Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 85 skating adventure. The temperatures plunged and the ice gained over an inch overnight to nearly four inches. I was still taking bites of toast as we bundled up, grabbed our skates and set out to explore this new playground. Excitement, awe and the slap of cold air took my breath away. When I slid onto the frozen lake it felt like air. By the time my husband Dewey had his skates tied, our daughters Risa and Kelsey had filled the ice in front of our home with skate scribbles, like doodles on an etch-a-sketch. It was a bluebird and windless day—a perfect ice skating day. We headed up the lake, which stretches south of our home for almost ten miles. Skating on the smooth quick ice felt effortless as we flew down the frozen lake. The lake was almost silent except for the scrape of skates on the hard surface. We all fell into an almost Zen-like state as we were lulled by the rhythm of ice skating. A skating adventure also includes a treasure hunt, search- ing for nature's artwork with ice and snow as her canvas. We saw little ice crystals dripping from a log on the shore. Pressure cracks in the ice captured sunlight and revealed the depth of the ice. We observed rocks along the shore that look like glazed donuts, frosted by the lap of waves before the lake became frozen. Less than an hour later we reached the end of the lake, where we noticed open water at the inlet. We straddled a log tipped into the frozen lake and soaked up the sunshine, which softened the wintry air. Snacking on our family's trademark "hundred-mile-an-hour" cookies, we spotted an eagle in a nearby snag. We turned around to head home, warmed by the sunshine, the constant movement and an experience we would remem- ber forever. Skting on Horshoe Lake Skating on wild ice is truly a spiritual experience. THE SENSATION OF GLIDING ALONG A FROZEN LAKE CAN BE LIKE FLYING. AN EXPERIENCE THAT IS SURREAL, EXHILARATING, UPLIFTING AND AT TIMES—FRIGHTENING.

• Cover