that's more like it

Saturday was much better: partly sunny with a light breeze, pleasant when the sun was out.  All three of us went up to Sand Flats Recreation Area for a short hike on the Slickrock Trail.  We did just over four miles, out and back on the main trail, and while the parking lot was busier than we've seen since fall, we only saw a handful of people out on the trail.  The 4x4 trail traffic was picking up too.

Soaking in some Vitamin D

We had a date for drinks at our friends' house, so after a quick run through the grocery store, we walked over there for a couple of late afternoon/early evening hours.  It is for sure getting busier in town: the slow season is coming to an end.

Sunday morning was quite nice with lots of sun, although it did cloud up as the day went on.  A and M returned to the Pipe Dream trail: walking the trail to the Hidden Valley trailhead from the Jackson Street entrance, and then returning along the Pipeline trail at the base of the foothills.  The Pipeline trail is a straight shot, unlike the Pipe Dream trail that winds in and out of all the drainages, so it was a little quicker on the return.  We clocked 7.2 miles, our longest hike of the year to date.  

M on the Pipeline trail

While we were doing that, H got his mileage in on a town walk, using the opportunity to pick up a new jigsaw puzzle.  By the time M and I got back to the house, it was already unboxed and he was well into it.  He did manage to tear himself way to go to Woody's for a couple of afternoon beers.

Art

Monday was, of course, the nicest day - sunny and pleasant.  We three did a town walk and then packed up to head back to SLC.  While we did encounter just a few snowflakes whilst crossing over Soldier Summit, the weather was good, the roads were mostly dry and there was very little traffic.  We were all grateful that the return trip was the regular 3.5 hours - which doesn't seem nearly that bad when compared with 6.5!

long form driving

Sometimes the adventure is in Moab.  Sometimes the adventure is just getting there.  

When we went down for the February long holiday weekend, our departure was dependent on work schedules.  We were watching the weather pretty closely and although a storm rolled in around 11 a.m. on Thursday, we could only leave when we could leave.  We checked the UDOT traffic cameras and while it was snowing up and over Soldier Summit, the roads looked clear from Wellington onwards.  Normally, it takes us about 3.5 hours to get to Moab from Sandy.  This time it took us 6.5 hours, with 2.5 hours of that on I-15 in Salt Lake and Utah Counties.  That's forty miles.  In 2.5 hours.

The clouds were below the cliffs

The gridlocked traffic cleared out once we got onto Route 6 in Spanish Fork canyon.  There was snow on the road but there were clear channels for the wheels, not much traffic and it wasn't slippery.  Slow and steady and we cleared off the headlights when we stopped for gas in Wellington.  Where it was still snowing, by the way: it had taken us so long to get there that the storm had spread out further south.  And it continued, all the way down to I-70.  That was actually the best part - even though it was full dark, the precipitation mostly let up from Green River to the turn-off to Moab.  And then it started raining, and continued raining all the way there.  Which at least washed off some of the salty road slush.  That drive was the longest it's ever taken us to get to (or from) Moab and was the longest car ride Milton had ever had.  He was a little fidgety by the end but was (of course) a good boy.

Greening up

The storm lingered a bit into Friday, with low clouds and off and on rain.  A and Milton did just over five and a half miles on Pipe Dream where the first hour was dry and the second hour had rain, sleet and snow.  We got soaked but luckily it wasn't too cold.  H and A left Milt snoozing on the bed for a couple of late afternoon beers at Josie Wyatt's, and then all three of us caught up with our neighbor and her dog in the evening.

interlude

 Does anyone else's dog do this?  Like, on a semi-regular basis?

Literally going halfsies

In other weird Milton things, not only does he love cooked winter squash (acorn, butternut, mashed-up spaghetti), he also likes green peas (and blueberries, but that's not quite so weird).  But not banana.

sun day

 No, I am not going to use the phrase "Sunday fun-day" because, frankly, I despise that phrase.  Makes my skin crawl.  Super annoying.  But I am going to point out that on Sunday, it was a sunny day, and that was most excellent.  

Found this guy

I mean, it was cold: Milton and I had to wait until 9:15 for it to "warm up" to 20F for our Dimple Dell walk.  It was worth it, though, because the sun was strong enough that it was melting the ice on the sidewalks, and by the time we were halfway up the hill to Granite Park, I had warmed to the point where I could take off my mittens.  There weren't as many dog walkers as on Saturday but Dimple Dell was busy with lots of trail runners.  After we did our usual loop, we came home for chores, meal prep (overnight oats and balsamic tempeh) and a little baking (a coconut turmeric loaf), a little reading and another, shorter afternoon walk in the sunshine.

Scrub oak branches against the blue

Meanwhile, H also found it cold up at Alta: -2 F at 7:30 a.m., although it did warm to 9 F at the summit and low 20s at the base by the time he caught the 2:09 bus down canyon.  The snow was pretty good, the visibility terrific and it was not as crowded as it had been on Saturday. 

Clear day on Rock N' Roll

february flurries

 It's been a weekend storm cycle all winter, it seems, and this last weekend was no different.  Friday was a miserable day down in the valley: windy (it had been terribly windy all week, yuck) and a lot of rain, continuing into the night.  This meant snow up at elevation.  Luckily the canyon road never closed and so while H's bus was standing room only, he managed to get on it; and although traffic up the canyon was a red snake of taillights, they made slow but steady progress, getting up to Alta about a half hour later than usual.

