A short list of things that are 30 feet tall or long:
1. A 30-foot-tall scale model of the Sears Tower built with Jenga blocks at Northern Michigan University: <link http: faculty.nmu.edu ims sears1.htm>faculty.nmu.edu/ims/sears1.htm
2. The meat-eating dinosaur called Torvosaurus cf. tanneri, a "Savage Lizard" found in western Colorado; 30 feet long, standing 8.5 feet tall at the hips, and tipping the scale at about 5,000 pounds: <link http: www.dinosaurdepot.com dinosaurs_p1.htm>www.dinosaurdepot.com/dinosaurs_p1.htm
3. A reportedly scary statue of a young Abe Lincoln wielding an axe at the Illinois State Fairgrounds: <link http: www.roadsideamerica.com cheese external-link-new-window external link in new>www.roadsideamerica.com/cheese/che7.html<link http: www.roadsideamerica.com cheese external-link-new-window external link in new>#skinny
And...
4. The total amount of snow that fell on northern Vermont ski resorts this winter!
Thankfully it didn't descend on us all at once, but ski areas around here are reporting ski season snow totals of 30 feet and more!
At Jay Peak ski resort, another 1-2 inches on Sunday put them over the 400" mark for the season. They are skiing 65 of 76 trails and running 7 of 8 lifts. The Skimeister and I and a couple of friends are planning to play hooky this week to ski there in the sunshine.
Stowe also picked up 1 to 2 inches and they are reporting a season total of 374 inches. There's still 92 inches of snow at the stake on the top of Mt. Mansfield. Amazing.
Stowe is running one lift during the week, but will open the gondola on the weekends. This Sunday we may hit Stowe's famous slopes for a benefit day for the Vermont Food Bank. If you bring at least two canned or non-perishable food items, you pick up a lift ticket for only $20. (That's unheard of at Stowe, where even today they are charging $54 for late-season skiing!) As Stowe's snow reporter says: "A good deal for doing a good deed!"
