Walking in winter is not a popular activity but I certainly advocate it as a way to beat the cold weather blues. With no leaves on the trees wildlife watching is certainly easier. The trails are not crowded with other hikers. I will never forget the time my friend Mike came to Indiana for a visit one December. He had never left his hometown of Tampa Florida so it was the first time he had ever seen snow. We decided to take a road trip to Turkey Run state park. It was very, very cold, so we took our survival techniques from old western movies: wilderness plus cold weather equals a pint of whiskey. It was eerily beautiful to be the only human visitors to that vast park. The trails were ice paths. Incredible massive icicles hung down from the rocks of the miniature canyons. Mike grabbed a big stick and went all medieval on those ice formations, smashing and bashing them to oblivion. Part of me silently wanted to join him in the chaos, but I yelled at him to stop, thinking of other hikers who might follow us. The icicles were so visually wonderful, I wanted others to enjoy them.