Another grey day

It was yet another day that A wouldn't have liked.  It was 6 F when H   started skiing and 11 F when he finished at 2, flurrying all day with dark, flat light.  The snow was nice and soft but it was stupid-crowded, taking 34 minutes to get through the singles line for his first chair of the day.  He switched to the Supreme chair which was okay for a run or two, but by 10:15 all the corrals at all the lifts were overflowing.  And there were the usual dingdongs to contend with in the singles lines: folks who tried to ride up together, folks allowing cuts in line, folks just not paying attention when it was their turn.  You would think that anyone who is a good enough skier to ski at Alta would have at least a clue as to how to navigate the lift lines.  You'd be wrong.

Meanwhile, Milton and A did their usual Dimple Dell loop, although it took longer than usual because there were so many dogs to stop and meet: Betty, Loki, Grover, Lily, Dusty, Angus (cutest corgi), Arlo, Lucy and Annie.  Not the most productive day in the house - marinated some tempeh for meal prep, made sweet cashew cream and a chocolate pudding cake, tofu scramble for dinner - but I did finish a library book and walk to the library for more.  Some days it's okay to just curl up with a cup of tea and a good book.

workaday

 In case you haven't guessed by now, Milton is a pretty great dog.  We love him so much and we're so lucky to have rescued him.  From the time we brought him home, he's been super chill in the house, able to be left to have the run of it when we go to work.  That all changed one day last September when - as best we can figure - a massive thunderstorm, basically centered over our house and absolutely terrified him.  Since then, he's been a little nervous in our Sandy house, scared of the fridge and flinching at the noise of the furnace.  So we've been crating him and that is working really well: he goes in like a champ and seems to like it, even going in of his own volition when we're home and the door is open; and we don't have to worry about him getting hurt or damaging anything.

Hard at work (sleeping) with H

That said, both H and I are lucky to have accommodating offices post-pandemic and we're able to occasionally take the dog to work with us.  Milton doesn't really like going to my office: I'm on the sixth floor and I think he must be able to feel something in the building that we humans don't.  (Plus he's scared of the elevator so we have to walk all the way up.)  When I take him in, he is a good boy, of course.  He's quiet and pretty patient, but fidgety and nervous and has trouble settling.  It is entirely the opposite at H's work: Milt basically commandeers an empty conference room and crashes, snoozing the day away.

Woke up and moved, but now asleep again

on the homefront

Thus endeth January; on to February.  The first month of 2025 was pretty dry snow-wise, actually, and when the first storm of February made its presence known, everyone got pretty excited about it.  They were thinking up to two feet in the Cottonwoods and 2-4 feet in the mountains north of I-80.  I'm not going to say it was entirely a bust, but Alta only got 16 inches of heavy, wet snow, and then some rain on top of that.  Not ideal.

"Where's the snow at?" Milton, probably

On Saturday, H was at the bus stop for his usual 6:30 a.m. bus.  He couldn't get on it as it was full by the time it rolled up; he couldn't get on the next one either.  So he came home, at first thinking that maybe he'd wait a couple of hours and go up mid-morning.  But then inertia took over and he gave up for the day.  Sunday morning he managed to squeeze onto the 6:30 bus where it was standing room only.  And the crowding didn't stop there: for the first lift line of the day, both the singles line and the main corral were stretched up the hill, past the Wildcat chair lift (photo below).  It was a 45 minute line for that first chair.

And it was barely worth the effort, he said later, noting that it was possibly the worst day of the season.  Flat light, crazy windy, super crowded, rain starting midday and really heavy snow that got pushed into huge bumps by run #2 - and you couldn't see those bumps because of the flat light.  (Yet another day that A wouldn't have liked.)  He had been intending to take the 2:09 bus down-canyon but when the rain started, he sprinted for the 1:09 instead, nabbing one of only five seats available.  Seems like he wasn't alone in calling it a [grey, soggy] day.

#iykyk but an aerial shot of these lines would be impressive

Meanwhile, down in the valley, Milton and I had a fairly productive weekend.  Thanks to our new Garmin watch, we finally know that our Dimple Dell loop is 4.8 miles: we did that loop both Saturday and Sunday, getting to meet friendly dogs each time.  Saturday it was supposed to be raining but wasn't; Sunday was terrifically windy.  Personally, I prefer rain to wind.  In addition to our walks, we made chili and a Korean kimchi stew, chocolate chip cookies, 4+ quarts of vegetable broth and an apple galette, plus tried a new baked oatmeal recipe and went to the local library.

let the sunshine in

By Sunday morning, the storm had moved on, leaving it sunny and cold: 12 F to start H's day at Alta and "warming up" to 17 F by the time he left at 2.  Of course, 17 and sunny is much warmer than 17, overcast and windy, but still.  That's cold.  The road was clear enough that the SRO bus made it up no problem, and while it was busy and crowded, it wasn't Christmas-level busy and crowded.  No mustache compliments, alas.

View from Razorback

While that was happening, A and Milton did another Dimple Dell loop: we heard, but didn't see, the coyotes this time, plus M scored some first tracks.  It was 24 F when we started but with the sun out, it was really pretty pleasant.  Back at home, there were chores to be done: vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, laundry, mending (every pair of flannel jammies has lost a button), and cream (vegan) of broccoli soup.  And muffins, because I like making muffins.

Milton got first tracks