Sunday, November 9, 2008

My Town Monday: Mountain View

And yet I'm still talking about Livingston County. Situated just west of Brighton is Mount Brighton. This is a man made "mountain" that reaches 250 vertical feet.


Local rumor says it's made of trash. I don't know if that's true or not.



Either way, it's a ski hill. They have skiing and snowboarding in the winter. Since I am very much an indoor critter, I spend much of my winter where it's warm. That doesn't include skiing, snowboarding, or much else that takes me outside longer than necessary. Except brushing the snow off my stupid car.

In recent years, Mount Brighton added the Jackal Golf Course around the backside of the hill. This is an eighteen hole golf course.

I don't golf either. I grew up next to a golf course and still don't understand the appeal. I'd rather be at home with a book or my internet.

And another thing that's new to hill that we call Mount Brighton in summer is Sphereing. This nauseua inducing activity involves climbing into a giant inflatble hamster ball and rolling down the hill.













I have never done that either. I have innards that are dreadfully sensitive to spinning and rolling and other motions. Growing up, any car trip included a stop for my breakfast to make an exit...

I have nothing against any fine folks who participate in these activities. But my involvement with Mount Brighton is limited to the "Mountain" Vista it provides and trying to make a turn from Challis onto Bauer roads. Bauer is one of those just-busy-enough roads that makes a turn difficult at best. And if you're turning right from Challis, Bauer is an extra steep hill. Try *that* in a stick shift car!








Mount Brighton is one of our landmarks around here. I remember driving into Brighton winters ago and watching them make their own snow. Still, I drive by and watch the people skiing and snowboarding down the hillside.


And all I can think is, "Aren't they COLD?" But I have a serious aversion to cold. My abhorrence of the cold would make one think that I would move to some place warmer (maybe down where Travis lives.)

But I'm Michigan born and bred. This is my home.

No, I did not see any snow this weekend. I very much did not. I know it was reported, but I refuse to admit I saw nothing.

Make sure you visit Travis Erwin for more My Town Monday posts. Travel the world from your computer.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not seeing any snow here in Ohio, nope, those must have been some kind of odd pellets hitting my head on my walk tonight. J

I loved your posts and would be tempted to ride in the giant hamster ball! I imagine I'd fare better doing that than attempting skiing or snowboarding!

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

Travis Erwin said...

Interesting. Once upon a time I was a skier and snowboarder and while I still love to visit the Rocky's in New Mexico and Colorado, I stick mostly to fishing nowadays.

pattinase (abbott) said...

That sphering thing is new to me. Sounds pretty scary.

David Cranmer said...

I'm from a winter friendly state with talk of snowboarding, skiing etc. Other than sledding, I pretty much stayed inside with a book. Now that I have adventure in my bones, sphereing sounds like fun... I'd probably kill myself.

Jenn Jilks said...

Now that I am a retired teacher, I do not mind the snow nearly so much!

You are wise to face your..dislikes - shall we say, of snow, and other outdoor activities. Very brave of you to feature them! I'm with you...no sphereing for me!

debra said...

No snow here, either. the little white pellets that were hitting my head when I went to put the chickens in were, uh, popcorn---that's ti, popcorn.
Oh, and the white stuff on the ground and coming down must be dryer lint. Nope, no snow here, either.

Barbara Martin said...

I didn't see any snow in Toronto this morning.

Hamster ball...no, not for me. My stomach would lurch like yours Bo. Yuck.

But interesting about the man-made mountain.

Lyzzydee said...

I like the idea of the big bouncy ball thing, not sure I could cope with being stuck inside one though!!