Roadtrip Fix

Lately I have been cheesin to get out on the road and drive a little bit. Let Gabby stretch her legs and maybe get a little dirty. All of a sudden Liz is saying that we are heading out to the Sun Tunnels and Spiral Jetty. It has something to do with one of her art history classes but for me it is a way to get out of the city. So we pack up the truck, meet up with some of her class mates and hit the road. The first leg of the trip is to head west to Wendover, on the way we stop at the Tree of Utah. I had never seen it before, but it is basically a sculpture of a big tree just off of the highway. After a quick pit stop it was off to Wendover to see an abandoned (yet still kinda in use) airfield. Apparently the filmed Con Air there as well as a number of other films. From there we hit the Bonneville Salt Flats (that place where they attempt land speed records) and when we drove out onto the flats it was like leaving this world behind. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of that, but its flat and salty. You get the idea. From there it was out to the Sun Tunnels for a night of camping then off to the Spiral Jetty. Sadly a snowstorm cut the trip a little short and our time at the Jetty was brief.

Tree of Utah. Picture from http://clui.org/ludb/site/tree-utah.

Abandoned Barracks.

Target Practice.

Dave.

My Lovely Lady.

Sun Tunnel Star Hole.

Constellations.

Sun Tunnels.

Through and Through.

Rainy Morning.

Spiral Jetty Snow Storm.

A Postcard for Me?

It's good to have friends. And I am fortunate enough to have fallen into a fantastic group of friends that always keeps me on my toes. We might not be near each other geographically, but that doesn't stop us from keeping in touch. One of the things that I always enjoy are postcards, and today I received a real doozy from Miss Wanderology. Kittens on the front and a heartfelt message penned on the back. When I say heartfelt I mean she ranted about how she found the postcard for 25 cents and that it was printed in Canada. You know, the important things. That is what I love about my friends, getting way too excited over small things. From Kylie's postcard rant, Cassidy getting excited about her feet and whatever food she is eating (not at the same time probably) Jake and getting to blow bubbles at med school, Tyler being excited about whatever shenanigans we are up to at the time and Lizzy who always laughs at me because I know the words to all the songs in Frozen. (If you haven't seen it, watch it and you can thank me later) With good friends like these, we can turn any situation into good time. I just hope they know how much I appreciate that. Now, for that wacky postcard. Enjoy!

The one on the left looks like Jabba the Hutt.

The Bus Baby

You know how every now and then your brain just goes crazy and starts losing sight of all reality and all of a sudden anything is possible? If you don't know what that is like, I will do my best to describe my experience to you so you get the feeling. Ok, the other day I was driving my bus and I had this crazy idea. "What if I found a baby on the bus?" People leave stuff on the bus all the time, gloves, hats, ski poles and the like. But what if somebody just got caught up and left a baby?!? I'd have to take it in and raise it as my own and give him some awful name like Bubba and explain to him how he was found on a bus and I'm too young to be a father of a bus baby! After worrying about this for an hour or so, my fear was somewhat realized when an odd looking couple got on the bus with what you ask, a baby. A little one. Still in arms and tiny and I knew, if I was ever going to accidentally become a father it was in this moment. So from the moment these two and their baby got on the bus I was watching them. I wasn't gonna let them sneak off without that child! Luckily for me (and the child) when they got off the bus the baby went with them. I breathed a sigh of relief and went on my way. Of course I realize now that if someone left a baby on the bus that I wouldn't have to raise it, I could give it to the police, or something and it wouldn't be up to me. But for a moment there I really thought I would have to keep it like some weird roll of the dice of fate and bam! Dad. Luckily I dodged that bullet for another day, but I still get a little suspicious any time someone gets on the bus with a baby now...

The Almighty Bolo

The other day I went skiing with my padre, he was in town for two days and we decided to go to Deer Valley Ski Resort. I had told him before about the power of the Bolo Tie, but he got to witness it first hand. I will back up a smidge, by working for the City of Park City we are entitled to number of privileges. One such privilege is that we are able to check out ski passes to different resorts. The pass for Deer Valley is a Bolo Tie. I did a little bit of research on these unique passes and found out that the only way to get one is to have property in DV (multi million dollar homes) or you can straight up buy one for five grand and it acts as a season pass, but fancier. So when the lifties and other DV employees spot a Bolo they believe that you are some kind of high roller. It is oodles of fun for me. So, there we are, skiing the day away when padre loses one of the baskets on his pole. Since we are staying off of the groomers it is kind of important to have one of those. So we ski down to the nearest ski check and I take the pole in, I kindly ask if they have an extra basket lying around (flashing Bolo as obviously as possible) and the next thing you know they have three guys working on finding one! In a matter of minutes we were back on the lift laughing about our good fortune. All in all it was a grand day!
And if you think I'm kidding that it is an actual Bolo Tie, here is the proof.

