The Mothers go tubing in Bellaire

I tell you, there’s no end to the adventures a person with a ready supply of wool socks and a good attitude can get up to. On Monday Susan, Mother of the Lady Alicia, and I, Mother of Rob the Firefighter, took ourselves off to Shanty Creek, threw ourselves down a hillside atop bouncy rubber donuts, and finished up with Spanish Coffee. We call that fun, and I recommend it to you, too, even though you will have to kennel your YakTrax for the duration.

From the bottom of the hill the flat light of a cloudy day pretty much disguises the dips and swirls.

We had considered the possibility that we might have to trudge up the hill after each run, dragging our donuts behind us, but this was a Full Service Tubing Run. A lift dragged the donuts smartly up the hill, with us on them. No trudging. The ride offered an opportunity to take pictures of the scenery, but the angle was less than ideal.

At the top the lift released us into a sort of bowl, where the donuts spun in a ridiculously endearing manner. I was too busy laughing to take pictures. Then it was time to examine the hill from the top. OK, maybe it would be good to watch other people for a minute to see how they did it. This bunch had Advanced Tubing Skills.

Susan, who had her Game Face On, quickly mastered the Approved Manner.

I went for the Yee-hah! Bellyflop myself, and spun down the hill. This is what the nice soft safety barrier looks like as a person approaches it at a ferocious rate of speed.

We did this over and over again.  Then it was time to return the donuts, retrieve the YakTrax, and trot off to the lodge for Spanish Coffee. It’s a hard life up here, but somebody has to live it.