#1 Happy New Year!!!

And so it has begun, the year of turning fifty. I started out this year perfectly right. Its a Friday so despite being up late for New Years Eve my lovely body clock had me awake at 5 AM. The nice thing is my "not a morning person friend" got up early to join me to do my first walk of 2016. We scheduled to head out about an hour before sunrise and hike from our places in Cadboro Bay to the top of Mt. Tolmie to view the beginning of the first day of 2016. My friend left her vehicle here the night before so the plan was for me to drive to her place with my dog and set out from there. Start time was somewhat delayed by my failure to find her parking brake to release it. After a few minutes of searching an embarrassed text revealed it was right there by my left foot!!! Sigh!! With vehicle dilemma solved we headed out with dogs and cameras. A few minutes late starting meant the dogs were limited in their stop and sniff opportunities but we promised them some off leash time once we made the paths at the base of the mountain. A super frosty and slippery morning in the hood so we chose to cut through Frank Hobbs school and the University to make our way up away from the sparse early morning traffic. We actually thought we had left it too late and would miss the sunrise but the gorgeous ball of orange made its first appearance just before we reached the summit. Dogs loose and cameras out we had an amazing view of Mt. Baker and the top of Mt. Rainier. Lots of frost on the trails this morning so after the sun was up the Macro lens came out to grab some pictures of the chilly ground and plants. It was a bit cold for these two gals when you were holding still so a brisk walk back was in order. A perfect start to a NEW YEAR!! Do something for yourself this year. Join me on one of my many unique walks over the next 52 weeks. Suggestions welcome :) Best, Liz Walk stats- No counter on but route was Cadboro Bay to Frank Hobbs Elementary, diagonally across Uvic and up the trails to peak of Mt. Tolmie and back. Temperature and weather- Flippin cold and frosty but clear and dry! Time- 2 hours return trip with stop and take photo time included. Companion Beverage -lattes Companions- Sketch, Ferg and Hector