Mountain trail run and arrivals

After a great day of skiing on Friday, we decided that staying off the slopes on Saturday might be a good idea.  We knew we would be skiing on Sunday and most of the rest of the week so we just decided to let our legs rest.  Also, Saturdays in March are known as the busiest ski days of the year in this area.  Our Friday skiing had been so peaceful and uncrowded that we did not want to follow that with a mobbed day of skiing.

The weather was a bit mild so after a very slow, casual morning, we got our gear out and went for a run.

 The house we are staying in sits at the base of a mountain so we ran to a trailhead that runs along that base.  This trail quickly breaks away to other trails that offer goat path type surfaces that go up, up, up.  We ran the flat for a few minutes and then peeled off on an upward trail.

We made our way up for what seemed like forever and finally leveled off.   The views were amazing and the air was thin.  It was not very cold (45) but the wind was blowing pretty hard.  I had made the mistake of not wearing a hat.  I know better.  I was paying the price with the onset of an earache but.....THE VIEW!

WE COULD SEE THE VALLEY FOR MILES AND MILES

THIS IS THE SAME WATERFALL THAT I TOOK PICTURES OF ON FRIDAY.  SEE THE ROAD AT THE BOTTOM?  THAT WAS THE VANTAGE POINT FOR MY FRIDAY PHOTOS.  VERY COOL TO GET A DIFFERENT LOOK.

The photos do not really do the run justice.  It was very rugged and I love running along goat paths.  I did not take pictures of the really narrow parts because I was busy not falling.

The waterfall viewing area was the end of our trail so we turned and headed back.  The trip back was much quicker.  It was mostly downhill but into the wind.  Rob had given me his hat so my earache had eased.

We got back to the house, got cleaned up and went out to do some errands.

We have a winter storm warning for this area and many of the roads warned drivers to have snow tires or chains.  We did not have either and our Florida tag is probably a dead give away.  We do have AWD but...  We bought some snow chains and put them in the back of the car.  I always prefer to err on the side of caution.

We also went to the store to get wine.  We quickly discovered that Utah grocery stores do not sell wine.

Some states in the US closely regulate where certain types of alcoholic beverages can be sold.  The grocer can sell beer but not wine or hard liquor.  The states that regulate this way, have state liquor stores.  

We found a state liquor store, got our wine and went home.

After a bit, we took the dogs for a walk, got them settled and drove  to the airport.  Both of the kids were due to fly in.  We had managed to get them on the same airline so they were arriving within 15 minutes of one another.  As a bonus, one arrived at gate B5 and the other at B7.  Robb got in first so he walked two gates down and met Megan as she deplaned.  We had pre-arranged to meet them in Baggage Claim.

JUST ARRIVED.  ROBB LOVES HAVING HIS PICTURE TAKEN.  

Both bags made it which is always a bonus.  We loaded up and drove back to the house.  Penny and Annie heralded our arrival.  

After getting the dogs calmed down, we all had a bite to eat and sat around and chatted.  The conversation quickly centered around politics.  I politely abstained and did a bit of reading while they aired their differences.  

I read a bit more and then headed to bed.  The rest of my gang eventually followed.  

Another great day in this thing we call life.