Touring the northlands...

Took a late afternoon jaunt north to the hot springs today. Enjoyed my 1/2 mile bikram swim (my name for lap swimming in 100 degree water). Enjoyed my soak and had few nice conversations. Thunder and lightning forced an early departure and as I was driving home a crazy storm dumped hail and sleet and snow. Who expects snow covered roads in April? As I approached the exit to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a bright spot opened in the sky to the west and beckoned me off of the highway... where I was greeted by a rainbow and beautiful skies for an impromptu photo safari!

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Welcome to my Winter Wonderland!

I must interrupt my vacation travelog for a winter weather alert.

That's right, winter!!

Awoke to 4 inches of snow this morning (yes, I actually measured)! .....and it's been snowing on and off all day.

I haven't even turned the heat on yet.... But I have shoveled my drive!

An unusual day...

Yes, after a glorious, warm beautiful fall weekend (pictures to come!), mother nature was up to her old tricks and dropped the temperature about 30 degrees and gave us our first snow for the season! Not yet sure what it will do for my weekend hiking/biking plans, but I love the snow anyway!!!

And my other amusement for the day... It was another interesting horoscope day.

"Flap your wings, you sweet and sassy social butterfly, you! More than ever before, you are able to relate well to other people from all walks of life. So get out into the world and make sure you have a smile and handshake ready for everyone you meet. Your inner politician is coming out in full force, minus the canned answers and boring hairstyles, of course! You'll get a huge rush out of finding out what people think about everything from the weather to the world."

The interesting part was relating well to other people from all walks of life. Like most people I have my routines and people I spend time with. The nerdy science folks from work, the artsy people at the pottery studio, the fun loving folks In my not really a singles group, group. Well, today I actually went to two different events with people from other walks of life.

First was a financial seminar put on by Charles Schwab, a luncheon at a swanky, or I may say "stuffy" downtown hotel. I rushed out of work to get there on time, only to end up late because there was so much going on at the Grand America hotel that I got within a block of the building and then it took me 20 minutes to get into the parking garage. I walked into the banquet room and felt instantly out of place, and for a change, young. The talk was about retirement planning, but most everyone else looked retired already. With only a couple of exceptions,like the 2 gray haired pony tailed guys , everyone looked kind of preppy, like the folks I went to college with. It definitively seemed like the country club set. Being that "sweet and sassy social butterfly and all" I did try to chat up the folks at my table, but having arrived so late there was not much time to talk before speaker gave their talks. I can't say that the talks were terribly informative, it seemed more like a smooze up to well to do clients, to make them feel better about the crappy stock market of late (LOL), rather than a genuinely educational event. Lunch was good though, and I have to say the Grand America makes a really yummy angelfood cake. I didn't get that excited about retirement planning, but I think my next culinary adventure may be to make an angelfood cake.

Fast forward to the evening. I was invited by my neighbor to join her for a meditation type group meeting. Now this was a group from a different walk of life, for lack of a better description, a group of new age energy seeking types. Now these people are much more my types, as they are casual and not stuffy and very friendly, yet I'm still out of my element a bit a because I am not a "believer". I believe that positive thinking is a good thing, and good intention, living in the moment and learning to relax and not worry things are good skills to live by, but I just can't get behind this notion of putting energy out into the universe to get things back in return. It goes against my scientific brain. I just can't quite believe that somehow telling "the universe" that you will get rich, or healthy or find love will set forth an intention that will be returned to you. ("The Secret" sort of thinking). Granted, good attitude and positive thinking is going to help, not hinder your quests in life.... but I think that if things worked the way the speaker suggests all the folks in the room should be rich, beautiful and happy in about a week... and I just don't see that happening! Despite my skepticism, I do find what others to believe to be interesting, and I met a lot of really nice people. So as my horoscope says, it was a good day to meet people form all walks of life! Now of course, not being a believer means I don't really believe in my horoscope, but I do get amused when it seems so fitting for a day!
Yup,lots of snow on Mount Olympus!

To the snow zone again...

Took another little hike up the Millcreek road today... wanted to see how much snow melted since we finally had a few warm days. Quite a bit of the road cleared the last five days, so I walked a bit further than last time, enjoying the sunshine and taking lots of pictures of the little things along the way....






One of the bigger snow banks...


The same spot 5 days ago... quite a bit has melted

Reaching the snow zone...

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A Tuesday night with no plans, other than the need to do yard work, but since our spring monsoon season has left the yard wet and muddy I decided to take Daisy up the canyon for her walk instead. About half way up the canyon the Millcreek Canyon road gets closed for winter, becomes a cross country ski trail and is not scheduled to open to cars until the first of July. Tonight I decided to drive up to the winter gate and walk up the road a bit. We had an big snow year and a cool spring (it actually snowed at my house on Memorial Day), so I was curious how the snow melt was doing this year.

We walked the mile and half or so up to Elbow Fork. The road turns sharply there, and around that bend is when we first encountered snow on the road. It wasn't much past there that the entire road was snow covered. I ventured a quarter to half mile past Elbow Fork, and found the road covered with anywhere between one and three feet of snow, and I imagine it only got deeper in the next few miles. It will be interesting to see if the upper canyon road really opens on July 1st this year.

Daisy was a little sluggish walking up the road tonight. In all fairness, she is old for a big dog(10 1/2) and overweight (just like her "mama" LOL) and it is an uphill trek. I kind of wondered if Sarah may already walked her today and wore her out. But as soon as we hit the snow zone I got my puppy dog back. She was totally thrilled to be able romp in the snow and play a little "snowball". She really is a "mama's dog", a lover of snow just like me.

