I had to stop along North Kootenai Road yesterday and snap this photo of Schweitzer.
It's a scene I've enjoyed on every drive down the road, but I don't always have a camera.
This is one of those spots where the season doesn't matter. It's always jaw-dropping beauty, and you can see the lodge at the bottom of the bowl.
I was on my way to the second practice of skijoring at the fairgrounds.
The Jimmy was in 4-wheel drive most of the way because of the ice-blanketed country roads.
That made me wonder what the fairgrounds arena would be like for horses and skiers.
An earlier Facebook note mentioned a lake in the middle of the arena.
No surprise with all that rain we had.
The Smart family (organizers of this weekend's skijoring competition) were working by hand and aboard a 4-wheeler, pulling a spring-toothed harrow.
While Matt and his friend were shoveling snow from the center of the arena and throwing it onto the track, Chrissy Smart, assisted by the family Aussie, drove round and round, occasionally stopping to pick up heavy bricks used to weight down the harrow.
Two horse trailers (one belonging to Smarts) were parked near the barns. It was some time before other horses and riders showed up.
When they did, the riders, slipping and sliding while walking toward the arena, expressed mixed emotions about practicing.
Eventually Matt got the participants together and went over a few guidelines, promising that conditions would be better for the actual event.
And, according to the weather forecast, they should. Forecasts call for one 12-inch snow dump during the week ahead.
That will mean more work for the Smarts as they prepare the course, but probably near perfect conditions for this weekend's official competition.
I don't know how many horses actually worked the track yesterday. I saw a lot of repeats and finally left when my toes started feeling like they could break off from the cold.
Yesterday's practice included lots of new faces, so I'm thinking there should be a good turn-out this weekend. I heard of several horse owners who preferred not to haul on yesterday's icy roads.
More than likely, they'll show up Saturday and Sunday, as well as numerous skijoring pros from around the region.
Should be a good event, and surprisingly, we'll have full-fledged winter for the Winter Carnival.
One lady yesterday was trying to remember the few times since she moved here in 1980 that the carnival actually had real winter weather.
So, if all goes well, we may be able to add Winter 2011 as a good one.
I'll post a few photos of yesterday's activities below.
Happy Monday. 
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