It turns out that many people sign up to ride the van and then don't show up. How rude! So the rest of the week I showed up at the van and was able to ride up, even though there wasn't room on the sign-up sheet.
(I am feeling pretty cynical about my job at the moment, with the way it eats at my time by making me commute two hours every day, and then there's working overtime. Sundance prides itself on being green, which is great, but someone pointed out--if they want to be green, why don't they open an office in Salt Lake? That's where most people commute from! And it's not like there's one big Sundance headquarters--they just fill in random small buildings throughout Park City, so they could easily buy or rent an office space in the Salt Lake Valley. Furthermore, most of what I do for work could easily be done from home.)
Anyway, back to my story. There had been a little bit of snow Monday morning, so driving up to Park City was challenging. But not for the slipperiness. Since the road was wet, my windshield kept getting dirty. And worst of all, the road was wet but the sky was clear, so the glare on the road was horrendous. At one point, I didn't realize that the lane next to me was ending, and a semi was getting over, and I just thought its emergency flashers were on, since they always are in Parleys Canyon. I had to slam on my brakes.
Then, once I got to Park City, I had to park a mile away, because parking is really problematic there, even though "Park" is literally the city's name. (My coworkers later told me I could park in the office parking lot, even though technically I'm supposed to have a parking permit.) But I was prepared to walk over, and even though it was like 12 degrees, I was nice and toasty, because I had come prepared.
(Another thing that bugs me about Park City is that they encourage people to be green by not driving, but there's a shocking dearth of sidewalks. Only the main roads have them. How can you expect people to walk when all you give them is icy gutters?)
All this is really to tell you that I was prepared for snow, and I was wearing the boots I got ten years ago in Airway Heights, WA. I felt confident walking through snow.
And then. I realized that since I could walk in snow, I could walk on the trails right by the office. I ran on those trails a month ago, but I've stayed away since the first snows arrived. But here I was on them again! I didn't even need snowshoes, and they weren't icy yet (ice is my archnemesis). It was lovely to be out in nature in another season.
And then, since I was confident walking in snow, I was even confident enough to run in the snow! It is a lot harder than running on a dry trail, and the right conditions have to be met, and I can't do it too much or I'll get blisters on my heel. But this is a total game changer for me. I'm not a big fan of winter, but this could save the season for me, now that I know I can still go on the trails. It's still not ideal, but it's better than staying inside all January.
(Once someone told me she preferred winter to summer because she liked staying inside and reading and watching movies. Um, you can still do those things in the summer, so that doesn't make winter better!)
We'll see if I'm still feeling so optimistic in January, because Christmas really makes winter seem delightful, when it's not. But I couldn't help whistling "A Marshmallow World."
Since I had to work the day after Thanksgiving, I took a floating holiday on Friday. It was nice to have the day off, but it meant I had to work all day Saturday, and what's the fun in that? I was able to walk (not run) on my beloved Wild Rose Trail. It was a little more slippery than Park City because it was more packed down, but I'll definitely have to keep this trail in mind again in winter, and not just pine for March.
After my snowy "hike," I was able to do some Christmas shopping and then made carrot celery soup.
Then came my favorite new Christmas tradition. This was our fifth year attending the Lower Lights Christmas concert!
They are seriously so fun. Better than Tabernacle Choir concerts. Better than the Katy Perry concert last year. It's a group of local artists (some more successful than others) getting together to sing folksy versions of Christmas and gospel songs. Not all of them are Mormon. It's a rollicking evening; I highly recommend the concerts. Oh, and I saw Ben McAdams outside the theater (though I'm not sure if he was attending)!
Back on my mission, I discovered the singer Cherie Call, and she is my favorite. I think that's how I heard of the Lower Lights, and now this is a beloved tradition. Last year I thought they would have a new Christmas album out by now, but nope. I even thought they were recording one secretly when they were in town in August. I guess not.
Anyway, I'm always looking for ways to make winter less depressing. And I might have found it this week.
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