Just past Elbow Fork


My happy doggy!


The next big bend in he road.


Snow getting pretty deep...

Stellar Spring Snow Season!

The view down to the Salt Lake Valley from Snowbird


Well I have been a bad blogger again.... funny how time flies when you are having fun. And I have certainly been having fun. We have had a great snowy spring, and I have been having a great time out on the ski slopes... Yes, I am a very, very lucky girl. In addition to the great snow, I've also have new ski buddies, who have stolen me a way from my beloved Brighton for a few days at Deer Valley, a magnificent powder day at Park City Mountain resort and bluebird day at Snowbird. April skiing is not a given, some years April gets warm, slushy and even muddy, this year we've had constantly replenished, fresh, fluffy snow, followed by long spring days and sunshine. It could not be better!


While at Snowbird we had to take a trip through the tunnel over to Mineral Basin. After riding a chair nearly to the top of the mountain, you can ride a rubber conveyor belt through a tunnel in the mountain to the Mineral Basin side of the resort. It's kind of unique Snowbird thing, so we had to ride once. Getting on was a little weird, partially because I was paying more attention to my camera then the grip of the rubber on the bottom of skis, so I got quite off balance and momentarily had a vision of being sprawled and dragged through the tunnel. A few expletives from my friends as they embarked made me realize I was not alone in my clumsiness. Fortunately we all regained our balance before wiping out. Then, half way through the tunnel the belt stopped, lurching us forward, once again I thought it was going to be my big wipe out for the day... but again, recovered... and laughed and laughed.






Two of these stellar ski days were when my friend Joe's friend Mara flew into town for a ski vacation. Having an out of town guest turned an ordinary ski weekend into a ski vacation.... or should I say "stay-cation". Our powder day at Park City was extra special, because we got a private powder tour through the trees and powder stashes by Joe's friend Joe, a stellar skier, and Park City regular who knew all the best places. The next day we cruised all over Snowbird, and at the end of the day headed up to to spa on the roof of the Cliff Lodge, for a soak in the hot tub. The views there are beautiful and the water delightful, especially after 2 hard days of skiing. After our soak we headed downtown and met a few more friends for sushi dinner. As a "local" I usually ski and go home, getting the luxury ski/spa/dinner out treatment was a real treat for me. A total vacation! A good time was had by all... especially me!!!

Mother nature came to visit..

A quick drive by post this morning mostly to share with my far away kids (and anyone else who's interested) what mother nature bestowed upon us last night. Between living in Paris (Matt) and coastal northern California (Sarah) neither get to see much fluffy white stuff... and I know they miss it, since they are snow lovers like their momma. So here are a few shots from home for my kiddos....




About 10 PM last night... my tree doesn't normally block my sidewalk...

Why I'm the luckiest girl in the world....

Because I can get up on a Sunday morning, leave the overcast, gloomy, inversion caused smog that blankets the Salt Lake valley in the winter, and in half an hour be at Brighton, where the air is cool and crisp and not polluted and the sun actually shines. And once there I can strap on skis and fly around the slopes. Today started out cold and overcast, the corduroy stripes laid down by the groomers last night were frozen solid and and covered by a skiff of new snow. Skiing the frozen corduroy was kind of a tactile experience for the feet, not scary icy, but oddly rumbling underfoot. The trees on the upper slopes were where frosty and beautiful, frozen and flocked in new snow. Eventually the sun came out and it was gorgeous day. A winter wonderland for sure. Not enough new snow for a powder day, but a perfect day for cruising. I love to ski fast, feel the wind bite my cheeks, feel the exhilaration as I fly down the slopes. I was skiing solo today, so it was easy to push myself, so aside from a potty break, and a trip to my car to grab my camera, I didn't stop all day. I skied 26 runs, surely a record for me. Had some interesting ski lift conversations... met an Aussie that lives in London, a strip club owner from Tennessee, a nice woman who owns a cute Salt Lake store that I've driven by a zillion times but haven't stopped at (but now I will), a guy who drove here from New York, and many others. Last ride of the day was with a cute little 15 year old boy, who was up by himself and seemed thrilled to have someone tell his snowboarding stories to. Such a nice, nice day.

I am not from here, but even after living here for 25 years, I can't spend a day in the mountains without thinking "Wow, I am so lucky, and so thankful, to be able to enjoy this every weekend" Oh regarding the top picture.... just a fumble fingered moment, trying to use my camera while riding the lift, holding my poles and wearing ski mittens, a total inadvertent snapshot I really liked... my happy legs!

Fail!!

After geting up this morning and shoveling another 5 inches of snow I headed off to work. Upon getting to my favorite parking lot this is what I found. See that huge pile of snow? See that yellow parking lot stripe? See that that stripe is the last stripe on the right?.... Yup, that means they left that huge pile of snow right in the middle of the road! FAIL!!!!

Of course parking being as tight as it is at the "U" when I left work I found cars parked on either side of the pile, essentially adding 2 new spaces to the parking lot. I wonder how the parking nazi's handled that one. Tickets? No tickets? Hmmmmmm.

And another huge fail. My daughter called this morning to let me know she arrived safetly in Arcata. She arrived, but her luggage did not. After the flight nobody on her plane's luggage was found at the baggage carousel. Apparently the baggage handlers forgot to load the entire plane's worth of luggage before departing from Sacramento yesterday... Epic Fail!!!!!
Not my street, but the pretty tree lined street that leads out of my neighborhood.
Yeah, just a wee bit of snow in the front yard this morning!