Dermatone - ✓

I have less than a week now in my own bed before leaving for a five week stint on the road that won't find me home in the East until just before Christmas.

Blog entries on two of my past trips to Canmore can be read here and here.

We leave next Wednesday for three+ weeks at our first stop in Canmore, AB. Canmore is just west of Calgary, host of the 1988 Winter Olympics. It's a gorgeous area that I've been lucky enough to visit three times already, this year will make four. The nordic center in Canmore has a fleet of snow guns and saves snow from one year to the next in a giant pit covered with wood chips so skiing should be good right from the start of our stay. At the end of our time in Canmore we'll do two weekends of NorAm biathlon races as tune-up events for US IBU Cup trials in Grand Rapids, the next destination on our trip.

Canmore…just west of Calgary out in Alberta. Canadian cowboy hat country. 

Grand Rapids. I've been there so many times now for biathlon that I'm not sure how many times that is! We go there at least once a year for trials in December but on occasion we've been back in March for US Nationals. It's not my favorite place to go, probably on account of it always being frigid and during the darkest time of year, but I've always had some of my best races there so that's a plus. We'll be in Grand Rapids for ten days that will culminate in four trials races before we head home just in time to catch the shortest daylight of the year and celebrate Christmas with family.

Grand Rapids, MN. Home of hot dish and hockey players. 

While I'm looking forward to getting on snow and the excitement of being somewhere different for a while, the prospect of packing just two bags (a ski bag and part of a duffle bag - my rifle lives in the other part) with everything I need is as daunting as ever. I really despise packing but hopefully I won't forget anything and then when I come home, the opportunity to wear something different for the first time in five weeks will be as exciting as ever. Now….time to do some laundry and start pulling out those items that are absolutely necessary for the frigid weather we're sure to have in Canmore and Grand Rapids.

Dermatone - ✓

Boot covers - ✓

Buff - ✓

Puffy jacket - ✓