A Walk in the Snow

But head out tothe country where the new-fallen snow stays pristine, where there are no busses to splash those puddles all over the unsuspecting pedestrians, and it's easy to see why some people love to hear the words "Winter Storm Warning."

I finally understood that when I found myself in Door County, Wisconsin, after a winter storm. We headed to Nor Door Sport & Cyclery in Fish Creek to rent our snowshoes ($4 for the first hour or $15 for the day) and headed to Peninsula State Park.

First, let me bust a couple of potential misconceptions about snowshoes.

1. These are not your grandparents' snowshoes. Don't think, as I did, "tennis rackets strapped to my feet." Think "high-tech chrome frames attached to your toes."

2. It's not hard to walk in snowshoes, although it is a good workout. It took me a few fumbling steps to get used to the feeling of walking with the wide stride necessary when you have chrome frames attached to your toes.

3. Snowshoes make you feel like you're on top of the world, but you aren't necessarily on top of the snow. Still, you do sink less than you would if you didn't have chrome frames attached to your toes. I admit I found this a little disappointing. I had envisioned myself gliding across the top of the snow, leaving barely a trace behind.

But it is no misconception that snowshoeing is a wonderful way to commune with nature after a big snow.

I was so taken with the sport that I had a moment of weakness during which I actually considered buying snowshoes as a Christmas surprise for my family. Then I realized that walking around the streets of Chicago with snowshoes strapped to my feet would look just as silly as wearing that Mexican sombrero or Hawaiian shirt once you get home to Chicago. Besides, snowshoes would make it much harder to sprint out of the way when the bus starts spraying that muddy water around.