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While not an official Olympic sport, there's probably more snowmobiling going on in Vancouver than curling, skiing and speed skating combined.  Look in the background while watching the outdoor winter sports and you'll see plenty of these machines shuttling people around.  And in this way, they are very practical.  However, they can also be an absolute blast.  I got to find out firsthand on President's Day.

The 15^th was also my birthday and a very good friend invited me to go snowmobiling with him.  What a gift it turned out to be!  We went to Hickory Run State Park and found only four other snowmobilers all day long.  The trails were beautiful.  Many of them winded through old, tall forest.  Others went over, under and across bridges.  And on every single trail, the evidence of recent deer and turkey activity was obvious.  The hunter in me was loving it.  

There are 21 miles of designated trails in the park.  Boulder Field Trail guided us to the legendary national landmark, where we snapped some pics and took a moment to catch our breath.  Then, it was back down Stage Trail until another one offered up some new terrain.  We rode them all by the day's end.  And I can honestly say that every single trail was beautiful.  Some challenged our technical abilities; others opened up and let us hammer down on the throttle.   But every one was memorable and scenic.  Every.  Single.  One.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the temperature was a very tolerable 33 degrees and the trails were all but vacant.  The woods were ours.  When it came time to go, I left the park with one thought on my mind, "Happy Birthday to me."