STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Craving a change of scenery after your hundredth trip around Prairie Creek Loop?

Swiftsure Ranch is opening its grounds from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, for socially distanced snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

People will be invited to romp around by skiing two miles’ worth of trails groomed for classic and skate skiing at the ranch, which sits between Highway 75 and the Big Wood River south of Bellevue. Or, snowshoe through the sensory trail before picking a mile-long or two-mile long path heading out onto the woods.

Snacks will be offered around fire pits, which serve as warming stations.

The event costs $20 a person or $40 a family. Register at www.swiftsureranch.org/events or https://swiftsureranch.org/romp-around-the-ranch/

People are asked to leave Fido and Rover at home.

Nancy Glick said this is the first time anyone has had the opportunity to ski or snowshoe at the ranch south of Bellevue.

“This is a way to let folks enjoy the ranch because we don’t normally have the opportunity,” she said. “We’re always looking for ways to introduce people to this magical place.”

Swiftsure Ranch sits on 191 acres at 114 Calypso Lane—it’s the ranch with the big tall flag pole. It offers free equine therapy to children and adults seeking help with a variety of issues, including Parkinson’s Disease and learning disabilities.

AVALANCHE ALERT

A snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche Friday afternoon while recreating in the Smiley Creek drainage eight miles southwest of Galena Summit. The snowmobiler was carried at least 600 vertical feet in a wooded gully with debris piling up 30 feet, according to the Sawtooth Avalanche Center.

He deployed his airbag, was found by his partners on the surface but was determined to have died due to injuries incurred during the avalanche.

The man was identified as 30-year-old Andrew Jessop of Corvallis, Mont.