| Upper Valley Trails Alliance to Share the Wonders of Winter |
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 It is a cold winter morning. The sun is shining and the temperatures hover in the single digits. After a week of frigid temperatures you hear that the lake ice is six inches thick. You step onto the ice, clip into your skates, and begin your almost effortless glide around the four mile Lake Morey Skating Trail, the longest in the US. If this sounds like an ideal way to spend a winter weekend then please read on…This winter, the Lake Morey Skating Trail will host the Annual Skate-a-thon on January 10, 2009 and the Annual WinterFest on January 11, 2009. Both events are presented in partnership with the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, Hulbert Outdoor Center, and Lake Morey Resort. The Skate-a-thon, which takes place at the Lake Morey Resort, is an event open to individuals and families. For the admission fee, attendees get free skate rentals (while supplies last), lunch provided by Boloco, skating instruction, and warm drinks. All proceeds go to maintain the Skating Trail. The WinterFest, which takes place at the Hulbert Outdoor Center, is a community event where attendees get to sample a variety of winter activities including Nordic skating, snowshoe hikes, cross country skiing, winter travel skills, sledding, old fashioned ice cutting, igloo building, winter skills, dog sledding demos and more. All ages and beginners welcomed. Donation $5 each or $15 per family. Lunch and hot drinks available. Skate rentals at both events will be provided courtesy of Nordic Skater in Norwich, VT. For detailed event info, registration, and history of the events and the skating trail visit www.uvtrails.org.  In addition, the federal government recently issued new exercise guidelines for children. The guidelines state that children should be active for at least one hour every day. With the long Upper Valley winter upon us, the Trails Alliance is pleased to announce the return of the Passport to Winter Fun for the 2009. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, the Passport is an elementary school fitness program designed to encourage children and their families to remain physically fit during the winter season. It emphasizes outdoor activities such as sledding, skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing, building snowmen or igloos, or just playing in the snow, but also includes indoor physical exercise. Participants track the days on which they have engaged in at least one hour of physical activity in a booklet resembling a travel passport, progressing through several levels of achievement when they have completed ten, twenty or thirty days of physical activity within the six-week program period. Their healthy play is rewarded with incentive prizes along the way. If you are interested in learning more or want your child’s school to participate, visit uvtrails.org or call 802-649-9075
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