dy and frz thm outsid. photo by Tanya Smith Whn thy ar frozn through, cut away th balloon, and you hav an ic ball yard dcoration. Local churchs, such as LifCntr, offr hug Christmas partis whr you drss up in holiday swatrs and gathr around for a big caroling sssion. Hot Chocolat Hunt! Mak it your mission this wintr to hunt down th bst hot cocoa. W suggst hitting Rockwood Bakry, th Chocolat Apothcary and Rockt Bakry in th cours of sampling. Gt som cultur! Visit Northwst Musum of Arts and Cultur (MAC) for on of th currnt xhibits, Buffalo Bill s Wild Wst Warriors: Photographs by Grtrud Käsbir, which runs until Fbruary 9, Jump-start your Nw Yar s Rsolutions. If you ar on of th millions of Amricans who rsolv to start a fitnss rgimn in th Nw Yar, why not start now? Sign up for a fitnss class or a gym mmbrship and gt a had start. You ll b wll on your way whn January rolls around, and will hav somthing activ to do in th cold months ahad!