girls' weekend

This past weekend, my two bestest girlfriends came to SLC to visit.  It is practically criminal how long it's been since the three of us have gotten together, so we made up for lost time by practically talking nonstop from Friday evening when they got here until just about now when we dropped them at the airport.  Neither of them had ever been to Utah so it was fun to do the introductory tour.  We began, of course, at the Porcupine for nachos, beers and burgers - because that's how you start vacation.

On Saturday, while H escaped for a road ride and a self-guided fishing expedition up Big Cottonwood Canyon, the girls and I leisurely breakfasted at home, then drove up to downtown SLC for a (free - see prior post) visit to Red Butte Garden, the fabulous University of Utah botanical garden.  The sun was out, clear and strong, so we happily wandered through the gardens, pausing in the shady spots ... except for where the rattlesnake was hanging out.  We snapped a photo there and then moved out without disturbing him.  We were hot and parched after that, so we stopped by the Desert Edge brewpub at Trolley Square for a light lunch, and then hit a shave-ice stand for frozen treats - I had the sour pink lemonade which was quite good.

Cheers for beers!

We packed beers and a supper picnic and drove up to Snowbird for that evening's Cool Air concert, snagging a prime umbrella'ed table for our make-your-own chicken, black bean and corn burritos.  The chairlift rides close at 6:00 p.m. so instead we bought tickets for the tram ride to the top, spotting a cow and a calf moose far below and then enjoying the fantastic views all around from the 11,000 ft. summit.  When we descended, we enjoyed a couple more beers in the pleasant cool as the live music (Marshall Crenshaw himself!) wound down and the sun slipped over the western mountains.

Sunday morning found us up and at 'em and at the Silver Fork for breakfast, then taking a stroll around Silver Lake at Brighton to watch the numerous fishermen not catching a thing.  Guardsman Pass from Brighton to Park City is finally open so we drove over that - LEY spotted a huge bull moose grazing in the aspens - but didn't linger in Park City as it was swarming with people for the PC Arts Festival.  We went to Sundance Resort instead for a beer at the Owl Bar, then continued up and over the Alpine Loop beneath Timpanogos, exiting through American Fork Canyon and returning home in time for cleaning up and snacks before the girls had to be back at the airport.

Top o' Snowbird, under the tram

I'm so glad they came to visit - I'm so glad the monsoon thunderstorms gave us a break this weekend - and I hope they had fun.  I know I did, and I really enjoy showing off my new home to old friends.