Majestic

So Fancy

Lookin Good

Bolo For Life

Why I Like Skiing

Whether you are a skier or a snowboarder, you'll probably know what I'm talking about when I say how much fun it is to be out on the mountain. First of all, let's talk about chairlifts. What an amazing thing!! Seriously, some guy thought to himself, "I'd really like to be on top of that tall mountain so I can slide down the snow on these slippery planks on my feets, but I hate hiking." Boom, the chairlift is born. They do in minutes what it would take the average person hours to do. I think chairlifts are half the reason I like skiing as much as I do. 

Moving on, the riding itself. Yesterday was a powder day, so much fun, so free, like cutting through the clouds, floating on air. It is hard to get that feeling anywhere else. 

When it comes to shredding, I like the trees. One of the best things about being out there is getting into nature. There are times when you can be in the middle of a patch of trees, snow falling all around you and there is this mute tranquility that completely surrounds you. The trees and snow muffle everything, and for me, it is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world. Yesterday I was carving my way through some trees, enjoying the serenity of it all, when a little mink ran across my path. I don't know why, but I really liked that little guy. Sadly I couldn't get a picture of him but this is what he looked like.

Pretty adorable, right?

Lastly, the people. I ride alone. So almost every time I get on a lift it is with people that I have never met and will probably never meet again. Yesterday I was doing laps on one of the older lifts, it's just a two seater and it doesn't move very fast, but it is worth the ride. So I was lapping thing lift and I got paired up with a skier. We sit down, as usual we do some small talk and like many people I ride with, he is on vacation. A pretty cool guy, from Virginia, fifty-two years old, only his second time to Park City. So he asks where the good snow is and I do my best to point it out to him, after pointing out a few different areas he asks if he can just follow me. I say sure, we get to the top and he follows me as I traverse over a ways to get to the untouched pockets of powder. After seeing a spot that looks good I dip off and carve my way to the bottom, laughing and loving every second of that mystical ride down. I get to the lift line and here comes my skier buddy, a huge smile on his face. We get on the lift together again and he is raving about how good that run was. He starts telling me all about the first time he ever rode powder when he was seventeen and how he felt so free and he had been trying to get that feeling back ever since then. Apparently he had just found it again, thanks to me and he couldn't have been happier. I ended up doing two more laps with this guy, each time we hit the pow he was like a kid in a candy store and when we were on the lift you could tell he was having a wonderful time. Interactions like this act as a reminder to me, every single person out there has a life of their own, their own stories, thoughts, feelings and adventures. And for a moment in time two complete strangers shared in an experience like we were two old friends. 

The Last Word

I know it might be hard to believe, but driving around in circles all day can get a little boring. So I have to come up with creative ways of entertaining myself. This includes singing, talking to myself, seeing how close I can get the bus to things, and my newest game! I call this new game, the last word. It's a very easy game, as people are exiting the bus I'll say something, they respond, I respond and so forth, always trying to have the last word. Sometimes I'll say, "Have a nice day!" And I'll only get a, "you too!" in response. Then I've gotta think fast! Something like, "I hope you enjoy your stay!" or "Sure looks like snow tonight!" Anything to get the last word in. The best times are when people are also playing the last word game with me. I will give you an example of one of my best games yet.

Them: Thank you

Me: No problem

Them: Have a good one

Me: You too!

Them: I will!

Me: That's great!

Them: I know!

Me: Enjoy the snow!

Them: I'm looking forward to it!

Me: I'm sure it will snow tonight! *start driving away*

Them: You think so?!? *tries to keep up with the bus*

Me: YES I DO! *closes door*

Me: heh, winner winner chicken dinner

And that is how you play last word!

Oh I Forgot to Mention...

I realized after my last post that I left out so many thoughts and musings that I had during Sundance. So here are a couple of things.
First off, during Sundance there are definitely people of the upper class there. You know the type, driving fancy cars and eating expensive dinners? Well those people frequent the public transit during Sundance for a number of different reasons. Alleviating traffic, so they can get their drink on, and because there isn't any parking anywhere in the city. One of my favorite things about this, other than seeing high class folk (fur coats, suits n ties) on a bus with the normies, is the look of satisfaction these wealthy people have when they get off the bus at the right place. I always imagine them thinking, "Look at that Gertrude, you can be just as plain as these peasants. Well done!" Or something like that...
Next item of business! Ladies! What are you doing??? It is fifteen degrees out, the sidewalks are sheets of ice and you're in a little black dress and heels? I understand you want to look good for the clubs, but really? I worry for your safety when I release you into the elements, please just bring a coat next time. On a similar note, I'd like to make a shoutout to all the gals who wear Sorells, puffy coats and bright beanies. You are my favorite bus patrons because you are dressed for the weather and I can see you in the bright colored hat. Anytime I can see somebody at a distance it makes stopping the bus on icy roads much easier. So a big thank you to those sensible ladies.
This leads to my next point, people that I despise. The guy who is sitting at the bus stop, wearing all black, with in his hands in his pockets not waving at me. Stop getting mad when I drive past you!! It's eleven at night, it's dark, and you are a stationary black blur against a dark backdrop. Are you really that surprised I didn't see you? I know you see me because I'm a bus! You can hear me coming a mile away, when you do just prepare yourself to be seen. People that do this are a real stick in my craw!
Alright, I think I've gotten it all out now. See you next time!