the same only different

 Sunday morning didn't bring any new snow but some weather vagary had scoured the air pollution out of the valley for the morning, which was really, really nice.  Milton and I did a slightly longer walk, with some off-leash zoomies in an elementary school playground.  When we got home, I was a little at a loss as to what to do with myself, what with the clean house and the up Christmas tree.  I soon made myself a list and started checking things off: more laundry; baking dog cookies; roasting a butternut squash (a CSA holdover); starting a Liqueur 44 infusion; finishing holiday cards; dehydrating unused fresh rosemary and thyme (leftover from the savory bread pudding); and making leek and potato soup for dinner.

Meanwhile, H took his first ski bus ride of the year to Alta.  It was not crowded.  The snow conditions were unchanged from Saturday, but weather-wise it was cloudier, windier and colder.  My goodness we need snow.  And there is just nothing in the foreseeable forecast.  I hope it's not going to be another one of those years.

All the other lifts are open though

friendsgiving

 Traditional Thanksgiving can be awkward eating-wise for vegans.  So when your vegan-friendly friends say they're available the weekend after T'giving for a vegan T'giving meal, you jump all over that.

But first, H went skiing.  Since the last we'd seen said that the ski bus wasn't going to start until 12/13, he drove up.  Of course, there was a ski bus there and when H went to talk to the driver, he found out that the ski bus has in fact been running since the previous week.  Good to know.  There has been no new snow since the Tuesday before (real) Thanksgiving so the conditions were thin and hard.  Being up above the smoggy inversion in the Salt Lake Valley was a nice change, however - being able to see the sun and breathe clean air.  H reported that most chairlift conversations centered around how big a shitshow Christmas week - with all its tourist families - is going to be if we don't get some snow.

No smog up here.  Also no snow, really.

Meanwhile, down in said smoggy valley, Milton and I did a shortened walk, needing the exercise but not wanting to breathe the air longer than necessary.  Then there was a flurry of vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, holiday decorating and clean laundry putting-away-ing.  I had prepped food the night before, so when our friends E and K, and their eight year old terrier mix Stevie arrived late afternoon, things sort of ran on autopilot, allowing us to catch up.  Milton and Stevie get along well, although Milt seemed completely mystified, watching her act like an actual dog: sniffing every inch of every room, getting the zoomies in the basement, getting up on all the couches and chairs, playing with a squeaking stuffie and snacking on whatever anyone dropped on the floor.

Milt, H and Stevie

I can't believe I didn't get any photos of dinner but it was really quite good (if I say so myself).  We had roasted acorn squash, carmelized leek bread pudding (a/k/a stuffing/dressing), mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry-orange relish.  Dessert was from all-vegan restaurant and bakery Sweet Hazel: key lime pielette, German chocolate cakelette and a giant frosted sugar cookie.  It was a really nice evening for which we are thankful.

thanksgiving recap

 Another Thanksgiving in Moab has come and gone.  We didn't break any new ground but we did cover a fair bit of ground, so that's good.  We drove down Tuesday night and the weather was ... not great.  It was raining and spitting snow basically from Spanish Fork to Moab but we really lucked out in that there wasn't any snow accumulation - not even slush - on the roads.  And because we drove down Tuesday, the traffic wasn't that bad.  When we got to Moab, we caught up with our neighbor over beers while the house warmed up: she confirmed that it had rained all day.  The puddles and the wet trails throughout the weekend confirmed that.

Delightful weather outside of Green River

But then the storm system moved out, faster than expected - it was supposed to have dropped 2-3 feet of snow in the Utah mountains but hit Colorado instead - and we had gorgeous (and cold) weather for the holiday.  On Wednesday, we had trail time on Pipedream (3.4 miles for A; 4.15 miles for H and M) and bar time at Woody's, where it was a very local crowd.  Thursday, H and M did another six miles on Pipedream and then we all did a Middle Earth hike, away from the holiday crowds.

Good job, little 2016 Crosstrek!

By Friday we were up for triple sessioning: a return to Delicate Arch for A and H (3.7 miles), then up to Sand Flats so Milton could get some trail time too (3.1 miles), then over to Josie Wyatt's ($2/PBRs).  Saturday morning we braved the mid 20s F cold and did an early morning Moab Rim hike, stomping up the "Moab Stairmaster" trail and then out to the overhead arch off the jeep road.  We went back down the 4x4 road, pausing to watch a couple of Jeeps navigating the Devil's Crack obstacle - nerve-wracking, that.

The overhead arch

And that was about it.  Unsure about the holiday traffic, we left early Sunday morning.  The sun was out, the roads were clear and the traffic was actually light, so we made good time getting back to SLC.  And now it's December - how is that even possible?