Mountains and More

Another fun week in Utah with family and friends doing some of our favorite things!

We started out the week at Brighton. Lauren was here to ski and Nathan hasn’t skied or snowboarded since 2023, so up the canyon we went. I’m not much for downhill, so I planned on snowshoeing at the Solitude Nordic Center. On Monday, the Brighton crew was joined by other family members (David, Bryson with his kids Emery, India, and Bo, and nephew Enoch). It was a beautiful day and I think everyone had a good time. Tuesday was a very different story. For one thing, it was just the three of us (Nathan, Jill, & Lauren) heading up the canyon. Secondly, a big storm had moved in and dumped several inches of snow over night. It was also a lot windier. But we really made the best of it. Nathan and Lauren had a great time in the new powder at Brighton and I tromped around on the snowshoe trails. We had planned to meet back at the car at 2pm so that we could return rental gear, grab a bite to eat, and take Lauren to the airport to catch her flight home. Well….UDOT closed Big Cottonwood Canyon at about 1:30 because there were several cars that had gone off the road. We cheerfully got in the lineup of cars waiting for the road to open, thinking that we would have plenty of time to get Lauren on her 5:30 flight, since the canyon was supposed to open around 2pm. Spoiler…she made her flight, but only after we sat and sat and sat for about two and half hours waiting for the road to open and then waiting for traffic to move. The snow was crazy: blizzard and terrible roads for ten minutes and then clear and then blizzard again. We skipped lunch and returning gear and hightailed it to the airport. All was well in the end, but it was a bit of a nail-biter.

We spent the rest of the week doing little projects and sorting through stuff here at Margaret’s house and working on some travel plans. But the most fun part of the week was spending time with people we love. I went to lunch with my dear friend April. Nathan visited old neighbors (the Jewetts) and we stopped by to visit Natalie and Aaron Christensen. We also got to go to church and have dinner at the Guertler’s. I spent a couple of delightful afternoons with my sister, Jana, and we attended the Utah Symphony Finishing Touches concert with Margaret and friends to hear Dvorak Symphony 8. We ran into Rosalie McMillan and her oldest son there and that was a fun surprise. Nathan did have a sad bit of business, as he attended the funeral for his long-time violin teacher, Jack Ashton, yesterday. He connected with several friends, including Jeff Perry. We also ate delicious tacos at Liz and Christian’s house. Yum!

It’s been a great week and we are ready for more! Have a good one!